Presents findings of a study of scientists on the Wason four-card selection task, finding little understanding of the effect of disconfirmatory data in assessing conditionals. Found performance influenced by problem content. Explains performance as memory-cueing plus reasoning-by-analogy. (JM)

The study examined the paragraph writing performance of 89 undergraduate students with low or high convergent or divergent aptitude in response to three methods of instruction: deduction (topic sentence to details), inductive (details to topic sentence), or a combination. A balanced presentation of both methods produced greater overall…

Three studies examined the relationship between specific forms of preschoolers' social and pretend play and divergent/convergent problem solving. Naturalistic and experimental designs were used to provide clearer account of relationship and to challenge assumption of single direction of influence. Results support complex reciprocal causality model…

The Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) are a series of fluency-based measures designed to assess early literacy skills. These fluency-based measures function as predictors of future reading performance and target critical component skills required to learn to read. This study was conducted to establish the convergent…

The present research investigated the claim that certain intellectual characteristics predict attitudes toward multiple-choice tests, particularly the claim that creative persons hold negative attitudes toward these tests. The study examined the relationships between attitudes toward multiple-choice tests and convergent production, divergent…

Third grade subjects were classified as impulsive or reflective on the basis of the Matching Familiar Figures (MFF) test. In Experiment I, subjects were given either convergent thinking tasks, brainstorming tasks, or a control task. In Experiment II, half of the subjects received difficult tasks intended to induce failure while the other half…

Tests of intelligence and divergent thinking, and a measure of arts and science orientation, were administered to 310 unspecialized, mixed-ability, secondary pupils. Hudson's notion of convergence-divergence as a dimension contrasting preference for open-ended v closed-ended tests was not supported. (Author/SJL)

Fifty junior high school students were compared on achievement subtests requiring either analytic/convergent or holistic/divergent cognitive processing. Underachievers performed as well as achievers on tasks requiring holistic processing but did not perform as well on detailed or computational tasks requiring precision, attention to detail, and/or…

The amount of conceptual convergence for concepts of nine objects in elementary school children was investigated. Findings revealed substantial convergence on core meanings within and among age groups, and a steady expansion of meaning with age and experience, especially between grades one and three. (Author/MH)

The purpose of this research is to undertake a comparative analysis of policy and practice in initial teacher education (ITE) in two parts of the United Kingdom. Although the education systems of England and Scotland have been characterised as experiencing considerable autonomy since the Act of Union in 1707, the new context of political…

This investigation assessed the importance of orientation behavior on group consensus and the individual satisfaction of participants. Students in four sections of an introductory speech course rated each classmate on a seven-point scale according to orientation behavior as manifested in the ability to resolve conflict, reinforce agreement,…

A novel cognitive style distinction is introduced: the Assimilator, who stretches established principles to meet novel tasks, and the Explorer, who seeks novel solutions even when established principles would serve. The assets and liabilities of each problem-solving style are considered and results of a validation study presented. (Editor/SJL)

This paper investigated the relationship between (1) perceived responsibility for intellectual achievement, and (2) objective tests measuring convergent and divergent thinking and subjective teacher ratings and classmates' nominations, in 1,033 gifted children (age 9). The results indicate that internal control is a mediating variable in the…

To determine whether high creative and low creative children achieved differently when utilizing a divergent method of teaching as opposed to a convergent method of teaching as evidenced by achievement in spelling, a study, conducted for a period of 18 weeks, involved 79 third grade children randomly assigned into four sections. Two pretests were…

Examined social and cognitive play behaviors of preschool children in comparison to tests of convergent and divergent thinking. High levels of nonsocial activity were associated with low scores on the convergent thinking measure. There were negative relationships between nonsocial play and divergent thinking. (GLR)