THE IDENTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT OF THINKING ABILITY IN YOUNG

A study was conducted to identify types of mental operations of 4- and 5-year-olds and to relate them to the child's age and the educational level of the mother. The sample consisted of 423 white English-speaking children of American parentage. evenly divided by sex and as evenly distributed as possible over the-12-month-age range of 4 to 5 years. Their mothers ' education consisted of elementary. secondary. or college level achievement. Items from the Merrill-Palmer Scale and the Guilford model were selected and tested for ability to identify thinking activities. A factor analysis identified six specific types of thinking- two convergent. two divergent, one cognitive. and one maturational. For 4- to 5-year-olds. sex differences were relatively insignificant. Age differences were significantly related to the convergent. cognitive, and maturational abilities, but not to the divergent type. The mothers ' education was related to four of the six abilities, and the area of residence was related to three of the six abilities. A V analysis Indicated that children could be classified by "types. " Thus, environmental factors are important in cognitive development. Appendixes contain tabulated data and directions for administering the tests. US