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Observational training improves adult womens' performance on Piaget's water‐level task
Author(s) -
KREKLING STURLA,
NORDVIK HILMAR
Publication year - 1992
Publication title -
scandinavian journal of psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.743
H-Index - 72
eISSN - 1467-9450
pISSN - 0036-5564
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-9450.1992.tb00891.x
Subject(s) - task (project management) , psychology , observational study , experiential learning , observational learning , cognitive psychology , developmental psychology , contrast (vision) , spatial ability , social psychology , mathematics education , cognition , artificial intelligence , computer science , statistics , neuroscience , mathematics , management , economics
Among women university students who lacked conceptual understanding of the principle that the surface of still water is always horizontal, a specific task procedure designed to optimize self‐discovery of the principle proved effective. Successful learning was reflected in more accurate responses on an adjustment task and by a significant increase ( p < .01) in the number of subjects able to verbalize a correct strategy. In contrast to previous research the results show that adult womens' performance on the water‐level task can be improved by observational training, suggesting that the female lag in spatial skills may depend on experiential factors.