GROUP-DIFFERENCES IN SUPPRESSION SKILL

It is proposed that there are group differences in suppression skill, and one such grouping is the distinction between more versus less skil led university-aged comprehenders. Experiments supporting this proposa l and demonstrating that university-aged adults differ in their abilit y to suppress irrelevant, inappropriate, potentially interfering infor mation are reviewed. Many of these experiments have been replicated wi th other groups, which also hypothetically differ in their ability to suppress inappropriate information. Two new sets of experiments are re viewed. In one, the prediction that less skilled comprehenders - becau se they are less skilled at suppression - should be better at comprehe nding puns is evaluated. In the other, the prediction that less skille d comprehenders - because they are less skilled at suppression - are b etter able to shift to a different meaning of a homonym is evaluated. Both sets of data are evaluated with respect to a general slowing expl anation and scaling artifacts.