Showing papers in "Journal of Cognition and Development in 2021"
TL;DR: In this article, a collaborative project between university researchers and museum practitioners investigating ways to advance STEM learning opportunities for young children and their families in museums is presented. But the authors focus on the STEM education opportunities for children.
Abstract: This study is a collaborative project between university researchers and museum practitioners investigating ways to advance STEM learning opportunities for young children and their families in muse...
13 citations
TL;DR: The authors explored the role of parental testimony in children's developing beliefs about the ontological status of typically unobservable phenomena and found that parents and their 5- to 7-year-old children (N ǫ = 25 ) were more likely to report that the ontology status of a phenomenon was unknown to them.
Abstract: We explored the role of parental testimony in children’s developing beliefs about the ontological status of typically unobservable phenomena. US parents and their 5- to 7-year-old children (N = 25 ...
12 citations
TL;DR: Young children's symbolic magnitude understanding, or knowledge of how written numerals and number words can be ordered and compared, is thought to play an important role in their mathematical deve...
Abstract: Young children’s symbolic magnitude understanding, or knowledge of how written numerals and number words can be ordered and compared, is thought to play an important role in their mathematical deve...
11 citations
TL;DR: Temperamental effortful control (EC) and executive functions (EF) are two frameworks for studying self-regulation in children as mentioned in this paper, despite stemming from different research traditions, they show many co-...
Abstract: Temperamental effortful control (EC) and executive functions (EF) are two frameworks for studying self-regulation in children. Despite stemming from different research traditions, they show many co...
10 citations
TL;DR: The relationship between motor skills and executive functions (EFs) is gaining prominence in the field of developmental psychology as mentioned in this paper, and evidence of the motor skills-EFs link in children with t...
Abstract: The relationship between motor skills and executive functions (EFs) is gaining prominence in the field of developmental psychology. However, evidence of the motor skills–EFs link in children with t...
10 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined how scientific reasoning skills develop during the upper echelon of the scientific reasoning process, and found that the skills involved in conceiving and conducting an investigation improve with age.
Abstract: Scientific reasoning refers to the thinking skills involved in conceiving and conducting an investigation. This study examined how proficiency in performing these skills develops during the upper-e...
10 citations
TL;DR: This article examined the relation of parent math anxiety and family socioeconomic status (SES) to parent number talk with children under the age of three (n = 36 dyads) and showed preliminary evidence that parent MA predicts the amount of number talk children hear at home, beyond differences accounted for by SES.
Abstract: Differences in children's math knowledge emerge as early as the start of kindergarten, and persist throughout schooling. Previous research implicates the importance of early parent number talk in the development of math competency. Yet we understand little about the factors that relate to variation in early parent number talk. The current study examined the relation of parent math anxiety and family socioeconomic status (SES) to parent number talk with children under the age of three (n = 36 dyads). For the first time, we show preliminary evidence that parent math anxiety (MA) predicts the amount of number talk children hear at home, beyond differences accounted for by SES. We also found a significant SES by parent MA interaction such that parent MA was predictive of higher-SES parents' number talk but not that of lower-SES parents. Furthermore, we found that these relations were specific to parents' cardinal number talk (but not counting), which has been shown to be particularly important in children's math development.
8 citations
TL;DR: The results contribute to the understanding of key aspects of students’ mathematical development, highlight areas in need of intervention for at-risk students, and identify cognitive areas in which scaffolds might be incorporated into these interventions.
Abstract: Pre-algebra mathematical competencies were assessed for a large and diverse sample of sixth graders (n = 1,926), including whole number and fractions arithmetic, conceptual understanding of equalit...
8 citations
TL;DR: In contrast to research that examines the effects of socioeconomic status (SES) and bilingualism on development by comparing clearly disparate groups, the authors investigated the role of sub-groups.
Abstract: In contrast to research that examines the effects of socioeconomic status (SES) and bilingualism on development by comparing clearly disparate groups, the present study investigated the role of sub...
8 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the effects of two training programs designed for promoting theory of mind skills in children aged 7/8, and the relations between second-order recursive thinking (II-order-RT), advanced-ToM (Adv_ToM) and metacognition were evaluated.
