The prominent cognitive theories of probability judgment were primarily developed to explain cognitive biases rather than to account for the cognitive processes in probability judgment. In this article the authors compare 3 major theories of the processes and representations in probability judgment: the representativeness heuristic, implemented as…

Hammond's Cognitive Continuum theory posits that certain task features induce distinct processing modes (e.g., intuitive or analytic) and thus result in qualitatively different decision performance. Although the theory suggests the relation between task features and performance characteristics a priori, the validity of these predictions requires…

Findings on 20 children who passed an area conservation task and 20 who didn't suggested that conserving children applied an additive rule, while nonconserving children presented patterns suggesting centration on one of the two dimensions. Implications for Anderson's and Piaget's conceptions of conservation development are discussed. (RH)

Five experiments were conducted to address the question of whether source information could be accessed in the absence of being able to recall an item. The authors used a paired-associate learning paradigm in which cue-target word pairs were studied, and target recall was requested in the presence of the cue. When target recall failed,…

Article focused on new developments in the sociology of education. (Editor/RK)

Some of the most used, misused, and abused terms in contemporary education are the words "create,""creative," and "creativity." One way of understanding creativity is to reject the current practice of assuming that creative behavior is directly caused by some special kind of mental operation called "creative thinking." What can be accepted is the…

Explores whether it is possible to isolate some of the traditional cognitive controls in a group of seriously disturbed psychiatric patients then evaluates whether various diagnostic groups differ from each other and from normals with respect to these cognitive controls. (Author/RK)

Problems arise when creativity is viewed in terms of personality or cognitive traits considered apart from products produced. The encouragement of high level achievement within particular disciplines and subject matter is suggested to develop creativity. (DF)

Uses the balance scale task to assess the development of compensation across versions of the task. Shows that fully reversible thinking may not be typical even in college students; many subjects used the compensation operation inconsistently. Preschoolers tended to use the given information in a way that was opposite to that required for correct…

Author examines learning experiences conducive to the development of critical thinking processes. (Editor)

College subjects (n=106) judged a set of 12 covariation problems structured so that each of four judgment rules would produce a distinctive judgment pattern on a problem set. The findings suggest that self-report is a weak basis for conclusions about sources of error in covariation judgment. (Author/PN)

The perception of the effectiveness of instrumental actions is influenced by depressed mood. Depressive realism (DR) is the claim that depressed people are particularly accurate in evaluating instrumentality. In two experiments, the authors tested the DR hypothesis using an action-outcome contingency judgment task. DR effects were a function of…

This study proposed and tested a developmental model of impression formation based on observed behavior, prior expectancies, and additional incongruent information. Participants were 51 kindergartners, 53 second graders, and 104 college students who provided trait and liking judgments after watching a child actor engage in behaviors from three…

Although critical thinking is a pervasive educational objective, it remains inconsistently and imperfectly defined. The present paper attempts to sort out direct attempts at defining critical thinking. Such definitions are classified as representing one of three differing points of view: critical thinking as evaluation, critical thinking as…

A study of logic enables students to see what constitutes valid arguments and legitimate fallacies and enables them to apply this to situations in their lives so they can make sound decisions. (JD)