A group of 30 institutionalized "predelinquent" preadolescents and 30 public school nondelinquent preadolescents were compared on Kagan's Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFF) of cognitive impulsivity. Contrary to predictions, predelinquents were more reflective than nondelinquents on both the latency and error dimensions of the MFF.…

An experiment concerning children's conceptions of price was conducted to investigate the influence of the context of a problem on its apprehension. A total of 120 children of several age groups (nursery school, grades 2, 4, and 6) were interviewed individually. An initial question was asked ("Why does a bun cost about one Swedish…

Study results give strong support to the existence of successive and simultaneous processing dimensions in 77 normal school-age children in grades K-6 and can be interpreted as an independent cross-validation of the model proposed by Das and his colleagues. (Author/CM)

This paper presents a model for examining the cognitive nature of artistic development in children. The model uses Witkin's differentiation theory as a basic construct with which to integrate theories of art criticism/aesthetics (particularly, E.B. Feldman's theory), developmental psychology (Jean Piaget), and linguistics. Witkin's Differentiation…

Studies children's use of transformation (as a cognitive process) in identifying altered musical phrases in four phrase songs. Continuous Response Digital Interface (CRDI) software was used to record the children's responses. Includes statistical tables. (MJP)

Investigated the emergence of class and propositional reasoning skills as a function of the developing ability to coordinate increasingly complex negation and affirmation operations with children from grades 1, 3, 5, and 7. Found that children's reasoning follows a logical development sequence and that different groups of items account for…

Past and ongoing research on cognition indicates that its effects on academic achievement are more direct than those of environmental, affective, or behavioral factors. The research has analyzed cognitive factors, the remediation of cognitive differences, and the transferability of remediation practices. Other cognition researchers have focused on…

On-the-job experience is commonly regarded as the prime prerequisite for proficiency. This paper presents findings of a study that compared the ways in which a group of practicing elementary principals (n=31) and aspiring principals (n=25) thought their way through a case study. The study was conducted as part of the Cognitive Approaches to School…

Previous research by Maratsos found that 3-year-olds were more accurate than four and 5-year-olds in selecting 'big' rectangles or animals when choosing between pairs of stimuli. A study then investigated the nature of the previous experiments themselves, particularly the procedures the researcher followed and the possible inferences which he drew…

This study investigates (1) the relationship of two potentially valuable measures of sequential processing to each other and to a measure of digit span, and (2) the relationships among tests of sequential processing and other measures of cognitive functioning. Subjects were 188 first grade students who had been screened in kindergarten for risk of…

Investigated was the hypothesis that conservation tasks are unifactor by administering eight different conservation tasks to 96 seventh-grade science students and performing a principal component analysis on the data. Results indicated that conservation tasks may measure up to three different components of cognitive thought. (SL)

A study was undertaken to determine if a criterion referenced test based on a Piagetian stage model of reading acquisition was related to grade level, to a standardized reading achievement test, and to a test of cognitive developmental level. Sixty first, second, and third grade children were administered a comprehensive test of basic skills. They…

THE DEVELOPMENT OF THOUGHT PROCESSES UNDER OPTIMUM TRAINING CONDITIONS WAS STUDIED. OPTIMUM WAS DEFINED TO INCLUDE (1) A CURRICULUM FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THOUGHT, (2) TEACHING STRATEGIES FOCUSED DIRECTLY ON MASTERY OF NECESSARY COGNITIVE SKILLS, AND (3) A SUFFICIENT TIME SPAN TO PERMIT A DEVELOPMENTAL TRAINING SEQUENCE. CHILDREN FROM 20…

Consistent learning gains are associated with the use of pictures when experiments adhere to five ground rules: (1) prose passages are presented orally; (2) the subjects are children; (3) the passages are fictional narratives; (4) the pictures overlap the story content; and (5) learning is demonstrated by factual recall. (Author)