A longstanding and fundamental debate in developmental science is whether knowledge is acquired through domain-specific or domain-general mechanisms. To date, there exists no tool to determine whether experimental data support one theoretical approach or the other. In this article, we argue that the U- and N-shaped curves found in a number of…

The first part of this paper briefly describes two studies concerned with cognitive processes in children. One study examined the ability of Kindergarten and First Grade children to apply a simple rule of logical inference in order to solve a two-object discrimination problem. Specifically, the rule was of the form "if A, then not B." A second…

The effects of meaningfulness of the stimulus materials and the presence or absence of contextual cues on problem-solving behavior were investigated. Third-graders (N=80) were randomly assigned to one of four conditions and their performance in a series of discrimination problems was observed. Subjects in Conditions I and II responded to stimuli…