The use by 254 Canadian children of the dimensions of gender, language/ethnicity, and body type as bases of categorization was examined. A developmental approach was taken to see whether a sequence exists in the relative predominance of these dimensions; to examine the relation between the salience of these dimensions and cognitive developmental…

The ability to allocate attentional resources to relevant aspects of a stimulus event is a critical skill needed for efficient information processing. Evidence suggests that this ability to focus on relevant information without interference is dependent on the nature of the stimulus structure of the information to be processed. To test the…

A total of 80 children 4 to 7 years of age participated in a study attempting to establish (1) the frequency of classification performance by age and in relation to available classification criteria, and (2) the degree of preference for different classification criteria by age, particularly differences between figurative and operative criteria.…

The way cognitive, event-related brain potentials (ERPs) can aid in further understanding of memory span change in children is discussed. ERPs are time-dependent changes in electrical activity of the brain (as recorded by scalp electrodes) following the presentation of a physical stimulus through auditory, visual, or somatosensory modalities. The…

Part of a larger research program studying communication in the cockpit, this study investigated the occurrence of mitigation, that is, the use of linguistic forms that convey propositional content without giving offense, and its relationship to aviation accidents. The data were from flight-recorder accident transcripts containing observable…

The nature of the criterion (dependent) variable may play a useful role in structuring a list of classification/prediction problems. Such criteria are continuous in nature, binary dichotomous, or multichotomous. In this paper, discussion is limited to the continuous normally distributed criterion scenarios. For both cases, it is assumed that the…

There appear to be four major schools of thought concerning adolescent depression: (1) depression as a clinical disorder is not possible before late adolescence or early adulthood; (2) depression in children and adolescents is a unique clinical entity, different from adult depression; (3) adolescents manifest depression in the same way as adults;…

An inventory of academic programs offered for credit and learning to an academic award offered by Alabama's private senior institutions and branch campuses and private junior colleges as of June 1, 1986, is presented. For each college and program, charts indicate program titles, levels of degrees offered, and accreditation status. Included are…

The aim of this paper is to summarize and tentatively synthesize a number of theories, typologies, and statements about systems and procedures for planned change in small groups, large organizations, and whole societies. Concepts are brought together from psychology, applied sociology, and business management, as well as diplomatic negotiation at…

Four different kinds of story were presented to children aged 4,7, and 10 years and to adults. In the stories, the relationship between basic-level referents mentioned in the first part of the story and the related superordinates mentioned in the second part was changed by means of different kinds of articles introducing the superordinates:…

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…

In a study investigating whether middle school students can identify their own social groups, over 200 sixth- and seventh-graders were asked to name the kinds of groups to which they thought students in their school belonged, and to explain or define the groups. Data indicated that the students seemed to have no trouble in agreeing on certain…

Focusing on educational settings, this paper examines receiver apprehension (anxiety associated with the decoding, interpreting, and/or adjusting psychologically to messages sent by others). The first section, in a review of the literature, discusses the theoretical basis for receiver apprehension. A summary of educational consequences is…

The monograph describes more than 200 plants growing within the approximately 300 square miles of the original land of the Kashaya Pomo Indians, which lies along the coast of Sonoma County, California. An introduction provides information on the plant communities represented (redwood forest, mixed evergreen forest, oak woodland, Douglas fir…

Inherent limitations on the feasibility of experimentation have made it difficult for investigators to formulate an adequate understanding of individuality as a psychological phenomenon. Recently, Fiske (1979) and Sontag (1971) have suggested that application of a longitudinal or developmental strategy might be of some use in remedying this…