Previous research in social cognition has established that "top of the head" processing is a robust inferential bias, even in engrossing task situations. Three experiments were conducted to examine the generalizability of perceptual salience effects. In each experiment, salience was manipulated by varying the visual prominence of…

Social theories (beliefs about relationships between variables in the social environment) are often used in making judgments, predictions, or decisions. Three experiments on the role of explanation processes in the development and use of social theories were conducted. The first experiment assessed the effects of explaining a hypothetical…

What then is the principle of selection operative in the mind of the historian as he sifts among the documents and records, choosing this source of evidence as vital to this study, and that record as irrelevant? Article considered the dramatically diverse ways that the practicing historian defined the "hard" evidence for historical thought.…

Four experiments conceived with children's responses to, and judgements of ambiguous verbal messages were presented, demonstrating that 5-to-9 year olds were more likely to respond differently to ambiguous and unambiguous messages if they were prevented from pointing at potential referents. (Author/DST)

A sample of 324 practicing school psychologists received a fictitious case study to which was attached a photograph of an attractive boy, an attractive girl, an unattractive boy, or an unattractive girl. Results indicated that a pupil's attractiveness had a significant effect on the judgments of school psychologists. (Author/HLM)

Previous research has found that sympathetic arousal will cue information stored in memory with a similar level of arousal. To investigate the effect of arousal on the interpretation of other people's emotions, three studies were conducted. In the first study, 37 adult tennis players, who were either about to play tennis or who had just played,…

A study explored the responses of medical students, resident physicians, and experienced physicians to 12 vignettes describing hypothetical patients to determine the relationship between clinical experience and susceptibility to bias in treatment decisions resulting from presentation of possible outcomes. Framing bias was most evident in the…

Judgment is the process of making decisions with incomplete information concerning either the outcomes or the decision factors. Sound judgment that leads to good decisions is an essential skill needed by adventure education and outdoor leadership professionals. Cognitive psychology provides several theories and insights concerning the accuracy of…

Provides a class activity that includes strategies for teachers and library media specialists to help students learn how to evaluate information. Includes the need to focus on specific information that is needed; developing research questions; the information gathering process; questioning; mind maps to help see relationships; and checking for…

Initial credibility, use and non-use of evidence, and language intensity manipulate belief formation and change. Evidence supports the hypothesis that if a group of subject is exposed to a communicator who carries impressive credentials, uses specific data, and phrases a message in intense, fear-producing terms, the subjects will respond with…

Evaluation is an act of persuasion directed to a specific audience concerning the solution of a problem. The process of evaluation is prescribed by the nature of knowledge--which is generally complex, always uncertain (in varying degrees), and not always propositional--and by the nature of logic, which is always selective. In the process of…

Urges social studies teachers to help students understand and identify sociocentric, national bias in the news media. Illustrates how the media fosters "us versus them" thinking and how word choice often reflects bias. Outlines activities to help students recognize bias. Provides weak and strong examples of students' analyses of bias in news…

Outlines an inservice-teacher workshop, used in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, intended for high school teachers who focus on the modern Middle East. Defines the critical thinking process it recommends: questioning assumptions, gathering information, and evaluating material. Describes small-group sessions that evaluate textbooks and news…