Working Memory Predicts Children's Analogical Reasoning

Analogical reasoning is a fundamental cognitive skill of drawing relationships between representations, often between prior knowledge and new representations, that allows for bootstrapping cognitive and language development (Gentner, 2003). Analogical reasoning proficiency develops substantially dur...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inGrantee Submission
Main Authors Simms, Nina K, Frausel, Rebecca R, Richland, Lindsey E
Format Report
LanguageEnglish
Published 01.02.2018
Subjects
Children
Cognitive Ability
Cognitive Development
Cognitive Tests
Executive Function
Individual Differences
Inhibition
Logical Thinking
Predictor Variables
Self Control
Short Term Memory
Online AccessGet full text

Cover

More Information
Summary:Analogical reasoning is a fundamental cognitive skill of drawing relationships between representations, often between prior knowledge and new representations, that allows for bootstrapping cognitive and language development (Gentner, 2003). Analogical reasoning proficiency develops substantially during childhood, though the mechanisms underlying this development have been debated, with developing cognitive resources as one proposed mechanism (Richland, Morrison & Holyoak, 2006). We explore the role of executive function (EF) in supporting children's analogical reasoning development, with the goal of determining whether predicted aspects of EF were related to analogical development at the level of individual differences. We assessed 5- to 11-year-old children's working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility using measures from the NIH Toolbox Cognition battery (2013). Individual differences in children's working memory best predicted performance on an analogical mapping task. These findings underscore the need to consider fundamental cognitive capacities in comprehensive theories of children's reasoning development. [This paper was published in "Journal of Experimental Child Psychology" v166 p160-177 2018.]
DOI:10.1016/j.jecp.2017.08.005