This study investigated the cognitive and behavioral functions associated with iron deficiency anemia in infants and toddlers and the short-term effects of therapy on such behaviors. Subjects were 24 iron deficient and anemic infants, 9 to 26 months old. The subjects were randomly assigned to a treatment or control group. The Bayley Scales of…

Examined were the relative effects of a number of variables, but particularly sex and field-dependence, on performance of secondary school students on Piagetian measures of formal thought. It was hypothesized that males will receive significantly higher mean scores than females on all measures; that field-independent subjects will receive…

This issue provides analytical abstracts, prepared by science educators, of research reports. Two clusters of research are investigated. The first cluster, Piagetian Studies, contains seven studies which reflect a current trend in science education. The second cluster, Inservice Education, contains two studies which examine the outcomes of…

Five elementary school groups, or cohorts, were given the Test Anxiety Scale for Children and the Lie Scale for Children on three occasions over a year's time. This paper examines the results cross-sectionally and reveals between-group, or cohort effects. The youngest and oldest cohorts displayed low anxiety. Within-group longitudinal changes did…

The paper discusses the prevalence of malnutrition in developing countries and the United States, particularly as it relates to debilitating physical and psychological disorders. Educational, social, and political factors which influence the cycle of malnutrition are described. Research on the relationship between malnutrition and intellectual…

This study investigated the question of whether young children can form response chains in problem solving. After reviewing the literature relating to chaining as a component of problem solving, the author argues that a test of chaining should be free of requirements to recall previously learned material, remember general information, or apply…

This document cautions against high expectations on the part of educators for rapid cognitive growth during middle school years--and urges a rethinking of curricular structure for those years--based upon neurological data concerning brain growth patterns. Empirical research (case studies, autopsy studies, cadaver research) conducted by Epstein has…

Presented is a theory of learning handicaps based on psychoeducational and developmental considerations. Identified are five of the author's biases about remediation such as the tendency for teachers to continue remediation beyond the point of usefulness. Proposed is the existence of five task requirements such as attending to the task, attaching…

This theoretical paper discusses (1) the meaning of the concept of structure, how the concept of structure is used by psychologists, and how the concept can be defined, and (2) the role of the concept "structure" in cognitive development with specific reference to Piaget's vision of intellectual development. The meanings of the term…

This paper questions evidence for the thesis that causal reasoning of older children is more logical than that of younger ones, and describes two experiments which attempted to determine (1) whether there are true developmental differences in causal reasoning, and (2) what explanations for developmental differences can be supported. In the first…

This paper presents an integrative perspective on infant development (based on a consideration of developmental data) which focuses on the function of the smile. From the earliest spontaneous smiles of the newborn period to mature smiling and laughter, a central role was revealed for an excitation (tension)-relaxation process in producing smiles.…

The purpose of this study was to isolate factors responsible for the discrepant results reported in the advanced organizer literature, and to identify processes children employ when attempting to recall connected verbal materials. The subjects were 64 middle-class children randomly selected from a local school system. An equal number of male and…

A reanalysis of B. Inhelder's (1968) data concerning cognitive development among retardates was performed by selecting from the original 159 subjects a sample of 104 educable mentally retarded Ss (7-19 years old) who were diagnosed as fixated or nonfixated at three of the cognitive stages postulated by Jean Piaget. The results indicated that among…

Eighty four-year-old and 80 seven-year-old subjects were given a standard paired-associate learning (PAL) task and a battery of ability tasks (Labeling, Recognition, Labeling Time, Digit Span, Visual Memory, Spatial Relations, Vocabulary, and the Follow the Instructions test) to investigate the development of individual differences in visual…

This fourth issue of INVESTIGATIONS IN SCIENCE EDUCATION (ISE), designed to provide a new perspective for viewing research articles and to aid in the improvement of writing research reports, includes abstracts prepared by science educators, bibliographical data, the research design and procedure used by the investigators including data, purpose,…