title: The balance beam in the balance: reflections on rules, relational complexity, and developmental processes.
abstract: The lead articles by Jansen and van der Maas (2002, this issue) and Halford, Andrews, Dalton, Boag, and Zielinski (2002, this issue) raise numerous questions concerning the development of rule use and how best to assess it. In this Reflection, we focus on the following: (a) When can one infer the use of a rule? (b) What are the mechanisms underlying the development of rule use? and (c) What is the relation between understanding and execution? In addressing these questions, we contrast relational complexity theory with cognitive complexity and control (CCC) theory.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Canada. zelazo@psych.utoronto.ca
authors.forename: Philip David
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Zelazo
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Müller
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition; D004215:Distance Perception; D006801:Humans; D008606:Mental Processes / Q000502:physiology*; D008960:Models, Psychological; D011340:Problem Solving; D011597:Psychomotor Performance; D014892:Weight Perception