Described are 12 instruments utilized in studies measuring the Piagetian level of cognitive development of students. Instruments for elementary and secondary students are included, and a detailed analysis of the concepts measured and the method for evaluating the results of each instrument is included. Stressed is the importance of analyzing why a…

This study attempts to determine if individual differences in multitask performance are due in part to the cognitive competence (i.e., the consistent, rule-based strategy) the subject brings to the task. A battery of learning (discrimination shift, transposition, incidental learning and paired-associate learning), cognitive-developmental…

This report provides data from a larger study investigating consumer socialization of children which focused on the processes by which children acquire knowledge skills and attitudes related to consumer behavior. The research has utilized two theoretical perspectives: cognitive development and information processing theories. The data reported are…

To determine the extent to which training can affect acquisition and retention of the object construct, three groups of severely mentally retarded children (N=21, mean CA=10-14years) were exposed to training or control conditions for approximately 10 minutes per day on 8 days. (Author/CL)

Interviews and classroom observations were used to evaluate the Solutions unit of the MATAL Elementary Science Curriculum Project. Both techniques were found to contribute insightful information about the reasoning strategies and learning difficulties of the students. (BW)

Debates as to the appropriateness of using the Karplus Islands Puzzle as an instrument to assess formal-operational thought. (CP)

Discusses a study which compared differences in ratio construction made by high school freshman and junior students. Reports that more freshmen than juniors selected solutions involving one variable, whereas juniors chose solutions that coordinated two variables in a mathematical or verbal rule. Reviews implications in problem solving and concept…

Examined the effects of Piagetian-like tasks' characteristics on the performance of those tasks by different age group students. Indicates the method of task presentation had an effect only on young students' performance, while numerical content had an effect on the majority of students in all grades. (Author/CW)

Described is the process approach to mathematics which is gaining momentum in primary schools. Included is a discussion of the origin and features of the movement and possible future directions and consequences of its growth. (PK)

Explored the relationship between adolescents' level of cognitive reasoning and their contextual judgments of the factors affecting quality of life. Showed that those 10th grade students who achieved higher levels of cognitive reasoning were more likely to identify social and interpersonal aspects of life as factors related to quality of life and…

Reviews bases for contemporary discontinuity theories of mental development, presents findings that support alternative proposition of continuity and scrutinizes assessment methods from which these continuity results derive. Also offers several models that help explain the continuity findings, and argues that individual differences in mental…

Examines cognitive processing and semantic influences on the developmental patterning of everyday social explanation in a cross-cultural investigation undertaken among American and Hindu adults and children (ages 8, 11, and 15). (HOD)

Appraises the respective contribution of initial competence and of imitation of modeled response in the observational learning of conservation among first grade children. (HOD)

Describes a classroom project for middle school students where developmental theory was translated into instruction promoting cognitive development. (MD)