Analysis of college students participating in a dream interpretation session found that compared to nonvolunteers, students who volunteered had more positive attitudes towards dreams, recalled dreams more frequently, were more open, were higher in absorption, and were more often female. Helpful aspects of dream interpretations included insights…

Cognitive and language measures were administered to 37 preschoolers with language delay to investigate the agreement of the profiles in determining eligibility for language intervention services. Results found a sizable variation in categorization outcomes for the various intelligence quotient/language quotient profiles. The validity of the…

Discusses improvements in assessment of children and adolescents with disabilities including new psychological testing standards, updated and renormed cognitive assessments, and vocational assessments with increased ecological validity. Cites progress made in technical qualities of assessment and utilization. (Authors/CM)

Described is a two-pronged approach to assessment of cognitive-communicative functions in head injury, incorporating elements of both restorative and compensatory models. The approach combines: (1) use of standardized cognitive measures, and (2) observational protocols for systematic evaluation of functioning on integrated, multicomponent tasks…

Comments on McShane and Plas' study relating Indian children's academic achievement gains to scores on psycholinguistic and intelligence tests. Questions the applicability of the instruments used, and points out problems related to multiple regression techniques, collinearity of predictor variables, and use of achievement gain scores. Contains 15…

Describes an empirical study that measured word-profile similarities between citing and cited publications in the chemical engineering field. Highlights include cognitive resemblance and bibliographic coupling; data collection techniques; analysis of word-profile similarity; bibliographic coupled publications; mapping of cognitive resemblance; and…

Investigated the factor structure of a battery of tasks hypothesized to measure the constructs of the planning, attention, and simultaneous-successive (PASS) process model of human cognition. Results suggest that the original PASS model provides an improper factor solution. Recommends further refinement of the PASS theory or tests. (RJM)

Examined quantitative evidence of an intellectual growth spurt during early adolescence by combining modern psychometric modeling, computerized testing with the Raven progressive matrices, and longitudinal socioeconomic and educational backgrounds. Found that gender difference was not significant. Notes the impact of this evidence on educational…

Expanded the curriculum of an assertiveness training program. Found that boys and girls benefited similarly in the cognitive acquisition of assertiveness information from this program. Discusses results in terms of the difference between having stored symbolic information regarding assertive responses and in recognizing appropriate contexts for…

Discusses the use of feedback from students and the analysis of students' error patterns to understand why students develop misconceptions in mathematics. Looks at learning vis-a-vis the abstract nature of mathematics and the students' cognitive development. (MDH)

Evidence indicates that subjective quality-of-life scales developed by N. M. Bradburn (1969) and by A. Campbell, P. Converse, and W. Rodgers (1976) can be as sensitive as physiological measures in distinguishing among medical treatment groups. These scales can complement more objective measures of patient status. (SLD)

Maintains that certain concepts in mathematics are difficult to learn because of problematic continuity from prior knowledge to new concepts. Focuses on the problems of conceptual change connected with the learning of calculus and the shift from rational to real numbers. Summarizes the results of a study involving secondary students. (MJP)

Reviews information retrieval (IR) studies since 1986 from the user's perspective. Identifies two main approaches that advocate user-centered design theory: (1) the cognitive approach; and (2) the holistic approach. Also explores other approaches--systems thinking/action research and usability techniques that may have potential for IR research and…

Links between students' achievement goal orientations and learning tactics were investigated using software (gStudy) that supports a variety of learning tactics and strategies. An achievement goal questionnaire was administered to 307 students enrolled in an introductory educational psychology course. Data tracing study tactics were logged for 80…

This article proposes and tests a formal cognitive model for the go/no-go discrimination task. In this task, the performer chooses whether to respond to stimuli and receives rewards for responding to certain stimuli and punishments for responding to others. Three cognitive models were evaluated on the basis of data from a longitudinal study…