Attempts are made to improve the previously used procedure for multidimensional scaling in the measure of conceptual level. Monte Carlo simulation runs and a laboratory experiment highlight potential incongruities related to the degree of error in the input data required by that process. Methodological recommendations are briefly evaluated.…

Cross-validated the factor analysis of the McCarthy Scales and determined construct validity for children who score one standard deviation below the normative mean on general cognitive ability. Findings discourage interpretation of the Quantitative Scale for school-age children with General Cognitive Indexes below 84. (Author)

Study replicates and extends the results obtained by Attig and Hasher (1980) in finding null effects for adult age variation and instructional variation on a relative frequency judgment task. Finds nonsignificant covariation for both young and elderly adults between judgment proficiency and paired-associate learning proficiency. (Author)

The essentials of learned helplessness theory are described and supporting evidence surveyed. The explanation Seligman and Maier give for these findings is critically analyzed. A schedule-shift discrimination theory of learned helplessness effects is also discussed. (Author)

This article analyzed the work currently under way with regard to cognitive mapping of vocational students in Oregon community colleges. The primary focus of the study was to determine if the cognitive mapping efforts of selected Oregon community colleges were contributing to student success in vocational classes. (Author)

The cognitive profile is a basic determinant of a student's level of academic achievement and can identify learning defects contributing to low achievement. (Author/JD)

Describes a study designed to determine the effect of participation in a simulation game (SIMSOC: Simulated Society) on two types of cognitive knowledge: test performance and concept recognition ability. (Author/LLS)

A corrective interactive network between behavioral scientists and educators is developing in the research community. Examples of research generated by this network and projections for research in the 1980s are presented in this article. (RLV)

Research supports the reliability and validity of the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities (MSCA); but its concurrent validity with conventional intelligence tests suggests that the McCarthy General Cognitive Index and Intelligence Quotient are not comparable. The MCSA eliminates certain weaknesses found in similar tests: the Stanford-Binet and…

The advantages of interim tests in an undergraduate psychology course for diagnostic purposes are described. A discussion of assigning relative weight to interim test performance as compared with final examination performance is presented. (Author/DB)

The results of this study provide evidence that schools reduce the variance of learned cognitive skills among children. (MM)

Administered the Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II) to 160, first-year college students so as to ascertain its convergent and discriminant validities with respect to other psychological instruments. Results indicate that the internal consistency of the BDI-II is high with college students and it displays convergent validity with other…

Replies to a report on three toddlers who evidenced a late vocabulary spurt. The article argues that differences in assessing productive vocabulary and the questionable inference that size of the lexicon is a reliable indicator of the vocabulary spurt make it inappropriate to compare these children to previous studies directly measuring change in…

Provides psychometric data on two tools used to identify pleasant activities for Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. Results indicate that both tools had good reliability. Depression and decreased cognitive functioning were associated with reduced frequency of enjoyable activity; the reduction was greater in depressed AD patients when compared with…

Scores on the Cognitive Laterality Battery for 57 boys, aged 9-11, indicated that both urban and rural-remote Alaska Native boys had significantly higher visuospatial abilities than verbal-sequential abilities, but the reverse was true for urban Alaskan White boys. Contains 34 references. (SV)