Psychology ETDs

Publication Date

8-7-1973

Abstract

Dimensional preference in six-year-olds was investigated by the use of a series of recall memory tasks in which the amount of information available in the stimuli and the nature of the feedback provided were systematically varied. The results suggested that low preference does not necessarily imply that the dimension will fail to be processed nor does it appear that the presence of a more preferred dimension prevents processing of a less preferred dimension. Rather, the results indicated that processing and recall of the various dimensions of a stimulus were a function of dimension preference, amount of information available in the stimulus, S's processing capacity, and the nature of the feedback. When the amount of information does not exceed ~·s processing capacities, all information can be processed without regard for the relative preferences for aspects of that information. When there is more information available to S than he is able to process, less preferred dimensions will fail to be processed. However, specific feedback pointing out S 's failure to process these less preferred dimensions is effective in inducing~ to process them. Since their processing overloads S's capacities, there is a concomitant loss of more preferred information. The manner in which these findings relate to CI task performance was discussed and it was proposed that the amount of information in the stimulus, S's processing capacity, and nature of the feedback interact to produce the dimensional preference effects typically observed in a CI task.

Degree Name

Psychology

Level of Degree

Doctoral

Department Name

Psychology

First Committee Member (Chair)

Peder J. Johnson

Second Committee Member

Henry C. Ellis

Third Committee Member

Thomas Patrick Friden

Fourth Committee Member

Richard Jerome Harris

Language

English

Document Type

Thesis

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