Two groups of children (ages 8 and 12) with reading disabilities and verbal deficits were given a memory-for-colors task designed to evaluate intra- and intermodal serial memory functioning. Results suggest developmental differences in relative influence of specific modalities in immediate memory functions, but emphasize intramodal verbal factors…

While 16 learning disabled (LD) students (8-12 years old) with word recognition deficiencies did not differ from control Ss at the encoding stage of word recognition, LD Ss required significantly more processing time for memory search. (Author/CL)

Reading disability is conceptualized as a disorder of several aspects of langauage, with acquisition of syntax, phonics, and phonemic coding in short-term memory signficantly delayed. However, semantic processing appears to be relatively intact. Remedial reading programs should stress the encouragement of expressive language skills. (Author/CL)

In free recall of word lists involving different rehearsal strategies, more words were recalled by older (as against younger) children and by nondisabled (as against learning disabled) readers. Disabled readers tended to be nonstrategic recallers and less accurate estimators of their memory capacity. Recall differences were attributed to semantic…

A total of 45 boys in age groups corresponding to kindergarten, third grade, and sixth grade learned a 40-centimeter linear arm movement without the aid of vision. In each age group, 15 attempted to reproduce the movement using either distance, location, or distance plus location cues. (Author/RH)

The study involving 24 normal, 24 learning disabled (LD), and 18 deaf elementary-age Ss investigated the hypothesis that nonstrategic verbal encoding abilities are deficient in LD readers. Results were interpreted to indicate a deficient verbal-visual integrative process in disabled children occurring prior to the application of mnemonic…

Eight-, 10-, and 19-year-olds performed a verbal or spatial domain primary memory task. The task was performed alone or in conjunction with a verbal or spatial secondary memory task. In their performance of the primary task, only 8-year-olds showed interference by a secondary task that was based on a different domain from the primary task. (BC)

Children were presented with a related-word triplet (horse, pig, cow) with or without accompanying setting, or place, information (farm). Children were later given a retrieval cue from the first two words of the triplet and asked to recall the third word. Found that place information presented at acquisition and retrieval facilitated children's…

"Sine-wave speech" sentences contain only four frequency-modulated sine waves, lacking many acoustic cues present in natural speech. Adults with (n=19) and without (n=14) dyslexia were asked to reproduce orally sine-wave utterances in successive trials. Results suggest comprehension of sine-wave sentences is impaired in some adults with…

Investigates the interactive development of short-term memory, phonological processing and reading. Reports that phonological skills promote the acquisition of letter knowledge and that these two abilities, together with visual short term memory, lead the development of reading. (MG)

Examined the disruption effect in two recall experiments with six- and eight-year olds. In the first experiment, vivid irrelevant actions were better recalled than disruptions that were obstacles, but were not better recalled than disruptions that were distractions. Results of the second experiment suggest that disruptions that lead to more…

Eight pianists with mild to moderate mental retardation and eight comparison pianists without retardation were asked to duplicate chord sequences of varying length and musical structure in an immediate memory format. All participants were sensitive to the structural dimensions of the material, and differences between groups were restricted to the…

Examined whether false belief recall in three-year olds is inaccessible without cues, and whether cue-aided recall is accompanied by insight. Six experiments varied a core procedure involving cues and child reports of and about their beliefs. Found that the ability to recall one's own false belief was attained around 3.5 years of age. (BC)

Evaluates the effectiveness of a nine-week memory notebook treatment for closed-head-injured (CHI) participants with memory deficits. Eight participants who had sustained a severe CHI were allocated to receive either notebook training or supportive therapy. At posttreatment, the notebook training group reported fewer significant memory failures,…

The capacity of six-month-old infants to maintain information in working memory for several seconds was studied using two versions of an oculomotor delayed response task. The results indicated that infants maintained information about stimulus locations in working memory for three to five seconds. (MDM)