Three experiments were conducted to examine children's use of multiplying and proportionality rules in judgments of area. In the first two experiments, 7- through 8-year-olds were asked to judge the area of rectangles. In the third, 8- through 11-year-olds were tested on ratio of a rectangle compared to a horizontal line. Results indicated…

The hypothesis that overall-similarity relations structure both adults' and children's classifications of heterogeneous objects (objects that differ in a variety of ways) was supported in two experiments. When objects varied simultaneously on many dimensions, adults and children constructed classifications that maximized within-category similarity…

Describes project SWING (Starting With Individual Growth), a comprehensive preschool education program for children at risk of a wide range of learning or social difficulties. (Author/RH)

Depressed outpatients received treatment focusing on interpersonal skills, cognitions, or pleasant events. Patients received immediate treatment or delayed treatment. All treatment modalities significantly alleviated depression. All patients improved on most dependent variables, regardless of whether variables were directly addressed in treatment.…

Four-year-olds succeeded in making comparisons between sets of objects when comparison questions called for comparing set with set or subset with subset. However, when comparison questions called for comparing set with subset, the children failed to complete such tasks successfully. (Author/DB)

Summarizes research done in the 1950s, early 1960s, and mid-1970s about how children and adolescents think about economic related ideas. Economic reasoning develops in a stage-like manner similar to Piagetian stages of cognitive development, becoming more abstract, other-directed, and flexible with increasing age. (RM)

A hierarchical factor solution was obtained from a psychometrized battery of Piagetian-type tasks individually administered to 660 kindergarten children. The first two levels of factors included Piagetian theoretical entities. A third level factor was identified as a g. The association of Piagetian tasks with academic achievement was through the g…

Proposes the cognitive developmental paradigm for developing and teaching career development courses in secondary schools. Proposes the major Piagetian constructs of interaction, equilibration, assimilation, and accommodation as a means of intervening in both the structure and function of the career thinking of adolescents. (Author)

Reevaluates literature on the development of transitive inference in light of theoretical and methodological criticisms, and examines two aspects of the Piagetian account of the development of this cognitive ability. Criticism leveled is based on the observations that ability to make transitive inferences is not age-related and that children and…

Types of hyperactivity were studied using data from the general population epidemiological study of 10- and 11-year-old children on the Isle of Wight followed up when 14-15 years old. The findings indicated different outcomes for various types of hyperactivity and the importance of identifying the type of hyperactivity. (Author/DB)

Compares the suitability of two kinds of history curricula for the varying levels of cognitive development of 9- to 11-year-olds. Fifteen British students studied the Victorian Era using transcripts of original documents, while 15 classmates used standard textbooks. The documents seemed to give students greater awareness of the evidence sources.…

Compared various cognitive treatment approaches for ameliorating the difficulties of hyperactive children on tasks requiring sustained vigilance and accuracy. Differential training techniques comparing training in attention to inhibitory control indicated that a combination of attentional and inhibitory control strategies was most efficacious in…

Used a multivariate approach and longitudinal design to examine the relationship of early perceptual and cognitive development in first grade, to school achievement in fourth grade. Results indicated variables used to predict achievement differed between the sexes, and sex as a predictor variable depended upon area of achievement studying.…

Examined the adequacy of the cognitive developmental stage hypothesis in accounting for the development of children's friendship expectations. It was concluded that cognitive-developmental stages may be of limited value in predicting the development of friendship expectation unless only broad age changes are sought. (Author/RH)

To determine whether cooperative learning methods could be used to replace traditional methods, the simultaneous use of three student team learning methods with fourth and fifth grade students was evaluated. This involved students working in teams to master academic materials. Positive outcomes resulted from intensive use of these methods.…