This study investigated the effect of two external conditions on the learning of principles by children. The external conditions were instruction on the major concepts related in the principle and the number of teaching examples and teaching nonexamples of the principle presented with a statement of the principle. Subjects were 159 fifth-grade…

The generalization of "trained" creativity in easel painting to untrained creativity in blockbuilding was examined in two preschool boys. Verbal reinforcement of every different form painted in a picture increased both the number of different forms per picture and new forms (those appearing for the first time in the total output of…

The three papers presented in this publication examines in depth the thought and practices that currently prevail in the specialized areas of reading and concept attainment. Two of the papers deal with concept learning and the transformation of this knowledge into instructional guidelines. The third paper considers the importance of concept…

Thirteen learning disabled and 15 remedial high school students were taught reasoning skills using computer-assisted instruction and were given basic or elaborated corrections. Criterion-referenced test scores were significantly higher for the elaborated-corrections treatment on the post- and maintenance tests and on a transfer test assessing…

Presents the background, methods, and findings of a study contrasting the levels of cognitive development of community college and university students. Reveals that 48% of both student groups tested were incapable of performing at the formal-operational level (as described in Piaget's Cognitive Development Model). Discusses implications for…

Presents the results of three studies examining children's conception of the mind itself as an independent, active entity. Findings revealed a developing ability in children to interpret and produce statements personifying the mind and provided considerable evidence of children's movement toward a conception of the mind as an active agent…

Proposes causal field theory as a model of causal reasoning. Suggests that anomaly detection through comparison with natural events triggers causal reasoning. This anomaly is interpreted in terms of agency; therefore, natural phenomena can be understood through an appeal to agency. The mechanism proposed never changes with development, whereas…

Investigated is the extent to which students' nonscientific beliefs change by comparing before and after instruction as a function of students' reasoning skill. Nonscientific beliefs discussed include special creation, orthogenesis, the soul, nonreductionism, vitalism, teleology, and nonemergentism. (KR)

A cognitive or internal representation refers to an organized system of information which reflects certain, but not all, of the information about reality being represented. This paper considers various opinions, controversies, and debates about what representation is, how it comes about, and what forms of representation can be distinguished. The…

Over the past several years, one study after another has uncovered a positive relationship between interpersonal interaction and individual achievement. According to a handful of these studies, interaction is more effective than are individually-based strategies for promoting reasoning. We give our attention here to the link that possibly exists…

This study examined the relationships among presentational stimuli (oral, visual, oral plus visual), types of content (concrete, abstract), and learner ability (high verbal, low verbal). Third grade students either heard a short story, watched pictures showing the same short story, or heard and watched a combination of the oral and picture…

Empirical research is reviewed in the area of cognitive psychology pertaining to models of human memory. Research evidence and theoretical considerations are combined to develop guidelines for future theory development related to the human memory. The following theoretical constructs and variables are discussed: (1) storage versus process…

College students need a learning environment that encourages them to develop their reasoning abilities, as well as to master course content. This booklet discusses an attempt to create such an environment: the ADAPT program at the University of Nebraska. ADAPT, Accent on Developing Abstract Processes of Thought, is a comprehensive,…

To determine if students learn better in a teaching situation that emphasizes their positive involvement and decreases the emotional threat to their self-esteem produced by the traditional question-answer approach, a study was conducted to compare the average achievement levels of two groups of literature students--one taught traditionally to…

This study examines problems related to (1) the development of children's understanding of temporal cycles, and (2) the relationship between cyclic concepts and cognitive development. Piagetian tests of classification and seriation and a variety of specially designed cyclic tasks were administered to 62 children, ranging in age from 4 to 10 years.…