Undergraduates discussed a moral issue with a confederate who had the same opinion (no controversy) or opposite opinion (controversy) within either a cooperative or a competitive context. Subjects in the controversy conditions indicated more conceptual conflict, engaged in more information seeking, and were more accurate in taking the cognitive…

Although cognitive developmentalists explain moral stage progression in part by experiences of disequilibrium (cognitive disorganization, confusion, an anxious search for order), relevant data collected from 75 college students indicate that there is no difference in reported disequilibrium between those in moral transition and those not in moral…

Thirty undergraduate students discussed a moral issue with a confederate who held either the same or the opposing opinion. Subjects in the controversy condition indicated more accurate understanding of the confederate's reasoning than their counterparts; however, noncontroversy subjects erroneously believed they understood the confederate's…

Intended for college instructors interested in promoting and developing intellectual abilities in their students, this publication details the Perry and Toulmin models of cognitive development. The first section explains the Perry model of dualistic students, who are comfortable in a framework of absolute knowledge and unquestionable right and…

This document includes a package of behavioral objectives for use in an introductory human relations course. Nine learning modules are described, each containing objectives in the cognitive area and in the skills and applications areas. The modules cover the following affective behavior topics: (1) communication and listening skills; (2) self…

A conceptual model is presented for the development of thinking skills by using an instructional model employing high level cognitive demands. "Distancing" is proposed as the concept to denote behaviors or events that separate the child cognitively from the immediate behavioral environment. Forms and functions of distancing behavior are…