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Children’s Attention to Rules in Sorting Cards: Distinguishing Between Theories of Cognitive Development
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by Karen E. Haas, Marilyn R. De Mers, Brittany Fulton, Katherine N. Terrana, Joseph J. Horton - Grove City College
Categories: Developmental | Cognitive | Memory
The Dimensional Change Card Sort (DCCS) task (Zelazo, Frye, & Rapus, 1996) is a common method for studying children’s redirection of attention. Children are asked to sort cards, once based on the dimension of shape and once on color. Four-year-olds typically perform well on both aspects of the task, but 3-year-olds fail the second aspect. We observed 96 children and modified the DCCS task to examine the effect of novel stimulus cards on 3-year-olds' performance and test the validity of the Cognitive Complexity and Control (Zelazo et al., 1996) and the Attentional Inertia (AI; Diamond, Kirkham, & Amso, 2002) theories. Results of the modified task showed that 3-year-olds performed as well as 4-year-olds, consistent with the AI theory.
Spring 2010 | Psi Chi Journal of Undergraduate Research (Vol. 15, No. 1, p. 8), published by Psi Chi, The International Honor Society in Psychology (Chattanooga, TN). Copyright, 2010, Psi Chi, The International Honor Society in Psychology. All rights reserved.