This paper is a refinement of a model of conceptual learning and development presented initially as the Presidential Address to Division 15, Educational Psychology, of the American Psychological Association in September 1971 at Washington, D.C. Thus it supersedes the initial formulation in explicitness and detail. This paper explains the nature of…

Alabama State University conducted an experiment in teaching the disadvantaged. The major purpose of the project was to indicate that deprived youth can learn the same as more privileged youth, if their difficulties are diagnosed, if they are taught and exposed to quality instruction, and if they are provided with whatever empirical evidence…

A selective review of the literature on self-instructional devices is presented, with emphasis on those studies which provide for a functional analysis of such devices. Three major classes of variables which influence the effectiveness of learning by means of self-instructional devices are discussed: the characteristics of the device, the…

A book titled "The Processes of Thinking" by Marc Belth is reviewed. (JD)

The author examines the structure of judgmental tasks, the extent to which people can observe the outcomes of judgments, and how outcomes are coded and interpreted. (Author/RK)

Theoretical and empirical perspectives are introduced in this article to support applications of Piaget's theory to reading acquisition. Research literature linking initial reading acquisition and Piaget's formulation are reviewed with regard to operational thought and process analysis of reading achievement, perception, and comprehension.…

Presents arguments refuting the Chomskian case for nativism, and shows that a theory of language universals may be used in support of the empiricist view. (AM)

Recent revisions of cognitive dissonance theory no longer encompass some of the important examples, data, and hypotheses that were part of Festinger's (1957) original statement. These changes are so substantial as to prompt the observation that the evolved theory might be identified as a different theory. (Editor/RK)

The categories of models associated with the seven perspectives are designated as combinatorial models, sampling models, cybernetic models, game models, critical thinking models, ordinary language analysis models, and dynamic structural models. (DAG)

The author claims that there are two clearly defined stages regarding images and the way they are used: an "enactive" stage where a degree of identification with the image can be discerned and an "action free" stage. He warns against making assumptions about another person's imagery hence suppressing "equivalent mental…

Critiques Carver's presentation of his theory of reading comprehension and rauding (see article in same issue), interpreting the theory as a limited, serial, mathematical "model." (JM)

Argues that present work on the hidden curriculum is theoretically limited by a one-factor "theory of redundancy." Suggests a revised theory with (a) "Hot Curriculum"--which is largely based on the reward principle and (b) "Cold Curriculum"--based on the redundancy principle. (BR)

Maintains that Teyler and Fountain's presentation (1987) contains several limitations, namely, that the authors do not (1) distinguish between learning and memory, nor between storage and retrieval; (2) address the role of knowledge-based influences in memory and learning; or (3) employ concepts that can accommodate developmental phenomena in the…

The triarchic theory of intelligence (Sternberg et al.) includes three types of intellectual elements: metacomponents, performance components, and knowledge-acquisition components. Recent research on metacognition and giftedness and on availability and flexibility of cognitive style indicates that interaction among all these elements may provide a…

The brain's capability to apprehend complex information at multiple levels is ignored when teaching is limited to rote or "symbol-specific" learning. Educators should be concerned with increasing neurological networks or "maps" representing richness of content, instead of teaching isolated, segmented facts along well-worn…