APPRENTISSAGE DE LA CONSERVATION DES QUANTITÉS LIQUIDES CHEZ DES ENFANTS RWANDAIS ET CANADIENS-FRANCAIS1

Three groups of 16 subjects (rural school Rwandese, rural unschooled Rwandese and urban school French-Canadian children), classified as preoperational on a pretest including eight tests of conservation, were trained on the conservation of liquid quantities by a method based on anticipation of levels and compensation of dimensions. It was found that a) the performance of all three groups, when compared with controls, was significantly higher on two successive post-tests (two months interval); b) the three groups did not differ from one another either in global scores on both post-tests or in number of training sessions required for learning; c) the types of justification were based predominantly on perceptual features and on identity in non-conservation and conservation judgments, respectively. Results are discussed mainly in terms of the kind of justifications given by the three groups, the relative effectiveness of the two types of training given, and the genuineness of the conservation induced.     

ETUDE INTERCULTURELLE DE LA GENERALISATION DES OPERATIONS: SIMILITUDE ET COHERENCE DES ACTIVITES DE CLASSIFICATION ET DE SERIATION CHEZ DES SUJETS CANADIENS-FRANÇAIS,RWANDAIS SCOLARISES ET RWANDAIS NON SCOLARISES*

Sixty-two French-Canadian children, seven to ten years old; 64 schooled Rwandese children, ten to thirteen years old; and 32 unschooled Rwandese subjects aged 15 and 17 were tested on four piagetian logico-mathematical tasks: hierarchical classification (CA), multiple classification (CM), seriation of weight (RA) and double seriation (RM). Due to the effect of order, separate analyses were performed for tasks done during the same test session. When the results of tasks CA and RM, on the one hand, and of RA and CM, on the other hand, are combined, it is observed, firstly, that the items alternate in order of difficulty and, secondly, that the number of coherent patterns of responses exceeds the null hypothesis in French-Canadian and schooled Rwandese populations, supporting the hypothesis of a complementary and partially synchronous modality of structuration of logical abilities. From another point of view, when the items from all four tasks are combined in a single scale of difficulty, the very close similarity observed between the ranks of the items in the three populations strengthens the hypothesis of a universally determined cognitive development based mainly on the equilibration process.     

PERCEPTION DE FORMES GÉOMÉTRIQUES ET d'ILLUSIONS CHEZ DES ENFANTS FRANCAIS ET AMÉRICAINS1

Perception of geometric forms and optical illusions in French and American children. — A 30-item series of perceptual problems involving geometric forms and optical illusions was administered to 357 French and 732 American children, ages 8 through 16 years. A developmental gradient was observed in both samples: performance correlated +.33 with age in the French sample and +.22 in the American. Age-by-age comparison of means gave approximately identical results, except at age 12 where the French children scored significantly higher. Prior research has shown the perceptual series to be uncorrelated with verbal and linguistic ability, but significantly related to performance on tasks (such as the embedded figures test) which reflect analytic capacity. These findings, plus the cross-national stability of age norms and developmental gradients found here, suggest that the series may have value as a research tool for cross-cultural study of interpersonal effectiveness and analytic aptitude.     

SENTIMENT D'AUTO-EFFICACITÉ ET EXERCICE DES PROCESSUS D'AUTORÉGULATION CHEZ DES ÉTUDIANTS DE NIVEAU COLLÉGIAL*

This study examines the influence of self-efficacy on the self-regulatory mechanisms exercised during a verbal concept formation task. High or low-self-efficacy is experimentally induced among sixty four college students who subsequently have to solve, aloud, different problems of concept formation. Self-regulation was examined based on the utilization of the cognitive strategies required to solve the task, the monitoring strategies applied over the cognitive enterprise and the metacognitive experiences emerging along the resolution. Both groups exhibite similar cognitive strategies, yet some of their monitoring strategies and metacognitive experiences are affected by their self-efficacy judgments. The nature of self-efficacy should be considered when studying the relationship between metacognitive knowledge and self-regulation as applied during the task resolution.     

