The results of two experiments showed that five year olds can learn to solve class-inclusion problems if they are forced to consider the contradiction between their incorrect answers and their correct counting of the superordinate and subordinate classes. (JMB)

This study explored 5- to 17-year-olds' use, self report, and awareness of verbal problem-solving strategies and strategy effectiveness. Findings indicated that children's verbal strategies moved from overt, to partially covert, to fully covert forms with age. Self-reports of strategy use were accurate yet incomplete. Strategy awareness was low…

The mother, father, and adolescent siblings from 675 families were observed interacting in problem-solving sessions. Siblings were monozygotic twins, dyzygotic twins, or full siblings in nondivorced families and full, half, and unrelated siblings in stepfamilies. Results suggested a greater genetic component to adolescent behavior than to parent…

This study tested three hypothesized mechanisms through which explanations might facilitate problem-solving strategy generalization in kindergarteners through second graders. Results suggested that explanations facilitated generalization through the creation of novel goal structures that enabled children to persist in use of the new strategy…

This study attempts to follow the development of an "awareness" of the importance of consistency in a logical system with three elements and one operation. Subjects were 127 male and female students, 9-, 11-, 14-, and 16-years-old. (Author/SDH)

The relative strength of mastery motivation and need for approval was tested in subjects, ages 4 and 10. Mastery motivation was of major importance to the older children, particularly the boys. Contrary to prediction, approval was not of major importance to the young children. Need for approval was important for girls, but not boys. (Author/CS)

According to Humean framework, relations are judged to be causal to extent that they are characterized by regularity, continuity, and covariation among college students and college-bound 11- and 14-year-olds. Presents subjects with information about one of the following indices: potential causal factor covaried with effect and potential causal…

Examines the ability of six- and eight-year-old children to hide and recover 20 marbles in a large room containing 100 possible sites. Shows that children tend to concentrate activities in sections of the room and are sensitive to clusters of proximal sites. (HOD)

Used descriptive analysis and a forced choice task to investigate childrens' and adults' production, interpretation, and judgment of notation. Results showed that young children may not impose the same symbol-meaning structure at decoding that was proposed at encoding. Only after this ability develops does a preference for one form-one function…

It may be concluded that reflective and fast-accurate Ss differ from impulsive Ss of the same grade in the strategies used to solve problems. These strategy differences may or may not lead to more efficient performance, depending on the structure of the task, but they are indicative of different levels of cognitive development. (Author)

It is suggested that field dependents have more difficulty than field independents in giving up reliance on a formerly relevant cue. (Authors/CB)

Outerdirectedness has been defined by first author and his colleagues as a style of problem solving characterized by reliance on concrete situational cues rather than by active attempts to deduce abstract relationships. (Authors/MB)

Study is concerned with the commonalities between the development of skill and the development of problem solving. (Authors)

Two studies were conducted with 8- and 10-year-old children to examine sources of age and skill differences in verbal analogical reasoning. Discussion focuses on the child's "problem space" for the analogy task and possible differences in task understanding that lead to strategy and process differences in older versus younger and skilled versus…

Two experiments were conducted to examine behaviors that characterize play with convergent and divergent materials and the effects of play on convergent and divergent problem solving among 64 3- and 4-year-olds. (Author/RH)