Investigated developmental trends associated with the Deese/Roediger-McDermott false-memory effect, the role of distinctive information, and subjective experience of true/false memories. Found that 5-year-olds recalled more false memories than adults but no age differences in recognition of critical lures. Distinctive information reduced false…

Tested the prediction that performance goals only entail poor achievement outcomes in individuals with a low self-concept of ability. In 3 experiments (n=55 university students; n=51 university students; n=33 university students) participants with performance goals showed impaired performance only when their self-perceived ability was low. (SLD)

Tested the hypothesis that the worst performance rule (worst performance predicts "g" better than best performance) would hold for younger and lower-IQ children, but perhaps not for older and higher-IQ children. Data from 81 non-gifted and 85 gifted students in grades 2 through 4 show that only younger non-gifted children showed evidence of the…

The visual imagery ability of 40 adolescents with mental retardation due to organic reasons (n=20) and sociocultural reasons (n=20) was compared with the ability of 36 nondisabled children. Results found that adolescents with mental retardation had poorer visual imagery than nondisabled children with the same mental age. (CR)

Older adults (n=27) concerned about declining cognitive functioning performed cognitive tasks, completed questionnaires, and were given measures of anxiety and physiological change. Negative correlations appeared between level of cortisol, a stress-related hormone, and self-efficacy on measures of fluid intelligence. Epstein-Barr virus levels were…

Investigated the relative effects of developmental level and domain-specific knowledge on 4- to 9-year-olds' ability to identify and make similarity decisions about objects based on haptic or tactile information. Found that older children explored models more exhaustively, found more differentiating features, and made fewer errors than younger…

Three experiments tested 3- and 4-year-olds' use of abstract principles to classify and label objects by shape or function. Findings indicated that 4-year-olds readily adopted either rule when instructed to match objects by shape or function, but 3-year-olds followed only the shape rule. Without a rule, 4-year-olds tended to match by shape unless…

Investigated whether source-monitoring training would decrease 3- to 4-year-olds' suggestibility. After observing live or video target-events, children received source-monitoring or recognition (control) training. Found that children given source-monitoring training were more accurate than control group children in response to misleading and…

Five experiments examined whether young children believe a lie tellers' implausible statement about a misdeed when the statement violates their developing knowledge of the reality- fantasy distinction. Findings suggested that 5- and 6-year-olds tended to report that the individual making the implausible statement actually committed the misdeed; 3-…

Investigated the relationship between auditory temporal processing of nonspeech sounds and phonological awareness ability in 8- to 12-year-olds with a reading disability, placed in groups based on performance on Tallal's tone-order judgment task. Found that a tone-order deficit did not relate to performance on order processing of speech sounds, to…

Explored the contributions of subject matter knowledge, strategic processing, and interest to college students' educational psychology learning. In general, results for 77 undergraduates uphold the predictions of the model of domain learning (P. Alexander, 1997). Students' subject-matter knowledge, strategic processing, interest, and interactive…

Systematically varied the day-night task requiring children to say "night" to a sun picture and "day" to a moon picture to investigate why young children typically fail the task. Found that reducing memory load did not help performance. Reducing inhibitory demand by requiring an unrelated response or inserting a delay between…

Forty-six fifth-and-sixth-grade students with hearing impairments participated in either a 14-period rhythmicity treatment program or a control program. Evaluation concluded that rhythm perception/production could be reliably measured and that the quality of rhythmic tapping performance was a function of the modality of stimulus presentation.…

Critiques Kohn's article (in the same "Educational Leadership" issue) arguing against the use of cooperative rewards. Without group rewards based on the learning of all group members, cooperative learning can degenerate into answer-sharing. The idea that such rewards (usually paper certificates) can be dispensed with is wishful thinking. Includes…

Responding to Slavin's critique of Kohn's article (in the same "Educational Leadership" issue) condemning cooperative rewards, Kohn slams Slavin's faulty research interpretations. Slavin may be correct that few non-reward-based classrooms exist in the U.S., but this hardly demonstrates that the best alternative to bribing individuals is to bribe…