Object-location memory is the only spatial task where female subjects have been shown to outperform males. This result is not consistent across all studies, and may be due to the combination of the multi-component structure of object location memory with the conditions under which different studies were done. Possible gender differences in object…

Do child molesters hold distorted beliefs (or cognitive distortions) that support their sexual offending? To test this hypothesis, we asked 28 child molesters and 20 inmate controls to read a description of child molestation. Within this vignette, we planted 10 ambiguous descriptions. If child molesters' information processing were driven by…

The hypothesis that memory support (MS) reduces state anxiety (A-State) and errors in a computer assisted learning task was investigated. It was predicted that high A-State students given MS would make fewer errors than high A-State students given no memory support (NMS). Low A-State students were expected to perform equally as well with or…

A study examined the effects of sex, handedness, and instructions in the processing of verbal and spatial information presented tachistoscopically. Subjects, 48 volunteers from Illinois Benedictine College, were evenly distributed in terms of sex and handedness, and were further divided into two subgroups based on whether visual field attendance…

Results indicated recall and category clustering were highest following a manipulation to produce semantic encoding of items and lowest when children focused on items' physical features. Reading disabled boys failed to organize or study as effectively as normals. The reading disabled had difficulty in spontaneously generating effective study…

This study investigated the interaction between cognitive lateral functions and pictorial recognition memory for pictures presented in three different color modes. The stimulus materials used were slides selected from a pool of travel and general geographic scenery slides taken in various parts of North America. One third of the slides were…

Differences in metaphor recall from poetry were investigated using 10 female and 10 male college student subjects hypothesized as having either an analytic or a holistic processing style. Style was determined using bilateral alpha (8-13Hz) scores measured from the cerebral cortex. It was suggested, on the basis of bimodal theory, that holistic…

Using the split-span technique in which auditory stimuli are presented in various combinations to the right and left ears, two studies were designed to examine the preferences of subjects as to their mode of recall, to assess the accuracy of such recall, and to look at possible sex differences in both the preferences and the accuracy. A total of…

A study investigated (1) the effectiveness of giving instructions to form mental images prior to reading a text and at the conclusion of the text, and (2) sex differences in the ability of below average readers to form mental images. Subjects were 47 sixth grade students who were below average readers. The subjects were randomly assigned, by sex,…

Many linguists have maintained that the pronouns "he,""his," and "him" and the noun "man," when used in the generic sense, legitimately refer to both males and females and effectively cue readers to think of both. Others have argued, however, that the generic terms cause readers to "filter out" or…

Compared the "on-line" (real time, ongoing internal representation) understanding of ongoing social events of boys with and without attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Found that younger children and those with ADHD showed less integrated on-line representations, accounting for poor recall and reasoning. (Author/KB)

In language arts classes a "composition" generally refers to a written text. Semiotic theory based on C. S. Peirce's work suggests that writing is only one of many forms of composition available for mediating thought and activity. According to J. V. Wertsch (1991), writing should be one tool in a tool kit of mediational means available…

FIVE EXPERIMENTS WERE CONDUCTED IN AN ATTEMPT TO ISOLATE SPECIFIC LEARNING PATTERNS IN CHILDREN OF VARYING DEGREES OF MENTAL RETARDATION AND TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE KNOWLEDGE OF THE PHYLOGENETIC DEVELOPMENT OF INTELLIGENCE. FACTORS STUDIED WERE THOSE KNOWN TO INFLUENCE LEARNING IN NORMAL CHILDREN AND ADULTS--KIND OF REINFORCEMENT (VERBAL OR…