This dissertation identified and addressed four of the unresolved issues pertaining to the proposition that nonabsolute/ relativistic (N/R) thinking is one of the possible unifying commonalities underlying the selected models of postformal reasoning, namely Problem Finding, Dialectical Reasoning, Relativistic Operations and Reflective Judgment. A total of 254 participants aged 10 to 48 and attending Grade 5 to doctoral studies were involved. Each participant was administered eight tests in pencil-and-paper format to measure eight different constructs of thinking. Different specific hypotheses were evaluated through different statistical approaches. The four identified issues were addressed as follows: Firstly, nonabsolute/ relativistic thinking was reconceptualized and operationally defined as a multidimensional and multilevel construct. Two dimensions were proposed: the basic form and the epistemic view. Within the basic form dimension, two levels were proposed: the formal and the postformal forms. Secondly, a battery of three tests was specifically designed by Arlin and the author to measure the different dimensions and levels of nonabsolute/ relativistic thinking. Thirdly, strong empirical evidence was obtained supporting the general hypothesis that nonabsolute/ relativistic thinking is a possible unifying commonality underlying the four selected postformal models. Within the construct of nonabsolute/ relativistic thinking, two dimensions, the basic form and the epistemic view, can be differentiated as hypothesized. Fourthly, empirical evidence was also obtained supporting the general hypothesis that nonabsolute/ relativistic thinking is an instance of both formal and postformal reasoning. Specifically within the basic form dimension, two qualitatively different forms, the formal and the postformal, can be differentiated as hypothesized. Findings also suggested that the development of a nonabsolute epistemic view might play a crucial role in the development of the postformal form. Therefore, the emergence of the postformal form can be explained by a paradigm shift from an absolute to a nonabsolute epistemic view. Performances in the tests of the postformal form and of the epistemic view in combination were found to be good predictors of performances in the selected postformal tests. Significant implications of the findings are that nonabsolute/ relativistic thinking represents a form of metamorphosis from closed-system to open-system thinking and it might serve as a potential springboard in the development of higher order thinking.

This study was designed to explore children visual thinking peculiarities. Participants were 201 children (133 girls and 68 boys). Firstly, two age groups were formed (6-11; 12-18). Within each age group children were assigned by studies (children attending the school of Art and children from the higher grade school ). Children were shown six topics, which they had to represent (using paper and 12 colors) in such a way, that a stranger could recognize the represented topic. Different results occured. Children in the age 6-11 from the higher grade school used less colors in their drawings, the color didn’t introduse any symbolic meaning, as to the content- it was concrete (94,4%), while 12-18 year old higher grade school children and adolescents and 6-11; 12-18 year old children and adolescents from the school of Art introdused quite opposite results: their drawings were mainly abstract (80,4%, 84,4%, 89%) and carried symbolic meaning of color.

The following is a qualitative portrait of a creative teacher and her teaching process. It has been written as chronological narrative using an evolving systems approach as a methodology for an instrumental case-study design. The creative teacher is a 47-year-old female with over 20 years experience with elementary, secondary, college, and university students. Five interviews were conducted with the teacher before, during, and following the course. Data sets include classroom observations revealed in field notes, documents such as course materials and audiotaped interviews. Two interviews were conducted with six students at the beginning and end of the course. One interview was conducted with the teacher's husband at the end of the course. The research context was an undergraduate university classroom of 146 preservice teachers studying how to plan curriculum and instruction for diverse learners. All interviews were audiotaped and transcribed verbatim. The overarching themes represented constructs involving intense and thorough course preparation, teacher-student connections, and reflective teaching. Overlapping subthemes guiding the process of creative teaching emerged including constraints placed on preparation and reflective teaching, an awareness of self and students within the process of preparation and connection, feedback from colleagues and students guiding the connection and reflective teaching, and the values and goals formed from personal history and philosophy of life shaping all three major themes. The teacher's personality acted as a conduit for expressing her creativity in the classroom. Her creative process was directed by her personality to choose the materials and methods of developing curriculum and instruction, and to guide her in her reflective teaching. This revelatory case example of creative teaching possesses characteristics resembling studies of creative giants, however presents a model of the process of creative teaching that can be ins

The Subject chosen for this thesis is the interior of a room and its myriad aspects. When experienced subjectively it can appear as an outer protection or barrier for inner turmoil, providing security, shelter and privacy, or the direct opposite, four walls unnaturally imprisoning that which should be free. Objectively it provides a startling array of forms shapes and textures, both functional and nonfunctional, rigid and organic. The visual tensions influence and condition the actions and thoughts of the human figure within this environment. A room contains within its four walls residue of human thoughts, actions and emotions, a visual catalyst of memories and associations ; past and present. A room is in a constant state of evolution expressing itself in movements from light and dark - a place where time and space can be measurable. I have tried using a variety of means: signs and symbols, dots, dashes, line and tone to capture at once the stationary together with the transitory nature of observed appearances. I have dwelt on and emphasised those ambiguities which have arisen out of the process of creating an image and may reveal something of another reality.... of those submerged realities behind appearances and beyond normal consciousness. The language of an artist is able to cast a glimmer of light on those essential truths.....truths which normally elude civilised man. This thesis provides for sensory and visual appreciation rather than intellectual gratification (thus the emphasis on visual rather than written work). It comprises of a series of drawings, covering some aspects of one particular interior .... in this instance, my livingroom - an immediate environment. The drawings are essentially a visual record of sensory thinking, emotional and free-form imaginative interpretation of commonplace objects. The drawings follow a sequence, both chronologically and in thought development towards painting in which the experience gained of the room, crystallises in paint, size and colour adding dimension. The drawings should perform a dual role, one of providing a direct link with unconscious creative processes, and one of showing a developing awareness of the vital forces and movements that motivate a painting and validate the act of creating it. A variety of techniques have been used, each in its turn revealing some significant facet of the interior. Mixed media drawings predominate, for this media with its own unique properties, is capable of providing a bridge ..... an interlocking of concept and technique where image and media are inseparable.

