Cognitive certainty in children: Effects of concept, developmental level, and method of assessment.

Abstract

This study examined the certainty with which children make their judgments on concrete-operational tasks. The subjects were 60 second graders and 36 fifth graders; the tasks involved various forms of conservation and transitivity. Three methods of assessing certainty were included: a rating scale, a betting game, and a feedback phase in which the child responded to a disconfirmation of his answer. Children who had given operational answers expressed strong certainty in their judgments on both the rating and betting measures. The certainty expressed during the feedback phase, as measured by challenges to the disconfirmation, was considerably less. Operational answers were accompanied by greater certainty than were nonoperational answers. Developmental changes in certainty among operational subjects were infrequent, as were interconcept differences in certainty. There was evidence, however, that conservation of number was the concept held with greatest certainty. The results are discussed in terms of Piaget's claim that concepts of conservation and transitivity are experienced as logically necessary truths.

When Sociocognitive Transaction among Peers Fails: The Case of Misconceptions in Science

“…The higher confidence in the correct answer we found on the development-prone problem is in line with previous findings (Acredolo & O'Connor, 1991;Miller, 1986;Miller & Brownell, 1975;Miller, Brownell, & Zukier, 1977;Murray, 1982Murray, , 1987. In contrast, our finding of lower confidence in the correct answer on the development-resistant problem is surprising.…”

Processes and Consequences of Peer Collaboration: A Vygotskian Analysis

“…The unintended confound is that conservers are necessarily (according to Piaget) more certain of their beliefs than nonconservers; only the former understand the "logical necessity" of their position (Murray, 1982(Murray, , 1987Smith & Murray, 1985;Tudge & Winterhoff, 1991). Additional research supports the view that this greater certainty (rather than social dominance, for example), is the key factor (Miller, 1986;Miller & Brownell, 1975;Miller, Brownell, & Zukier, 1977).…”

Does Eye Gaze Indicate Implicit Knowledge of False Belief? Charting Transitions in Knowledge

“…Likewise, there is evidence that betting measures are sensitive to confidence. Miller, Brownell, and Zukier (1977) found that betting was a good measure of certainty in 7-and l l -year-old children, the youngest groups they tested.…”