LA MÈRE ET SON BÉBÉ: VARIATIONS CULTURELLES ANALYSE CRITIQUE DE LA LITTÉRATURE*

Infant-caretaking as a complex activity is a part of the culture. Each country, each ethnic group has his own norms, theories and practices. Three facets of the mother-infant relationship (from the point of view of the mother) can be identified: they are practices (nursing and home stimulations), representations and folk theories, and styles of interaction. They all vary in function of environmental, social and cultural factors, the strength of each is discussed here. Also, the first part of this paper informs the reader on methodological problems in this kind of studies. And, in the last one, mother-infant relationship in the migration context is studied.     

CONTRIBUTION A UNE ETUDE COMPARATIVE DES REPRESENTATIONS DES ROLES ET STATUTS MASCULINS ET FEMININS CHEZ LES JEUNES TUNISIENS SCOLARISES

After highlighting the local problems of the investigation and the cooperation with the other research groups, the authors describe the sample of subjects which is not representative of the whole Tunisian youth, and the application conditions of the questionnaire in Tunis. The Masculinity score is not affected by sex, age and academic orientation while sex and academic orientation influence the Femininity score. Sex is an important variable on the Importance of Marriage (F>M) and the Number of children desired (Fgt; M) but does not influence Educational Aspiration and Expectation. About the same findings are obtained for both sexes on the occupational values: Success is the most important factor. Academic orientation affects Success and Security (technical > college), and Creative, and Prestige (college > technical). The authors conclude that for the sample of subjects studied, attitudes, motivations and representations are changing.     

STRATÉGIES COGNITIVES ET PROCESSUS D'AUTORÉGULATION CHEZ DES FAMILLES EN SITUATION DE RÉSOLUTION DE PROBLÈMES LOGIQUES*

The family is a fundamental learning environment for many basic skills such as the ability to solve everyday domestic problems. A lack of competence in this type of problem solving would expose the individual to more frustration and possibly create the conditions for greater aggression. Forty-two low SES families, each including an aggressive boy, were invited to the laboratory for a problem-solving session on two occasions, at an interval of two years. Subjects were asked to find four preset combinations of colours by systematic permutations of four colours using a computer. Three types of cognitive performance were examined: resolution strategies, autoregulation strategies and the success rate in finding the solution. Results showed that most of the families were consistent in their use of a non-systematic strategy. Although some improvement in planning is observed during the second testing, no other improvement in autoregulation strategies was observed. In general, families had a better rate of success in finding the solution in the second session. The low cognitive level of these families and its stability are discussed. Étant donné que la famille constitue un terrain privilégié d'apprentissage, l'aggressivité comportementale de certains enfants pourrait résider dans le peu d'opportunités offertes par leur famille d'apprendre à affronter les problèmes de la vie quotidienne d'une manière réfléchie. Quarante-deux familles de milieu socio-économique faible, dont un des enfants est à risque d'inadaptation sociale et dont les parents sont peu scolarisés, ont à résoudre un problème nécessitant l'intelligence logique et ce, à deux ans d'intervalle (T-1 et T-2). La tâche consite à résoudre un problème de permutations à quatre éléments et se présente sous la forme d'un jeu d'ordinateur. Le fonctionnement cognitif est examiné selon trois dimensions: les stratégies cognitivcs de résolution, les stratégies d'autorégulation exercées, sur la démarche cognitive et l'issue de la démarche cognitive. L'examen des stratégies cognitives révèle que la majorité des familles utilisent une approche non stratégique et que cette approche est maintenue aussi bien à l'intérieur d'une séance donnée que d'une séance à l'autre. Exception faite de l'amélioration relevée à la séance 2 quant au contrôle exercé par les familles sur le déroulement de leur démarche cognitive, aucun changement n'émerge sur les autres critères de l'autorégulation. Finalement, les familles obtiennent une meilleure performance à la deuxième séance. La discussion porte sur la relative stabilité du niveau de fonctionnement cognitif des familles ainsi que sur la pauvreté apparente de leur répertoire de schèmes.     

