Four experiments explored the interrelations between working memory, attention, and eye movements. Observers had to identify a tilted line amongst vertical distractors. Each line was surrounded by a colored shape that could be precued by a matching item held in memory. Relative to a neutral baseline, in which no shapes matched the memory item,…

High-span individuals (as measured by the operation span [OSPAN] technique) are less likely than low-span individuals to notice their own names in an unattended auditory stream (A. R. A. Conway, N. Cowan, & M. F. Bunting, 2001). The possibility that OSPAN accounts for individual differences in auditory distraction on an immediate recall test was…

This study extends previous research by examining whether maternal inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity are associated with different parenting behaviors. Ninety-six mother-son dyads participated in the study, and the boys ranged between 4 and 8 years of age. Maternal inattention was uniquely and positively associated with mothers' use of…

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 effects of musical stimulation on activity and academic performance were studied in 36 retarded children (ages 11-19 years). (Author/DLS)

The study of the ability of 16 early treated phenylketonuric (PKU) patients (ages 6-23 years) to solve complex spatial problems suggested that choice of problem-solving strategy, attention span, and accuracy of mental representation may be affected in PKU patients, despite efforts to maintain well-controlled phenylalanine concentrations in the…

Two experiments investigate children's knowledge about attentional capacity limits. Preschool children aged three and four years are asked to choose whether they will listen to pairs of stories simultaneously or one at a time. Results demonstrate a preference for listening to one at a time. (Author/RWB)

Hyperactive and normal elementary students (N=27) were administered story conditions that differed in presentation rate and information relevance and repetition to determine whether listening problems of hyperactive children could be attributed to delays that encourage impulsive responding. Findings suggested that rate of information presentation…

Examined the differential validity of teacher ratings of Inattention/Overactivity and Aggression among 48 clinic-referred boys. These ratings were correlated with observations undertaken in three different classroom settings. Results indicated that the teachers were able to differentiate significantly between these externalizing behaviors in the…

Regardless of birthweight, ventilated infants received the lowest ratings for overall performance on the Infant Behavior Record. Ventilated newborns of very low birthweight were more likely to receive ratings characterizing an overly active infant with a short attention span, and never-ventilated infants of very low birthweight were most likely to…

Kindergarten children were pretested on attention and conservation tasks. Natural conservers performed better than nonconservers on attention tasks during the pretest. Training in attention led experimental groups to perform better than a control group on both attention and conservation tasks. Younger children seemed to benefit from attention…

Individual differences in pattern of habituation in fixation time and cardiac change to visual and auditory stimuli are described. Subjects were 94 5- and 10-month-old infants. (Author/MP)

The magnitude of the dichotic right-ear advantage was assessed in 48 normal and 48 learning-disabled children representing an age range of approximately five years. (MP)

The vigilance of young adults with and without mild mental retardation (MR) was compared, with subjects performing two memory demanding, cognitively based tests. The vigilance decrement of MR adults declined more rapidly than did the vigilance of non-MR adults, due to an interaction between target detectability and response bias, and poor target…

Examined the learning of a manipulative response by well and at-risk infants of 6 to 13 months of age who had experienced respiratory interventions in the perinatal period. Risk status reliably predicted the learning performance. Results confirmed that the effects of perinatal interventions involving respiratory complications influenced infants'…