Examines representatives of the story cycle genre--Louise Erdrich's "Love Medicine" and Gloria Naylor's "The Women of Brewster Place." Examines a revisionary episode from each text to situate story cycles in a frame that embraces both Western and non-Western traditions. Suggests that scholars, teachers, and students see and…

Three standardized measures of short-term memory (STM) were compared to determine their relative efficacy in predicting reading achievement for 36 primary-grade students over a two-year period. A letter sequences test was found to be the most frequently associated with reading performance. A memory-for-sentences task also showed a significant…

First graders at risk for handwriting problems (n=144) were assigned to 1 of 6 treatment conditions, including handwriting instruction and phonological awareness training. Converging evidence across multiple measures shows that combining numbered arrows and memory retrieval was the most effective treatment for improving both handwriting and…

Two studies involving approximately 200 children aged 4 to 12 years show the expected increases in the level of cognitive competencies but show that these increases are not universal. Large inter- and intraindividual differences are found for various types of memory tasks as well as for different domains of scholastic achievement. (SLD)

Three experiments manipulated 3-month-olds' attention to different components of a training display and assessed the effect on retention. Results suggested that increasing or decreasing attention to an item during encoding produces a corresponding increase or decrease in memorability. Findings were consistent with a levels-of-processing account…

Describes how a cluster of several of six clinical findings is a potential indicator of sexual abuse. These include high-risk disorders or illnesses; post-traumatic stress disorder; flashbacks or other re-experiencing of the trauma; repetitions or re-enactments; characteristics of the memories; and other patterns and connections. (RJM)

As a projective technique, early recollections help counselors understand the uniqueness and potential of individuals through an empathic interaction in counseling. A case presentation illustrates the use of early recollections in counseling. (Contains 35 references and an appendix.) (Author)

Two experiments investigated effect of video reminders on 3-year-olds' performance in representational change task. Children in video support condition viewed videotapes of their initial incorrect statements prior to reporting their initial belief; control children viewed an irrelevant tape. Found that children in support condition typically…

Investigates whether gender stereotypes of boys outperforming girls in physics and girls outperforming boys in biology are still present. Considers the performance on individual question parts of an examination for 16-years-olds in the United Kingdom. Also considers the memory processes involved and related to gender differences in science…

Presents an argument for the possibility of faulty memory in perpetrators of childhood sexual abuse as an additional component in a comprehensive understanding of the relationship between sexual trauma and memory loss. Discusses motivations perpetrators may have for repressing memories, the most prominent being their own sexual abuse as children.…

Studied how the recall required of students in science and social studies units might shape the development of their memory. Findings for five middle school students show that students' recall exhibited genre-like patterning that could be related to ways the teacher structured and guided students' involvement in recall activities. (SLD)

Examines metamemory for categorized lists of items among college students. Judgments of learning (JOLs) were obtained either immediately after study or following a brief delay. Results indicate that delayed JOLs were more accurate than immediate JOLs only when knowledge based cues were used. Indicates that the phrasing of metamemory cues can have…

Finds that: sentence reading times were facilitated during rereading to the extent that the information had been encoded from the initial reading; participants incorporated new information into their text representations; rereading improved the memory for causally important information; and the correlation between recall and importance was greater…

Presents a response to "Gender Politics: The Focus on Women in the Memory Debates" (this issue). Encourages an activist orientation and response to the memory controversy on the part of professionals, especially those who specialize in working with abuse and trauma. Also encourages professionals to consider legitimate critiques, and to…

Tests the hypothesis that the use of the written mode increases the working memory load. Finds that participants recalled more words in the oral condition than in either the written mode or the "oral and categorization" conditions and that second graders performed better in the oral mode than in the "oral and drawing" condition. (SC)