Toward a General Model for Describing Cognitive Processes. Theoretical Paper 23. Terminal Report from the Rule Learning Project.

The first part of this paper briefly describes two studies concerned with cognitive processes in children. One study examined the ability of Kindergarten and First Grade children to apply a simple rule of logical inference in order to solve a two-object discrimination problem. Specifically, the rule was of the form "if A, then not B." A second study employed the more difficult conditional discrimination problem and provided evidence concerning the ability of pupils in Grades 6, 10, and 14 to apply the more complex rule "if A and B, then A; if B and C, then B; if C and A, then C." The second part of this paper describes preliminary efforts to develop a general model for describing cognitive processes. The proposed model was compared to other similar theoretical models. Finally, the practical usefulness of this theoretical model for educational research was demonstrated by describing a successful elementary school mathematics project which stressed the analysis of mathematical statements into statements of underlying cognitive operations of processes. (Author)