Franz E. Weinert - Böcker

During the past two decades, a renewed interest in children's cognitive devel­ opment has stimulated numerous research activities that have been summarized in hundreds of books. In our view, the field of memory development provides a particularly nice example of the progress that has been made so far. Since John Flavell's landmark symposium on "What Is Memory Development the Development of?" in 1971, the question of what develops has been addressed in different ways, yielding a rather complex pattern of findings. A closer look at current research outcomes reveals that ways of describing and explaining de­ velopmental changes in memory performance have changed considerably during the past 20 years. That is, while individual differences in the use of cognitive strategies were conceived of as the most important predictors of individual dif­ ferences in memory performance in the 1970s, the crucial role of knowledge has been demonstrated in research conducted in the 1980s. More recent studies have repeatedly emphasized that neither changes in strategies nor knowledge alone is sufficient to explain general patterns of memory development: Here the claim is that strategies ahd different forms of knowledge (e. g. , world knowl­ edge, domain knowledge, or metacognitive knowledge) interact in rather com­ plex ways to achieve successful memory performance. We believe that this claim can be generalized to different fields dealing with intelligent information processing.

This book describes the findings of a longitudinal study conducted with about 200 children from 1984 to 1993. Children were recruited for the study when they had just entered kindergarten at the age of about 4 years. The study aimed to investigate changes in cognitive, social, and personality development over the preschool and elementary school years. One of the unique features of this longitudinal study is that relationships and interactions among cognitive, social, and personality development could be assessed based on the data of a representative sample of children.

This book describes the findings of a longitudinal study conducted with about 200 children from 1984 to 1993. Children were recruited for the study when they had just entered kindergarten at the age of about 4 years. The study aimed to investigate changes in cognitive, social, and personality development over the preschool and elementary school years. One of the unique features of this longitudinal study is that relationships and interactions among cognitive, social, and personality development could be assessed based on the data of a representative sample of children.

This volume, a collection of papers resulting from a conference sponsored by the Max Planck Society, presents an overview of past research on memory development, possible applications of this research, and new ideas for future areas of study. The role of cognitive components in the development of memory performance and the social and motivational contexts of memory development are described. Includes various theoretical approaches explaining memory development across the life span.Memory Development: Universal Changes and Individual Differences is of interest to researchers, undergraduates and graduate students in developmental psychology, educational psychology and technology, and experimental psychology.

First published in 1986. This volume addresses the strengths and limitations of a life-course perspective on human development. The life-course perspective has been variously described as offering a paradigmatic shift in conceptions of human development or as laying the foundation for a new discipline. More modestly, the perspective has been described as primarily an approach to guide research rather than a theory containing specific propositions.

Originally published in 1987, Metacognition, Motivation, and Understanding brought together thinking about these three approaches to learning; attempting to integrate each field of developmental research with respect to its theoretical base and results.The book discusses the integration of metacognition, motivation, and understanding as key factors in effective learning and cognitive development. It highlights the complexity of learning processes and the need for a comprehensive understanding of individual differences in learning effectiveness. The volume was based on a symposium aimed at bridging research on these interrelated fields to enhance educational strategies. The contributors were considered to be experts in their field. The research reported here was important for the elaboration of theories of cognitive development at the time and had consequences for educational strategies and related applied problems. Today it can be read in its historical context.