Robust interference effects were found which declined with age. Manipulating discriminability of the relevant stimulus dimension resulted in large changes in sorting time, but interference effects did not vary with baseline difficulty. These results were interpreted as strongly supporting both an absolute decrement model and a developmental trend…

Two implications of best-example theory for category acquisition were tested using a set of artificial concrete object categories. Categories acquired from initial exposure to good exemplars were learned more easily and accurately. People learn the best exemplars are category members before learning the poor exemplars are category members.…

A visual search task for target letters in multiletter displays was used to investigate information- processing differences between college students and presecond-grade children. (Author/DB)

Comparing the effectiveness of four methods for training young children (4-4.5 years) in the skills of visual discrimination necessary to letter knowledge acquisition, this study indicates that training in oral description of critical cues of letters contributes to superior achievement in learning to match letters. (JC)

A study involving eight youths and adults with retinitis pigmentosa (and only 20 degree visual field and hearing loss of at least 20 decibels) determined variance in the ability to perceive and comprehend visual stimuli presented by way of the manual modality when modifications were made in configuration, movement speed, movement size, and…

The process by which 55 preschool children acquire the meanings of dimensional and expressive terms was investigated in relation to Eve Clark's semantic feature hypothesis. (Author/MP)

Among the findings were that there was no significant difference in performance between Down's syndrome, other mentally handicapped, and normal Ss matched for mental age, when extraneous developmental factors were eliminated; and that there was no relationship between mental age and visual perception in any group. (DLS)

Techniques for evaluating the multiply impaired child's functional level of vision are described and a sequence of visual stimulation instruction for children with visual impairments is presented. (PHR)

Three experiments were conducted to examine whether infants can detect the color of stationary and moving objects and maintain this discrimination over change in velocity. Subjects were 80 infants ages 8 to 20 weeks. (MP)

Reports three experiments to investigate differences in the semantic classification of pictures and words. The data suggest that visual short-term memory and semantic memory operate in semantic-decision tasks though these sources of information differ in characteristics, potential for activation, and level of abstraction. (PMJ)

Presents evidence that nonverbal cues by newscasters are interpreted by the viewer as a sign of bias. Using two cues, raised eyebrows and a smile, the study produced data that suggest that the audience is aware of this influence. (JMF)

Three experiments evaluated color specificity knowledge and related semantic effects on recognition memory. (Author/SB)

This study tested the hypothesis that memory for pictorial material is dependent on initial comprehension of the depicted relationships. A total of 72 second, sixth and ninth graders were compared on ability to remember cartoon pictures which did or did not contain action lines as clues to the interaction between actors. (MS)

The original impetus for this work was to characterize the extent to which olfactory experience can be incorporated into cognitive processes. The finding is that there is a respectable but limited verbal association learning and retention capability for odor stimuli in man. (Author)

Three experiments were conducted in order to assess the validity of the novel-stimulus hypothesis as an explanation for why people who are physically different (i.e., novel) are avoided. (Editor)