Recent research studies and texts in composition demonstrate the growing belief that students' difficulties with the writing tasks assigned to them are inextricably linked with their difficulties in handling complex cognitive processes. Through appropriate writing activities, students can be provided with practice in the intellectual functions…

Piaget's egocentrism and Witkin's psychological differentiation are important constructs in theories of cognitive development. A comparison of these concepts could lead to an increased understanding of cognitive development in the older adult. In a test of Witkin's revised model of psychological differentiation, the Portable Rod and Frame Test…

This paper presents a model for examining the cognitive nature of artistic development in children. The model uses Witkin's differentiation theory as a basic construct with which to integrate theories of art criticism/aesthetics (particularly, E.B. Feldman's theory), developmental psychology (Jean Piaget), and linguistics. Witkin's Differentiation…

An experiment, which replicates an earlier study conducted in Sweden, was performed to study the effects of prior knowledge of relevant subject matter on reading comprehension and on memory. Fifty college students read one of two contrasting passages that presented two opposing points of view after they had recorded their beliefs about the subject…

In this study, six children were selected by age and were administered Piagetian tasks designed to measure their level of cognitive development against the hierarchical structuring of age/achievement posited by Jean Piaget. The task administrations are presented in detail with descriptions of the subject and the tasks, a verbatim report, and the…

A three-year combined sample of 103 master's level counseling students was administered five measures of cognitive complexity, selected on the bases of previous factor analytic research and their potential relevance to counseling research. The instruments were designed to measure the processing of social stimuli, and included the Interconcept…

This investigation addressed the following questions: (1) Can the ability to control variables be taught to high school biology students who, on a written test of logical operations, do not demonstrate formal reasoning; (2) Would students who are classified as early formal operational thinkers on the written test of logical operations be able to…

THE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN COMMUNITY TYPE AND THE ROLE OF THE PUBLIC SCHOOL TEACHER WERE INVESTIGATED. THE SAMPLE INCLUDED FOUR COMMUNITY TYPES, REPRESENTING DIFFERENT DEGREES OF URBANIZATION--RURAL, SMALL CITY, SUBURBAN, AND URBAN. INTERVIEW RESPONSES WERE OBTAINED FROM 98 TEACHERS, 261 PEOPLE-IN-GENERAL, AND 67 SCHOOL OFFICIALS WHO INDICATED…

CERTAIN SYSTEMS FOR CLASSIFYING COGNITIVE FUNCTIONS ARE REVIEWED AND COMPARED IN A DISCUSSION OF GENERALIZING PROCESSES USED FOR EVALUATING INSTRUCTIONAL OUTCOMES. THE AUTHOR STATES THAT THERE ARE TWO IMPORTANT GENERALIZATIONS TO BE MADE IN THE EVALUATION OF INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAMS--GENERALIZING THE PROGRAM RESULTS AND THE SKILLS OF THE…

AN EXPLORATION INTO DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE LEARNING OF VARIOUS AGE GROUPS WAS CONDUCTED TO OBTAIN DATA OF DEVELOPMENTAL PROCESSES FOR THE FORMATION OF LEARNING SET. THE OBJECT-QUALITY DISCRIMINATION LEARNING SET WAS STUDIED TO SEARCH FOR SYSTEMATIC RESPONSE PATTERNS, AND TO EXAMINE AGE DIFFERENCES. THE SAMPLES USED IN THIS STUDY WERE 53 NURSERY…

Averaged evoked potential (AEP) is an event-related brain response obtained by averaging the scalp electrical potentials elicited by repeated presentations of the same event. It has proven to be an accurate measure of the activity of the mature human brain when involved in a wide variety of psychological tasks. Distinct psychological processes…

The objective of this study was to identify those cognitive characteristics that best differentiate the Navy's Basic Electricity and Electronics (BE/E) Preparatory School graduates and failures. Subjects included 207 BE/E students--172 graduates and 35 failures. Before these trainees had commenced BE/E School, they were administered six tests of…

This study develops a self-report inventory of public speaking apprehension that establishes measures of content, construct, and predictive validity. An item pool was generated by students that were anxious about giving speeches, and the resulting instrument was then administered to the general student population and factor analyzed. Each factor…

Cognitive style mapping enables adult basic education (ABE) teachers to more readily identify a student's cognitive styles, or preferred way of acquiring information, as well as the specific areas where improvement is needed. The procedure prescribes techniques and resources for enhancing both academic skills and interpersonal relationships. The…