The Growth of Flexible Problem Solving: Learning to Adapt to Changing Verbal and Non-Verbal Tasks

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AbstractThe Growth of Flexible Problem Solving: Lewarning to Adapt to Changing Verbal and Non-Verbal TasksGedeon O. Deak How do children adapt to changing problems and tasks? The proposed research will investigate preschoolers' ability to shift problem-solving strategies in response to changing task demands. There is evidence that this is difficult for many 2- to 6-year-olds, and this has implications for early education because success in school-even in kindergarten-requires adapting to changing tasks. Three cognitive processes might be critical determinants of preschoolers' problem solving flexibility: deciding what information is relevant to the task-at-hand, monitoring changing task demands, and suppressing responses that are no longer appropriate. This raises several questions. First, is flexible problem solving a general skill that rests on these three processes, or does flexibility vary domain by domain according to specific skills and knowledge? This investigation will utilize a new non-verbal flexibility test-a non-verbal analogue of existing, verbal tests-to assess generalized developmental changes in children's flexibility. Second, are there pervasive individual differences in children's flexibility? Do they reflect stable cognitive profiles? Children will complete a battery of flexibility tests, as well as several tests of cognitive skills that might predict problem solving abilities. Third, can we influence children's flexibility by manipulating their strategic response when task demands change? Several studies will experimentally influence, for example, the salience of contextual cues that a task has changed. A related study will train preschoolers to notice changes in task demands, and assess their ability to generalize this strategy to new tests of flexibility. Together these studies will illuminate the development of a critical high-level cognitive skill: Ability to adapt to changing problems.