Examines preference for relative degrees of realism or abstraction in works of art as a function of gender and grade level using the Salkind Picture Preference Scale. Results are discussed in light of implications for understanding age and gender differences in preference and the application of such findings to education. (DSK)

Considers how to explain crimes against humanity to children, especially through literature. The focus is mainly on apartheid in South Africa but also discusses the Holocaust and slavery, and examines how to present a realistic view of history and events and still offer hope and encouragement. (LRW)

Discusses realism in children's poetry and a New Realism which dates from the 1960s. Suggests that the denial of realism occupies much of the efforts of Mother Goose reformers, who have carried on "for eons" over the violence, mayhem, and cruelty in the old nursery rhymes. (RS)

Almost without exception, interpretations of Jacques Ellul's work focus either on his sociopolitical thought or on his Christian reflections. However, each one drives the other, thereby exposing how we collectively journey through time and reality on a magic carpet of myths (in the sense of cultural anthropology). Ellul challenges us to give up…

Scientific realism holds that scientific theories are approximations of universal truths about reality, whereas scientific instrumentalism posits that scientific theories are intellectual structures that provide adequate predictions of what is observed and useful frameworks for answering questions and solving problems in a given domain. These…

Although it seems plausible that people who prefer a particular genre would appreciate characters from that category more than those from other genres, this appears not to be the case. We devised a parsimonious reality-based genre taxonomy that differentiates nonfiction, realism, fantasy, and humor. In Study 1, evidence from film viewers' genre…

The perception of the effectiveness of instrumental actions is influenced by depressed mood. Depressive realism (DR) is the claim that depressed people are particularly accurate in evaluating instrumentality. In two experiments, the authors tested the DR hypothesis using an action-outcome contingency judgment task. DR effects were a function of…

In this article, the author presents his comments on "Realism, Instrumentalism, and Scientific Symbiosis: Psychological Theory as a Search for Truth and the Discovery of Solutions" by John T. Cacioppo, Gun R. Semin and Gary G. Berntson. In the original article, the authors recommended the combined use of the philosophies of scientific realism and…

The interaction between field dependence/independence and pictorial recognition memory was investigated using pictures in three different color modes: realistic color, non-realistic color, and black and white. The study was designed to further confirm the efficacy of applying signal detection analyses to color recognition memory data as a means of…

Each plan for guiding pupils to read emphasizes an inherent philosophy or philosophies of education. Existentialism encourages reading by promoting free choice of reading material and relating decisions to results. A reading curriculum based on the tenets of realism would give the learner a view of the world as it actually exists. Experimentalism…

This master's thesis investigates the relationship between the traditional animator and the computer as computer animation systems allow them to apply traditional skills with a high degree of success. The advantages and disadvantages of traditional animation as a medium for expressing motion and character are noted, and it is argued that the…

The concept of private languages holds that each person's words are symbols with which he identifies certain of his perceptions. Language operates in the public sphere only so long as the symbols used by a speaker to denote his perceptions roughly correspond to the symbols the listener uses for his perceptions. The philosopher Ludwig Wittgenstein…

Pre-World War I poetry often used picturesque images which blinded people to the actual horrors of war. The war poets, who experienced the destruction of World War I, led the way in expressing new images of the devastation and death of war, rather than focusing on honor and glory. (IS)

Contemporary realistic fiction allows young readers/listeners to experience events that they would never encounter in real life or practice what they might someday experience. Realistic fiction benefits children as they may: see past the limitations of their own experiences; learn to reflect on choices in their own lives; acquire sympathy for…