Young Children's Organizational Strategies on a Same–Different Task: A Microgenetic Study and a Training Study

This study was designed to explore young children's strategy development using a new kind of “same–different” task that minimized memory demands. Four-year-old children were asked to judge whether 2 sets of 7 toys were the same or different. Sets were identical or differed by one toy, with one...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of experimental child psychology 1999-09, Vol.74 (1), p.21-43
Main Authors: Blöte, Anke W., Resing, Wilma C.M., Mazer, Petra, Van Noort, Daniëlle A.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavior
Biological and medical sciences
Child
Child Behavior - psychology
Child development
Child psychology
Child, Preschool
children's strategies
Cognition & reasoning
Cognition - physiology
cognitive development
Developmental psychology
Difficulty Level
Female
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Judgment
Learning Strategies
Male
Memory
Memory - physiology
microgenetic method
Organizing Strategies
Performance Factors
Play and Playthings
Preschool Children
production deficiency
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
same–different judgment
Teaching
Transfer of Training
utilization deficiency
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Summary:This study was designed to explore young children's strategy development using a new kind of “same–different” task that minimized memory demands. Four-year-old children were asked to judge whether 2 sets of 7 toys were the same or different. Sets were identical or differed by one toy, with one set presented on a table and the other in a linen bag. Children's spontaneous behavior was highly strategic, and over trials it developed differently for “same” and “different” trials. Most children who did not spontaneously use the most effective strategy, that is, matching, could be trained to do so and were able to transfer this strategy to new materials. Results concerning production and utilization deficiencies are discussed in relation to task characteristics, trial type (same or different), and findings from prior research.
ISSN:0022-0965
1096-0457
DOI:10.1006/jecp.1999.2508