The first section of this report examines, from a developmental perspective, the major theoretical positions dominating the literature on adult cognition. Two criteria are considered. First, how compatible are the theories with the notion that thinking systems develop within specific environments? Second, what are the implicit or explicit…

The first section of this report reviews traditional memory studies, which have provided much of our information concerning memory development. Major strengths and weaknesses of memory-development studies are illustrated by comparison with recent research into children's problem-solving skills. The report concentrates on one area of general…

The history of basic research in the area of memory development is briefly reviewed as part of an attempt to illustrate how basic research can inform educational practice. The historical overview is supplemented by more detailed consideration of a few prototypical research studies. This is followed by a description of the progress, problems, and…

This report focuses on the development of general problem-solving skills which are subsumed under the general heading of metacognition: in particular, the skills of predicting, checking, monitoring, reality testing, and coordinating and controlling deliberate attempts to learn or solve problems. The report is organized in five sections: an…

Recency judgments were examined for four groups (N = 40 per group) aged 7, 8, 10, and 18 years. The resulting data supported the hypothesis that tasks, which do not require deliberate mnemonic strategies, are not developmentally sensitive. (Editor/RK)