Reviews the literature dealing with the loci and parameters of visual selective attention. It is maintained that input selection can be found at several points in the course of processing. Specifically, a case is made for very early perceptual selection, called perceptual tuning, which can be based on higher-order conceptual or structural stimulus…

Anticipation guides--work sheets that students complete before reading a book--can be invaluable tools for building prediction skills and helping students learn where to focus their attention. In this book, veteran teachers Joanne I. Hines and Pamela J. Vincent offer classroom-tested anticipation guides for a variety of trade books sure to engage…

The field of experiential education can be enhanced through the use of meditation. The vision statement of the Association for Experiential Education includes the aim of creating a just and compassionate world. This goal can be approached one person at a time by encouraging each individual in the field to become a just and compassionate person.…

Author outlines several ways to rouse the chronic classroom sleeper, including one derived from Rip Van Winkle. (PD)

An experiment tested the effects of Feedback, Control, Distance, and Relevance on Person's attraction to Other in various roles. Other results are also discussed. (DB)

When time for task completion was reduced, performance of 30 educable mentally retarded elementary students on a peg placement task did not degrade, although too much or too little available time increased the use of random placement. (Author/CL)

The Institute at Virginia has focused its efforts on learning disability (LD) children with attentional problems with emphasis on cognitive behavior modification techniques. Studies included investigations of metacognition, information processing, self-recording of task-related behavior, and strategy training. Adult-child interactions and…

A comparison of the effects of methylphenidate (Ritalin) and response cost in reducing the offtask behavior of two boys (7 and 8 years old) with attentional deficit disorders and hyperactivity revealed that response cost (with free time as the reinforcer) was superior to Ritalin in increasing ontask behavior and improving academic performance.…

The Goldman Lock Box provides two measures of self-regulation, planfulness and maintenance of goal-directed behavior. Lock Box performance of 25 children with down syndrome was compared with that of 43 typically developing children, matched for mental age. Children in both groups showed similar levels of competence, planfulness and…

The study of four autistic children, aged six-nine, found support for the hypothesis that persistent pronominal errors by autistic children can be explained by failure to observe pronouns in speech addressed to another person, an aspect of language development in normal children. (Author/DB)

Adolescents identified letters presented to them on the basis of color. Subjects (n=20) with mental retardation exhibited facilitation when the target was identical to the target on the preceding trial but did not exhibit inhibition when it had been a distractor on the preceding trial. Inefficient suppression processes may result in performance…

The introduction to this special issue on preschool issues in autism summarizes the other papers, which focus on general issues, development of attention and imitation during the preschool years, nonverbal communication of young children with autism, and instructional techniques. (DB)

Two experiments examined age differences in children's dual-task performance. Findings indicated that when capacity for single-task performance was controlled, age differences between second and fifth graders did not exist in performance of dual-tasks of equal priority. When tasks had different priorities, only fifth graders could differentially…

The training of coaches in developing their mental skills so that they can in turn train athletes to concentrate and improve performance is discussed.