Development of integration processes using ability and effort information to predict outcome.

Abstract

Three studies were conducted to examine developmental changes in the integration of ability and effort information to predict performance. Functional measurement procedures were used to determine if it is possible to use some simple algebraic operation such as addition or multiplicatio n to describe the way these cues are combined. Children aged 6-11 years and adults were asked to predict how many puzzles a child could put together as a function of 3 levels of ability and 3 levels of effort. The results showed a developmental progression in the integration process, in which an additive rule characterized the responses of the youngest children while a multiplicative rule characterized the responses of the older children and adults. An additional finding indicated that even the youngest children were able to use both cues in forming judgments and did not center on only one cue as would be predicted from Piaget. Also the results showed that effort was increasingly more important than ability in predicting outcomes.