THE LEARNING AND TRANSFER OF DOUBLE‐CLASSIFICATION SKILLS: A REPLICATION AND EXTENSION

Abstract

ABSTRACTA previous study by Jacobs and Vandeventer had shown that first‐graders could learn the skill of double‐classification with color and shape relationships in a half hour or less of individualized instruction. When some details of the training task were altered in an intuitively compelling way to test for transfer, it was found that the trained Ss could also handle double‐classification problems with shading and size relations. Since the transfer dimensions had been selected somewhat arbitrarily, subsequent work by Jacobs and Vandeventer mapped out a universe of relations within which transfer could be more meaningfully assessed. The universe consisted of combinations of 12 basic relations. The primary purpose of the present research was to assess transfer from the training procedure of the earlier study within this universe. Subsidiary purposes were to evaluate the effects of more extensive training and to investigate the effectiveness of different trainers.Experiment 1 was concerned with certain preliminary methodological issues. Thirty‐one first‐grade boys and 30 first‐grade girls were tested on a series of 57 double‐classification problems involving 11 different kinds of relations. Learning effects within the testing series were found to be inconsequential. The type of relation had a significant effect: double‐classification tasks using size relations were easiest.In Experiment 2, 57 Ss, matched for pretest score, were randomly assigned to either regular training (with shape and color the relations to be learned, as in the previous study), extended training (with shape, color, shading and addition the relations to be learned), or control (no training) groups. Within each of the training groups, Ss matched for pretest score were assigned at random to either Trainer1 or Trainer2. Posttests were administered covering a stratified random sampling of all possible pairs of the 12 basic relations. “Build‐a‐matrix” tasks were also administered in which S had to put four or more pieces missing from the same matrix into their correct position.As in the earlier study, regular training Ss significantly outperformed control Ss on shape and color matrices. Their superior performance also transferred throughout the universe of relations. Extended training produced significantly more transfer than regular training. Neither trained group, however, showed transfer to the build‐a‐matrix task with new relations. The two trainers did not differ in effectiveness.Three months later retention testing was carried out. Transfer effects for regular and extended training were found to hold up. Transfer was also found to Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices, which was administered for the first time at this stage of the experiment. The implications for the trainability of intelligence are discussed.