Tested predictions of dynamic field theory in study of 3-year-olds' location memory errors in task with homogeneous task space. Found that young children's spatial memory responses are affected by delay- and experience-dependent processes as well as the geometric structure of the task space. Both dynamic field theory and category adjustment models…

Native and nonnative speakers of English listened to a nonnative speaker's reading of well-formed sentences and those containing grammatical errors of three types. Identified errors were judged for gravity on a 5-point scale. In a second experiment, subjects identified error types and rated them for gravity and annoyance in an aural task; they…

Explored effects of naturally-occurring peer interactions and repeated suggestive interviews on preschoolers' event memories. Found that suggestive interviews, combined with peer exposure, led to children's claims of witnessing target activities comparable to those of children who actually witnessed these activities. Assent rates for misleading…

Investigated specific problem caused by traditional method of teaching students to administer Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised. Analysis of 180 protocols by 26 graduate students revealed average of 8.8 mistakes per protocol. When errors were corrected, 81 percent of Full Scale intelligence quotients were changed. Students' performance…

Findings indicated that as the proportion of nominators declines, sociometric classifications become less accurate. Of the groups usually compared in studies of children's social adjustment, the average and neglected groups appear least resistant, and the rejected group most resistant, to classification errors due to nominator attrition. (RH)

Several schemes use modular arithmetic to append a check digit to product identification numbers for error detection. Some schemes are discussed, including ones for money orders and library books. Then a foolproof method is presented. (MNS)

Looks at the relationship between error and creativity in the writing of ESL students. Shows how syntactic and lexical constraints combined with students' cultural and aesthetic preferences to produce remarkable poetic effects in their writing. (SR)

This study investigated the influence of peer support and leading or misleading questions on reports of a neutral event by 48 children (ages 5 to 10). Younger children made significantly more errors in response to directly misleading questions than to indirectly misleading questions. Peer support did not influence children's prompted recall…

Through simulation, the power of the U3 statistic was compared with the power of one of the simplest person-fit statistics, the sum of the number of Guttman errors. In most cases, a weighted version of the latter statistic performed as well as the U3 statistic. (SLD)

Reports results of a study that examined Library of Congress topical subject headings and subdivisions in a large bibliographic database. Creation of a new machine-readable authority file of topical subdivisions and enhancements to the existing subject authority file are recommended to assist in assignment and validation of subdivided headings.…

Two experiments are presented that investigate the processing of pronominal reference in American Sign Language. Experiment one indicated that pronoun activation was not immediate, and there was no strong evidence for the inhibition of nonreferents. Experiment two was designed to investigate whether the pronoun also activated a representation of…

Investigated most frequent types of examiner errors made by graduate students (n=26) in administering Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) and examined on which items these mistakes were most likely to occur. Findings identified deficiencies in traditional methods of teaching students how to administer the WISC-R. Students…

Discusses two intriguing ways of explaining error in student writing--the work of Michel Foucault and the work of Roland Barthes. Describes in-class activities and essay assignments that use these perspectives to help students to reach improved understanding of error in writing. (SR)

Investigated 3-year-olds' understanding of the appearance-reality distinction using verbal response and nonverbal response paradigms in 4 experiments. Found that about 30 percent of children were correct in verbal paradigm; over 90 percent of same children were correct in nonverbal paradigm. Participating in the verbal paradigm impeded children's…

Characteristics of spelling development and spelling error patterns were examined in 100 schoolchildren (ages 7 to 15) previously identified as dyslexic with specific phonological weaknesses. Comparison of subgroups indicated that better spellers are also better readers and that measures of phonemic segmenting and manipulation make independent…