A longitudinal study of developmental changes in childrens problem-solving strategies between 3 and 9 years.

摘要

Previous studies of children's use of problem-solvingudstrategies have been cross-sectional, and narrowlyuddefined. These have described age-related developmentudacross a wide range of cognitive competencies. Paralleludwith this child development literature, studies in bothudhumans and animals have linked active reduction ofuderror in problem-solving to inhibitory function of audmature and intact hippocampus, and also to the frontaludlobes.udThe present study was designed to investigate theuddevelopment of availability and use of strategies byudchildren in problem-solving tasks, and whether developmentudof inhibitory ability is the underlying and enablingudprocess for this.ud96 children aged 3 years (N=32), 5 years CN=32), andud7 years (N=32), fully representative of sex and socioeconomicudstatus, were each given a battery of sixudexperimental tasks, (Wisconsin Card Sorting Test,udSpontaneous Alternation, Oddity Problem, Two-ChoiceudDiscrimination Learning, Three-Choice DiscriminationudLearning and Attributes Task) on four separate, equaludinterval testing occasions over two years. Pre-tests ofudnon-verbal intelligence, verbal comprehension andudconceptual tempo were administered, prior to the firstudtesting.udThe tasks were selected, following pilot study, to elicit behavioural evidence of problem-solving strategies, whichudmight be dominant at different ages. Strategy was definedudas a reflection of hypothesis forming and testing in audproblem for solution.udThe results show age-related changes in the use ofudperseveration and alternation strategies, with indicationsudof more complex strategies available to the 7 year oldudgroup. Strategies, once available, were differentiallyudused in tasks within a testing, and appear to be linkedudto the cognitive demand of a task.udIn discussion, it is argued that the results from the useudof the longitudinal design support a concept that a furtherudfunctional system of inhibitory ability is developing fromudabout 4 years of age. Both the hippocampus and frontal lobesudappear to be implicated in this system which is seen as theudprocess underlying the development of planning ability andudactive reduction of error.udIt is finally concluded that the emergent system ofudinhibitory ability is not unitary, but an elaboration ofudearlier abilities. This is reflected by the changesudobserved in availability and use by children of strategiesudfor problem-solving. The development of their repertoireudthus appears to be by the addition of new strategies, andudtheir elaboration.