独生与非独生儿童认知发展的比较研究(广州市)

为了研究中国独生子女政策可能造成的独生和非独生儿童的认知能力的差别,分别在广州七所小学一年级和五年级中选择了146名和171名独生与非独生儿童。用11项认知能力测验对这些儿童进行测查。一年级独生儿童在言语记忆和一般常识项目上的成绩优于非独生儿童。研究认为,一年级独生儿童在与一般认知能力有关的项目上具有优势。而五年级的独生儿童在认知作业成绩上,没有表现出显著性的优势。另外,独生男童在一般常识方面优于独生女童。作者用独生儿童受到较大的父母关注和投资来解释一年级独生对非独生儿童在认知方面的优势。随着儿童的自然成熟和学业教育,两者之间的差距会逐渐缩小,从而使五年级独生儿童未能在认知方面表现出明显的优势。

COMPARATIVE STUDY OF COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT OF GUANGZHOU ONLY AND NON-ONLY CHILDREN

A sample of 146 first grade and 171 fifth grade only and non-only children from 7 schools in Guangzhou were given 11 cognitive tasks to investigate the difference in cognitive abilities which may exist due to the special condi- tions caused by the Chinese single-child family planning program. First grade only children scored higher in verbal memory and general information than non- only children. There is a general superiority of only children in tasks related to general cognitive abilities. Grade five only children do not exhibit superiori- ty in cognitive abilities. There is a general trend that male only children scor- ed better than female only children in the general information task. The super- iority of first grade only children over non-only children was explained by higher parental investment of only children. The decrease in cognitive su- periority of only children over non-only children for fifth grade children was explained by the process of maturation and schooling.