Modeling Children's Understanding of Quantitative Relations in Texts: A Developmental Perspective

This article describes developmental models of word problem solving that are grounded in the notion of general developmental constraints of the mind. These models were constructed based on the assumption that differences in children's word problem-solving performance are due, at least in part, to developmental differences in their conceptual structures in the quantitative domain. Three levels of knowledge were identified and modeled. The simplest model represents quantitative relations as an ordered array of mental objects. The next level of the model represents numbers as objects of manipulations open two mental number lines that are coordinated in a tentative fashion. The most complex model represents numerical operations as objects of manipulations on two mental number lines that are well-coordinated with explicit, functional rules. These models were implemented as production systems. The accuracy of the predictions resulting from the simulations of the models was tested in an empirical study. Global tests of the models found a good fit of the data to the models. The results wee consistent with the theoretical analysis that the three levels of knowledge were internally coherent and qualitatively different from each other, and that the models could predict children's performance differences to a satisfactory degree.     

学习能力、知识经验对儿童问题解决的影响

采用问题解决类比任务范式,考察了学习能力、知识经验对90名小学4年级儿童在问题解决过程中类比问题解决及策略运用的影响。结果发现:(1)在问题解决的质量上,学习能力具有显著制约作用,学习能力越高,问题解决成绩越好,而知识经验作用不显著;在问题解决速度上,学习能力和知识经验作用均不显著。(2)学习能力对问题解决策略运用的总体分布、高级类比和非类比策略运用具有显著性作用。(3)不同知识经验对策略运用总体分布及高级类比策略有显著性作用。     

When Children's Knowledge of Memory Improves Children's Performance in Memory

One of the strongest hypotheses in the field of metacognition research involves the positive effect of metamemory on memory performance. However, owing to the lack of appropriate instruments to appraise knowledge of memory, few studies have examined this effect among children. This study was conducted to create and validate an instrument to assess children's metamemory knowledge and link this knowledge with their memory performance and strategy use. A sample of 166 children was given a new three‐factor metamemory interview, and its psychometric properties were investigated. Regression analyses were carried out to investigate the link between metamemory and memory performance in a subgroup of 128 children from the validation study. Results confirmed the scale's good psychometric properties and revealed its ability to predict children's memory performance. However, none of the scale's factors could predict children's use of memory strategies. Implications for the study of children's metamemory development are discussed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Relations Between Children's Past Experiences,Social Knowledge,and Memories for Social Situations

This study explored the relations between 5- and 6-year-olds' (N = 40) past social experiences, social knowledge, and interpretation and recall of social situations. Children were read stories depicting a fictional child's behaviors, and path analyses related children's impressions of the story character and story recall to their expectations about social situations and parent reports of their behavioral histories. Children's behavioral histories predicted their social expectations, which predicted their impressions of the character, and their impressions shaped their memories of the character's behaviors. These links, however, varied according to the complexity of social knowledge. The findings suggest that individual differences in children's interpretation and recall of identical events may be partially explained by variations in past experience and background knowledge.     

Parental Perceptions of the Family and Children's Peer Relations

To study the relationship between American parents' perceptions of the family environment, themselves, and their children's peer relations with preschool peers, data was obtained from 56 boys and 47 girls between 47 and 59 months old and their parents. Questionnaires on perceptions of family cohesiveness, expressiveness, conflict, psychosocial competence of self, and acceptance of children were completed by the parents. Sociometric evaluations of peer ratings and positive and negative nominations among children were completed by the children. Correlations revealed both similarities and differences between father–child and mother–child patterns. In general, boys' peer ratings were related to parents' competence whereas girls' peer ratings were related to parents' cohesion. Positive nominations in boys and girls were related to parents' competence. Negative nominations in boys and girls were related to low acceptance and high conflict in parents. These data suggest important links between parents' perceptions of the family and children's peer relations.     

儿童社会关系认知研究述评

内部工作模型、护送模型、相关模型从不同侧重点出发,为儿童的社会关系认知研究提供了各自的理论基础.对儿童的社会关系认知研究有必要多情境、多维度地综合考虑,以期整合、动态地揭示儿童社会关系认知的发展规律.     

