Modes of information processing were examined for 91
subjects aged between 5 years 7 months and 6 years 3
months, using A.R. Luria's model of brain function as
the theoretical basis of the study. A factor analysis
of the results of six psychometric tests administered
to all subjects indicated the presence of two distinct
factors. These were hypothesised to represent the
separate contributions of simultaneous and successive
synthesis. Further separate factor analyses, of the
six psychometric tests and tests of M-Space (derived
from the work of R. Case) and tests of standard school
assessment tasks (that were also administered to the
subjects), were performed. The results indicated that
although both modes of synthesis are available to
children of this age, simultaneous synthesis is not
a potent factor in school learning.
A further exploratory study was carried out using the
same 91 subjects. Subjects were given a series of
verbal subtraction problems requiring understanding of
mathematical relationships, and randomly assigned to
two presentation groups. One group received pictorial
information in addition to the verbal presentation.
The other group received concrete materials. A multiple
regression analysis was performed on the whole group
using factor scores for simultaneous and successive
syntheses (derived from the factor analysis of the six
psychometric tests) as independent variables and criterion
test scores for the verbal subtraction problems as the
dependent variable. The analysis indicated that although
neither aptitude for successive synthesis nor aptitude
for simultaneous synthesis had predictive value for this
kind of probelm solving, simultaneous synthesis was
possibly the predominant mode of information processing.
Further multiple regression analyses performed on each
of the presentation groups indicated an interaction
between successive synthesis and the modes of presentation
of information. Due to the small numbers of
subjects in each presentation group this result was
inconclusive.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/218963 |
| Date | January 1980 |
| Creators | Grabham, Kathy, n/a |
| Publisher | University of Canberra. Education |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | ), Copyright Kathy Grabham |
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