Demetriou A, Efklides A, Platsidou M
Department of Psychology, Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki, Greece.
Monogr Soc Res Child Dev. 1993;58(5-6):1-205.
This Monograph presents a theory of cognitive development. The theory argues that the mind develops across three fronts. The first refers to a general processing system that defines the general potentials of mind to develop cognitive strategies and skills. The second refers to a hypercognitive system that governs self-understanding and self-regulation. The third involves a set of specialized structural systems (SSSs) that are responsible for the representation and processing of different reality domains. There are specific forces that are responsible for this organization of mind. These are expressed in the Monograph in terms of a set of five organizational principles. The developmental course of the major systems is outlined. Developmental change is ascribed by the theory to the interaction between the various systems. Different types of development require different change mechanisms. Five studies are presented that provide empirical support for these postulates. Study 1 demonstrated the organizational power of principles and SSSs. Study 2 showed that the SSSs constrain the effect of learning. Study 3 established that the hypercognitive system does function as the interface between tasks and SSS-specific processes or between SSSs and general cognitive functions such as attention and memory. Study 4 investigated the relations between one of the components of the processing system, storage, and two different SSSs expressed via two different symbolic systems, namely, the numeric and the imaginal. Finally, Study 5 examined the interaction between the components of the processing system and the relations between each of these components and one SSS, namely, the quantitative-relational SSS. The theoretical implications of these studies with regard to general issues, such as the nature of representation, the causation of cognitive change, and individual differences in cognitive development, are discussed in the concluding chapter.
本专著提出了一种认知发展理论。该理论认为，心智在三个方面发展。第一个方面指的是一个通用处理系统，它界定了心智发展认知策略和技能的一般潜力。第二个方面指的是一个超认知系统，它掌管自我理解和自我调节。第三个方面涉及一组专门的结构系统（SSS），它们负责不同现实领域的表征和处理。有特定的力量负责这种心智的组织。这些在专著中以一组五条组织原则的形式得以阐述。勾勒了主要系统的发展历程。该理论将发展变化归因于各个系统之间的相互作用。不同类型的发展需要不同的变化机制。呈现了五项研究，为这些假设提供了实证支持。研究1展示了原则和SSS的组织力量。研究2表明SSS限制学习的效果。研究3确定超认知系统确实起到了任务与特定于SSS的过程之间，或者SSS与诸如注意力和记忆等一般认知功能之间的接口作用。研究4调查了处理系统的一个组成部分——存储，与通过两种不同符号系统（即数字系统和意象系统）所表达的两个不同SSS之间的关系。最后，研究5考察了处理系统各组成部分之间的相互作用，以及这些组成部分中的每一个与一个SSS（即定量关系SSS）之间的关系。这些研究在表征的本质、认知变化的因果关系以及认知发展中的个体差异等一般性问题方面的理论意义，将在最后一章进行讨论。
