Divergent production in gifted adolescents using timed vs. untimed stimuli with creative prompting

Although creativity and expertise are related, they are nonetheless very different things. Expertise does not usually require creativity, but creativity generally does require a certain level of expertise. There are similarities in the relationships of both expertise and creativity to domains, however. Research has shown that just as expertise in one domain does not predict expertise in other, unrelated domains, creativity in one domain does not predict creativity in other, unrelated domains. People may be expert, and people may be creative, in many domains, or they may be expert, or creative, in few domains or none at all, and one cannot simply transfer expertise, or creativity, from one domain to another, unrelated domain. The domain specificity of creativity matters crucially for creativity training, creativity assessment, creativity research, and creativity theory. The domain specificity of creativity also means that interdisciplinary thinking, interdisciplinary collaboration, and interdisciplinary creativity are even more important than one would assume if creativity were domain general.     

Computational Efficiency through Visual Argument: Do Graphic Organizers Communicate Relations in Text Too Effectively?

Previous research on graphic organizers has found that they facilitate memory for corresponding text. This study investigated why one type of graphic organizer (a matrix) may communicate interconcept relations more effectively than an outline or text. In three experiments, college students judged the accuracy of interconcept relations after they read a text and studied a matrix, an outline, or the text again. We also measured students′ performance when study time was reduced and testing delayed. Results indicated that even when study time was reduced, viewing a matrix helped students make more accurate judgments of interconcept relations. We conclude that a matrix is more computationally efficient than an outline or text, enabling readers to compute interconcept relations more quickly and easily (Larkin & Simon, 1987), due to a communicative process called visual argument (Waller, 1981). However, this advantage disappeared when testing was delayed, which, ironically, may have been due to computational efficiency.     

The effect of causal diagrams on text learning

We examined the effect of studying a causal diagram on comprehension of causal relationships from an expository science text. A causal diagram is a type of visual display that explicitly represents cause-effect relationships. In Experiment 1, readers between conditions did not differ with respect to memory for main ideas, but the readers who studied the causal diagram while reading the text understood better the five causal sequences in the text even when study time was controlled. Participants in Experiment 2 studied only the causal diagram or only the text. There were no differences in memory for main ideas or the causal sequences between these groups. Results indicate that causal diagrams are not merely redundant with text and that causal diagrams affect understanding of causal relationships in the absence of a text. These findings supported the causal explication hypothesis, which states that causal diagrams improve comprehension by explicitly representing the implicit causal structure of the text in a visual format.     

Parasocial Breakup and Twitter: The Firing of Barb Abney

Audiences can and do form parasocial relationships with media personalities. Media personalities, programs, and stations can use social media to enhance this relationship. More and more stations and programs are using social media to cultivate parasocial relations, but the consequences of this cultivation are largely understudied in terms of parasocial responses. This paper examines the fallout on social media of the loss of a parasocial relationship (called “parasocial breakup”) with a large market radio DJ who is removed from the air. The results confirm the presence of a parasocial relationship, feelings of parasocial breakup, and the consequences of these parasocial disruptions on station brand identity.     

Underserved and Unprepared: Postsecondary Learning Disabilities

The adolescent and adult population with learning disabilities (LD) continues to be underserved and underprepared to meet the demands of postsecondary education. Evidence pertaining to postsecondary education outcomes for the population with LD is extremely bleak. One purpose of this article is to situate thinking about adolescents and adults with LD across the spectrum of ability and socioeconomic status within the current world context. The second objective is to heighten awareness of the changing needs of this population based on social, educational, economic, and political directives. Several academic options are presented as alternative pathways available to individuals in the transition from secondary to postsecondary environments.     

Who are Most,Average, or High‐Functioning Adults?

The growing number of high‐functioning adults seeking accommodations from testing agencies and postsecondary institutions presents an urgent need to ensure reliable and valid diagnostic decision making. The potential for this population to make significant contributions to society will be greater if we provide the learning and testing accommodations to allow them access to knowledge, as well as the means to demonstrate their extraordinary abilities. The criteria and decision making used to identify high‐functioning adults with learning disabilities (LD) must be robust yet flexible enough to account for individual differences, measurement fallibility, and examiner expertise. The purpose of this article is to explore legal, measurement, and clinical issues surrounding the provision of accommodations to high‐functioning individuals with LD.     

Promoting general metacognitive awareness

I describe two aspects of metacognition, knowledge of cognition and regulation of cognition, and how they are related to domain-specific knowledge and cognitive abilities. I argue that metacognitive knowledge is multidimensional, domain-general in nature, and teachable. Four instructional strategies are described for promoting the construction and acquisition of metacognitive awareness. These include promoting general awareness, improving self-knowledge and regulatory skills, and promoting learning environments that are conducive to the construction and use of metacognition.     

A test of theoretical models that account for information processing demands

This study tested four theoretical models in terms of their fit with demands placed on our cognitive system by traditional tests of cognitive ability. We did so by administering seven tests of cognitive ability known to require varying types of processing demands to a large group of college undergraduates (N = 193). We compared the models using confirmatory factor analyses, including those based upon a unitary factor, speed and capacity, crystallized and fluid intelligence, and verbal and spatial ability. The crystallized/fluid model provided the best fit with the data. This finding is consistent with previous research. Implications for education and future research are discussed.