Abstract: The present study evaluated: i) the effects of two training programs designed for promoting Theory of Mind (ToM) skills in children aged 7/8, and ii) the relations between second-order recursive thinking (II-order-RT), advanced-ToM (Adv_ToM) and metacognition. Ninety-one 7- to 8-year-old children were assigned to one of three training conditions: a II-order-RT, an Adv_ToM, and a control condition. Groups were equivalent at pretest for SES, executive functions and reading comprehension. The main effect of time was significant on II-order-RT, but not on Adv_ToM and metacognition. Children of the II-order-RT group improved their performance on over the training period II-order-RT while children of the control group did not) and they also outperformed children of the control condition at posttest. This positive effect generalized to Adv_ToM. Children of the Adv_ToM group improved over the training period their performance on both Adv_ToM and II-order-RT (while children of the control group did not); moreover, they outperformed children of the control condition at posttest on Adv_ToM, but not on II-order-RT. The benefits of both ToM training programs extended to metacognitive knowledge. Our findings throw light upon generative mechanisms of acquisition that explain the relation between II-order-RT and Adv_ToM, and between these mature ToM skills and metacognition.
8 citations
TL;DR: This article found that children living in poverty often show delayed cognitive and social development compared with children reared in more affluent environments, while most of the research focuses on how objective and objective criteria can be used to evaluate the development of children in poverty.
Abstract: Children living in poverty often show delayed cognitive and social development compared with children reared in more affluent environments. However, much of the research focuses on how objective fi...
TL;DR: This paper evaluated the structure of processing speed in children by comparing five alternative models: two conceptual models, a unitary model, a complexity model, and three methodological models (a stimulus material model, an output response model and a timing modality model).
Abstract: The present study had two aims. First, we set out to evaluate the structure of processing speed in children by comparing five alternative models: two conceptual models (a unitary model, a complexity model) and three methodological models (a stimulus material model, an output response model, and a timing modality model). Second, we then used the resulting models to predict multiple types of reading, a highly important developmental outcome, using other well-known predictors as covariates. Participants were 844 children enrolled in third through fifth grade in urban public elementary schools who received 16 measures of processing speed that varied in the above dimensions. A two-factor complexity model that differentiated between simple and complex processing speed was the preferred model and fit the data well. Both types of PS predicted reading fluency, and complex (but not simple) PS predicted single word reading and comprehension. Results offer insight to the structure of processing speed, its relation to closely related concepts (such as executive function), and provide nuance to the understanding of the way processing speed influences reading.
TL;DR: The authors focused on middle childhood, comparing two samples of mainland Chinese (n = 126) and AANs (n= 126) to study Theory of Mind (ToM) in middle childhood.
Abstract: To date, cross-cultural studies on Theory of Mind (ToM) have predominantly focused on preschoolers. This study focuses on middle childhood, comparing two samples of mainland Chinese (n = 126) and A...
TL;DR: It is proposed that working memory, when available, is used to impose a quality-control process whereby the semantic fidelity of the response to the stimulus picture is preserved, here at the expense of disregarding the experimental instruction to reproduce the passive voice.
Abstract: Working memory is necessary for a wide variety of cognitive abilities. Developmental work has shown that as working memory capacities increase, so does the ability to successfully perform other cog...
TL;DR: This article examined differences among children in their endorsement of an adult's claim, their subsequent empirical investigation of that claim, and their resolution of any potential conflict between the two parties in the conflict.
Abstract: We examined differences among children in their endorsement of an adult’s claim, their subsequent empirical investigation of that claim, and their resolution of any potential conflict between the c...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors analyzed symbolic and non-symbolic numerical abilities of parents in order to understand whether these are predictors of children's numerical skills, considering basic symbolic,...
Abstract: In this article, we analyze symbolic and non-symbolic numerical abilities of parents in order to understand whether these are predictors of children’s numerical skills, considering basic symbolic, ...
TL;DR: This article found that 14-month-olds selectively imitated a sub-efficient means (illuminating a lightbox by a head touch) when this was modeled by linguistic ingroup members in video-demonstrations.
Abstract: Fourteen-month-olds selectively imitated a sub-efficient means (illuminating a lightbox by a head-touch) when this was modeled by linguistic ingroup members in video-demonstrations. A follow-up stu...
TL;DR: The authors found that parents who vary in their experience with formal schooling are likely to use different types of informal guidance with their children, rather than assuming a deficit approach, they need evide...
