Young children's (Homo sapiens) understanding of knowledge formation in themselves and others.

Three- and 4-yr-old children were tested for comprehension of knowledge formation. In Exp 1, 34 Ss watched as a surprise was hidden under 1 of 4 obscured cups. The experimenter then pointed to the cup. All children searched under the correct cup, but no 3-yr-olds (in contrast to most 4-yr-olds) could explain how they knew where to look. Ss then discriminated between simultaneous pointing by 2 adults, one who had hidden a surprise and one who had left the room before the surprise was hidden. Most 4-yr-olds (but no 3-yr-olds) showed clear discrimination between the adults. In Exp 2, 16 Ss were tested with procedures designed to make the source of their own knowledge more obvious, but this had no effect on performance. It is concluded that studies using very similar procedures with chimpanzees and rhesus macaques were measuring an ability (or inability) to understand how knowledge states form. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Selective information use in the development of search behavior.

Age differences in children's use of various sources of information about object location were examined in a study of search behavior in 3-, 4-, and 7-yr-olds. The 2 principal sources of information were general associative knowledge about the typical locations of objects (location specificity) and explicit verbal statements about object location. Age differences in the results reflected increasing utilization of the 2 sources of information when each was considered separately. More importantly, the design allowed consideration of Ss' ability to combine the information to limit search. In this respect, the findings reveal sophisticated information integration on the part of even the youngest Ss tested. At all ages, Ss were able to combine both sources of information when both were relevant and to ignore irrelevant location-specificity information when the verbal information was logically superordinate. (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Referential communication and reading performance in learning disabled children over a 3-year period.

Examined the ability of 30 learning disabled (LD) and 30 non-LD (NLD) 6- and 7-yr-olds to understand a sequence of instructions, communicate the steps in a sequence to others, and rephrase their verbal messages across a 3-yr period using a referential communication task. In order to perform the puzzle-box task correctly, Ss had to execute 6 steps in an invariant sequence. After Ss demonstrated a perfect nonverbal enactment of the sequence, they were asked to communicate all information about how to open the box to a puppet. Upon completion, the puppet feigned poor memory and asked the Ss to explain the step-by-step process again. Subsequently, the puppet requested that Ss rephrase their explanation of each step by either a verbal or nonverbal rephrase request. Results reveal that LD children differed from NLD peers consistently on referential communication over the 3-yr period in terms of listener competence and speaker competence. For LD Ss, the ability to produce competent verbal messages was highly related to reading comprehension both concurrently and 3 yrs later. By the 3rd yr, NLD Ss were better able to rephrase information, indicating a growing awareness of the speaker's responsibility in communication. Findings suggest that the communication measures studied play very different roles for LD and NLD Ss with regard to reading achievement. (27 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of the conception of economic inequality: II. Explanations, justifications, and concepts of social mobility and change.

720 6-, 11-, 14-, and 17-yr-olds from 4 social classes were interviewed about their concepts of economic inequality. Adolescents were more likely than children to explain and justify inequality by referring to equity and were more fatalistic in their conceptions of change and in justifying wealth and poverty. Younger Ss were more likely than adolescents to claim that individual mobility and social change could be achieved through others giving money and less likely to say that social change could be achieved by changing the social structure. Upper-middle-class Ss were more likely than others to claim that poverty cannot be changed and that poverty is due to equity or wasting money, and less likely than lower-class Ss to claim that the poor should not suffer. Lower-class 17-yr-olds were more likely than any other group to claim that the rich would resist social change. Blacks were less likely than Whites to claim that poverty is due to bad luck or fate. Findings are discussed in terms of cognitive–developmental trends, functionalist effects, and conflict theory. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relation between conceptual development and visual exploration of incongruity.

