Examines people's behavior in the Monty Hall Dilemma (MHD), in which a person must make two decisions to win a prize. In a series of five studies, found that people misapprehend probabilities in the MHD. Discusses the MHD's relation to illusion of control, belief perseverance, and the status quo bias. (RJM)

Reviews four books concerning children's thinking, language acquisition, the art of teaching, and literacy: (1) "Children's Thinking: Promoting Understanding in the Primary School" (M. Bonnet); (2) "Input and Interaction in Language Acquisition" (B. Richard); (3) "The Effective Teacher" (C. Cullingford); and (4)…

This study examined the matching and sequencing of quantities, numerals, and arbitrary forms by two individuals with mental retardation. Results showed that sequence training did not readily lead to new matching performances, unlike prior research with college students. Instead, training in matching to sample yielded emergent sequence production…

Two experiments examined children's early judgments about numerical relations. Found that children as young as three years old are already adept at reasoning about relations between sets, independently of their ability to form numerical representations. Results support the existence of protoquantitative schemas, or ways of thinking about relations…

Examines the potential contribution of different neural systems to developmental change in the duration of visual fixation, and the individual differences in that variable that are predictive of subsequent cognitive function. Presents hypotheses concerning two specific and independent neural systems and how they might contribute to individual and…

Explores some speculative hypotheses on states of knowing and learning, and how these states and processes might be applied to artificial intelligence and expert systems development. (JKP)

Two experiments investigated perceptual primacy of dimensional and similarity relations in stimulus classification of mentally retarded children. Results support a distinction between separable and integral stimulus structures, but do not support an integral-to-separable shift in perceptual development. Results suggest implications for…

This interpretive case study examined how members of a college culture (faculty and administrators) experienced change related to the entry of a new college president, and how the president himself changed as a result. The relationship between established community members and the new president is explored in five phases. (SLD)

An integrative review of United States research on English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) learners' cognitive reading processes supports a relatively good fit with preexisting reading theories and views generally thought to describe native-language readers. However, a subset of factors special to ESL learners is suggested. (SLD)

Outlines the current debate regarding the veracity of delayed memories of child sexual abuse, describes the historical context in which this controversy occurs, discusses the growth and development of psychotherapy for trauma survivors, and reviews the theoretical and empirical literature relevant to abuse memories. Presents recommendations for…

Examined the effects of perceived control and close alternative outcomes on counterfactual generation (thoughts of what could have been). Subjects played a "wheel of fortune" game in which they controlled one of two wheels. Results supported the idea that people generate counterfactuals about events over which they have perceived…

Examined impact of outcome controllability on counterfactual thoughts (thoughts of what could have been). Two studies showed that outcome controllability affected counterfactual direction: thoughts on how things could have been better were more frequent following controllable outcomes, and thoughts on how things could have been worse followed…

Issues affecting the perceived competence and credibility of children's courtroom narratives are considered, with attention to the communicative contract and common communicative assumptions such as sincerity. The effects of children's development of comprehension monitoring skills and a theory of mind on their ability to give competent eyewitness…

Describes the Exemplar Project, an application of cognitive learning theory to the development of an integrated electronic learning environment for college students based on group support systems technology. Theoretical foundations are reviewed, including feedback, cooperative learning, and structure of exposition; and results regarding…

Compared three groups of high school students (n=183) based on television viewing habits (light, medium, or heavy) using measures of school performance, post-high school education plans, school attitudes, motivation, and school-related self-esteem domains. Found that the groups did not differ on any of the studied variables. (HTH)