The optional shift performance of 52 reflective and 50 impulsive second-grade girls was assessed under two response-consequence conditions: (1) reward for correct responses only, and (2) reward for correct responses and a penalty for incorrect responses. (Author/MP)

Eight males with autism were required to shift attention between rapidly flashed targets alternating between left and right visual hemifields. When targets were separated by less than 700 ms, steady-state brain electrical response in both hemispheres was augmented and background EEG decreased for rightward shifts as compared with leftward shifts.…

This study examined 2- to 3-year-olds' ability to make a pretend-real distinction in the absence of content cues. Children watched two actors side by side. One was really eating, and the other was pretending to eat, but in neither case was information about content available. Following the displays, children were asked to retrieve the real food…

The development of conceptual understanding in arithmetic is a gradual process and children may make use of a concept in some situations before others. Previous research has demonstrated that when children are given arithmetic problems with an inverse relationship they can infer that the initial and final quantities are the same. However, we do…

A model of identity formation comprising four structural dimensions (Commitment Making, Identification with Commitment, Exploration in Depth, and Exploration in Breadth) was developed through confirmatory factor analysis. In a sample of 565 emerging adults, this model provided a better fit than did alternative two- and three-dimensional models,…

Multiple (external) representations can provide unique benefits when people are learning complex new ideas. Unfortunately, many studies have shown this promise is not always achieved. The DeFT (Design, Functions, Tasks) framework for learning with multiple representations integrates research on learning, the cognitive science of representation and…

The standard approach guiding research on the relationship between categories and causality views categories as reflecting causal relations in the world. We provide evidence that the opposite direction also holds: categories that have been acquired in previous learning contexts may influence subsequent causal learning. In three experiments we show…

Recent research suggests that humans and other animals have sophisticated abilities to extract both statistical dependencies and rule-based regularities from sequences. Most of this research stresses the flexibility and generality of such processes. Here the authors take up an equally important project, namely, to explore the limits of such…

In traditional factor analysis, the variance-covariance matrix or the correlation matrix has often been a form of inputting data. In contrast, in Bayesian factor analysis, the entire data set is typically required to compute the posterior estimates, such as Bayes factor loadings and Bayes unique variances. We propose a simple method for computing…

How long does it take to form a durable representation in visual working memory? Several theorists have proposed that this consolidation process is very slow. Here, we measured the time course of consolidation. Observers performed a change-detection task for colored squares, and shortly after the presentation of the first array, pattern masks were…

The present study investigated the transfer of induced happy and sad mood functions through equivalence relations. Sixteen subjects participated in a combined equivalence and mood induction procedure. In Phase 1, all subjects were trained in 2 conditional discriminations using a matching-to-sample format (i.e., A1-B1, A2-B2, A1-C1, A2-C2). In…

A correspondence is suggested between the two different abilities underlying performance on intellectual or learning tasks discussed by Jensen and the two response processes postulated by various mediational models of discrimination learning. To test this, two groups of nursery school children differentiated by the measurable social class of their…

A single administration of the reversal learning paradigm is not a sufficient basis for determining either a given subject's choice of option or his behavior on its constituent learning measures. This conclusion raises many questions about past research relating to mediation theory, since this paradigm has been the basic one employed. (Authors)