3─6岁儿童层级类概念发展的实验研究

以３－６岁儿童为被试,以７个常见物体种类的图片为实验材料,按概念水平（基本类概念及上级类概念）以及选择图与目标图的感知相似程度（高、中、低）将实验材料分为四种类型,对３－６岁儿童层级类概念的发展过程进行了研究。结果表明：（１）３岁幼儿已能按基本类概念标准进行正确的种类匹配;对于上级类概念,３－５岁儿童的匹配能力尚较差,６岁基本达到掌握水平。（２）实验材料的感知相似程度对３－５岁儿童的上级类概念匹配操作有显著性影响,６岁儿童才摆脱了这种制约作用。     

解释水平视角下的自己-他人决策差异

研究基于解释水平理论, 考察自己决策和为他人提供建议是否存在认知和偏好上的差异。实验一采用2(自己决策/为他人建议)×2(价值：高/低)×2(可行性：高/低)被试间设计, 165名被试代表自己或他人评价选项的吸引力。实验二采用3×2混合设计, 81名被试代表自己、相似或不相似他人, 为“高价值-低可行”和“低价值-高可行”两选项出价。结果支持了“自己-他人决策差异”：自己决策比为他人提建议在更大程度上受可行性高低的影响, 更为偏爱可行性高的选项; 人际相似性能在一定程度上缩小上述差异。     

5～7岁儿童类比系统性效应的实验研究

本研究利用Gentner的理论,参考Robins的研究方法自己编制材料,以故事呈现的方式研究了5岁、6岁和7岁三个年龄组儿童的类比系统性效应。结果表明,5岁年龄组的儿童不容易进行结构映射,而6岁和7岁两个年龄组的儿童表现出比较明显的类比系统性效应。这表明在合适的年龄阶段,儿童可以理解故事中的因果关系。     

Phonological,visual, and semantic coding strategies and children's short-term picture memory span

Three experiments addressed controversies in the previous literature on the development of phonological and other forms of short-term memory coding in children, using assessments of picture memory span that ruled out potentially confounding effects of verbal input and output. Picture materials were varied in terms of phonological similarity, visual similarity, semantic similarity, and word length. Older children (6/8-year-olds), but not younger children (4/5-year-olds), demonstrated robust and consistent phonological similarity and word length effects, indicating that they were using phonological coding strategies. This confirmed findings initially reported by Conrad (1971), but subsequently questioned by other authors. However, in contrast to some previous research, little evidence was found for a distinct visual coding stage at 4 years, casting doubt on assumptions that this is a developmental stage that consistently precedes phonological coding. There was some evidence for a dual visual and phonological coding stage prior to exclusive use of phonological coding at around 5–6 years. Evidence for semantic similarity effects was limited, suggesting that semantic coding is not a key method by which young children recall lists of pictures.     

The Rôle of the Acquired Distinctiveness of Cues in the Acquisition of a Motor Skill in Children

The fears of 133 boys and girls aged 7 to 19, classified as educable mentally retarded (EMR), trainable mentally retarded (TMR), and specific learning disabled (SLD), were ascertained through self-report data and compared with those of 106 normal children aged 6 to 12. Similar developmental trends were found in all groups, with younger children reporting more unrealistic fears than older children. When mental age was calculated for the EMR and TMR children, their developmental trends closely approximated those of the normal children. In general, exceptional children were found to have a much wider range and a greater number of fears than normal children. Most fears were found to be realistic, learned, and dependent upon the child's intellectual and maturational level.