Two experiments, a shadowing task and a mispronunciation-detection task, were performed to investigate the interactions between the data-driven primary speech perception process and the knowledge-driven word recognition process in the comprehension of continuous speech. Results are applied to an active direct access model of word recognition.…

Ten experiments examined the effect on the performance of 265 nursery schoolers through first graders using collection versus class terms to describe sets of familiar objects. No facilitative effect of collection terms occurred on number tasks; in a class-inclusion task, performance was better with collection than class terms. (SLD)

Adults read stories; then made plausibility judgments about statements with respect to the stories. The inherent plausibility of the queried statements, the amount of attention subjects focused on information necessary for making a judgment, and the interval between presentation of the relevant information and the test probe were varied.…

Four experiments demonstrated that mental images are functionally equivalent to physical errors of movement in producing changes in visual-motor coordination, at both central and peripheral levels of the visual-motor system. Subjects observed or imagined pointing errors after pointing movements were completed. Imagery vividness ratings were also…

Studied whether the language spoken affects the way subjects think about time in 3 experiments involving: (1) 26 English-speaking and 20 native Mandarin-speaking college students; (2) 25 bilingual students; and (3) 70 native English speakers. Results suggest that language is a powerful tool for shaping thought about abstract domains and habitual…

We investigated the role of executive and spatial representational processes in impaired performance of block construction tasks by children with Williams syndrome (WS), a rare genetic defect that results in severely impaired spatial cognition. In Experiment 1, we examined performance in two kinds of block construction tasks, Simple Puzzles, in…

An analysis of the quantitative processes underlying conservation of quantity is presented. Models of three quantitative operators--subitizing, counting, and estimation--are derived from adult performance in quantification tasks, and some features of the operators are described. The emergence of conservation is described in terms of the…

Distortions in judgments of relative geographical relations were observed, particularly when the locations were in different geographical or political units. Subjects distorted the judged relation to conform with the relation of the superordinate political unit. A model for the hierachical storage of spatial information is presented. (Author/RD)

Four experiments are presented to support the theory that the rule system governing the law of large numbers is not tied to a content domain, and that it can be improved by formal teaching techniques. The experiments showed that statistical training enhanced everyday reasoning. Test problems and objective example problems are appended. (LMO)

Based on data from four experiments reported here, schema theoretic interpretations of recognition memory measures are inconsistent with an interpretation jointly derived from the theory of signal detection and Mandler's subjective familiarity theory of recognition memory. (Author/BW)

Four studies tested the hypothesis that collection structures are easier than classes in numerical reasoning tasks. With perceptual input constant, the collection labels in contrast to the class labels promoted children's insight into certain numerical principles and facilitated the use of these principles in a variety of numerical tasks.…

Attaining the insight needed to solve the Mutilated Checkerboard problem, which requires discovery of an effective problem representation (EPR), is described. Performance on insight problems can be predicted from the availability of generators and constraints in the search for an EPR. Data for 23 undergraduates were analyzed. (TJH)

A theory of the updating of beliefs over time is presented that explicitly accounts for order-effect phenomena as arising from the interaction of information-processing strategies and task characteristics. The belief-adjustment model is supported by 5 experiments involving 192 adult subjects. (SLD)

Imaginal perspective switches are often considered to be difficult, because they call for additional cognitive transformations of object coordinates (transformation hypothesis). Recent research suggests that problems can also result from conflicts between incompatible sensorimotor and cognitive object location codes during response specification…

A system of precategorized acoustic storage has accounted for the recency effect obtained in the immediate serial recall of sequences of digits, consonants, or syllables. Four experiments in recall of word sequences investigated fit to this model. A system of postcategorical lexical storage was concluded to explain the results. (Author/RD)