Fifty-one 23-to-55-month-old-infants faced two apparatuses that required the use of a rigid (box apparatus) or flexible (hose apparatus) stick-like tool to retrieve a toy stuck inside. Before attempting the extraction, however, they had to pick the only one tool (of three) on display that had the appropriate rigidity/flexibility to be effective.…

To better identify the distinctive characteristics of space representation in the radial dimension, we have proposed a new paradigm: the landmarks alignment task where two parallel aluminum bars were radially presented. Children had to move a landmark along one bar and place it at the same location as the reference landmark placed by the examiner…

The present study tests whether presenting video modeling examples from the learner's (first-person) perspective promotes learning of an assembly task, compared to presenting video examples from a third-person perspective. Across 2 experiments conducted in different labs, university students viewed a video showing how to assemble an 8-component…

In two experiments, we investigated whether 4- to 5-year-old children's ability to demonstrate their understanding of aspectuality was influenced by how the test question was phrased. In Experiment 1, 60 children chose whether to look or feel to gain information about a hidden object (identifiable by sight or touch). Test questions referred either…

This study examined the role of perceptions of task difficulty in relation to self-perceptions of ability, intrinsic value, attainment value, and performance. Seventy-nine 8th graders completed surveys prior to task instruction and after the last practice session. Two days later, they completed a skill test. Participants who perceived the Lunastix…

Three-dimensional random polygon objects ranging in complexity between four and 40 turns were presented to the Ss, and time spent in exploration and play was measured over three successive exposure-time blocks. (Author/DLS)

A study was designed to determine the effects of various ball sizes on children's catching ability and to examine the results as a between- and within-group factor. It was believed that the use of the two-test design would help to establish the validity of past and future tests of this nature. The between-subjects design group consisted of 48…

The purpose of the study was to determine whether particular aspects of movement control influenced the performance of 2-year-old children on a standard developmental test, and thus influenced assessments of intellectual progress based on that test. Six cerebral-palsied (CP) children were compared with six children not suffering motor system…