A two-experiment study investigated the possible contribution of prose-relevant pictures to the recall and retention of information presented in written prose materials with older learners as subjects. In the first experiment subjects were 52 graduate students from a southeastern university. Recall of information presented in written prose…

This study asked participants to rate models of computer-generated text on the perceived ease with which it could be read and studied. These ratings were submitted to a Q-mode factor analysis to identify the underlying criteria used when the reader/perceiver formed a judgment related to the "study-ability" of the text model. Subjects…

This study examined the effects and interaction of multiple and linear visual presentation modes and cognitive style on performance in a visual location task. Subjects were 132 undergraduate college students (40 males, 92 females) in professional education courses. The Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT, Wilkin et al., 1971) was used to identify…

A series of studies has investigated the possibility that human infants performing tasks exhibit something like the P300, a positive-going brain wave associated with task performance and the updating of working memory among adults. Findings indicate that, when infants have the opportunity to form a template against which to compare a previously…

The effects of three different environmental conditions on the frequency of self-injurious and self-stimulation behavior in 10 brain damaged, profoundly retarded children (under 12 years old) were examined employing a time-sampled behavioral observation. The environmental conditions were social interaction, high demand, and stimulus deprivation…

In this test for age-related effects of perceptual interference under different task conditions, 240 subjects, 60 each in kindergarten and grades 1 through 3, learned the positions of 5 cards upon each of which 3 stimulus attributes--a word, a color, and a shape--were presented in different descending orders. Two stimulus conditions were employed,…

This report uses mental model theory to create a taxonomy of picture functions in order to relate these functions to learning theories. A rough outline of picture functions is presented, consisting of a retrieval function, a focus function, a construction function, and a supplantation function. It is suggested that this taxonomy could be helpful…

Twenty-four congenitally visually handicapped infants, aged 6-24 months, participated in a study to determine (1) those stimuli best able to elicit visual attention, (2) the stability of visual acuity over time, and (3) the effects of binaural sensory aids on both visual attention and visual acuity. Ss were dichotomized into visually handicapped…

This report documents a computer-based gaming system for assessing recognition performance (RECOG). The game management system is programmed in a modular manner to: instruct the student on how to play the game, retrieve and display individual images, keep track of how well individuals play and provide them feedback, and link these components by…

The two goals of this investigation were to (1) examine the comprehension monitoring strategies adults employ when trying to understand procedural instructions and (2) determine how comprehension may be affected by varying such instructions. Sixty-eight college students, using instructions that consisted of either text alone, illustrations alone,…

This study questioned whether children's relative inability to use the two cerebral hemispheres independently contributes to their difficulty with the simultaneous execution of conflicting tasks. Two naming tasks involving the identification of upright and inverted letters were employed; conditions differed according to how the letter pairs were…

The relationship between creativity and perception was examined in two studies that correlated a combined total of 11 tests of perception (e.g., figure-ground and physiognomy) and creativity (e.g., remote associates and figure preferences). Four of the tests dealt with perception, five with creativity, and two with both. Since several of the tests…

The acquisition of visual information, which occurs during eye fixations, involves two processes: registration (visual information becoming available to the brain) and utilization (visual information being used to further text comprehension). Registration occurs at the beginning of a fixation, while at least four possible patterns describe the…

Through the years, motor skills have been taught by having students practice motor responses as the teacher verbally cued and corrected them. This teaching strategy may work in the long run, but it costs teachers an enormous amount of unnecessary time. Verbal cues and mediation training comprise a short cut process that allows for quicker learning…

Two experiments investigated relationships between state anxiety, memory processes, and children's performance on problem-solving tasks. Participants were second and sixth graders in a private elementary school in Redlands, California. In both experiments, subjects responded to three training and eight test problems presented in the introtact…