title: Spontaneous analogical transfer in 4-year-olds: a microgenetic study.
abstract: The purpose of the current microgenetic study was to examine children's spontaneous application of analogical problem solving from story problems to physical tasks. Thirty-six 4-year-olds (M=54.7 months), randomly assigned to an experimental or a control condition, participated. The results indicate that 4-year-old children did, with varying success, spontaneously apply analogical solutions to physical problems across sessions. A positive effect over time on children's spontaneous analogical problem solving was found. Additionally, a few children even gave an analogical strategy-related explanation for their own physical behavior. There was much inter- and intra-individual variability, which may indicate that 4 years of age is a period of change in the development of analogical reasoning.
authors.affiliation: Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9555, 2300 RB Leiden, The Netherlands. tunteler@fsw.leidenuniv.nl
authors.forename: Erika
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Tunteler
authors.forename: Wilma C M
authors.initials: WC
authors.lastname: Resing
mesh_terms: D002652:Child Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007100:Imitative Behavior; D008297:Male; D011340:Problem Solving; D011897:Random Allocation; D012919:Social Behavior