About 25 children in each of grades 3, 5, 7, 9, and 11 were tested in their ability to solve linear syllogisms, such as: John is taller than Mary. Mary is taller than Pete. Who is tallest--John, Mary, or Pete? Response latencies and error rates decreased across grade levels and sessions. Component latencies also generally decreased with increasing…

Developmental patterns in the solution of verbal analogies, especially the recognition of higher-order analogical relations, were traced. The investigation sought to: (1) provide new developmental tests of a componential theory of analogical reasoning; (2) identify strategy changes during the transition from midchildhood (grade 3) to adulthood…