Ninety-seven children aged 4-11 (49 males, 48 females, mostly White) were given the opportunity to improve their problem-solving performance by devising and implementing a novel cognitive offloading strategy. Across two phases, they searched for hidden rewards using maps that were either aligned or misaligned with the search space. In the second…

Some have argued that belief in God is intuitive, a natural (by-)product of the human mind given its cognitive structure and social context. If this is true, the extent to which one believes in God may be influenced by one's more general tendency to rely on intuition versus reflection. Three studies support this hypothesis, linking intuitive…

A local processing bias, referred to as "weak central coherence," has been postulated to underlie key aspects of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Little research has examined whether individual differences in this cognitive style can be found in typical development, independent of intelligence, and how local processing relates to executive control.…

This study examined the role of variability and change in children's strategy performance within the context of spelling. The spelling ability of 34 eight- to nine-year-olds was examined using an experimental spelling task comprising 45 items, which varied with regard to rime unit frequency. The spelling task incorporated a series of consistent,…

Describes some ways in which learning styles have been examined. Discusses the ways in which differences in learning styles may develop. Presents educational implications of this work. (RJC)

Examines stability of individual differences in behaviorally induced heart-rate reactivity in 34 boys presented a cognitive task. Task-related heart-rate reactivity revealed substantial and highly reproducible individual differences in heart-rate reactivity independent of subjects' task performance. (Author/DB)

The author reviews some research, particularly that of Roger Sperry, substantiating the existence of different thinking styles in the two brain hemispheres and the development of this differentiation in infancy and childhood. She draws some implications for elementary teaching. (SJL)

This study examined children's explanatory style for health- and safety-related events. Fifty children (ages 8 to 11) were interviewed using 12 health-related questions based on Seligman's Content Analysis of Verbatim Explanations (CAVE) method. Children and their mothers also completed a health status form, which included questions on the…

Discusses the relation of research findings concerning field dependence-independence to conceptualizations of the process of learning to read. Proposes directions for investigation of the impact of individual differences in the acquisition of reading skills. (RJC)

A literature review describes several dimensions of cognitive styles in an effort to illustrate individual stylistic differences. Discusses the field dependence-independence dimension, taking into account age, sex, and cultural differences. Suggests that cognitive style theory needs to be structured in a broader theoretical framework. (NH)

Completed behavioral ratings on four subscales of Scales for Rating the Behavioral Characteristics of Superior Students (SRBCSS) on groups of Anglo- (N=491) and Mexican-American gifted students (N=34). Significant ethnic differences were found on the learning and motivation scales. There were no significant differences on creativity and leadership…

Examined developmental and individual differences in tendencies to favor analytic over heuristic responses in three tasks (inductive reasoning, deduction under belief bias conditions, probabilistic reasoning) in children varying in age and cognitive ability. Found significant increases in analytic responding with development on first two tasks.…

Reports three studies which (1) investigated children's and adults' concepts of development (COD); (2) observed parents' tutoring their fifth-grade children; and (3) interviewed adults in three age groups about parenting dilemmas. In each study, COD scores were obtained. Results of all studies showed that subjects' stage of COD reasoning was…

A study investigated the relationship between formal and conversational logic. Thirty-two male and 32 female college students evaluated the conclusions of conditional syllogism and participated in an interview adapted from Deanna Kuhn's (1991) monograph, "The Skills of Argument." Students were asked to provide explanations for several…

This study investigates the preference and ability components of cognitive style as measured by a verbal test for fifth-grade children. Performances from an intellectual ability test, a pictorial cognitive style test, and school achievement tests were included as construct validity variables. The results supported conclusions drawn by Robinson and…