Critical thinking skills, as well as cognitive style, are important aspects that must be considered in assessments of the learning process. This research aims to describe the critical thinking skills of the students with reflective versus impulsive cognitive styles through an explorative study on conservation and environmental knowledge learning.…

Socioeconomic status (SES) is a well-known predictor of cognitive achievement and executive functioning, although the underlying cognitive mediating processes remain unclear. The authors analyze the association between different socioeconomic indicators and the executive functions (EF) of schoolchildren and the possible cognitive mediating factors…

In recent years, considerable attention has been paid to the alleged changes in the ways the so-called "digital generation" communicates and learns. Most of the commentary has been based on anecdotes, observations and opinions. The lack of empirical evidence in this matter suggests that it may be time to begin the process of gathering…

This study is an item analysis of the Matching Familiar Figures Test-20. We examined error scores in the Matching Familiar Figures Test-20 to determine the influence of the difficulty of the test on the assessment of reflection-impulsivity. The sample included 700 participants aged between 6 and 12 years. The results obtained from the corrected…

Two types of problems similar to those on the Matching Familiar Figures Test were presented to 61 fourth graders. Results indicated that long or short decision time is a consistent trait related to preferred strategy of perceptual analysis, and accuracy depends on compatability between that strategy and specific task requirements. (Author/JMB)

Seven different laboratory measures of impulsivity were administered to a group of 165 school-aged boys. Parents' and teachers' ratings of Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder and Oppositional/Defiant Disorder were also obtained. Factor analyses of impulsivity measures revealed the existence of a strong Inhibitory Control Factor including…

Examines the correlation between reflection-impulsivity scores on the Matching Familiar Figures (MFF) test and scores on the WISC and CTMM intelligence tests. Subjects were 53 ten-year-old girls. Results were discussed in terms of certain characteristics of the tests used and in terms of the age of the subjects. (BD)

This study explored the relationships among children's performance on a simplified version of Kagan's Matching Familiar Figures (MFF) Test of conceptual tempo, their IQ, their performance on several measures of self-regulatory behavior, and their general activity level. Subjects were 55 preschool boys and girls. (Author/JMB)

A cross-age technique was used in two studies to extend understanding of cognitive style development and its cross-cultural generality. Chinese-American children were given the Matching Familiar Figures Test. Results were compared with existing data to determine the style development of children from other cultures. (PCB)

Both between- and within-group differences in children ages nine to eleven identified as having reflective or impulsive cognitive tempos. Cognitive tempo was first assessed using Kagan's Matching Familiar Figures test, and children were later tested on the Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices. (Author/RH)

Failure was hypothesized to be an antecedent of a reflective style of responding and frustration an antecedents of an impulsive style. Fourth grade children experienced either failure or frustration, and were then assessed with the Matching Familiar Figures Test. (SBT)

In an investigation of search strategies, it was predicted that reflective children would have developmentally more mature problem-solving strategies than impulsive children, and the presence of these strategies would be found in both 6- and 8-year-old subjects. From a sample given the Matching Familiar Figures Test, half of the 20 boys and 20…

Fourth and seventh grade reflective, impulsive, fast/accurate, and slow/inaccurate subjects were asked to paraphrase the meaning of ambiguous sentences and then to indicate their meaning through the selection of pictures. Results indicated that reflective children were more successful in some settings than impulsive or slow/inaccurate children.…

Two statistical characteristics of the Matching Familiar Figures test which produce methodological problems in reflection-impulsivity research are discussed. (BRT)

Reply by Jerome Kagan to a recent article by Block, Gjerde, and Block (1986) which questions the validity of the construct of reflection-impulsivity. Kagan alleges flaws in the logic of the authors' (Block, Gjerde, Block) position and in the inferences drawn from their data. (Author/RWB)