| Abstract: | Examined the development of conditional reasoning from the perspective of the competence-moderator-performance approach discussed by W. F. Overton (1985) and Overton and J. L. Newman (1982). The effects of task interpretation and cognitive style as moderator variables for conditional reasoning were examined, using 36 8th-, 36 10th-, and 36 12th-grade male students as Ss. Ss were given an inference task, and half the Ss at each grade level received training with contradictory evidence to alert them to faulty task interpretations. Generalization of training was assessed with a 2nd conditional reasoning task, and cognitive style was assessed with the Matching Familiar Figures Test. Results indicate that only the 12th graders benefited from contradiction training, and this training generalized to the subsequent task. A reflective style enhanced performance at each grade level for the initial task. However, the beneficial effects of a reflective style were restricted on the generalization task to 12th graders who had received contradiction training. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved) |