DIMENSIONS COGNITIVES ET COMPORTEMENTALES CHEZ LES JOUEURS RÉGULIERS ET OCCASIONNELS AU BLACKJACK

Empirical studies in the psychology of gambling have revealed at least two well supported findings: (1) irrational cognitions outnumber rational cognitions during gambling (Gaboury and Ladouceur, 1987; Ladouceur, Gaboury, Dumont and Rochette 1988); (2) risk-taking behavior increases as a function to exposure to gambling activities (Ladouceur, Mayrand and Tourigny 1987; Ladouceur, Tourigny and Mayrand 1986). The present study compared regular and occasional gamblers on cognitive and behavioral measures during a blackjack session using the thinking aloud method. The results confirmed that regular players emitted more irrational thoughts than occasional gamblers. The theoretical and practical implications of those results are discussed within the general context of the psychology of gambling.     

DEGRÉ DE CONTACT ET STRESS ACCULTURATIF DANS LE PROCESSUS D'ADAPTATION DES RÉFUGIÉS AFRICAINS

This study examines some aspects of the adaptive process of African refugees taking up residence in Quebec city, a rather culturally homogenous area. Considering that acculturative stress and degree of contact and participation with the host society are strong indicators of one's adjustment to a new culture, the main hypothesis is that the more contact and participation one establishes with the host society, the less acculturative stress he will report. Out of 62 subjects who voluntarily accepted to participate in the study, 57 were retained for analysis. Results reveal no significant relationship between stress and contact. Multiple regression analyses used to determine the significant predictor variables indicate that age and length of stay explain 19.5% of the total variance for stress while length of stay, sex and adaptive options explain 44% of the total variance for contact. These results tend to demonstrate that, for African refugees, degree of contact is a better indicator of adaptation than stress.     

NÉCESSITÉ ET SIGNIFICATION DES RECHERCHES COMPARATIVES EN PSYCHOLOGIE GÉNÉTIQUE

Need and meaning of comparative studies in genetic psychology. — The comparative studies in the field of genetic psychology are indispensable for Psychology in general and also for Sociology, because only such studies allow us to separate the effects of biological or mental factors from those of social and cultural influences on the formation and the socialization of individuals. Relevant to this discussion is the well-known issue between culturalistic psychoanalysts like Fromm, Horney, etc., and classical freudian psychoanalysts who reduce the whole individual development to an endogenous evolution of « instinct ». In the field of cognitive functions to which this paper is devoted, at least four kinds of various factors must be distinguished, the respective influences of which can be separated through comparative studies : I. Biological factors depending on the “epigenetic” system (maturation of nervous system, etc.). These factors probably explain the sequential aspects (constant and necessary order) of the stages in the development of operative intelligence. However, if only these factors were acting, the stages would not only appear in a sequence, but at the same ages, whereas in fact, the ages where a stage appears differ from one environment to another. 2. Equilibration or autoregulation factors, determining behavior and thought in their various specific activities. They correspond to the sequential forms in general coordination of the actions of individuals as interacting with their physical environment; such intervening regulations are probably at the origin of the mental operations themselves, especially logical - mathematical operations. 3. General socialization factors, which are identical for all societies : cooperations - discussions - oppositions - exchanges, etc., between children or between adults or between adults and children. These factors 3 are closely related with the factors 2, because the general coordination of actions concerns inter-individual as so as intra-individual actions. 4. Factors related to educational and cultural transmission, which differ from one society to another; they are those we usually have in mind when we say briefly “social factors”. To discuss the influence of these four factors, Mohseni's study on Teheran school children and illiterate rural children is given as an example. Three results were obtained : (1) For “conservation” tasks, the same stages of intellectual development are observed for urban and rural children, in Iran as well as in Europe. (2) For these same tasks, a systematic delay of two to three years is observed among rural children with respect to Teheran children. (3) For performance tests (i.e. Porteus, Goodenough, etc.) there is a delay of four and primarily five years. These data seem to show that there is some sequential order of the stages which depends partially on the factors I. But, the ages for each stage are not constant, showing the factors 2 and 3 are intervening in a probably inseparable way. On the other hand, the difference between the actual operative results and the performance tests seems to indicate that a distinction might be made between the factors of general coordination (factors 2 and 3) and the educational transmissions (factors 4). About these last factors, the three and four year delays observed by Canadian psychologists working in Martinique with school children (French curriculum) in operative tasks (like conservations) seem to indicate that the general operations depend less on school than on the activities themselves of children or in general on the adult stimulations in the environment. We must pay special attention to the problems raised by language. In some precise and systematic experiments in Geneva, Sinclair shows children on the “preoperative” level (i.e. with no conservation…) do not spontaneously use the same language as operative children : the former use chiefly “scale” words (“much” or “many”, “little” or “few”, “large”, “small”) and the latter use chiefly “vector” words (“more”, “less”). If the younger subjects are submitted to a verbal training, they do learn to use the older children's language, but it only results in very little operative improvement (about one case out of 10 subjects on the average). Therefore, replicating the same experiments in countries speaking different languages would be very interesting. For instance, in the Turkish language, there is only one “vector” word, i.e. “again”; so that the Turk says “again much, again many” to say “more”. Then, the question is to know whether a change will be observed for the stages of logical-mathematical operations or whether these operations will be found everywhere with their identical common background; it seems that this last conclusion has already been observed in Aden (Hyde), Hong Kong (Goodnow), South Africa (Price-Williams). In conclusion, the kind of psychology we develop in our social environments, remains conjectural as long as comparative extensive and systematical research is not available; a great effort is still to be made in this direction.     

