Development of Mental Processing: Efficiency, Working Memory, and Thinking (Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development) - Softcover

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Andreas Demetriou received his Ph.D. from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. He is a professor or psychology and the Vice-Rector of the University of Cyprus. He is a member of the governing boards of several national institutions, including the Research Promotion Foundation and the Cyprus Scholarship Authority. He sits on the editorial board of several journals, including Developmental Science and Learning and Instruction: The Journal of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction. His research focuses on life-span cognitive development. Currently he studies the relationships between intellectual, self, and personality development. He is the author or coauthor of more than 120 publications, including The Architecture and Dynamics of Developing Mind in the Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development (1993, Serial No. 234, wiht A. Efklides and M. Platsidou), Life-Span Developmental Psychology (1998, Wiley, with W. Doise, and C.F.M. van Lieashout), and Unity and Modularity in the Mind and Self (2001, Routledge, with S. Kazi).

Constantinos Christou received his Ph.D. from the University of Toledo, Ohio, USA. He is an associate professor of mathematics education at the University of Cyprus and the vice-chairman of the Department of Education. His research focuses on the cognitive development of mathematical concepts. Currently he studies the effects of memory and information processing on the development of students' abilities in problem solving. He is the author or coauthor of 70 publications and is on the editorial board of the Mediterranean Journal of Mathematics Education.

George Spanoudis received his M.A. from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. He is a tutor and doctoral student at the University of Cyprus. His research focuses on the development of the child's theory of mind and the development of processing capacity.

Maria Platsidou received her Ph.D. from Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. She is an assistant professor of psychology at the University of Macedonia, Greece. Her research focuses on moral and intellectual development. She published a number of articles in scholarly journals, including The Architecture and Dynamics of Developing Mind in the Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development (1993, Serial No. 234, with A. Demetriou and A. Efklides).

Kurt W. Fischer earned his Ph.D. from Harvard University. He is Charles Bigelow Professor of Education and Human Development and Director of Mind, Brain, and Education at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. His research combines modeling and measurement to understand how change and variation produce diverse pathways of development and learning. Primary research directions include dynamic growth modeling of change processes, measurement of cognitive and emotional development, microdevelopmental change in real-life learning situations, development in diverse cultures, pathways to psychopathology, brain bases of cognitive change, and pedagogical implications of knowledge about development of cognition, emotion, and brain. Fischer is the author of numerous books, monographs, and scientific articles.

Theo L. Dawson received her Ph.D. from University of California, Berkeley. She is the director of the Developmental Assessment Project in the Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Berkeley. In 1999 she received the APA Division 7 Outstanding Dissertation Award. Her research centers on life-span cognitive development, and she has special interests in the problem of measurement in developmental science, and in methods for modeling complex developmental processes.

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This Monograph formulates a comprehensive theoretical system that integrates information processing, individual differences, and developmental approaches to the study of the mind. Supporting this system is a longitudinal study that explores relations among information processing efficiency, working memory, and thinking of children 8 to 16 years of age. Results demonstrate that how efficiently one processes information is the main factor underlying the development of working memory. Working memory itself is the main factor underlying individual differences in thinking. Moreover, the study revealed the existence of alternative development pathways. For some cognitive development proceeds at a fast and stable rate; for other the rate is fast and unstable; and for others it is slow and stable. These individual differences in the development depend upon the dynamic combination of the conditions of processing efficiency, working memory, and thinking.