Responding to a survey requires cognitive abilities similar to those for any other linguistic task. We argue that, when faced with a cognitively challenging task, individuals respond by simplifying the task, declining it, or performing it poorly. Using the 2003 Program for International Student Assessment (PISA 2003) data sets, we document that…

The theoretical and practical implications of examining young children's acquisitions of phonological awareness skills with specific and differentiated processing tasks are explored in this study. The study presents data from 269 kindergarten children completing a phonological awareness protocol that provided information on 14 discrete…

This paper aims to find out two outcomes of feedback in the novice writers' graphic organizers, which are the novice writers' ability to align their ideas to their writing goal, and their perceived germane, metacognitive, extraneous and intrinsic cognitive loads when generating and revising ideas based on the feedback. Data was gathered from the…

This large mixed methods study investigated the effects of the introductory second language acquisition (SLA) course on the beliefs of pre-service teachers (n = 381) enrolled over a three-year period at a state university in California. Pre- to post-course paired sample t-tests that were run on 23 beliefs statements from a widely used survey…

This study examines children's flow experiences in an interactive social game environment. A total of 33 children aged from 7 to 9 years participated in the study for 6 weeks. Data were collected through observations and interviews. In order to measure the flow experiences of the children, items of a flow scale were administered to the children…

At the conclusion of their study on home pregnancy test kits, Valinas and Perlman (1982) suggested that the instructions accompanying the kits be revised to make them easier to read. A study was undertaken to determine the readability of the printed instructions accompanying five home pregnancy test kits (Daisy II, Answer, Acu-Test, Predictor, and…

In this study, the number of alternatives for an extended arm swing was varied in order to test two memory drum predictions regarding movement refractoriness. (JS)

This study investigated the relationship between task difficulty and ability level as a factor in producing imitative behavior in infants. A total of 28 toddlers, ranging in age from 14 to 28 months, participated in the study. (Author/JMB)

This paper compares two methods of estimating component difficulties for dichotomous test data. Simulated data are used to study the effects of sample size, collinearity, a measurement disturbance, and multidimensionality on the estimation of component difficulties. (RB)

This study was made to determine the effects of stride length variations on ratings of perceived exertion in experienced recreational runners. Results are presented. (Author/MT)

Easy and difficult tasks were presented to three year olds and their responses of shame and pride were observed. Subjects showed more shame when they failed easy tasks than difficult tasks, and more pride when they succeeded on difficult tasks than easy tasks. Girls showed more shame than boys. (BC)

Have you ever sat through an observation and wondered what in the world you could do to improve the instruction taking place? I have. Sometimes it's because the teacher is so polished that I have difficulty identifying any shortcomings. But sometimes it's because there are so many things wrong with the lesson that I have no idea where I should…

In manual assembly work, parts are often assembled by applying force with a simple tool or by hand. A worker thus needs control the force he or she applies in working, as an appropriate level of force is requisite for minimizing work failures and improving efficiency. The object of this study is to clarify the relationship between the level of…