Undergraduates were given either Barnum characterizations or straightforward instructions regarding open- or closed-mindedness. Barnum inductions influenced subsequent cognitive behavior: Subjects led to believe that they were open-minded were more balanced in the thoughts they produced on two campus issues than were subjects led to believe they…

An open-category task was administered to 180 elementary students. Three modes of response (related to the ways students acquire attributes for objects) were used to score the tasks. Qualitative changes in the three modes were analyzed, and the results supported a qualitative change in the modes of response. (Author/GDC)

The paper reviews research which presents evidence that learning disabled (LD) children, like other groups that show performance deficiencies, do not spontaneously employ appropriate goal directed task strategies in many situations. (Author/PHR)

In a study to determine procedural effects of volume conservation tasks performed by adolescent females, the results revealed that the LaVatelli water displacement test was significantly more difficult than the Elkind test or Piaget's test. (Author/RL)

This article (1) discusses the progression of children's thought from realism to objectivity, to reciprocity, and to realitivity; and (2) describes seventeen types of explanations children give to explain the causality of physical occurrences in the world. (SB)

This study attempted to account for the differential effectiveness of an instructional film in modifying children's life concepts by considering individual differences in conceptual tempo. Eighty 6- to 7-year-old boys and girls showed significant decreases in animistic reasoning following an 11 minute film on life attribution. (MS)

Twenty-four children in kindergarten through fourth grade were interviewed and asked to share a pancake fairly among three dolls. The context was chosen to allow children to use out-of-school intuition and understanding if preferred. Four levels of development were identified leading to the understanding of fair fractions as those where each part…

Examined infants' use of configural and physical knowledge in segregating three-dimensional adjacent displays. Found that infants do use configural knowledge: they expect similar parts to belong to same unit and dissimilar parts to belong to distinct units. Also found that physical knowledge, such as impenetrability and support, influences their…

Presented preschoolers and first graders with 3-term inversion problems such as 3 + 2 - 2 and similar standard problems to examine whether children used the inversion principle and if use was based on qualitative identity, length, or quantity. Found that both age groups showed evidence of using inversion in a fully quantitative manner, indicating…

Presents a model that describes how students reconstruct geological transformations over time. Defines the critical factors influencing reconstructive thinking: (1) the transformation scheme, which influences the other diachronic schemes; (2) knowledge of geological processes; and (3) extracognitive factors. (Author/KHR)

The relationship between early language and cognition was studied in 20 children between 1 and 2 years of age. Four cognitive areas were tested: object permanence, means-end, play, and imitation. Results indicated that specific cognitive skills seem temporarily associated with some linguistic abilities, although attainment of skills can be…

Reviews Karmiloff-Smith's "Beyond Modularity," suggesting that her work highlights phenomena that seem counter intuitive when regarded from current developmental frameworks, and advocates that understanding them requires more complex perspectives than can be supported by either extreme nativist or domain-general models of cognitive…

Reviews "The Mind's Staircase: Exploring the Conceptual Underpinnings of Children's Thought and Knowledge," edited by Robbie Case. A main thesis of the book, which discusses theoretical issues and presents empirical evidence, is that children's cognitive development is guided by central conceptual structures, or networks of concepts that…

Two experiments examined the role first, third, and fourth graders' intuitive theories about a subject played in their concept formation about the subject. Found that elementary school children can use theories to link together specific features associated with individual concepts. (MDM)

Investigates the effectiveness of utilizing analogies to effect conceptual change in students' alternative-probability concepts. Results indicate that analogies can be effective in producing desired conceptual change in high school students' probability concepts. (Author/CCM)