THIS STUDY WAS THE SECOND PART OF AN INVESTIGATION OF VERBAL LEARNING IN CHILDREN, THE FIRST PART BEING CONCERNED WITH THE EFFECTS OF AUDITORY, VISUAL, AND COMBINED AUDIOVISUAL PRESENTATIONS UPON THE LEARNING OF VARIOUS KINDS OF MATERIALS IN A PAIRED-ASSOCIATE PARADIGM. THIS PORTION OF THE STUDY INVOLVED AN EXTENSIVE INVESTIGATION OF THE PARAMETERS OF THE EARLIER FINDINGS. THE PURPOSE OF THIS PORTION OF THE STUDY WAS TO EXPLORE THE VARIABLES THAT DETERMINE THE SELECTION OF A SINGLE MODALITY FROM A BIMODAL PRESENTATION. AS A RESULT, THE DIMENSIONS OF MEANINGFULNESS, THE RELATIONSHIP OF MEANINGFULNESS TO THE STUDENT'S CHOICE OF THE AUDIO OR THE VISUAL MODE OF PRESENTATION, AND THE EFFECTS OF THE FINDINGS ON THE EDUCATION AND TRAINING OF NORMAL AND HARD-OF-HEARING CHILDREN WERE INVESTIGATED UNDER CONDITIONS OF A RECALL, PAIRED-ASSOCIATE PARADIGM AND THROUGH ESTIMATIONS OF ASSOCIATION VALUES FOR A LARGE PORTION OF THE MATERIALS USED IN PAIRED-ASSOCIATE TASKS. THE AUTHOR CONCLUDED THAT THE CONCEPT OF MEANINGFULNESS IS MORE COMPLEX THAN HAD BEEN ASSUMED AND THAT SUCH PARAMETERS AS "THE ABILITY TO PRONOUNCE" AND "DISCRIMINABILITY" AFFECT LEARNING IN CHILDREN IN THE SAME MANNER AS THEY DO IN ADULTS. MOREOVER, MEANINGFULNESS IS NOT TO BE VIEWED IN AN ABSOLUTE FASHION BUT IS ALWAYS RELATIVE TO THE CONTEXT IN WHICH THE MATERIAL TO BE LEARNED IS PLACED. TO THE EXTENT THAT THE SAME MATERIALS PRODUCED DIFFERENT LEVELS OF PERFORMANCE IN DIFFERENT SITUATIONS, MEANING CAN BE SAID TO BE RELATIVE. THE FIRST PART OF THIS PROJECT IS ED 001 264. (GD)