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

摘要灵活解决问题的成长：勒瓦宁适应变化的语言和非语言任务吉迪恩·O·迪克儿童如何适应变化的问题和任务？这项拟议的研究将调查学龄前儿童改变问题解决策略以应对不断变化的任务需求的能力。有证据表明，这对许多2至6岁的孩子来说很困难，这对早期教育有影响，因为要想在学校--甚至在幼儿园--取得成功，就需要适应不断变化的任务。三个认知过程可能是学龄前儿童解决问题灵活性的关键决定因素：决定哪些信息与手头的任务相关，监控不断变化的任务需求，以及抑制不再合适的反应。这引发了几个问题。首先，灵活解决问题是基于这三个过程的一般技能，还是根据具体的技能和知识，不同领域的灵活性有所不同？这项调查将利用一种新的非语言灵活性测试--一种现有语言测试的非语言类比--来评估儿童灵活性的普遍发展变化。第二，儿童的灵活性是否普遍存在个体差异？它们是否反映了稳定的认知特征？孩子们将完成一系列灵活性测试，以及几项可能预测问题解决能力的认知技能测试。第三，当任务需求发生变化时，我们能通过操纵儿童的策略反应来影响他们的灵活性吗？例如，有几项研究将通过实验影响背景线索的显着性，即一项任务已经改变。一项相关的研究将训练学龄前儿童注意到任务需求的变化，并评估他们将这一策略推广到新的灵活性测试中的能力。这些研究将共同阐明一项关键的高级认知技能的发展：适应不断变化的问题的能力。

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.