Discussion
• Would culture background and language
influence working memory model? If yes,
How?
HD FS 631:
Problem Solving
October 21, 2002
1
2
Primary Circular Reactions
• Describe the development of problem
solving ability. What is goal-directed
behavior? What research methods can be
used with infants?
Perform action
3
Secondary Circular Reactions
Primary Circular Reactions
Perform action
Perform action
Perform action
Note effects
on own body
Note effects
on own body
1 to 4 months
Piaget
4
4 to 8 months
5
6
1
Secondary Circular Reactions
Secondary Circular Reactions
Perform action
Perform action
Perform action
Perform action
Note specific
cause -effect
relation between
action and
outcome
Note effects on
own body or
external world
Note effects
on own body
Note effects on
own body or
external world
Note effects
on own body
7
8
Form goal to
perform action
Coordination of Secondary Circular Reactions
Perform action 1
Perform action
Perform action
Perform action
Note specific
cause -effect
relation between
action1, action 2 and
outcome
Note specific
cause -effect
relation between
action and
outcome
Note effects on
own body or
external world
Note effects
on own body
Tertiary
Circular
Reactions
Perform action
Note effects on
own body or
external world
Note effects
on own body
12 – 18 mos.
Perform action 2
Form goal to
perform action
Perform action
Perform action
Note specific
cause -effect
relation between
action and
outcome
9
Deliberately vary
actions and targets
Form goal to
perform action
Tertiary
Circular
Reactions
Perform action
Represent causal
relation between
actions and effects
Perform action
Perform action
Note specific
cause -effect
relation between
action and
outcome
Note effects on
own body or
external world
Note effects
on own body
10
Note effect
11
Note effects
Tertiary
Circular
Reactions
Perform action
Note effects on
own body or
external world
Note effects
on own body
Deliberately vary
actions and targets
Note effect
12
2
Analogical reasoning
• Explain the relational shift in the
development of analogical reasoning. Use
empirical findings to support.
• Relational mapping required: a:b :: c:d
• Piaget: not until adolescence
• Halford: basis for other reasoning/problem
solving tasks
• Goswami: at birth
13
14
Analogical reasoning:
young children
• Relational primacy hypothesis (Goswami)
– Young children’s performance dependent on similarity
between objects
– Both perceptual & relational
• Gentner: young children more likely to focus on
perceptual similarity
• Older children: on relational similarity
• Other factors:
– Knowledge
– Explicit instruction
• Discuss the development of rule following
using either Siegler’s rule-assessment
approach or cognitive complexity and
control (CCC) theory. Cite evidence to
support. Explain the factors that contribute
to young children’s inability to follow rules,
even when they are able to verbalize
them.
15
Cognitive Complexity and
Control
16
Rule-assessment approach
• Age-related changes in the complexity of
rule systems that children can represent
• Developmental differences in conscious
awareness give children increased control
over behavior and cognition
• Zelazo
17
• Cognitive development characterized by
acquisition of increasingly powerful rules
for solving problems
• Children typically use a variety of
strategies for any particular problem (in a
moderately familiar task)
• Siegler
18
3
Framework for asking about learning
Problem Solving
•
•
•
•
•
•
What are information processing demands of the task?
Characteristics of the learner:
Skills, knowledge, attitudes
Familiarity
Knowledge
Explicit instructions/labeling (scaffolding)
Memory
Metacognition
Perceptual similarity
Learning Activities:
Attention
Rehearsal
Elaboration
19
Scaffolding
provided
Nature of the materials:
Physical structure
Conceptual difficulty
Sequencing
Criterial Tasks:
Recall
Transfer
Problem Solving
20
4