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Individual differences in problem-solving have been studied from both information-processing and developmental psychology perspectives. The purpose of the present research was to use an information-processing approach to investigate the effects of both age and intelligence on the performances by young persons on experimental tasks which required systematic application of appropriate solution rules. Eighty 10- and 15-year-old subjects were assigned to one of eight groups on the bases of their ages, sex, and intelligence levels. The testing condition was the same for all groups. Stimulus materials consisted of a two-pan balance and a variety of different-density cubes. Subjects' responses to the materials were their predictions of equilibrium or imbalance. Correct solutions required understanding of the physical science concepts of volume and density, and the mathematics concept of proportionality. From analysis of variance performed on the data, it was found that males and females did not differ in their abilities to problem-solve. The highly-intelligent subjects had a greater frequency of correct responses in both age groups, and the older subjects outperformed younger subjects. The equilibrium problems presented in the study were of six separate types, and the interaction effects in the data revealed that the six types were of varying levels of difficulty. It was in the analyses of the subjects' patterns of responses to the several types that the most theoretically interesting results appeared. Examination of the response patterns led to assignment of the respondents to categories of probable rule-usage. The less sophisticated problem-solvers did not take density into account and consistently relied on their knowledge of the volume concept in making their decisions. Solvers functioning at higher rule-levels were able to consider density as well before making their predictions, although a substantial number failed to use cues present in the experiment to reckon the respective densities correctly. Fully-functional problem-solvers gave responses which showed their mastery of the mathematics of proportionality. Twenty-four subjects participated in a second experiment which was a short demonstration-oriented training study providing feedback, although the algorithm for correct problem solution was not directly taught. Results were discussed in terms of the efficacy of the rule-usage model.

The purpose of the study was to determine the effect of four variables: (1) cognitive ability; (2) sequence of a tri modal media presentation; (3) questions written at each of the six levels of Bloom's taxonomy; and (4) two questionning strategies as evaluated by the mean achievement scores of the two groups of fourth grade students who had two specific cognitive abilities.The study was designed to answer two questions for each group of learners. An analysis of the data was conducted on the sequence of media treatments and questioning strategy used during the treatment. Two experiments were used in the design. The 78 students in Experiment I were labeled the Verbal Group, having attained a score at the 75th percentile or higher on the Verbal Battery of the Cognitive Abilities Test. The 74 students in Experiment II were labeled the Non Verbal Group as they had attained a score at the 25th percentile or lower on the Non Verbal Battery of the Cognitive Abilities Test. The treatment used in an attempt to determine the effect of the four variables was (1) a sequence of auditory, visual, and print modes; (2) two questioning strategies; Test Whole and Test Parts; (3) three stories written at an average readability level of 4.8 according to Fry’s Readability Graph which served as the content of the presentation; and (4) six questions for each story which were written to coincide with the six levels of Bloom's Taxonomy of the Cognitive Domain. Each story was divided into two portions. For Treatments 1 and 2 the first portion of the story was recorded as the auditory mode. The remaining portion was the print mode. For Treatment 3 the first portion of the stories was the print mode while the second portion became the auditory mode.Each experiment had three treatments with two questioning strategies used in each treatment. The treatments were three alternate sequencings of a visual, auditory, and print presentation. In each of these sequences, one group received Test Whole, which consisted of six questions that evaluated the content being given at the completion of each story. The group which received Test Parts answered two questions at the completion of each mode's presentation during the story.A two-way analysis of variance was used for the two measures in each experiment. The interaction was computed between (a) sequence of treatments and (b) questioning strategies. The F test was used to determine the homogeneity of the groups. When the analysis revealed significance, the Tukey Post Hoc statistic was used to determine the location of the effect.For the Verbal Group in Experiment I, there was no statistical difference for either of the measures of treatment and questioning. For the Non Verbal Group in Experiment II the measure of treatment revealed a significance (P = .003). The Tukey Post Hoc analysis Treatment 1 and Treatment 3 as one explanation of the significance. The measure of questioning for this group also failed to show a significance.Regarding results of Experiment II with students who had low abilities, the study determined that the aid of the visual and auditory modes were of significant help to these students. The results for experiment I supported previous studies which revealed that print oriented students performequally well regardless of the sequence of visual, auditory, and print modes.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 1999. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 163-173). Available also in a digital version from Dissertation Abstracts.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Open University. BLDSC no. DX74918/87. / Consultation copy in 2 volumes.