The effects of three types of pretraining in the use of syntactical verbal mediators on subsequent paired-associate performance were investigated. Subjects were 40 Negro and 40 white first graders randomly assigned to one of four groups. Condition 1 consisted of pretraining in both "mediation" instruction (experimenter gave subjects a sentence…

Retroactive interference (RI) in prose learning was investigated in an experiment where passages were constructed on the basis of a predetermined logical structure. This structure made it possible to operationally define similarity and assess the effects of RI for inferential information as well as that stated directly in the original passage.…

The role of meaning in the learning of verbally presented paired associates (PAs) is described by means of an experiment with a replication. A printed PA list containing six different types of items was presented to Sixth Graders. Four of the item types consisted of sentence-embedded PAs on the study trials, followed by test trial cues varying in…

One of the focal points of this study is the investigation of the relationship between rates and types of imitative responding and responsiveness to social reinforcement (approval). Subjects were 96 children (5 to 6 years old) equally divided according to sex and race (Negro and white). Findings indicate that: (1) it seems tenable to assume that a…

Chapters contained in this volume, each with a list of references appended, are: "Scientific Psychology in Transition" by Gregory A. Kimble; "Higher Mental Processes as the Bases for the Laws of Conditioning" by Eli Saltz; "Reification and Reality in Conditioning Paradigms: Implications of Results When Modes of Reinforcement are Changed" by David…

Three measures of verbal input organization (category clustering, associative clustering, and subjective organization) were employed to compare the performances of 30 normal and 30 educable mentally retarded (EMR) elementary school males of equal chronological age on various free recall learning tasks. Subjects were given 12 successive trials on…

The verbal discrimination learning of elementary school children was assessed in two experiments. In both experiments, Ss were given either regular discrimination learning instructions (control), instructions to pronounce the correct pair member aloud three times during study trials (vocalization), or instructions to generate a visual image of the…

An experiment designed to test the generality of Paivio's two factor theory of meaning to sentence comprehension was carried out, and two scoring procedures were investigated: a verbatim score in which sentence elements had to be recalled exactly as they appeared in the original, and a substance score in which synonyms were accepted. The subjects…

Forty-eight grade-three children and 48 grade-eight children were presented respectively with six- and eight-letter sequences for written free recall. The older children, as had adult subjects in previous studies, showed a greater tendency to recall serially with a four-letters-per-second presentation rate than with a half- or…

A study is reported in which pairs of synonyms, antonyms, coordinates, and super super-subordinates were presented dichotically to university students. After each pair the subject reported what he heard. In one condition the two members of a pair were presented simultaneously, and in another they were presented sequentially. (Author/RM)

Experiments are reported in which semantically interrelating sentences were presented to subjects as discrete items, and inference tests were given to measure the degree to which the similar information had been stored in the same memory system. Results suggest that verbal information is sometimes encoded into an episodic system. (Author/RM)

A multiple baseline design was used to investigate the effects of simultaneous sign/verbal presentation on the acquisition of verbal labelling of two Down's syndrome girls, ages 6 and 7 years. (Author)

The effects of imagery on children's learning of verbal materials is reviewed. Paired associate learning is emphasized, with some discussion of recall, recognition, visual discrimination and prose learning. Visual versus verbal images, elaborated versus unelaborated stimuli, induced images, and physical manipulation of learning materials are…

Evaluates the findings and measurement techniques about the incidence and role of internal speech in the information processing abilities of preschool and primary-grade children. (RL)