ERIC Number: ED029715
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1968-Dec
Pages: 24
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Children's Ability to Operate Within a Matrix: A Developmental Study.
Siegel, Alexander W.; Kresh, Esther
Eight children from each of five age groups, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 years, were administered matrix tasks involving two nominal dimensions, color and shape. Nine stimulus cells and six attribute cells made up the apparatus. The attribute cells consisted of three colors and three geometric shapes; the stimulus cells made up a matrix consisting of the nine possible combinations of the two basic attributes. The subjects were asked to perform three operations on the matrix: (1) to define the covered contents of the stimulus cells by looking at the attribute cells, (2) to place the stimuli in their correct cells while being guided by the attribute cells, and (3) to define and fill the attribute cells by viewing the stimulus cells. The results showed that on all three tasks the performance of the 4-year-olds was close to chance, the performance of the 8-year-olds was near maximum, and there was gradual improvement of performance for the ages in between. For subjects 4 to 7 years of age, tasks (1) and (2) were positively related but were independent of task (3). For the 8-year-olds, tasks (1) and (3) were positively related and tasks (1) and (2) were independent. This difference in task relationships is probably due, in part, to differences in the types of verbal mediators involved. (WD)
Publication Type: N/A
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: N/A
Sponsor: Office of Education (DHEW), Washington, DC.
Authoring Institution: Pittsburgh Univ., PA. Learning Research and Development Center.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A