Abstract: Parents who vary in their experience with formal schooling are likely to use different types of informal guidance with their children. However, rather than assuming a deficit approach we need evide...
TL;DR: The authors found that second and third graders demonstrated better magnitude knowledge of proper fractions after a 1-approximation of the number line and area model, compared to the first and second graders.
Abstract: Number lines and area models are both used pervasively in teaching fractions. Prior studies found that second and third graders demonstrated better magnitude knowledge of proper fractions after a 1...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors assigned 4 and 5-year-old children to one of four conditions, three experimental conditions, in which children read a story about a famous scientist, and one baseline condition.
Abstract: Eighty-six 4- and 5-year-old children were assigned to one of four conditions, three experimental conditions, in which children read a story about a famous scientist, and one baseline condition. In...
TL;DR: The recent proliferation of research on children's supernatural concepts is noteworthy, as this work is necessary for a full account of human cognition as discussed by the authors. But despite this advancement in our field, there...
Abstract: The recent proliferation of research on children’s supernatural concepts is noteworthy, as this work is necessary for a full account of human cognition. Despite this advancement in our field, there...
TL;DR: This article found that parent-child reminiscing talk about positive and negative events provides children with unique opportunities to develop emotion competence, and that very little work has involved families from low-income households in emotion competence development.
Abstract: Parent-child reminiscing talk about positive and negative events provides children with unique opportunities to develop emotion competence. Very little work has involved families from low-income ho...
TL;DR: The authors investigated how younger (4-to-5-year-old) and older (6- to 7-year old) children conceptualize God as particularly knowledgeable and more knowledgeable than humans about moral transgressions.
Abstract: Adults conceptualize God as particularly knowledgeable – more knowledgeable than humans – about moral transgressions. We investigated how younger (4- to 5-year-old) and older (6- to 7-year-old) chi...
TL;DR: Two studies investigated children's and their parents' reasoning about their mental and bodily states during the time prior to biological conception as mentioned in this paper, finding that children were more likely to believe that they were in pre-existence.
Abstract: Two studies investigated children’s and their parents’ reasoning about their mental and bodily states during the time prior to biological conception–“preexistence.” Prior research has suggested tha...
TL;DR: This article found that adults use social-group membership to make inductive inferences about the properties of novel individuals, and this tendency was well established by the preschool years, and that this tendency is well established even in the elderly.
Abstract: Adults use social-group membership to make inductive inferences about the properties of novel individuals, and this tendency is well established by the preschool years. Recent evidence suggests tha...
TL;DR: The authors found that the development of early numerical cognition builds on children's ability to understand and manipulate quantities and numbers, but they did not find conclusive evidence on the relationship between numerical cognition and early understanding.
Abstract: The development of (early) numerical cognition builds on children’s ability to understand and manipulate quantities and numbers. However, previous research did not find conclusive evidence on the r...
TL;DR: In this paper, the age at which left-to-right spatial associations found in infancy shift to culture-specific spatial biases in later childhood was tested for both numerical and non-numerical informat...
Abstract: This experiment tests the age at which left-to-right spatial associations found in infancy shift to culture-specific spatial biases in later childhood, for both numerical and non-numerical informat...
TL;DR: This paper investigated 3-, 4-, and 5-year self-projection in decision-making and found that the ability to shift from current to alternative perspectives (e.g., past and future) plays a fundamental role in accurate decision making.
Abstract: Our ability to shift from current to alternative (eg, past and future) perspectives (ie, “self-projection”) plays a fundamental role in accurate decision-making We investigated 3-, 4-, and 5-y
TL;DR: Learning to solve arithmetic word problems is an essential part of the primary school mathematics curriculum as mentioned in this paper and the success of word-problem solving was previously found to relate to reading comprehen...
Abstract: Learning to solve arithmetic word problems is an essential part of the primary school mathematics curriculum. The success of word-problem solving was previously found to relate to reading comprehen...
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated the ability to selectively trust reliable informants in a sample of Brazilian preschool children from two different socioeconomic backgrounds, and found that 90% of the children trusted reliable informants.
Abstract: The present study was the first to investigate the ability to selectively trust reliable informants in a sample of Brazilian preschool children from two different socioeconomic backgrounds. Ninety-...