A hierarchy of skills in the measurement topic of area was validated on three-hundred and six students between grades six and nine. The hierarchy of skills was based on the rules underlying the individual skills. When a rule for one skill was considered a component of a rule for another skill, then the two skills were hypothesized to be hierarchically ordered. In addition, if a simple rule for a particular skill was replaced by a more complex rule, resulting in a different skill, then these two skills were hypothesized to be hierarchically ordered. The physical representations of the area tasks, as well as the shapes of the area figures were hypothesized as influencing the skill orderings. The use of Latent-class analysis revealed that seven of the nine skill orderings analyzed were hierarchically ordered based on difficulty level and not prerequisiteness. The other two skill orderings indicated equaprobable partial mastery classes. In addition to Latent-class analysis, the incorrect processes used by the students were coded and tabulated. The results revealed that (1) nonstandard shaped area problems were the most difficult for this sample, (2) the most frequent process associated with incorrect responses involved the addition of numbers shown in area problem figures, (3) the second most frequent process involved some form of multiplication, without regard to the area concepts inherent in the task, and (4) students beyond the sixth grade made more errors involving multiplication processes than errors involving addition processes. The study revealed that the use of rules, representations and shapes as the basis for a hierarchy does appear to have merit. In addition, process analysis revealed that students respond in a large variety of ways when they do not know the correct process for area tasks.

The malleable nature of human memory has been the focus of considerable research in recent years. Memory is no longer viewed as permanent and non-modifiable. When a consolidated memory is reactivated it becomes labile and modifiable again. Recently, updating of reactivated memory has been demonstrated, manifesting as the addition of new but relevant information. New, similar, information that is acquired in a separate learning episode is embedded within the original memory. We were interested in exploring the effects of psychosocial stress on this episodic memory updating. Individuals were stressed prior to reactivation of the original memory (Experiment 1) or prior to the onset of reconsolidation of the original memory (Experiment 2). Based on prior research, we hypothesized that in both experiments stress would impair memory updating. In Experiment 1, stress reduced memory updating, but this effect did not achieve statistical significance. In Experiment 2, stress impaired the consolidation of an `updated' memory. These findings not only corroborate stress-induced impairments of memory but also shed light on the possible consequences of impaired memory updating. We discuss the relevance of these experimental results in the context of problem solving.

The purpose of this study was to assess the impact of the Ridley and colleagues Mutual Problem Solving Program on assessments of relationship satisfaction and perceptions of equity in remarital couples. It was predicted that since the program imposed by its processes and its content, an equitable system by which couples could resolve conflicts, that equity perceptions should improve; and, according to the theoretical propositions of equity theory, it was expected that as equity improved, so should overall relationship satisfaction. Ten couples completed the eight week training program, completing a packet of thirteen questionnaires and one audio-taped discussion of a couple problem, once at pre-test and again at post-test. Using a case study format four couples' results were discussed regarding predictions established by equity theory. It was concluded that at a descriptive level, equity was able to predict the responses of low/no distress remarital couples to the program, but that individual or couple factors were more explanatory than equity propositions when distress was high. Implications for future empirical research was discussed.

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No description available.

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The purpose of this study was to gain insight into how children in preschool meet and experience number and problem solving in mathematics and to explore how the preschool teacher stimulates and supports children in their learning and development during this process. In order to obtain views on how this appears in kindergarten, I chose to start out from preschool teachers' perceptions and the image I got from several observations, in various nursery classes. To carry out my research, I chose to conduct observations and interviews. I made several observations in four nursery classes in two kindergartens. In addition I interviewed four preschool teachers from these two kindergartens. The essay has a socio-cultural perspective as theoretical basis. The result shows that children face and experience number and problem solving continuously in various everyday situations and contexts, for example during the play as well as gatherings and activities, during meals, etc, through language and concepts and different mathematical aspects. It also suggests that the preschool teacher's role is crucial for children's learning in these situations and this learning process. The preschool teacher's role is to be close to the children and to challenge their mathematical thinking in different situations to understand number and solve problems and to be attentive and make the children's learning visible in everyday life to give the children positive experiences of mathematics. / Syftet med denna studie var att få en inblick i hur barn i förskolan möter och upplever tal och problemlösning inom matematiken, samt att undersöka hur förskolläraren stimulerar och stödjer barnen i deras lärande och utveckling under denna process. För att få syn på hur detta sker i förskolan, valde jag att utgå ifrån förskollärarnas uppfattning och den bild som jag fick av flera observationer på olika barnavdelningar. För att kunna genomföra min undersökning valde jag att utföra observationer och intervjuer. Jag genomförde flera observationer på fyra olika barnavdelningar i två förskolor. Dessutom intervjuade jag fyra förskollärare från dessa två förskolor. Uppsatsen har ett sociokulturellt perspektiv som teoretisk utgångspunkt. Resultatet visar att barnen möter och upplever tal och problemlösning kontinuerligt i olika vardagliga situationer och sammanhang, som i leken, i samlingen, på måltiderna, etc, genom språk och begrepp och i olika matematiska aspekter. Det framkommer även att förskollärarens roll är avgörande för barns lärande i dessa situationer och under denna läroprocess. Pedagogens roll är att vara nära barnen och att utmana deras matematiska tänkande i olika situationer för att de ska förstå tal och lösa problem, samt att vara uppmärksam och synliggöra barns lärande i vardagen för att ge barnen positiva erfarenheter av matematiken.

