Argues that researchers in the area of discourse comprehension and mental representation of discourse will likely feel motivated to adopt highly quantitative research techniques described in the articles in this special issue. Notes that ability to do so will be enhanced by availability of well-documented, easy-to-use computer software, or…

Notes that memory-based text processing (MBP) is a label that has been used to refer to a theoretical perspective shared by contributors to this special issue. Defines the domain addressed by MBP; identifies the major shared assumptions of researchers representing the MBP perspective; and raises some challenges for MBP researchers. (SR)

Two experiments investigated 4- to 7-year olds' memory for a specific episode of a repeated event. In Experiment 1, younger children had more difficulty remembering when a new activity type had been experienced, although experience improved memory for schema-atypical activities introduced in repeated events. Experiment 2 showed younger children…

Describes research with college students that investigated commercial game types and game elements to determine what would be suitable for education. Students rated logic, memory, visualization, and problem solving as important game elements that are used to develop a model that links pedagogical issues with game elements. (Author/LRW)

Investigates the relationship between phonological awareness, short-term memory, grammatical awareness, and reading accuracy in a follow-up study of 34 nine-year-olds originally studied as preschoolers. Finds the best concurrent predictor set for reading accuracy at age nine was grammatic knowledge, phoneme awareness, and speech rate, which…

Examined whether a detailed analysis of age-related changes in error patterns could reveal the mechanisms underpinning development in short-term memory. Tested developmental changes among 7- to 11-year-olds in their serial recall of lists of 6 letters, finding developmental differences in the patterns of errors. (JPB)

Examines the visual memories of women over 70 years old that take place during a long life and the roles of visual culture in memory and in mental images through interview and focus groups. Indicates that older women's stories anticipate feminist issues and do not conform to traditional male models of understanding. (CMK)

Investigates variables related to how students choose to be remembered after high school. Reports sports participation, social activity participation, high school academic rank, mother's education, and masculinity were variables associated with four remembrance roles: brilliant student, most popular, athletic star, and leader. Concludes that…

The latency and amplitude of the P300, an event-related potential, during the performance of a memory-scanning task were used as indices of the efficiency of information processing that may mediate individual differences in intelligence. Results with 61 female college students contradict a pure speed of processing explanation of the relationship…

Two experiments examined the sensitivity of children (ages 3 to 5) with specific language impairment (SLI) and normally developing children to grammatical morphemes, such as articles and auxiliary verbs. Findings indicated that the children with SLI were sensitive to grammatical morphemes, and that comprehension failure may reflect short-term…

Investigates the relation between phonological awareness, sound-to-letter mapping knowledge, and printed word learning in novice five-year-old readers. Explores effects of visual memory and of teaching methods. Finds mental representations of printed words are more easily formed by beginners who are able to match at least some of the phonological…

Interviewed 145 children between ages 4 and 12 years within days or months after an alleged incident of sexual abuse. Found that the proportion of substantive investigative utterances eliciting new details increased with age and decreased after delays of more than 1 month. Age related to length and richness of informative responses. (Author/KB)

Explores individual differences in general memory ability and the relation to performance in a public examination, taken at age 15-16 years. Suggests that individual differences in memory ability account for between 10 and 20 percent of the variance in groups of above-average IQ. Includes references. (CMK)

Explores the effects of Urdu on the acquisition of English literacy skills by comparing the reading, memory and phonological processing skills of bilingual Urdu-English and monolingual English children (7-8 years old). Demonstrates that bilingual reading development can have a positive effect on the acquisition of literacy skills, such as…

Focuses on the interpretation of research data of Berthier, Starkstein, Lylyk, and Leiguarda (1990) reporting a case of faster recovery, after selective sodium amytal injection, of the patient's second language than his native language. Paradis (1990) argued that these results do not support Ojemann and Whitaker's (1978) hypothesis. (five…