The Development of Children's Knowledge of Attention and Resource Allocation in Single and Dual Tasks

Developmental changes in kindergarten, 1st-, and 4th-grade children's knowledge about the variables that affect attention sharing and resource allocation were examined. Findings from the 2 experiments showed that kindergartners understood that person and strategy variables affect performance in attention-sharing tasks. However, knowledge of how task variables affect performance was not evident to them and was inconsistent for 1st and 4th graders. Children's knowledge about resource allocation revealed a different pattern and varied according to the dissimilarity of task demands in the attention-sharing task. In Experiment 1, in which the dual attention tasks were similar (i.e., visual detection), kindergarten and 1st-grade children did not differentiate performance in single and dual tasks. Fourth graders demonstrated knowledge that performance on a single task would be better than performance on the dual tasks for only 2 of the variables examined. In Experiment 2, in which the dual attention tasks were dissimilar (i.e., visual and auditory detection), kindergarten and 1st-grade children demonstrated knowledge that performance in the single task would be better than in the dual tasks for 1 of the task variables examined. However, 4th-grade children consistently gave higher ratings for performance on the single than on the dual attention tasks for all variables examined. These findings (a) underscore that children's meta-attention is not unitary and (b) demonstrate that children's knowledge about variables affecting attention sharing and resource allocation have different developmental pathways. Results show that knowledge about attention sharing and about the factors that influence the control of attention develops slowly and undergoes reorganization in middle childhood.     

Young Children's Understanding of the Conditions for Knowledge Acquisition

We report 3 studies directed to children's understanding of how evidence leads to knowledge. The studies as a whole span a range of ages (4-, 6-, and 8-year-olds), a variety of sources of information (perception, communication, and inference), and a number of targets or recipients of the information (adult, child, baby, and self). Perception proved to be the easiest source to understand, and inference was the most difficult. There was no difference in the accuracy of judgments for the self and judgments for others. Judgments were least accurate for the baby, primarily because children tended to overestimate babies' ability to acquire knowledge from communication or inference. Although performance in general improved with age, the tendency to overestimate the baby was greatest among the oldest children. The results are discussed in terms of children's understanding of 2 contributors to knowledge formation: situational (the nature and adequacy of the informational source) and individual (the cognitive readiness of the recipient of the information).     

Young Children's Knowledge of the Representational Function of Pictorial Symbols: Development Across the Preschool Years in Three Cultures

Three- to 5-year-old children's knowledge that pictures have a representational function for others was investigated using a pictorial false-belief task. In Study 1, children passed the task at around 4 years old, and performance was correlated with standard false-belief and pictorial symbol tasks. In Study 2, the performance of children from two cultural settings who had very little exposure to pictures during the first 3 years (Peru, India) was contrasted with that of children from Canada. Performance was better in the Canadian than Peruvian and Indian samples on the picture false-belief task and drawing tasks but not on the standard false-belief measure. In all settings, children passed drawing and standard false-belief tasks either concurrently with, or prior to, passing the picture false-belief task. The findings suggest that children's explicit knowledge of the representational function of pictorial symbols matures in the late preschool years and develops more rapidly in cultures that strongly promote the symbolic use of pictures early in life.     

Children's Representation of Child and Adult Knowledge

Do children think that adult knowledge subsumes or only partially overlaps child knowledge? Sixty-four 4- and 6-year-old children were asked either whether a child and an adult know the answers to questions tapping adult- and child-specific knowledge (Experiment 1) or to whom each question should be addressed (Experiment 2). Children were also asked directly about the existence of child-specific knowledge. The experiments provided converging evidence that beliefs about child-specific knowledge are relatively limited among 4-year-olds but become well articulated by age 6. The findings contribute to understanding the development of children's beliefs about the relation between knowledge and age.     

幼儿合作认知发展特点的研究

采用访谈法对136名中、大班幼儿合作认知的发展特点进行了研究。结果表明：儿童的合作认知主要分为五级水平。在幼儿阶段,儿童主要以客观条件性认知和结果性认知为主．其中客观条件性认知比例最高,共同利益性和价值现性认知逐渐发展,规则权威性认知仍有一定存在;从中班到大班,幼儿客观条件性认知比例逐渐减少,结果性、共同利益性和价值现性认知逐渐增多;幼儿合作认知发展不存在显著的性别差异;在不同情境下,幼儿合作认知的发展水平不同。     

