摘要:

It is widely accepted that primary school children will approach science with strong “alternative conceptions” about the variables at play which, unless directly challenged, will circumscribe learning. Extensive discussion concerning the form the challenges should take has led to the conclusion that learning will be maximized if children explore their conceptions while working with peers whose alternative conceptions arc different. At present, however, there is little research to support this, and the small amount that does exist says little about the process by which learning is effected. The current study attempted to redress this in the context of motion down an incline. Individual pre‐tests were administered to 113 8‐ to 12‐year‐old children to establish their alternative conceptions. On the basis of their pre‐test responses, and in order to establish adequate controls, the children were put into groups of four according to whether their conceptions were different or similar. The children worked in their groups on tasks designed to elicit the exploration of alternative conceptions, and were subsequently post‐tested. The pattern of pre‐ to post‐test change gave some support to the notion that learning is maximized when alternative conceptions differ. However, it gave few grounds for thinking that learning involves the internalization of conceptions that the groups jointly construct. Rather, it suggested a process of private conflict resolution, for which the catalyst was discussion held during the groups but continuing long aft

ISSN:0261-510X    

DOI:10.1111/j.2044-835X.1992.tb00566.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Children aged 5–10 years produced trait labels for eight descriptions of behaviour, and provided definitions of eight trait labels. There was a gradual increase with age in the number of correct trait labels produced, although even the youngest group were correct 25 per cent of the time. Judges correctly categorized the majority of children's trait definitions above chance levels. Comparisons of different types of trait term suggested that there was no overall tendency in young children to overgeneralize trait labels. The results suggest that a monolithic model of trait understanding is misleading, but that a distinction of internal‐state and social‐intention terms may be a useful way of relating trait concepts to other mental state

ISSN:0261-510X    

DOI:10.1111/j.2044-835X.1992.tb00567.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

In the present study an analysis is made of the type of noun descriptions used by 4‐ and 5‐year‐old children in a typical referential communication task as an indicator of the underlying categorization process and of the corresponding level of children's semantic development. On the basis of Rosch's theory of categorization the following hypotheses were proposed: (a) that children may form initial basic‐ level categories different from adult‐basic categories, which later undergo a process of conventionalization towards the adult norm; (b) that exemplar typicality may influence category attribution and the corresponding reference patterns. The subjects consisted of 94 Italian native speakers, 50 aged 4 years and 44 aged 5 years. The results support the first but not the second hypothesis and also allow us to explore how children proceed from a generic level of reference to more specific (subordinate) levels of reference, as well as how they correct previous attributi

ISSN:0261-510X    

DOI:10.1111/j.2044-835X.1992.tb00568.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Nearly 400 former students aged between 25 and 77 were tested for retention of knowledge from an undergraduate degree course in cognitive psychology. Retention intervals ranged from three months to 12 years. Tests were designed to examine both recognition and recall of names and concepts; general and specific facts; conceptual relations and principles of experimental design. Retention interval and the grade originally achieved were found to be the most important predictors of retention. There was no age difference in the rate of forgetting. Small effects of age were apparent in memory for highly specific facts but memory for general facts, principles and conceptual relations was not significantly affected by age. The pattern of results suggests that general knowledge Schemas are age‐resistant although lower‐level specific knowledge is slightly age‐impaired. Overall, the findings indicate that intelligent, highly motivated elderly people show very little deficit in the retention of formally acquired know

ISSN:0261-510X    

DOI:10.1111/j.2044-835X.1992.tb00569.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Although shared environmental factors affect cognitive development during childhood, non‐shared environmental factors experienced differently by children in the same family appear to be the major source of environmental influence on cognitive development after childhood. However, specific shared and non‐shared aspects of environmental measures relevant to cognitive development have not been differentiated. Data from the Colorado Adoption Project (CAP) for 184 members of 92 sibling pairs, studied separately when each child was 12 and 24 months of age, were used to construct a non‐shared scale and a shared scale from items of the Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME). Items that were not significantly correlated for siblings were selected as “non‐shared” items; the remaining items were selected as “shared” items. Comparisons of sibling correlations for the shared and non‐shared HOME scales for adoptive and non‐adoptive siblings indicate the shared scale is primarily a measure of shared environment and the nonshared scale primarily assesses non

ISSN:0261-510X    

DOI:10.1111/j.2044-835X.1992.tb00570.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

The relationship between age, IQ test scores and inspection time (IT) was investigated, comparing children from two age groups (6–8 and 10–12 years) and three IQ levels (low, average, above average). The results indicated a reliable estimate of IT could be obtained from all groups, even across two procedures. IT was found to improve with childhood maturation among children with average and above average IQ. Correlational analyses indicated that, within this age range, IT was more related to mental age than to IQ. Results are discussed in terms of a model in which a minimum processing speed is essential for, but not alone in contributing to,

ISSN:0261-510X    

DOI:10.1111/j.2044-835X.1992.tb00571.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

The development trend of inspection time (IT) was investigated by comparing performances of eleven 5–6‐year‐olds and thirteen 11–12‐year‐olds, matched for IQ using Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices (CPM). Initial age‐related differences in IT were substantially reduced by extended practice but remained statistically significant after practice across 20 and more successive estimates had reduced IT performance to asymptotic levels. Relative rate of improvement in IT performance was not related to CPM and consideration of attentional variability and possible fatigue effects suggested that these variables could not account for the final difference between the samples in mean IT. Early 1T‐CPM correlations within cohorts were above − .5 but after eight estimates diminished steadily, eventually to negligible proportions in both age samples. This outcome was interpreted as the consequence of a shift in the type of information being processed, since a majority of children in both age samples reported learning to use post‐stimulus cues of apparent movement. Overall, results supported the hypothesis that speed of central processing increases as a function of mental age; but also highlighted methodological shortcomings in IT as an index of mental speed free from the influence of c

ISSN:0261-510X    

DOI:10.1111/j.2044-835X.1992.tb00572.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY

ISSN:0261-510X    

DOI:10.1111/j.2044-835X.1992.tb00573.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

Book reviewed in this article:Beginning to Read: Thinking and Learning about Print.ByMarilyn Jager Adams.Visions of Infancy.ByBen S. Bradley.Concepts, Kinds and Cognitive Development.ByFrank C. Keil.

ISSN:0261-510X    

DOI:10.1111/j.2044-835X.1992.tb00574.x

出版商:Blackwell Publishing Ltd    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY