title: The role of collaboration in the cognitive development of young children: a systematic review.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Collaboration is a key facilitator of cognitive development in early childhood; this review evaluates which factors mediate the impact of collaborative interactions on cognitive development in children aged 4-7 years.
  
  
  METHODS
  A systematic search strategy identified relevant studies (n = 21), which assessed the role of ability on the relationship between collaboration and cognitive development. Other factors that interact with ability were also assessed: gender, sociability/friendship, discussion, age, feedback and structure.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Immediate benefits of collaboration on cognitive development are highlighted for same-age peers. Collaborative interactions are beneficial for tasks measuring visual perception, problem-solving and rule-based thinking, but not for word-reading and spatial perspective-taking. Collaboration is particularly beneficial for lower-ability children when there is an ability asymmetry. High-ability children either regressed or did not benefit when paired with lower-ability participants.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Overall, the studies included within this review indicate that brief one-off interactions can have a significant, positive effect on short-term cognitive development in children of infant school age. The longer-term advantages of collaboration are still unclear. Implications for practice and future research are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Psychology Unit, University of Sheffield, UK.
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sills
authors.affiliation: Clinical Psychology Unit, University of Sheffield, UK.
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rowse
authors.affiliation: Clinical Psychology Unit, University of Sheffield, UK.
authors.forename: L-M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Emerson
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002657:Child Development / Q000502:physiology*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology; D033062:Friends / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology; D010379:Peer Group; D011340:Problem Solving / Q000502:physiology
keywords: cognitive development; collaboration; problem-solving