The present study examines some relationships pertaining to socioeconomic status (SES) and cognitive ability patterns of primary school children. Specifically the purpose of the study was to explore the relative merits of an hierarchical theory of two levels of cognitive ability, in contrast to a process scheme, positing two parallel modes of coding information. The subjects were 120 grade 4 primary school students. Analyses of the data are supportive of a simultaneous-successive process distinction and provide little confirmation for the hierarchical model. Some suggestions for the apparent lack of support for the hierarchical model are presented and implications for future research are considered.
References
1.
BiggsJ. B.Information and Human Learning. North Melbourne, Victoria: Cassell Australia, 1968.
2.
BiggsJ. B.Coding and cognitive behaviour. British Journal of Psychology, 1969, 60, 287–305.
3.
BirchH. G.BelmontL.Auditory-visual integration in normal and retarded readers. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 1964, 34, 852–861.
4.
BlishenB. R.A socio-economic index for occupations in Canada. In BlishenB. R.JonesF. E.NaegeleK. J.PorterJ. (Eds.) Canadian Society: Sociological Perspectives. 3rd ed.Toronto: Macmillan of Canada, 1968, 741–753.
5.
CronbachL. J.How can instruction be adapted to individual differences? In GagnéR. M. (Ed.) Learning and Individual Differences. Columbus, Ohio: C. E. Merrill, 1967, 23–39.
6.
CronbachL. J.Beyond the two disciplines of scientific psychology. American Psychologist, 1975, 30, 116–127.
7.
CronbachL. J.SnowR. E.Aptitudes and Instructional Methods. New York: Irvington Publishers, 1977.
8.
CumminsJ.The cognitive basis of the Uznadze illusion. International Journal of Psychology, 1976, 11, 89–100.
9.
CumminsJ.DasJ. P.Simultaneous and successive syntheses and linguistic processes. International Journal of Psychology, 1978, 13, 129–138.
10.
DasJ. P.Patterns of cognitive abilities in nonretarded and retarded children. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 1972, 77, 6–12.
11.
DasJ. P.Cultural deprivation and cognitive competence. In EllisN. R. (Ed.) International Review of Research in Mental Retardation. Vol. 6. New York: Academic Press, 1973, 1–53. (a).
12.
DasJ. P.Structure of cognitive abilities: evidence for simultaneous and successive processing. Journal of Educational Psychology, 1973, 65, 103–108. (b).
13.
DasJ. P.KirbyJ.JarmanR. F.Simultaneous and successive syntheses: an alternative model for cognitive abilities. Psychological Bulletin, 1975, 82, 87–103.
14.
DasJ. P.MolloyG. N.Varieties of simultaneous and successive processing in children. Journal of Educational Psychology, 1975, 67, 213–220.
15.
DasJ. P.KirbyJ.JarmanR. F.Simultaneous and Successive Cognitive Processes. New York: Academic Press, 1979.
16.
EysenckH. J.The Development of Personality and its Relation to Learning. Paper presented at the Fink Seminar in Education. University of Melbourne, September 1977.
17.
GrahamF. K.KendallB. S.Memory-for-Designs Test: revised general manual. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 1960, 11, 147–188. (Monograph Supplement 2–V11.).
18.
IlgF. L.AmesL. B.School Readiness. New York: Harper & Row, 1964.
19.
JensenA. R.Social class, race and genetics: implications for education. American Educational Research Journal, 1968, 5, 1–42.
20.
JensenA. R.How much can we boost IQ and scholastic achievement?Harvard Educational Review, 1969, 39, 1–123.
21.
JensenA. R.A theory of primary and secondary familial mental retardation. In EllisN. R. (Ed.) International Review of Research in Mental Retardation. Vol. 4. New York: Academic Press, 1970, 33–105.
22.
JensenA. R.RohwerW. D.Jr.An experimental analysis of learning abilities in culturally disadvantaged children. Final Report. Office of Economic Opportunity, U.S.A., 1970. (ERIC, 1971, ED 043 690.).
23.
KirbyJ. R.Information Processing and Human Abilities. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, 1976.
24.
LawsonM. J.JarmanR. F.A note on Jensen's level I ability and recent research on human memory. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 1977, 47, 91–94.
25.
LuriaA. R.Higher Cortical Functions in Man. New York: Basic Books, 1966. (a).
26.
LuriaA. R.Human Brain and Psychological Processes. New York: Harper & Row, 1966. (b).
27.
MolloyG. N.A comparison of two conceptually divergent models of intellectual functioning. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Australian Psychological Society, Armidale, August 1976.
28.
MacKenzieA. J.Interaction of level I and level II abilities with socioeconomic status. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Australian Psychological Society, Armidale, August 1976.
29.
MacFarlaneSmith I.Spatial Ability: its Educational and Social Significance. London: University of London Press, 1964.
30.
MillerG. A.Information and memory. In CoopersmithS. (Ed.) Frontiers of Psychological Research. San Francisco: Freeman, 1966, 160–164.
31.
RichieJ.ButlerA. J.Performance of retardates on the Memory-for-Designs Test. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 1964, 20, 108–110.
32.
RohwerW. D.Jr.AmmonM. S.SuzukiN.LevinJ. R.Population differences and learning proficiency. Journal of Educational Psychology, 1971, 62, 1–14.
33.
StroopJ. R.Studies of interference in serial verbal reactions. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1935, 18, 643–662.
34.
VernonP. E.Patterns of cognitive abilities. Paper presented at the 53rd Annual Conference of the Western Psychological Association, Anaheim, California, April 1973.
35.
WhiteS. H.Evidence for a hierarchical arrangement of learning processes. In LipsittL. P.SpikerC. C. (Eds.) Advances in Child Development and Behavior. Vol. 2. New York: Academic Press, 1965, 187–220.