Pain catastrophizing emerges in the literature as one of the most important psychological determinants of both pain itself and the negative outcomes commonly associated with it. However, despite decades of research confirming the impact of catastrophizing, there are still areas that remain unexplored or in which the surface has only been scratched. The overall aim of this dissertation was to expand existing knowledge about catastrophizing and to advance the theoretical framework around the concept. The role of catastrophizing was explored in three distinct areas: during pain in childbirth, in exposure treatment for back pain patients, and in a problem solving context. The findings from the three studies confirmed the vital role of catastrophizing in these areas. Firstly, catastrophizing played a critical role in pain in childbirth; women who catastrophized reported labor pain as more intense and the subsequent recovery period as longer than women who did not catastrophize. Secondly, catastrophizing was identified as a moderator of treatment effect in exposure in vivo for back pain patients with pain-related fear; patients who catastrophized were not helped by the exposure. Thirdly, catastrophizing played a role in a problem solving context; although this is in line with contemporary models such as the misdirected problem solving model, the results suggested a somewhat different pathway to this previous model. Taken together, these findings underscore the instrumental role of catastrophizing in diverse areas and imply a need for catastrophzing to be assessed and addressed in clinical contexts. In addition, the findings highlight a need for further development of the theoretical framework around catastrophizing as well as treatment interventions that directly target catastrophizing. Based on these needs, a new model of catastrophizing was proposed – a model of catastrophizing from a process perspective. In this model, the proposed function of catastrophizing is to down-regulate negative affect, as a form of internal avoidance. The model is a complement to existing theoretical models and provides a framework for developing treatment interventions that directly target catastrophizing, for example by problem solving skills training. Successful interventions for people who catastrophize would lead to several gains – for the individual in less suffering and increased ability to handle pain problems, and for society as a whole in reduced costs for health care for these individuals.

This study examined the effects of specially designed thinking journal activities that have been attributed with encouraging reflective thinking, on instruction using generic, or content-free problem solving software. Sixty-three fourth grade students participated in four instructional sessions using a software package called Moptown Hotel. Students completed separate posttests that measured (1) performance on problems of the same kind as those used in instruction, and (2) transfer of skills to other kinds of problems. Scores of students who wrote thinking journals prior to testing were compared with scores of students who did not. Results indicate that students who wrote thinking journals performed the same as students who did not when tested on problems similar to those practiced in class. Tests in which students transferred their skills to word problems, however, produced significant differences. There was no significant difference between scores when averaged over all four weekly occasions. However, for the final session alone, students who wrote thinking journals scored higher on tests of problem solving transfer than students who did not (p < .01). The study also examined the relationship between the degree of metacognitive thought displayed in students' journal entries, and their measured problem solving ability. Results indicate that students who had higher average reflectivity scores also had higher average problem solving performance and transfer scores (p < .05). It was also noted that the significant relationship between reflectivity and scores of problem solving ability was only observed in male students. It was concluded that under the right conditions, and for the right kinds of problems, thinking journal writing can help students understand their own thinking processes, resulting in improved problem solving behavior. The study also raises the question of whether there are differences between the ways that male and female students apply metacognitive awareness gained through journal writing experiences.

Children, 12 to 24 months of age, were presented with three tasks: two detour problems and a spatial task. The aim of the study was to assess the performance on each task and to consider the relationship between performance on the two detour problems and the relationship between spatial knowledge and detour ability. The two detour tasks (the lever task and the bent wire task) shared a common feature in that the object rather than the subject had to be moved in the detour. The results of the lever task indicated that age, experimental group (three lever designs were used) and the sex of subjects were influential variables. Analysis of the bent-wire data showed that as hypothesised age was the most important variable, accounting for qualitative and quantitative differences in performance. The results from the detour tasks were discussed with reference to the attainment of skilled behaviour and the relationship between cognitive development and detour ability. Spatial task results indicated that performance was related to age and that the type of error recorded was also related to the age of the subject. The hypothesised relationship between the two detour tasks was not supported by the data. Furthermore, the anticipated relationship between detour ability and spatial knowledge failed to emerge. These results were discussed in relation to the issue of developmental synchrony and the structuralist's view of development.