A chemical separation experiment can be an interesting addition to an introductory analytical chemistry laboratory course. We have developed an experiment to extract FD&C Red Dye #40 from beverages containing cranberry juice. After extraction, the dye is quantified using colorimetry. The experiment gives students hands-on experience in using solid…

In four experiments we assessed whether visual working memory (VWM) maintains a record of previously processed visual information, allowing old information to be inhibited, and new information to be prioritized. Specifically, we evaluated whether VWM contributes to the inhibition (i.e., visual marking) of previewed distractors in a preview search.…

Although models of visual search have often assumed that attention can only be set for a single feature or property at a time, recent studies have suggested that it may be possible to maintain more than one attentional control setting. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether spatial attention could be guided by multiple attentional…

In visual search, a set of distractor items can be suppressed from future selection if they are presented (previewed) before a second set of search items arrive. This "visual marking" mechanism provides a top-down way of prioritizing the selection of new stimuli, at the expense of old stimuli already in the field (Watson & Humphreys,…

In this article, the author describes a painting and drawing lesson which was inspired by the beautiful circular windows found in cathedrals and churches (also known as "rose windows"). This two-week lesson would reinforce both the concept of symmetry and students' understanding of the color wheel. (Contains 1 online resource.)

This article questions how two very similar sets of experiments can yield such very different findings, and comments on the differences between the studies. Here Annamarie Kerkhoff presents a commentary on some perceived differences between the studies in areas such as age groups and group sizes evaluated. Kerkhoff also comments on some…

As a part of an opening course survey, data on eye color and gender were collected from students enrolled in an introductory statistics course at a large university over a recent four year period. Biologically, eye color and gender are independent traits. However, in the data collected from our students, there is a statistically significant…

The present study was designed to investigate the impact of familiarity and audience age on children's self-presentation in self-drawings of happy, sad and neutral figures. Two hundred children (100 girls and 100 boys) with the average age of 8 years 2 months, ranging from 6 years 3 months to 10 years 1 month, formed two age groups and five…

There is ongoing debate concerning the mechanisms of feature binding in working memory. In particular, there is controversy regarding the extent to which these binding processes are automatic. The present article demonstrates that binding mechanisms differ depending on whether the to-be-integrated features are perceived as forming a coherent…

The idea of actively involving children in the learning process can be beneficial for both teacher and student on a number of levels. Allowing students in physical education class to make choices has been incorporated into elementary-age teaching successfully. As a way to invite students to become more active participants in their learning,…

Previous research suggests that multilinguals' languages are constantly co-activated and that experience managing this co-activation changes inhibitory control function. The present study examined language interaction and inhibitory control using a colour-word Stroop task. Multilingual participants were tested in their three most proficient…

Adolescent cannabis use is associated with working memory impairment. The present randomized controlled trial assigned adolescents ages 14 to 21 enrolled in cannabis use treatment to receive either working memory training (experimental group) or a control training (control group) as an adjunctive treatment. Cognitive function, drug use, and other…

To evaluate the effectiveness of mindfulness-based structured versus unstructured coloring on test anxiety, 52 participants (53.8% female; M[subscript age] = 10.92 years, SD = 0.82) were randomly assigned to either a structured mandala (n = 26) or free coloring condition (n = 26), and completed a standardized anxiety measure to assess anxiety…

Extending a recent paper by Derek Holton, we show how to represent the algorithm for the Frog Problem diagrammatically. This diagrammatic representation suggests a simpler proof of the symmetrical case (equal numbers of frogs of each colour) by allowing the even and odd cases to be treated together. It also provides a proof in the asymmetrical…

"Green" has a common use among the public. Both natural and social environment have an important effect on this expression. People tend to explain the scientific concepts using well-known situations which they intensively see around the living area. In this sense, photosynthesis is one of the most important biological concepts including…