The attentional blink refers to the finding that the 2nd of 2 targets embedded in a stream of rapidly presented distractors is often missed. Whereas most theories of the attentional blink focus on limited-capacity processes that occur after target selection, the present work investigates the selection process itself. Identifying a target letter…

This study linked gender, family help, and grade level to 5 features of homework management reported by 238 rural middle school students. The 5 features studied were setting an appropriate work environment; managing time; and controlling attention, motivation, and potentially interfering emotions. No significant differences were found across grade…

This study evaluated the validity of using an earplug so that information is presented to only one ear of children (N=34) in Alberta, Canada, with learning disabilities as a means of improving listening comprehension. Children were asked to recall stories from the Auditory Comprehension Test (ACT) immediately after hearing the story. The children…

Baby talk, also known as motherese or child-directed speech, refers to a set of speech modifications commonly found in the language adults use to address young children. The same functional motivations underlying adult speech to other adults also shape adult speech to children. These include pedagogy, control, affection, social exchange, and…

Several experiments were carried out to determine: (1) whether learning disabled (LD) and behaviorally disordered (BD) students exhibit deficiencies with respect to appropriate test-taking strategies and (2) if so, whether these strategies could be successfully trained. In the test-training evaluation, 92 LD or BD elementary-age students…

A series of experiments were conducted in Calgary to determine performance of attention deficit disordered (ADD) and learning disabled (LD) children without ADD on a selective attention task (The Matching Familiar Figures Test) and a sustained attention task (paired associate learning). Results of experiment 1 indicated deficits in sustained…

The effect of a preshot attentional/behavioral routine on putting performance was investigated. Subjects were randomly assigned to four groups: (1) Male Routine (MR); (2) Female Routine (FR); (3) Male Control (MC); and (4) Female Control (FC). Subjects in the FR and MR groups were given individualized putting routines which focused on specific…

The present research assessed the ability to attend to relevant information in the presence of irrelevant distraction in hyperactive (H), learning disabled (LD), and unselected (US) children. A total of 20 LD, 20 H, and 20 US children divided into younger and older age groups participated in the study. Younger children were between 94 and 104…

The relationship between interpersonal cognitive problem-solving (ICPS) skills and the behavioral adjustment of 30 hyperactive boys (from 5.5 to 12.5 years of age) was examined. Each S was individually administered two problem solving measures to assess alternative thinking and means-end thinking. The childrens' self-concept was also assessed and…

This technical report contains papers prepared by the 11 speakers at the 1980 Lake Wilderness (Seattle, Washington) Conference on Attention. The papers are divided into general models, physiological evidence, and visual attention categories. Topics of the papers include the following: (1) willed versus automatic control of behavior; (2) multiple…

This paper discusses the role of attention to uncertainty in mediating the transition from sensorimotor activity to language. It is proposed that language from the very beginning is used to resolve uncertainty by selectively marking points of change, deviation from the familiar or choice from among alternatives. Several research findings are…

This report describes the experimental studies conducted to examine the role of mental structures in four different areas of research. The first area involves the structural analysis of isolable subsystems involved in visual and auditory pattern recognition. The second area involves the study of the encoding and retrieval of emotional or…

This study investigated the effects of prior experience with contingent or noncontingent stimulation of infants' ability to learn different responses to control perceptual stimulation. In the pretest phase, baseline rates of level movement, panel press and vocal responding were determined for each of the twelve, 6-month-old infants in the study.…

The effect of principal attention contingent upon tem on-task performance was examined in an unruly fourth-grade class. Principal attention was found to be a strong reinforcer in both experimental conditions, but percentage of on-task behavior during team consequences was higher than during individual consequences. (Author)