国外有关儿童对地图表征的认知发展研究

该文综述了儿童空间表征研究的主要进展 ,简要介绍了有关空间表征的认知发展的两种不同理论观点。以空间表征的对应说为框架对儿童地图表征的认知发展过程方面的研究工作加以评述 ,指出了儿童空间认知发展研究的新趋势     

儿童在错误信念任务上的知识偏差

采用3种任务考查儿童在错误信念（FB）推理中是否存在知识偏差。被试为60名3—5岁幼儿,结果表明,对于3岁及4岁儿童来说,FB任务是存在知识偏差的。知识偏差的大小与年龄呈负相关关系,3岁与4岁、4岁与5岁儿童的知识偏差的大小均有显著差异。     

Nurturing the Spiritual in Children's Sexual Development

Drawing on data from a small-scale study into the developing sexual values and attitudes of 35 nine and ten year-old children, this article examines evidence for and against the existence of a spiritual dimension to the sexual understanding of preadolescent children. The study identifies interesting connections between spiritual and sexual development, highlights significant gender differences and draws attention to the central role of adults as guides to children's developing values. The findings are thus rich in implications for both policy and practice in sex education.     

儿童情绪调节的发展研究

1　前言　　情绪调节的发展被认为是儿童期社会情绪发展的核心成分 ,是一种十分重要的社会情绪能力。Thompson把情绪调节既视为一种结果又看作是一种过程 ,认为它是“既有先天固有的、也有后天形成的一些过程 ,负责对情绪反应 (特别是情绪的强度和持续性 )进行监控、评估和修正 ,以实现个体的目标”。尽管有些学者在研究中会采用emotioncontrol,但它和emotionregulation还是存在着一定的区别。例如 ,Cole和Michael(1994 )等人把调节定义为对情绪行为的“动力排序和调整” ,即情绪调节涉及的不仅仅是降低或减少情绪 ,有时它还会涉及到情绪…     

4-12岁儿童特质识别的发展研究

研究以4岁、5岁、7岁、10岁和12岁组共160名儿童为被试,考察了儿童特质识别的发展情况.结果发现:(1)各年龄组儿童对积极和消极特质、对能力、社会道德和内部状态领域特质的识别成绩,均显著高于概率成绩,表明儿童从4岁起就已经能够从行为描述中识别出相应的特质.(2)儿童的特质识别成绩随年龄增长呈规律性变化,4～7岁期间儿童特质识别成绩快速提高,7岁后则相对平稳.(3)儿童对积极和消极特质的识别成绩之间无显著差异,但对社会道德特质的识别成绩显著高于能力特质和内部状态特质.(4)从整体上看,儿童识别积极特质的确定程度显著高于消极特质,识别社会道德特质和内部状态特质的确定程度均显著高于能力特质.     

国外儿童科学思维发展的新探索

儿童科学思维是发展心理学研究领域的重要的研究课题。最近十年,儿童科学思维发展的研究经历了显著的变化。文章对儿童科学思维发展的研究进行简要回顾,主要阐述有关儿童科学思维发展的特殊领域知识、一般领域策略、概念和策略的整合模型以及微观发生法,并在此基础上,对儿童科学思维发展研究进行简单的评价和展望。     

儿童性别恒常性发展

性别恒常性发展是儿童性别认知发展的关键问题,该文介绍了这一领域研究的最新进展。儿童获得性别恒常性是一个渐进的过程,在6、7岁时已完全获得,儿童的认知发展水平、文化背景、社会经济地位、教育影响性别恒常性发展,性别恒常性与性别类型活动存在相关,但关系复杂。最后,作者对该领域的研究趋向做出了展望。     

儿童类别学习中知识效应的年龄差异

采用特征主题的类别学习实验范式,考察了儿童类别学习中知识效应的年龄差异。63名小学4年级学生(年龄范围9～10岁)、65名小学6年级学生(年龄范围11～12岁)和77名初中2年级学生(年龄范围13～14岁)参加了本实验。结果表明:当类别特征能够在已有知识的基础上形成主题时,3个年龄组儿童类别学习的轮次和错误数均显著下降,而且主题突出时,这种趋势更加明显;在统一主题条件下,小学4年级、小学6年级和初中2年级3个年龄组儿童类别学习的轮次和错误数依次减少;而在无主题和突出主题条件下,3个年龄组儿童类别学习的成绩无显著差异。