The concept of consciousness played a central role in Vygotsky's research and theory. Unfortunately, with the advent of behaviorism, consciousness fell into disfavor. One of the major obstacles in studying consciousness is that there is no single acceptable definition of the term. Various researchers have dealt with five different aspects of…

A study demonstrated how recordings of ongoing electroencephalographic (EEG) activity can be used to study global aspects of complex cognitive processes that take place during the reading and encoding of connected discourse. The methods utilized allowed the study of complex cognitive processes within an ecologically valid paradigm (natural…

Various examples of communication in species ranging from bumble bees to dolphins are examined in this paper. Focus is directed to indications of the cognitive ability of each species. The signals of cognition include evidence of: adaptability to a new situation; long term memory; and the property of displacement. Most of the sources reviewed…

This paper reviews critically four studies on teacher thinking as conducted at the Center for Instructional Psychology, University of Leuven, Belgium. The four empirical studies were: (1) a process analysis of teaching; (2) subjective problems of student teachers while teaching; (3) context variables during lesson planning; and (4)…

The foundations of knowledge by tradition have been treated analytically, and knowledge has been characterized as a theoretical subject. This article introduces a steering mechanism as the prerequisite for a study of knowledge work and maintenance on empirical grounds. Knowledge is treated synthetically, that is, as something that exists only…

The effects of musical accompaniment on two different visual information processing activities were examined in individuals of differing selected personality types. The Myers Briggs Type Indicator Form G was administered to classes of University students. From the results, four subgroups, the sensing-thinking, sensing-feeling, intuitive-feeling,…

Sixty-eight undergraduate college students served as subjects in a study that examined the effects of reader-generated map-like representations (spatial organizers) on subjects' delayed recall of a narrative. Of interest were the possible interactions between individual difference measures (verbal and spatial ability) and map generation on…

Sixty-six college students read two chapters from a contemporary novel while their eye movements were monitored. The eye movement data were analyzed to identify factors that influence the location of a reader's initial eye fixation on a word. When the data were partitioned according to the location of the prior fixation (i.e., launch site), the…

Designed to examine the structural differences in the representation of medical problems in subjects with varying degrees of medical expertise, this study uses an online, thinking-aloud technique to investigate the validity of Feltovich and Barrows' model of expert medical knowledge and illness scripts. Study methodology involved asking one…

This paper analyzes Bogdanov's theory of knowledge as found in philosophical dialogues and essays. The style of Bogdanov's writing and his ideas on philosophy, science, scientific constructs, truth, human knowledge, objectivity and ethics are discussed. These ideas are compared to the constructivist view of knowledge. (CW)

The question of whether human thinking can come to simulate computer intelligence--i.e., AI in reverse--is addressed in this paper. Examples are given of three computer tools which perform several functions that constitute an intellectual partnership between student and tool. Such functions include: (1) assuming part of the intellectual burden in…

The main focus of this paper is research on the content dimension of feedback, although the scheduling of feedback in an instructional program is also briefly considered. The two major categories of the content of feedback discussed are motivational, reinforcing feedback and informative, corrective feedback. It is noted that researchers in the…

The perception of death gradually develops in a child's mind, reaching maturity at about 8 or 9 years of age. A mature death concept usually means a definition which includes the perception of death as a natural process, its finality, its irreversibility, and its universality. A study was undertaken to improve knowledge about the death concept.…

Over the past two decades, theorists and researchers in cognitive structural developmental psychology have begun to investigate the social processes that impact upon individual cognitive growth. Studies have focused on how interactional processes lead to cognitive development but not on how the interactional processes are formed. This paper…

The design and architecture of two user-controlled, computer-based problem analysis environments in classical mechanics are discussed. In the expert-like environment, the user analyzes problems according to a hierarchical concept schema consistent with how experts analyze novel problems in physics. In the second environment, the user searches a…