Some individuals have a greater capacity than others to carry out sophisticated information processing about emotions and emotion-relevant stimuli and to use this information as a guide to thinking and behavior. The authors have termed this set of abilities emotional intelligence (EI). Since the introduction of the concept, however, a schism has…

Causal reasoning represents one of the most basic and important cognitive processes that underpin all higher-order activities, such as conceptual understanding and problem solving. Hume called causality the "cement of the universe" [Hume (1739/2000). Causal reasoning is required for making predictions, drawing implications and…

Individuals often estimate the probability of future events by the ease with which they can recall or cognitively construct relevant instances. Previous research has not precisely identified the cognitive processes mediating this "availability heuristic." Two potential mediators (imagery of the event, perceived reasons or causes for the…

Reviews studies which examine spontaneous attributional activity. The paradigms include the coding of written material, recording of thoughts during or after task completion, and indirect inferences of attributional activity exhibited in other cognitive processes. Finds unequivocal documentation of attributional activity and the conditions that…

The science learning cycle developed by Robert Karplus and others in the 1960's has been a useful model for many science teachers and researchers. This model stresses the use of structured inquiry to organize knowledge acquisition and problem solving. Recent research in the cognitive science tradition, however, has shown that learning and problem…

Results of the comparison of metacomponential functioning and knowledge acquisition of adults with either mild mental retardation or learning disabilities found that (1) knowledge base is the best predictor of metacomponential skill, (2) metacomponential orchestration differentiates the two groups, and (3) IQ mediates metacognition, but does not…

A modal model of information processing was defined, and nine tasks that could be completed by persons with mental retardation were developed to operationalize the model. Results showed that individual differences in higher mental processes are highly dependent on basic cognitive abilities and can be predicted from them. (Author/JDD)

This article responds to commentaries (EC 604 996-998) on a paper by Douglas Detterman and others (EC 604 995), which developed and tested a modal model, with young adults with and without mental retardation as subjects, to assess basic cognitive abilities in relation to cognitive deficits. (JDD)

Seven techniques for measuring information processing in infants are proposed to aid in the early identification of mental retardation. The techniques are based on conditioning, attentional, and manual exploration paradigms and could be combined into an assessment battery more valid than current infant IQ tests in predicting later disability.…

This commentary on a paper by Douglas Detterman and others (EC 604 995), on assessing basic cognitive abilities in young adults with and without mental retardation, argues that variables measuring correct responding and variables measuring response latency or speed are two aspects of the same underlying continuum of speed and efficiency of…

This paper draws from several disciplines to provide a foundation for making progress toward a unified conception of thinking in science education. Areas covered include: (1) the philosophy of science (discussing contextual realism); (2) cognitive psychology (describing development of scientific thinking skills); and (3) artificial intelligence…

This two-part study began with a replication, statistical validation, and extension of the Karmiloff-Smith and Inhelder study of children's construction of theories about balance. The 128 subjects (ages 4 to 6) were videotaped as they tried to balance blocks on a fulcrum. A scale was developed to assess the degree to which the child's performance…

Related research suggests that children may show some simple understanding of event covariations by the early elementary school years. The present experiments use a rule analysis methodology to investigate covariation judgments of children in this age range. In Experiment 1, children in second, third and fourth grade judged covariations on 12…

This article comments on the reporting by Douglas Detterman and others (EC 604 995) of a larger magnitude of g among young adults with mental retardation. Reliance on g-based measures for screening and diagnosis may thus be misleading, by implying that those tested were less differentiated than may be the case. (JDD)

Past research indicates poor agreement about strategies people use to assess covariation between events. This research investigates method of assessment as one possible source of this low consensus. A set of problems was developed in such a way that different judgment rules would produce different decisions about the relationships between events.…