Process-Overlap Theory (POT) suggests that measures of cognitive abilities sample from sets of independent cognitive processes. These cognitive processes can be separated into domain-general executive processes, sampled by the majority of cognitive ability measures, and domain-specific processes, sampled only by measures within a certain domain.…

Analogical reasoning is one mechanism that has been recognized as having the potential of bringing prior knowledge to bear on the acquisition of new information. Analogical reasoning involves the identification and transfer of structural information from a known system to a new and relatively unknown system. The productive use of analogy is often…

This is the final report for a study whose original purpose was to develop a general theory of the situational constraints imposed by the routines of everyday life on arithmetic skills. Section 1 reviews the goals laid out in the proposal in relation to what was accomplished. Section 2 is the draft of "Everyday Cognition: Its Development in…

This report on the Adult Math Skills Project includes sections on theory, empirical studies, and their implications. Section 1 presents an overview, noting that activity and setting are seen as mutually creating, sustaining, and changing the nature of problem solving. The empirical studies involved: (1) arithmetic practices among grocery shoppers;…