Critical thinking comprises the mental processes, strategies, and representations people use to solve problems, make decisions, and learn new concepts. The study of critical thinking combines the educational, philosophical, and psychological traditions of thought. R. Ennis offers a philosophical taxonomy suggesting that critical thinking results…

This research investigates the development of analogy, in particular, the study of the development of systematicity in analogy. Systematicity refers to the mapping of systems of mutually constraining relations, such as causal chains or chains of implication. A preference for systematic mappings is a central aspect of analogical processing in…

This study investigated the relationships between the online searching behavior of novice searchers and three measures of learning style--the Learning Style Inventory (LSI), the Remote Association Test (RAT), and the Symbolic Reasoning Test (SRT). The three tests were administered to 76 graduate students during the first class meeting of a…

If microcomputers are used as automated testing stations, for use in psychometric assessment, there are economic advantages. Discussion follows, however, on whether it is possible to improve the quality of cognitive assessment by extending the range of cognitive abilities to be assessed. Two types of extension are considered: modifying and…

From a search of (mostly French) literature, a hypothesis was formulated that students with both academic training and work experience would solve a practical learning problem more easily than students with academic learning only. A study was conducted at the Conservatoire National des Arts et Metiers in Paris to test this hypothesis. Two groups,…

The construct of spatial ability is discussed and it is suggested that some widely used and cited tests that are called spatial ability tests may not be valid measures of that ability. Instead, their items may be solved using mental processes that are clearly analytical and not spatial in nature. Four studies involving the analysis of subjects'…

THE RESEARCH REPORTED HERE CONCERNED THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LANGUAGE AND COGNITION IN THE CONTEXT OF THE WHORF HYPOTHESIS ABOUT LANGUAGE AND CULTURE. EXPERIMENTS WERE CARRIED OUT INVESTIGATING THE EFFECT OF SOME LINGUISTIC AND REFERENT DIMENSION VARIABLES ON THE LEARNING OF MINIATURE LINGUISTIC SYSTEMS. A MINIATURE LINGUISTIC SYSTEM (MLS) IS A…

THE RELATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF TASK SCORES VERSUS IQ AS PREDICTORS OF ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT WAS INVESTIGATED, AND THE CORRELATIONS BETWEEN TASK SCORES AND IQ RE-EXAMINED. SUBJECTS WERE 99 UPPER-MIDDLE CLASS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN WITH A MEAN STANFORD-BINET IQ OF 126 (SD EQUALS 19). THE INSTRUMENTS USED WERE DUNN'S OBJECT SORTING TASK (OST),…

THIS STUDY INVESTIGATED THE INFLUENCE OF TEACHERS' OVERT CLASSROOM BEHAVIORS (EARLIER SHOWN TO BE A FUNCTION OF THEIR BELIEF SYSTEMS) UPON THE LEARNING AND PERFORMANCE OF STUDENTS IN 118 K-1 CLASSES IN RURAL AND URBAN SCHOOL DISTRICT, SCORES FOR EACH CLASS ON HARVEY'S STUDENT RATING SCALE (ON WHICH OBSERVERS RATE STUDENT COOPERATION,…

Objectives, with sample test items and explanations of answers are presented for instruction in judgment and logic in analyzing fallacies and weaknesses in arguments. This type of material is not usually taught in pre-college curricula, but has been geared for the secondary grades. Each fallacy is explained after the stated objective, and answers…

THE RESEARCH REPORTED IN THIS WORKING PAPER "STRONGLY INDICATES" THAT SEMANTIC UNIVERSALS HAVE BEEN DISCOVERED IN THE DOMAIN OF COLOR VOCABULARY. MOREOVER, THESE UNIVERSALS APPEAR TO BE RELATED TO THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT OF ALL LANGUAGES IN A WAY THAT CAN PROPERLY BE TERMED EVOLUTIONARY. THE RESEARCH WAS CONDUCTED IN A GRADUATE…

A sample of college students was used to determine whether there was a correlation between Lowenfeld's visual-haptic continuum and Piaget's concrete-formal continuum. Three instruments were administered--a questionnaire, the Successive Perception Test I (Gibson) which identified an individual's location on the visual-haptic continuum, and the…

This study examined the relationship of cognitive and affective objectives to art experiences using data from the 1974-75 national assessment of art. The 1974-75 assessment used art exercises to measure cognitive and affective objectives of nearly 27,000 students aged 9, 13, and 17. The cognitive exercises were designed to assess students'…

The primary objectives of this project commonly refereed to as "Assessing Human Abilities" were: (1) to provide reference measures for cognitive factors; and (2) to provide a guide to reference measures for self-report temperament factors. The overall objective was to conduct research in the area of factor analysis directed toward the…

The purpose of this study was to develop, field-test, and validate a useable, objectively-scored test for use with advanced undergraduate college students majoring in elementary education. The first of three tests was submitted to groups of professors and teachers for analysis and criticism. Part II, Form A and B, was developed from the revision…