Sergio Morra

Horizontality of water level: a neo-Piagetian developmental review.

Publisher Summary Piaget and Inhelder devised the water level task to study childrens progressive understanding of the spatial-coordinate system. Subjects were presented a rectangular-shaped bottle half-filled with water. They were then shown a similar empty bottle, which the researchers tilted at various angles. For each angle of inclination, the subjects had to indicate the direction of the water level, under the assumption that this bottle was half-filled with water. Results showed that different patterns of errors were typical of the preoperational and concrete-operational developmental stages. This chapter examines relevant data and the available developmental models related to water level invariant. Motivated by the empirical facts that emerge from the review, it also summarizes a neo-Piagetian model that was proposed in the 1960s but that had little impact on subsequent published work. This model actually predicted many of the empirical results obtained in the 1970s and 1980s , facts that other published models cannot explain. The model was based on theoretical assumptions that more recently might be seen as anticipating aspects of the functional architecture that connectionistheural modeling has explicitly brought to the fore. Liben emphasized the importance of general developmental theories, and their explication of task performances, to clarify the processes that generate the data on spatial cognition. To highlight from the start major controversial issues that the water level task (the problem of developmental acquisition of its spatial invariant) brings to light, the chapter begins with a brief examination of some recent cognitive-developmental theories that were directly addressed to the water level task and are presented as an alternative to Piagetian and neo-Piagetian theorizing.

Issues in Working Memory Measurement: Testing for M Capacity:

Two studies on measurement of M capacity are reported. Study 1, with 191 subjects aged 6-11, found factor-analytical and correlational evidence that five M capacity tests share a common source of variance, and that, with age, they increase at a similar rate. Study 2, with 124 subjects aged 6-10 years, replicated the previous findings. It is suggested that, in this age range, M capacity can be measured with a battery of tests.

Working memory (or the M operator) and the planning of children's drawings

Abstract A conceptual framework and a process-structural model of the planning of drawings in childhood are presented. Three constructs underlie the model: “figural scheme,” “spatial mental model,” and “M operator.” The task under study requires that subjects (i) give a verbal description of the scene they intend to draw, (ii) point on a white sheet at the positions where they will draw each element of the scene, and (iii) finally draw it. A free version, in which the elements to include in a drawing are self-generated by subjects, and a constrained version, in which lists of elements of increasing length are provided, are compared. Two experiments follow, in which 12 quantitative predictions are tested. Experiment 1 (with 35, 45, and 42 children in grades one, three, and five, respectively) shows, as predicted by the model, very different patterns of results in the two tasks as a function of the working memory capacity of the subjects. Experiment 2 (with 37 subjects from experiment 1) provides some necessary controls and more data supporting the model.

Developmental differences in the use of verbatim versus spatial representations in the recall of spatial descriptions: A probabilistic model and an experimental analysis

Abstract Ehrlich and Johnson-Laird (1982, Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 21, 296–306) showed that adults interpret spatial descriptions by constructing mental models of them. An alternative strategy may be to encode descriptions verbatim and then to try to represent them overtly, one sentence at a time. A probabilistic model of performance is presented for this strategy, together with three experiments (subjects: 32 third-graders, 36 third-graders, 18 undergraduates, respectively). The results obtained from children (good-ness of fit of the probabilistic model, correlations with measures of verbal short-term memory, a rhyme-effect enhancing performance) show that children tend to use the strategy based on phenomic coding. On the other hand, Experiment 3 replicates the finding that adults follow the “mental model” strategy.

M capacity as a lifespan construct: A study of its decrease in ageing subjects

The performance of 93 ageing subjects (age range, 59-96) was studied in tests that had been proved to measure M capacity in children (Morra, 1994), (i.e. the Backward Digit Span, the Counting Span, and the Mr Cucumber Test). For the sake of comparison, the Forward Digit Span was also administered. Preliminary analyses showed that Backward Digit Span, Counting Span, and Mr Cucumber have a similar rate of decline with age, and are significantly correlated with one another. The goodness of ” t of three different linear structural equation models suggests that, also in the elderly, the scores in these three tests reflect the same latent construct (i.e. M capacity), which in turn is negatively affected by age and positively affected by education. In addition, the variance within each subject of these three scores is usually small. It is concluded that these three tests can also be used as measures of M capacity in ageing subjects.

How do subvocal rehearsal and general attentional resources contribute to verbal short-term memory span?

