Social scientists have long agreed that satisficing behavior increases error and reduces the validity of survey data. There have been numerous reviews on detecting satisficing behavior, but preventing this behavior has received less attention. The current narrative review provides empirically supported guidance on preventing satisficing by…

Tess is a joyful eight-year old girl with epilepsy, frontal lobe dysfunction, and dyspraxia, as well as delays in language, fine motor, and gross motor skills. However, despite her disabilities, Tess happily embraces life. With assistance from a few support professionals, Tess currently functions successfully in a regular education second grade…

Ways in which games can be used as tools in observing, diagnosing, and providing educational therapy for learning dysfunctions are listed and described in a series of four related papers: (a) "Educational Therapy for Learning Dysfunctions"; (2) "Educational Therapy and Puzzles"; (3) "Educational Therapy and Reading Fluency"; and (4) "Spelling…

Suggests that to promote concentration, teachers must put active "thinking" ways of reading into the hands of students. (FL)

A study was conducted to examine the effect of factors related to the format, presentation style, and order in which ideas are presented on students' recall of chemistry material. Data were obtained from students who viewed three different multi-image presentations in a large lecture hall setting. Following the presentations, students were…

The article gives suggestions for parents on activities which will help their young children learn to focus their attention and also help develop skills such as sorting, matching, listening, and memorizing. (PHR)

The author offers teachers suggestions for dealing with hyperactive children in such areas as reducing distractibility, controlling impulsivity, and promoting interpersonal skills and adjustment. (SW)

Explores ways teachers can teach attentive listening and makes suggestions for developing listening skills used in natural ways in the classroom. (FL)

This research study evaluated the effects of memory demand on sustained attention, by varying the time interval between the presentations of stimuli in a cognitive vigilance task. Sixteen retarded and 16 nonretarded adult observers performed four 60-minute visual vigilance tasks in which single digits were presented sequentially and successively…

A kitchen timer, three-minute egg timer, and individual clocks made from paper plates were used to teach time management strategies to learning disabled elementary school students in a resource room. Their attention span increased, work habits improved, and there was less frustration for both teacher and students. (VW)

To determine whether Downs Syndrome (DS) persons' recall could be improved by procedures that minimized auditory and visual distractions during auditory memory tasks, 16 DS, 12 non-DS mentally retarded and 12 non-mentally retarded persons (mean ages 16, 16, and 5 years, matched for mental age) listened to, looked at, and tried to remember digit…

A modified operant design demonstrated the effectiveness of the feedback procedure. Significant changes were evidenced by all groups of subjects. Initial results and follow-up observations indicated that the attending behavior of the experimental subjects increased and was maintained, without the use of tangible reinforcers. (Author)

Twenty-three autistic children (age 4-19) and 23 mental age-matched controls completed a task of sustained attention. Results suggest that autistic children's difficulties in sustaining attention may be attributable to developmental delay and motivational contingencies of task rather than to a primary impairment in ability to sustain attention.…

Informal practitioner designed materials and activities, such as audiovisuals and word games, for training auditory attention and memory span in young language impaired children are described. (PHR)

This fact sheet summarizes information on children who have an attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADHD), are gifted, or are both ADHD and gifted. Fourteen diagnostic criteria for ADHD from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders III are listed. A comparison of behaviors associated with ADHD and with giftedness is…