2 research outputs found
Growth and development of larval northern cricket frogs (Acris crepitans) in relation to phytoplankton abundance
Helping children apply their knowledge to their behavior on a dimension-switching task
To investigate why 3āyearāolds have difficulty in switching sorting dimensions, children of 3 and 4 years were tested in one of four conditions on Zelazo's card sort task: standard, sleeve, label and faceāup. In the standard condition, children were required to sort blueātruck and redāstar cards under either a blueāstar or redātruck model card, first by color or shape, and then by the other dimension. Here 3āyearāolds sorted correctly until the dimension changed; they continue to sort by the initial dimension. The sleeve condition (placing the sorting cards in an envelope prior to sorting) had little effect. In the label condition, the child labeled the relevant sorting dimension on each trial. Most 3āyearāolds succeeded; evidently their labeling helped them refocus their attention, overcoming āattentional inertiaā (the pull to continue attending to the previously relevant dimension). In the faceāup condition, attentional inertia was strengthened because sorted cards were left faceāup; 4āyearāolds performed worse than in the standard condition. We posit that attentional inertia is the core problem for preschoolers on the card sort task