The short-term reliability and long-term stability of visual habituation and dishabituation in infancy were assessed in a sample of 186 infants from four age groups (3-, 4-, 7- and 9-month-olds) seen for two within-age sessions, and in a sample of 69 infants seen longitudinally at 3, 4, 7, and 9 months of age. (Author/BN)

Comparison of 30 learning disabled (LD) children, ages 7 to 13, and controls on a computerized test of attentional skills indicated LD subjects committed more omission errors and responded at a slower rate but did not differ from the controls on commission errors, suggesting inefficient allocation of processing resources rather than attentional…

The study utilized a withdrawal (ABAB) design to analyze the effects of a self-recording procedure on attending to task behavior and academic productivity of two adolescents with multiple handicaps (mental retardation and schizophrenia). Results strongly suggest that this procedure may increase both attending to task behavior and academic…

Explored the nature of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised third factor, Freedom from Distractibility, by factor analyzing its relations with constructs underlying selected neuropsychological measures. Results indicated the abilities tapped by Factor 3 are more complex than its name suggests. (MCF)

Teacher-completed rating scale data were collected on boys and girls aged 6 to 18 years identified as EMR (educable mentally retarded, N=612) or nonhandicapped (NL) learners (N=1116). Significant differences between EMR and NL students were most notable on items related to self-esteem, disruptiveness, and attentional problems. Age and sex…

Five strategy rules are offered to help teachers capitalize on their verbal strategies to promote attention and maximize learning in their handicapped students. Rules include increasing pace of recitation or tutorial lessons, asking many drill questions, and maximizing student responses. (CL)

A qualitative study determined which factors in the museum exhibit environment or within the museum visitor may influence the visitor to attend an exhibit. Observations and interviews were conducted of 14 groups that visited a Chesapeake & Ohio steam locomotive at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. An inductive or grounded theory…

A pioneer in the field tries to close the communications gap between biofeedback and education by showing how the technology can help students stay alert, feel better and explore inner space. (Editor)

A taxonomy of visual attention influencing devices for mentally retarded children is presented. Five studies involving educable mentally retarded students (primary-middle school) are discussed which identified motion, verbal pointers, arrows, and spatial location as the most effective attention influencing devices. Results had implications for…

Durations of children's alpha bursts and alpha blocking were measured by EEG with eyes closed or open in the dark and with feedback visual stimulation. Alpha durations decreased across conditions. Older children had longer no-alpha durations and showed greater responsiveness to conditions. The alpha-blocking response changes during childhood.…

Research studies are briefly reviewed to examine the hypothesis that delinquent adolescents may process information in a different manner than nondelinquents. Studies suggest delinquents: (1) have less control over information they attend to; (2) expose themselves to more stimulation; (3) process more slowly; and (4) selectively attend to…

Repeated observations of a colored form results in slower reaction-time responses to the familiarized stimulus than to a comparable novel stimulus due to alertness decrement and encoding facilitation. This two-factor theory of repetition was found to hold for words as well as for colors. (Author/BW)