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Category Learning in Schoolchildren. Its Relation to Age, Academic Marks and Resolution Patterns

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 November 2019

Cristina Casadevante Open the ORCID record for Cristina Casadevante [Opens in a new window] ,
Miriam Romero ,
Tatiana Fernández-Marcos  and
José Manuel Hernández
Cristina Casadevante*
Affiliation:
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain)
Miriam Romero
Affiliation:
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain)
Tatiana Fernández-Marcos
Affiliation:
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain)
José Manuel Hernández
Affiliation:
Universidad Autónoma de Madrid (Spain)
*
*Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Cristina Casadevante. Departamento de Psicología Biológica y de la Salud de la Facultad de Psicología de la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. Calle Iván Pavlov, 6, Campus de Cantoblanco, 28049 Madrid (Spain). E-mail: cristina.casadevante@uam.es
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Abstract

The aim of this research was to study the learning process using an objective and computerized task. The performance of 466 schoolchildren aged between 6 and 11 in a category learning task, the Category Learning Test (CLT), was examined. The results showed evidence of category learning throughout the trials for the whole sample, F(7, 469) = 29.979, p <.001. In addition, categorization performance improved with age, H(2) = 48.475, p <.001. However, there were old children that struggled with the task and young children that performed very well. The ability to learn the categories was related to the children’s behavior when trying to solve the task: the response speed (r = –.217, p <.01) and the organization index (r = .247, p <.01). Nevertheless, performance in the task and academic marks were not related. We discuss the impact of these findings on the promotion and improvement of learning in schools: an intervention to promote slowness and organization might help some children to learn.

Keywords

category learningexecution patternsschoolchildrenresponse speed
Type
Research Article
Information
The Spanish Journal of Psychology , Volume 22 , 2019 , E48
Copyright
Copyright © Universidad Complutense de Madrid and Colegio Oficial de Psicólogos de Madrid 2019 

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Footnotes

How to cite this article:

Casadevante, C., Romero, M., Fernández-Marcos, T., & Hernández, J. M. (2019). Category learning in schoolchildren. Its relation to age, academic marks and resolution patterns. The Spanish Journal of Psychology, 22. e48. Doi:10.1017/sjp.2019.56

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