Whether rehearsal has a causal role in verbal STM has been controversial in the literature. Recent theories of working memory emphasize a role of attentional resources, but leave unclear how they contribute to verbal STM. Two experiments (with 49 and 102 adult participants, respectively) followed up previous studies with children, aiming to clarify the contributions of attentional capacity and rehearsal to verbal STM. Word length and presentation modality were manipulated. Experiment 1 focused on order errors, Experiment 2 on predicting individual differences in span from attentional capacity and articulation rate. Structural equation modeling showed clearly a major role of attentional capacity as a predictor of verbal STM span; but was inconclusive on whether rehearsal efficiency is an additional cause or a consequence of verbal STM. The effects of word length and modality on STM were replicated; a significant interaction was also found, showing a larger modality effect for long than short words, which replicates a previous finding on children. Item errors occurred more often with long words and correlated negatively with articulation rate. This set of findings seems to point to a role of rehearsal in maintaining item information. The probability of order errors per position increased linearly with list length. A revised version of a neo-Piagetian model was fit to the data of Experiment 2. That model was based on two parameters: attentional capacity (independently measured) and a free parameter representing loss of partly-activated information. The model could partly account for the results, but underestimated STM performance of the participants with smaller attentional capacity. It is concluded that modeling of verbal STM should consider individual and developmental differences in attentional capacity, rehearsal rate, and (perhaps) order representation.

Working memory training: from metaphors to models.

A first research wave on working memory (WM) training created an atmosphere of novelty and enthusiasm. Studies carried out with typical or atypical participants in different age ranges showed that training can improve WM efficiency, and the effects of training can transfer to IQ tests and other valued cognitive abilities (e.g., Klingberg et al., 2002; Jaeggi et al., 2008; Borella et al., 2013).

On the information-processing demands of spatial reasoning

This article describes a study on capacity limitations that affect the construction of spatial mental models. A process model is presented, according to which the construction of a mental model in Ehrlich and Johnson-Lairds (1982) spatial descriptions task places a workload of six information chunks for continuous and semi-continuous descriptions, and seven chunks for discontinuous descriptions. Participants (48 undergraduate students) performed the spatial descriptions task and the figural intersections test (FIT), which yields a capacity score. The pattern of errors and sentence reading times in the spatial descriptions task confirmed that participants were using mental models. The FIT score was positively correlated with accuracy in the spatial descriptions task. Prediction analysis of cross-classification tables showed that, for successful performance in continuous and semi-continuous descriptions, a FIT score of 6 was necessary, and a score of 7 in discontinuous descriptions. These results are in agreement with theoretical predictions. The issue of integrating mental models theory with analyses of capacity limitations in performance is discussed.

A test of a neo-Piagetian model of the water-level task

A neo-Piagetian model (Pascual-Leone & Morra, 1991) of the Water-level task (WLT) predicts that WLT performance depends on three factors: physical knowledge, field independence, and M capacity. The latter is an attentional capacity construct defined in neo-Piagetian theories. The model predicts that a minimum M capacity is necessary for accurate performance on WLT items. It also predicts that M capacity mediates the relationship between field independence and physical knowledge on one side and WLT on the other. Tests of field independence and M capacity, a paper-and-pencil version of the WLT, and a set of questions on the liquid horizontality principle were administered to 337 participants, aged 5 to 13 years. Six predictions derived from the model were tested; all of them were supported by the data, with only one exception, namely, on items with sideways and capsized bottles the M capacity required for accurate performance was one unit lower than predicted. It is concluded that the results strongly support the model under consideration, but suggest an amendment to one of its details. Gender differences were also examined; a small but significant gender difference in the WLT remained when field independence, physical knowledge, and M capacity were controlled for.

Social and Developmental Aspects of Icelandic Pupils' Interest and Experience of Icelandic Culture.

Abstract The experience of Icelandic pupils in different kinds of reading, media and cultural activity is analysed in relation to both cultural change and the current educational debate on cultural literacy. The main focus is on sagas, folk‐tales, mythology and Icelandic literature. A total of 316 subjects in grades 4‐10 answered a questionnaire on their experience, amount of reading or watching, and their favourite characters. Factor‐analytical and correlational data are reported, and the effects of age, gender, socio‐economic status (SES) and geographical area are investigated. One of the main conclusions is that the reading of books has not diminished since television was introduced in 1968, and that the cultural experience of Icelandic youngsters is heterogeneous. Age strongly affected the interests and cultural experience of our subjects, as did gender, SES and geographical context ‐‐ alone or in interaction with other variables.