Assesses techniques used by researchers to collect and analyze data on how people with visual impairments or blindness learn, understand, and think about geographic space. Recommendations are made for increasing the validity of studies, including the use of multiple, mutually supportive tests; larger samples; and real-world environments.…

This study administered a cognitive battery of 9 tasks to 400 regular kindergarten children and 31 children identified as gifted. The upper 2% of the regular sample outperformed 81% of the gifted sample, with minority group students achieving most of the top scores. Results support the use of such batteries in identifying previously unidentified…

Assessed college students on measures of depression, concentration, and academic performance. Depression was negatively related to academic performance, although the relationship between depression and cognitive functioning was not detected on a brief measure of concentration. Suggests that isolated testing sessions may mask the detrimental…

The validity of a dynamic assessment interview approach to the measurement of metacomponential (executive level) cognitive processing in 48 children aged 8 to 9 years was studied. The interview instrument apparently measured both content knowledge and metacomponential processing. Implications for study of young children's cognition are discussed.…

Autonomic reactivity to cognitive stress was assessed in 10-year-old boys who were rated as either disruptive (n=18), anxious-disrupted (n=18), or not disruptive or anxious (n=15). Electrodermal activity, cardiac reactivity, and muscle tension were higher during a mental arithmetic stress task for the anxious-disruptive group. (Author/SW)

This article introduces this special issue on the differential performance of various ethnic groups on traditional, norm-referenced intelligence tests. The article discusses the role of the court system in determining intelligence test bias and suggests that attention be focused less on the instruments themselves and more on how they are used.…

Ipsative subtest pattern stability was examined for 60 preschool children (31 males and 29 females) on the Bracken Basic Concept Scale and the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children over a 4-6 week test-retest interval. The moderate level of profile stability found warrants cautious use of the ipsative interpretation approach. (SLD)

Fifty-seven primary-level students completed the Detroit Tests of Learning Aptitude-Primary: Second Edition (DTLA-P:2) and the Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery, Part I and II. A strong relationship between the two provides evidence for the criterion-related and construct validity of the DTLA-P:2 test scores. (Author/JDD)

Mental-rotation task response times from 12 studies involving 505 adults--251 males and 254 females--were used to evaluate 5 hypotheses concerning sex differences derived from an X-linked genetic model. The model assumes that task facilitation in speed of mental rotation is mediated by a recessive gene. Four hypotheses derived from the model were…

A longitudinal study of 23 colleges and universities sought to estimate the impacts of on- and off-campus work on standardized measures of student cognitive development across three years. Findings suggest that, for the most part, work that does not exceed 15 or 20 hours a week does not seriously affect student cognitive development. (SLD)

Examined validity of use of human figure drawing to evaluate cognitive development status using Piagetian tasks with 7- to 11-year-olds. Found that scores for children's drawings of a man and a woman correlated significantly with mental imaging, conservation of mass, and conservation of length, suggesting the possibility of finding patterns to…

A study involving 18 individuals with pervasive developmental disorders (PDD) (ages 9-21) and 67 controls found total score on the Biber Cognitive Estimation Test for both individuals with PDD and controls progressed consistently with mental age, development being the most dramatic around the mental age of 8 years. (Contains references.)…

Investigated possible priming effect of two neuropsychological tests, the Booklet Category Test (BCT) and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). Obtained counterbalanced order effects on like-aged sample of 63 South African elementary school students (normally- achieving, low-functioning, learning-disabled). Found a significant effect of set-shifting…

This research examines adolescents' learning about a historical issue from multiple information sources. Adolescents read 2 contradictory texts explaining the Fall of Rome and thought out loud after each sentence. After reading, a series of questions probed their understanding and ability to reason with the information. Think-aloud protocols were…

This study examined 2- to 3-year-olds' ability to make a pretend-real distinction in the absence of content cues. Children watched two actors side by side. One was really eating, and the other was pretending to eat, but in neither case was information about content available. Following the displays, children were asked to retrieve the real food…