Age-related change in processing speed has been linked directly to increases in reasoning as well as indirectly via increases in the capacity of working memory (WM). Most of the evidence linking change in speed to reasoning has come from cross-sectional research; in this article we present the findings from a 2½-year longitudinal study of 277 6-…

The present study examines 5- to 8-year-old children's relation reasoning in solving matrix completion tasks. This study incorporates a componential analysis, an eye-tracking method, and a microgenetic approach, which together allow an investigation of the cognitive processing strategies involved in the development and learning of children's…

We analyze the hypothesis that some individuals on the autism spectrum may use visual mental representations and processes to perform certain tasks that typically developing individuals perform verbally. We present a framework for interpreting empirical evidence related to this "Thinking in Pictures" hypothesis and then provide…

In order to better understand the nature of verbal short-term memory (STM) deficits in dyslexic children, the present study used the distinction between item and serial order retention capacities in STM tasks. According to recent STM models, storage of verbal item information depends very directly upon the richness of underlying phonological and…

Relational reasoning is an essential component of fluid intelligence, and is known to have a protracted developmental trajectory. To date, little is known about the neural changes that underlie improvements in reasoning ability over development. In this event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, children aged 8-12 and adults…

In our prior study the negative correlation between Topology, a behavioral measure of fluid reasoning, and adult age diminished with the increase in the level of expertise in a cognitively-demanding domain of expertise in the game of GO. The present fMRI study was designed to investigate neural substrates of Topology. The modified topology…

Researchers have examined inductive reasoning to identify different cognitive processes when participants deal with inductive problems. This article presents a prescriptive theory of inductive reasoning that identifies cognitive processing using a procedural strategy for making comparisons. It is hypothesized that training in the use of the…

This study investigated the effects of prompting, or directing/controlling attention, during a reasoning task on the performance of 68 children with attention deficit disorders, learning disabilities, or no handicaps, in grades 1-12. All groups benefited from prompting, and prompting was related to a different set of cognitive processes in each…