Investigated the relationship between conceptual development and visual exploratory behavior in 84 3-, 4-, and 8-yr-olds. All Ss were engaged in a picture-sorting task to determine whether they would spontaneously and readily discriminate between animate and inanimate objects. Only the 3-yr-olds failed to use this distinction. Three levels of incongruous stimuli were then constructed by combining elements from (a) 2 conceptually distant objects (Level 3: animate and inanimate), (b) 2 conceptually similar objects (Level 2: 2 animate or 2 inanimate), and by using normal, banal objects (Level 1). Patterns of visual selection were subsequently recorded as the Ss viewed pictures representing the 3 levels of incongruity. Results indicate that 3-yr-olds visually explored all incongruous pictures (Levels 2 and 3) longer than those that were banal, whereas 4-yr-olds viewed pictures of intermediate incongruity (Level 2) the longest. Older Ss displayed greater visual preference for progressively incongruous pictures. Findings are discussed in terms of the development of classificatory behavior and with reference to the schema-discrepancy and the informational-conflict-resolution models of visual selection. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Transfer of a mnemonic keyword strategy at two age levels.

80 12- and 80 18-yr-old students learned a list of cities paired with their products. In experimental conditions, Ss were instructed in mnemonic usage to learn the city–product pairings. Control Ss were simply instructed to learn the pairings. Then all Ss were presented a list of Latin nouns and their translations to learn. Spontaneous transfer of the keyword strategy to the Latin task was observed only among 18-yr-olds. However, the 12-yr-olds could transfer the keyword strategy to the new task situation if they were told to "use a technique similar to the one used in the city–product task." Results are interpreted within a developmental elaboration theory framework. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Organizing stories: Effects of development and task difficulty on referential cohesion in narrative.

Two experiments examined the effects of age and task difficulty on the referential cohesion of story retellings. In Exp I, analyses of referential error rates showed that 20 4-yr-olds produced more inappropriate introductory phrases than did 20 6-yr-olds, though rates for ambiguities in already-introduced referents did not differ significantly. Other types of referential errors were infrequent. Exp II investigated the impact of task difficulty on referring by systematically varying mode of story presentation (verbal vs video), familiarity/practice (1 vs 3 presentations), and S's cognitive style (reflective vs impulsive) as measured by the Matching Familiar Figures Test. It was hypothesized that increased task difficulty would lead to higher error rates for all S groups: 16 1st graders, 16 3rd graders, and 16 college students. Results indicate a higher incidence of errors with videotape rather than verbal presentation and for Ss with an impulsive style. Practice lowered the rate of introductory problems for young children, as expected, but failed to affect ambiguity rates. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's effective use of multiple standards for evaluating their comprehension.

Two experiments examined children's ability to apply 3 different standards for evaluating their understanding. 71 5-, 7-, 9-, and 11-yr-olds were presented with short narrative passages within which were embedded 3 types of problems (nonsense words, internal inconsistencies, and prior knowledge violations), each of which could only be identified if a specific standard of evaluation were used (lexical, internal consistency, and external consistency, respectively). Ss were explicitly instructed in advance that their task was to find the "mistakes." Moreover, Ss were given immediate feedback after each trial and a 2nd opportunity to find any missed problems. Although older Ss used all 3 standards more effectively than younger Ss, problem identification was considerably better than that reported in noninstructed settings. The internal consistency standard was applied least effectively, but even the youngest Ss were able to use it. Results illustrate the need to consider comprehension-monitoring skills with respect to specific standards of evaluation, rather than as a unitary phenomenon. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Verbal interaction in mother-child dyads.

Examined the verbal interaction of mothers and their children in mother-child dyads. Ss were 24 children (12 2-yr-olds and 12 3-yr-olds) and their mothers. Each child was selected on the basis of age and pretest results indicating nondelayed receptive and expressive language function. The mother and her child were given an assortment of toys, and the mother was asked to play with her child. Tape recordings were made of each session. Analysis of the mother-child dyadic data revealed that the verbalizations of 2 groups of mothers differed significantly. Mothers of the older group of children used more complex expatiations and modeled interrogations. The occurrence of expansions and direct imitations was not a function of age of the child. The verbal interactions of 2- and 3-yr-olds was significantly different in that 2-yr-olds produced a greater percentage of imitations with reduction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A featural analysis of preschoolers' counting knowledge.

