THE EFFECTS OF VOCATIONAL SPECIALIZATION AND CONTENT FAMILIARITY ON FORMAL OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE (PROBLEM SOLVING, PIAGET, TASK).
Item
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Title
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THE EFFECTS OF VOCATIONAL SPECIALIZATION AND CONTENT FAMILIARITY ON FORMAL OPERATIONAL PERFORMANCE (PROBLEM SOLVING, PIAGET, TASK).
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Identifier
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AAI8423078
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identifier
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8423078
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Creator
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KINSLER, KIMBERLY K.
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Contributor
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David Bearison
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Date
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1984
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Language
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English
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Publisher
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City University of New York.
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Subject
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Psychology, Developmental
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Abstract
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This study investigated formal operational performance on problem solving tasks using materials familiar to subjects' vocational specialization. Subjects were 60-male vocational high school carpentry and electrical wiring majors. Three formal operational reasoning tasks were administered. Each required an isolation and control of variables (ICOV) strategy for solution. One task was an adaptation of Inhelder and Piaget's (1958) rod flexibility task. The other two tasks were experimenter designed, each reflecting one subject groups' area of vocational specialization. A series of six prompts, which gradually revealed and modelled the ICOV strategy, was administered to those subjects who failed to spontaneously evidence full formal reasoning on each of the two vocational tasks. It was hypothesized that subjects would obtain higher stage level scores and would require fewer prompts to demonstrate full formal reasoning on the reasoning task of a vocationally familiar content. It was found that the vocationally trained subjects performed as well, or better on the rod flexibility task than on the two vocational tasks. In addition, task content familiarity was found to have both facilitative and inhibitory effects on operational performance and prompt utilization depending on subjects' previous experience with the content materials. Previous training in electrical wiring classes provided both subject samples with strategies for use with the wiring task materials which were similar to the ICOV strategy. As a result, subjects' operational performance and prompt utilization needs were facilitated. However, previous training in carpentry classes differentially provided both subject samples with perceptual and behavioral strategies that were incompatible with ICOV use on the carpentry task. As a result, subjects' operational performance and prompt utilization needs were inhibited. The inhibitory effects of previous training in carpentry were even found among subjects who had previously demonstrated formal operational ability on other problem solving tasks. Subjects' prompt utilizations needs were also found to be related to their most advanced operational performance.
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Type
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dissertation
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Source
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PQT Legacy CUNY.xlsx
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degree
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Ph.D.
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Program
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Educational Psychology
