The hypothesized central role of cognitive development in resolving moral dilemmas was examined in sixth grade and college-age females. Results indicated that sophisticated cognitive operations are a prerequisite to advanced moral judgments. (ST)

This analysis of the structure of children's narratives deals with material gathered from 96 children, aged 3 1/2 to 9 1/2 years, in conversations about events in which they were personally involved. Elements of the narratives and the structural relationship of these elements are examined. Three elements are discerned: (1) chronological…

Project carried out under Contract No. PH 43 65-1011 between the Public Health Service, National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development and the Fels Research Institute.

Piaget's egocentrism and Witkin's psychological differentiation are important constructs in theories of cognitive development. A comparison of these concepts could lead to an increased understanding of cognitive development in the older adult. In a test of Witkin's revised model of psychological differentiation, the Portable Rod and Frame Test…

This study explored the relationship between children's sense of justice for a criminal offender and their cognitive level. Subjects were 60 children, 10 boys and 10 girls at each of the following developmental or cognitive levels: preoperational, concrete operational, and formal operational. Each child was individually pretested for cognitive…

The objectives of this study were (1) to observe and describe the social quality and the cognitive type of spontaneous play exhibited in a group of 20 children in a child care setting during two age periods, toddler (14-30 months) and preschool (30-48 months), and (2) to chart the developmental trends using a model of play complexity derived from…

Simultaneous maximum likelihood procedures were used to investigate the generality of ability factor structure in adulthood and old age. Data were analyzed for 198 subjects aged 15-32; 173 subjects aged 51-67; and 153 subjects aged 68-83. Variables were 14 ability tests marking five cognitive factors: verbal comprehension, number facility,…

A study of the responses made to problems selected from Raven's Progressive Matrices showed differences in the kinds of errors typically made by eighteen-year-old students. Nine problems were used and the 68 subjects were told to draw their answers on the answer sheets. There were two trials per puzzle. A classification system, devised for errors,…

A study was undertaken to investigate which of ten constructions are available to children of various ages for expressing conditionality. A modified sentence completion test based on use of the ten constructions was designed, field-tested, and administered individually to 20 students in each of five grades: kindergarten and grades two, four, six,…

While being videotaped, ten second graders and ten fifth graders retold the story of "Beauty and the Beast" which was read twice to them during the preceding week. Responses were evaluated for content and accuracy. Results showed that younger children more accurately recalled the story and more frequently mentioned its resolution. Older children…

The relation of visual process to Piaget's stages of cognitive development was examined. The study utilized four age groups to correspond roughly to acquisition and consolidation periods of concrete and formal operations: 6 years - acquisition of concrete operations; 9 years - consolidation of concrete operations; 11 years - acquisition of formal…

This experiment examined two processes which might account for developmental increases in accuracy in visual recognition tasks: age-related increases in efficiency of scanning during inspection, and age-related increases in the ability to make decisions systematically during test. Critical details necessary for recognition were highlighted as…

This study investigated (1) the order of acquisition of related temporal and spatial terms, (2) the application of temporal and spatial terms and (3) the relationship between the application of temporal and spatial terms and performance on cognitive measures of temporal and spatial ordering. Children 3 to 5 years of age were tested on four…