The Matching Family Figures Test (MFF) is examined in order to show that a wide variety of rational speed-accuracy trade-offs ranging from impulsive to reflective are quite plausible. Ten children (mean age, eight years) took part in the experiment. Five had previously been classified on the basis of the MFF as impulsive, five as reflective. On…

In this study, two rival accounts of the mental operations used to solve Piaget's three-mountain perspective task are tested. One hypothesis is that if children use some form of mental rotation through anticipatory imagery, scores should improve as the angle of separation between the child and the other viewer is decreased. A second hypothesis is…

To determine student readiness in any academic subject, teachers must determine individual levels of cognitive competencies children possess.

Discusses and refutes Novak's arguments against Piaget's theory of intellectual development in favor of Ausubel's theory of meaningful verbal learning. (GA)

The relationship between knowledge and effective and autonomous thoughts and actions is explored with special regard to implications for educational curriculums and teaching. An educational program that concentrates on rationality without reference to creative autonomy, it is stressed, will impoverish the thinking process. (DS)

Reviews ideas and knowledge concerning the development of a cognitive understanding of the social world from preadolescence through adolescence. Analyzes the relationship between social cognition and peer and family relations. (BD)

Twelve one-word-stage children were given minimally contrasting two-word instructions. Since non-linguistic cues were eliminated, comprehension involved making non-syntactic inferences from the word combinations. The children could respond correctly to some of the instructions, and even carried out some unfamiliar activities. (Author/SW)

First, second, third, sixth, and ninth graders and college students were presented with 4 different tasks of surface-volume dissociation in order to see whether or not the conservation of one of these properties would wrongly induce a belief in the conservation of the other. (Author/JMB)

Presents a study of inferential problem solving abilities of 5-year-old children. Tasks involved the combination of separately acquired behavior segments in order to solve a novel problem. (BD)

Preschool children between 3 and 5 1/2 years of age participated in a learning task in which a conditional relational problem was presented in either a blocked or random series. Prior training on the components of the task was also varied. (BD)

Cites research findings to refute Piaget's contention of stages of cognitive development. Advocates continuous cognitive differentiation as a model. (CP)

This study explored the relationship between symbolic representation in dramatic play and art and cognitive and reading readiness levels of kindergarten children. Results indicated children at different cognitive levels performed significantly differently on the Metropolitan Reading Readiness Test and spent significantly different amounts of time…

This article focuses on two approaches to teaching reasoning and problem solving. One emphasizes the role of domain-specific knowledge; the other emphasizes general strategic and metacognitive knowledge. Many instructional programs are based on the latter approach. The article concludes that these programs can be strengthened by focusing on domain…

Research has uncovered the underlying processes of reading. Research on three of these processes is reviewed: (1) elucidating a general model of reading; (2) developing word recognition accuracy and efficiency; and (3) improving comprehension through the training of text processing and through enhancement of vocabulary and background knowledge.…