Reflektioner kring hur den kreativa processen kan observeras på olika nivåer. / <p>Ljudmaterial inlämat till ljudenheten. Finns bifogat på CD tillsammans med text på Kungliga Musikhögskolans Bibliotek.</p><p>Bilaga: 2 partitur</p>

Previous research in the field of speech has indicated that critical thinking can be improved through training in discussion, debate, argumentation, and the basic speech class. Critical thinking has also been related to fluency in extemporaneous speaking. The purpose of this study is to test the hypothesis that there is no significant difference between students' grades in Speech 210 and their scores on the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal. Can the Watson-Glaser Test predict the students' grades in a public speaking class? The hypothesis is also treated with respect to sex, class, selected majors, and delayed acceptance and regular students.The study employed seven statistical tests: the Kruskal-Wallis Rank Test of Significance, the Chi Square Test for Two Independent Samples, the Fisher Exact Probability Test, the Median Test, the T Test for Unmatched Pairs, and the Chi Square Test for "Goodness of Fit" with (a) expected values equal and (b) expected values unequal. The teats, programmed on a Monroe 1766 electronic calculator, were applied to the five null hypotheses. The tests indicate significant correlations in two areas: Watson-Glaser raw scores with respect to psychology majors and marketing majors, and Watson-Glaser raw scores with respect to delayed acceptance and selected sample students. No statistically significant correlation was found between Watson-Glaser scores and final grades given in Speech 210 as a whole, class, sex, and selected majors.

Twenty-seven swimmers, twenty-three aerobic runners, and twenty-two distance runners were tested on measures of affect and four creative thinking tests before and after an exercise session which approximated their normal work-out. Twenty-two sedentary control subjects watched a National Geographic videotape instead of exercising. Pre-test findings indicated that there were no statistically significant differences between groups. There was no evidence of post-exercise enhancement of demonstrated creative thinking following a 30 minute post-exercise pause, nor did exercisers perform better than controls on the creativity tests. The obtained results conflict with popular notions and previous research. However, exercisers did perceive themselves as significantly more exercise. The results suggest that exercisers believe their workouts enhance creative thinking when in fact they do not. / Department of Psychological Science

This thesis has explored the nature of the relationship between Piaget's concept of conservation and performance on standardized achievement and intelligence tests for Kindergarten, first and second grade Ss. The Pearson product-moment correlations indicated a positive and significant relationship between conservation and achievement at the Kindergarten level. The first grade, which suffered from a lack of variability on the conservation variable, failed to show a significant relationship between conservation and any other variables. The second grade correlations indicated a positive and significant relationship between conservation and both IQ and mathematics achievement. Partial and multiple correlations also indicated that conservation had a positive and significant relationship with mathematics achievement.

This thesis is concerned with two kinds of 'singular' psychological phenomena. The first is the commonsense psychological explanation of action directed upon particular things and stuffs. The second is the nature of (visual) perceptual demonstrative thought. The two topics are brought together in an account of psychological explanation I call 'de re psychological explanation'. The primary aim of the thesis is to articulate and defend this account. The main thesis I seek to establish is that an adequate psychological explanation of an agent's action upon an object requires a relational or de re ascription of thought that (1) relates the agent to the object and (2) makes reference to a perceptual demonstrative mode of presentation of the object. This thesis is defended in two stages. In the first chapter I argue for the first half of the thesis, that relational ascriptions are necessary in any explanation of an action involving an object. In the fourth chapter I argue for the second half, that it is necessary that these relational ascriptions make reference to a perceptual demonstrative mode of presentation of the object acted on. The second half of the thesis involves the notion of a perceptual demonstrative mode of presentation. This necessitates an account of the nature of perceptual demonstrative thoughts, which is undertaken in chapters two and three. In the second chapter I explore two prominent theories of perceptual demonstrative thought. In the third chapter I sketch a new account 'property-dependent externalism' and argue that it is more adequate than the others. In chapter four, I return to de re explanation and develop it further into a covering-law account of psychological explanation. The rest of the thesis is given over to defending the elaborated covering-law account against two objections. I draw the claws of the first objection in the second half of the fourth chapter and answer the second objection in the final chapter.

This thesis looks at two critical urges in Critical Systems Thinking that both complement and critique each other. Firstly, there is an urge to construct in a critical manner. Secondly, there is an urge to be critical about such constructions. They complement and critique each other in the manner in which the second urge requires the first urge in order to understand what it means when one begins to create by construction, and also in which the first urge requires the second in order to understand the privileged position that construction is given in epistemology. These two urges give two stages. Construction relates to four clear conditions that develop from an Architectural study. This study offers two definitions of Architecture : structural longevity and relational modification. Consequently, a Structure and Process are established (first two stages) which together content an Architecture of Critical Systems Thinking (third stage). This Architecture is then applied to Systems Thinking through a study of five Systems Thinkers, this application offers an Architecture as commensurability (fourth stage). The Architecture is thereby offered as author. De-construction relates to four clear conditions that develop from the Architecture of Critical Systems Thinking. Each condition questions the Architectural authority to construct. The Process (reversed to complement and critique) questions the Structural consistency of the Architecture (first). A Structure of Acuity develops that maintains meaning where the Architecture neutralised meaning (second). A Contentless Acuity follows (third), thereby allowing the contentlessness of paradigm (in)commensurability to be discussed as an application of the Acuity of Critical Systems Thinking. The Acuity is thereby offered as reader. To balance these two urges is to read with authority.