Investigated preschoolers' knowledge of counting principles by examining their ability to discriminate between features that are essential for correct counting and features that are typically present but unessential. The standard counting procedure was analyzed into 1 essential feature, word/object correspondence (WOC), and 4 optional features: counting adjacent objects consecutively, pointing once to each object, starting at an end of a row, and proceeding in a left to right direction. In Exp I, 10 3-, 10 4-, and 10 5-yr-olds were asked to judge a puppet's counting that either violated the essential or unessential features or that conformed to the standard correct procedure. Ss who knew the WOC principle presumably would reject counts that violated it more often than counts that conformed to it. Each S's skill in counting rows of objects also was assessed. In Exp II, 16 3-yr-olds completed a similar task but were able to see an adult model perform the task before judging. Skill in executing the standard counting procedure preceded knowledge of the underlying principle. Four- and 5-yr-olds knew that WOC was essential, although a high percentage of them did not know that other typical features were unessential. An analysis of probable environmental input and of the features' utility in separating already-counted from to-be-counted objects is proposed to account for the relative probabilities that Ss knew that each of the 5 features of standard counting was essential or optional. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Teaching through demonstration: The effects of structuring, imitation, and age.

Studied the effects of 3 degrees of structuring in a teacher's demonstration upon rule learning by 36 6- and 8-yr-olds. Ss were evenly divided between males and females. After pretesting on a conceptual sorting task, Ss were exposed to a modeling sequence under high, medium, or low degrees of structure. Half of the Ss were permitted to imitate the model's actions. All were given a transfer test consisting of new items. Results reveal that 6-yr-olds were disproportionately handicapped when the demonstration was only partially structured. Imitation failed to influence cluster rule learning. Results are discussed in terms of a social learning conception of teaching. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conceptual perspective taking in 2- to 6-year-old children.

Tested whether young children could infer another persons' perspective by showing 80 2–6 yr olds 2 videotaped stories which included audio information describing the action, and later reshowing the films to the Ss and their mothers, with the audio turned off. The Ss were then asked questions about their mothers' knowledge of the action and asked to justify their answers. Few or none of the 2- and 3-yr-olds answered nonegocentrically but most to all of the 4-, 5-, and 6-yr-olds did. The ability to make a correct inference appeared somewhat earlier than the ability to justify it. Results are compared to those from other studies. (3 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mental manipulation of spatial information in young and elderly adults.

Investigated the ability of 20-, 60-, and 70-yr-olds (12 men and 12 women at each age level) to mentally manipulate spatial information in a large-scale environment. In a perspective-taking task, Ss were asked to determine the location of target objects from imagined locations. In an array rotation task, Ss were asked to imagine that the array of objects rotated relative to their current position. Young and elderly Ss performed with equivalent accuracy on the array rotation task, but young Ss were more accurate on the perspective-taking task. Ss who were taken to each object location prior to testing were more accurate in the perspective-taking task than Ss who did not have this experience. There was no effect of prior experience on performance in the array rotation task. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Instruction and modality effects on children's television attention and comprehension.

80 5- and 9-yr-olds viewed a TV program containing segments emphasizing visual, auditory, or audiovisual information. Half of the Ss were instructed to remember for later testing, and the other half to watch for entertainment. Results show that instructions increased visual orientation and cued recall in younger Ss, and free and cued recall were enhanced in older Ss. Visual orientation and recall of auditory content were positively correlated at both ages, but the association was significantly stronger in younger Ss. It is concluded that even 5-yr-olds are capable of modifying their TV viewing behavior in response to task demands. (35 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Discrimination and memory for symmetry in young children.

