A total of 451 adults participated in 2 studies of the causes of age differences that occur in cognitive performance when tasks increase in complexity. Results support the hypothesis that more complex cognitive tasks place greater demands on a working memory resource that declines as age increases. (LB)

A study charting the development of 120 participants to define is presented. Participants were asked to define eight concrete and eight abstract nouns. Results indicate that there are significant differences in the way concrete and abstract nouns are defined. (32 references) (GLR)

Discusses the nature of motion media (i.e., film and television) and describes a theoretical model of communication, the Iconic Phenomena Communication Model. Topics discussed include types of imagery; symbolic representations; motion media and the mind; and semiotics in the study of film and television. (four references) (LRW)

Examines various models of rationality. Describes mature moral thinking as a progressive integration of logical thinking, dialectical thinking, and sense of paradox. Considers the type of rationality called for by moral thinking, transformations in moral thinking undergone while acquiring rationality, and types of teaching that foster progress in…

Examined whether parental reasoning complexity predicts parental behavior during interaction with child. Findings from 226 parents revealed that higher levels of reasoning were related to authoritative pattern of child rearing, use of indirect positive control, warmth, acceptance, and support. Negative relationships were found with an…

Discusses a rhetorical competence theory that is primarily concerned with an abstract understanding of the rhetorical and cognitive processes that underlie rhetorical acts. Presents the theory as an analogical system based on the four master tropes: metaphor, metonymy, synecdoche, and irony. Draws upon the systems of analogical reasoning, problem…

Presents triage assessment model for crisis intervention that enables mental health counselors to initiate appropriate crisis interventions in variety of situations. Model guides assessment of clients in crisis on three domains: affective, cognitive, and behavioral. Describes assessment and rating of severity of impairment for each of the three…

Responds to an article in the same issue regarding research methods for conversational cognition. Argues for a noncognitive view of rational models in communication research. Sets out an analysis of the kinds of claims made by rational models of message design. Discusses the implications of this analysis for studies of the cognitive processes…

A discussion of the role of reflective thinking in the social work professional's training and practice looks at theories on the relationship of reflection and skilled action and at contemporary social work theories. It is suggested that Donald Schon's reflection-in-action model has applications in social work education and practice. (MSE)

In 2 experiments involving 64 undergraduates words central or peripheral to a script appeared in scripted and nonscripted versions of a story. Efficiency of lexical access was measured by word reading time or naming latency. Data provide little evidence of script-related facilitation of lexical access, thus supporting the modularity theory. (SLD)

The effects of simplification, type of linguistic item, and second-language experience on learners' intake of linguistic items contained in written input were studied. Results suggest that simplification does not have a facilitating effect on learners' intake. Sample passages are appended. (56 references) (Author/LB)

Argues that teaching reading and writing is not a matter of correcting errors or teaching the five-paragraph essay. Claims that it is instead a process of interdependence between the public and private, the individual and the group. Calls for a recognition of the role of interpretation in all meaning-making. (HB)

Two experiments assessed preschoolers' ability to understand pretend transformations. Subjects were two-, three-, and four-year-olds who viewed episodes in which either one or two similar props were altered in a pretend fashion. In both the single and double transformation, children demonstrated that they could keep track of the pretend…

Tested whether positive automatic thoughts (PATs) and PATs x Negative Events interaction predicted unique variance in future depression and happiness. Findings from 152 college students revealed that PATs predicted happiness, and PATs about self-worth interacted with negative events to predict depression. For higher levels of such PATs, negative…

Isolates domain-general decision-making (DM) processes in their specific instantiations in adult second-language acquisition (SLA). Some impediments to success in SLA may be artifacts of mature (adult) DM procedures. (Contains 29 references.) (JP)