This study investigated conditions leading to contextual control by stimulus topography over transfer of functions. Three 4-member stimulus equivalence classes, each consisting of four (A, B, C, D) topographically distinct visual stimuli, were established for 5 college students. Across classes, designated A stimuli were open-ended linear figures,…

In three experiments, match-to-sample procedures were used with undergraduates to establish arbitrary relational functions for three abstract visual stimuli. In the presence of samples A, B, and C, participants were trained to select the smallest, middle, and largest member, respectively, of a series of three-comparison arrays. In Experiment 1,…

We investigated how lateralized lexical decision is affected by the presence of distractors in the visual hemifield contralateral to the target. The study had three goals: first, to determine how the presence of a distractor (either a word or a pseudoword) affects visual field differences in the processing of the target; second, to identify the…

When two visual targets, Target 1 (T1) and Target 2 (T2), are presented among a rapid sequence of distractors, processing of T1 produces an attentional blink. Typically, processing of T2 is markedly impaired, except when T1 and T2 are adjacent (Lag 1 sparing). However, if a shift of task set--a change in task requirements from T1 to T2--occurs,…

We examined the effects of presentation modality and learning style preference on people's ability to learn and remember unfamiliar melodies and sentences. In Experiment 1, we gauged musicians' and nonmusicians' learning efficiency for meaningful and less meaningful melodies as well as sentences when presented visually or auditorily. In Experiment…

Teachers can spark interest in a science topic by using "science tickets"--special objects offered to children as a way to transition to the science room or into a small group to do a science activity. Objects ranging from ordinary (shells, leaves, or sticks) to unusual (photos, crystals, or plastic worms) appeal to young children's curiosity and…

Many children with autism have severe difficulty in "reporting" on events at schools to mothers at home despite their ability to tact some objects and actions in discrete trial setting. Many studies have attempted to establish tact as labeling in children with autism. Few studies, however, have attempted to establish tact as a functional…

The contribution of motion and feature invariant information in infants' discrimination of maternal versus female stranger faces was assessed. Using an infant controlled habituation--dishabituation procedure, 4- and 8-month-old infants (N = 62) were tested for their ability to discriminate between their mother and a female stranger in 4 different…

Reminder cues can impact remembering in infancy in multiple ways. Infants typically show highly specific remembering following a reminder, or reactivation procedure, but in some instances, (such as size perception) have demonstrated an ability to remember when given a cue or prime that differs in certain specific characteristics, relative to the…

In 4 chronometric experiments, influences of spoken word planning on speech recognition were examined. Participants were shown pictures while hearing a tone or a spoken word presented shortly after picture onset. When a spoken word was presented, participants indicated whether it contained a prespecified phoneme. When the tone was presented, they…

Eye-tracking and gating experiments examined reference comprehension with fluent (Click on the red. . .) and disfluent (Click on [pause] thee uh red . . .) instructions while listeners viewed displays with 2 familiar (e.g., ice cream cones) and 2 unfamiliar objects (e.g., squiggly shapes). Disfluent instructions made unfamiliar objects more…

We hypothesized that the right hemisphere would be superior to the left hemisphere in remembering having seen a specific picture before, given its superiority in perceptually encoding specific aspects of visual form. A large set of pictures (N=1500) of animals, human faces, artifacts, landscapes, and art paintings were shown for 2 s in central…

The present study investigated the effects of a constant time delay (CTD) strategy within a TEACCH approach and the views of the classroom teacher surrounding the teaching process. Three male students with autism participated in the study. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used to collect and analyze data. Although experimental…

Using animated computer-generated graphics to assist instruction has recently attracted the attention of educators and educational researchers. The specific focus of this study is to compare the influence of animated visuals with static visuals on college students' understanding of organic reaction mechanisms in chemistry. This study also focuses…

Nine studies showed a bidirectional link (a) between a global processing style and generation of similarities and (b) between a local processing style and generation of dissimilarities. In Experiments 1-4, participants were primed with global versus local perception styles and then asked to work on an allegedly unrelated generation task. Across…