CARACTÉRISTIQUES PSYCHOLOGIQUES DE LA PRISE DE RISQUE MONÉTAIRE DES JOUEURS ET DES NON-JOUEURS À LA ROULETTE*

This study compares different dimensions of the personality, the perception of control and risk-taking behavior of gamblers and non-gamblers exposed to American roulette. The analyses of the data revealed that no significant differences emerged among the two groups on personality or perception of control. Although gamblers started the game by stacking more money than non-gamblers, the latter rapidly bet as much as the regular gamblers. Furthermore, risk-taking behavior increased as the game progressed. The practical implications of the data are discussed in relation to the psychology of gambling.     

LES CONDUITES SOCIALES CHEZ DES ENFANTS ‘AUDACIEUX’ DE 9–10 MOIS*

Among 38 infants of 9–10 months who were exposed to a strange person on the one hand, and to a novel inanimate object on the other hand, 17 left their mother and came near the stimulus in both situations. This study focuses on these 17 ‘bold’ infants, whose behaviors (place-shifts, looks, smiles, vocalizations, manipulations, contacts with mother) were compared from one situation to another (person/object), and also, within each situation, on their being emitted either near the stimulus or away from it (proximity/distance). Such comparisons showed that although these infants acted in almost the same way when they were close to the person or to the object, many aspects of their behavior nevertheless differed clearly from one situation to the other. With the object, the approach was immediate and the contact was a proximal one. With the person, on the other hand, the approach was delayed, and keeping a certain distance seemed essential to the establishment of the relation: it was mainly from afar that the infants communicated with the stranger, through behaviors that were well adapted to social interactions (looks and smiles). These results were interpreted as indicating that children of this age can truly understand the distinctive nature of social and nonsocial situations, and use the appropriate familiarization strategy required by these two types of situations.     

SITUATIONS SOCIALES À POTENTIEL CONFLICTUEL ET CARACTÉRISTIQUES SOCIO-COGNITIVES D'ENFANTS AGRESSIFS ET REJETÉS*

Twenty aggressive and rejected children (boys and girls), twenty socially competent and popular children, and twenty children having average social skills - all of which were first and second graders attending regular school - participated in this study. All were presented on videotape with nine typical peer-conflict situations. Each child was asked about the way that he/she felt, and the way that he/she would resolve each problem situation. In addition, each child had to specify what he/she thought to be the offender's intentions in each problem situation. Several points differentiated first grade from second grade subjects. However, aggressive, socially skilled and average subjects distinguished themselves on only a few items. Differences relating to subject's sex were also scarce. Data support the view that aggressive children know as well as other children how to appropriately resolve interpersonal conflict situations. However, they do not use this knowledge because of impulsivity control problems, an inability to correctly identify others' intentions or a lack of motivation.