Conducted 3 experiments to assess the development of symmetry perception in children between the ages of 4 and 6 yrs. Exp I employed a learning task in which 72 Ss were asked at different times to discriminate vertically symmetrical, obliquely symmetrical, and horizontally symmetrical holistic patterns from asymmetrical ones. Results reveal a developmental progression: 4-yr-olds discriminated only vertical; 5-yr-olds, vertical and horizontal; and 6-yr-olds, vertical, horizontal, and oblique. Exp II retested the 18 6-yr-olds with fragmented patterns of the different symmetries; these Ss regressed to the performance level of 4-yr-olds and only discriminated vertical. Exp III, conducted with 18 Ss, used a memory-production task with new vertical, oblique, horizontal, and asymmetrical patterns constructed to 4, 5, or 6 elements. Measures of the goodness and accuracy of Ss' reproductions were consistent with data from the discrimination-learning experiments in terms of age, stimulus orientation, and stimulus complexity. These studies support the view that vertical symmetry is special perceptually and developmentally and that, after vertical, horizontal predominates, followed by oblique. The role of symmetry in early perceptual development and the value of child–adult perceptual comparisons are discussed. (55 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of time, speed, and distance concepts.

Used the rule-assessment approach to examine understanding of the concepts of time, speed, and distance in 36 5-, 8-, and 11-yr-olds and 12 undergraduates. Parallel tasks were developed for the 3 concepts that allowed specification of whether Ss were relying on time, speed, distance, end point, end time, beginning point, or beginning time cues in making their judgments. It was found that 5-yr-olds understood all 3 concepts in the same way: Whichever train ended farther ahead on the tracks was said to have traveled for the longer time, at the faster speed, and for the greater distance. Undergraduates, at the other extreme, understood all 3 concepts as distinct and separate ideas. The transitional period was marked by specific confusions among the 3 concepts: Time was regularly confused with distance, distance was confused with time, and speed was confused with distance and to some extent with end point. Both speed and distance concepts appeared to be mastered well before the concept of time. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social class, age, and the nature of the incentive in children's lever-pressing performance.

96 middle class (MC) and lower class (LC) 6-, 10-, and 15-yr-old schoolchildren lever pressed for a 2 min. practice, followed by a 5-min session reinforced on a fixed-interval 30-sec schedule with money, a verbalism ("good"), both money plus "good," or nothing. Results indicate that MC sensitivity to verbal incentive and LC sensitivity to monetary incentive become pronounced as the child grows older since no differences between LC and MC were found for the youngest Ss. Data also suggest that sensitivity to the reinforcing properties inherent in a task does not develop as rapidly in LC as in MC Ss. (French summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of instructions on children's attention to stimulus components.

In 3 experiments, 5-, 8-, 9-, and 12-yr-olds were given a component-selection task with instructions to attend to one component or another or with no specific instructions. Ss at all age levels varied their attention to the nondominant component (color) in accord with instructions. Thus, children even as young as age 5 are capable of altering their manner of attention deployment. In another respect, however, data suggest a developmental change in the way children respond to varying task demands: Ss at 8 yrs of age and beyond, but not the 5-yr-olds, reduced their attention to the dominant component (shape) in response to instructions to concentrate on the nondominant component. During the early school years, children apparently develop a tendency to employ "attentional trading," withdrawing attention from a normally dominant stimulus component when it becomes advantageous to increase attention to another feature. Results are discussed as calling for modification of earlier hypotheses concerning development of attention. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Environmental differentiation and familiarity as determinants of children's memory for spatial location.

The degree to which 2 environmental variables, familiarity and differentiation, affect the ability of children to recall the spatial location of an event was assessed in 3 experiments with a total of 72 3-5 yr old preschoolers and 16 7-8 yr olds. In each study Ss were taken individually on strolls through a variety of environments, were exposed to an event, and later were asked to recall where that event had occurred. This procedure was followed on 1 occasion without the S's foreknowledge that such a request would be made, and on a 2nd occasion with foreknowledge of the S. Differentiation and foreknowledge both had a significant effect on the ability of preschool Ss to perform in this task, but familiarity did not. 8-yr-olds were significantly more accurate than preschoolers in an undifferentiated environment but not in a differentiated environment. Results support Piaget's theory that the development of spatial representation proceeds from dependence on topological spatial relations to incorporation of projective and Euclidean concepts. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)