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The development of thinking is a complex process affected both
by internal maturational factors and by external experiences. My
research focuses on the integration of these factors with particular
attention to the role of sociocultural experiences in the acquisition,
organization, and use of cognitive skill. In studying these processes
I have concentrated on the ways in which children and adults solve
problems in several domains, including spatial thinking and planning
skills.
Of particular interest in my research is the influence of experience
with others, peers and adults, in the development of cognitive skill.
Much of this work is guided by theoretical views, such as those
by Vygotsky and Piaget, that suggest that collaboration may facilitate
the development of thinking as children become exposed to and participate
in problem solving that would be inaccessible to them if they were
working alone. I have conducted research that supports this point
by showing that children who previously planned in collaboration
with another planned more on later individual trials than children
who did not previously collaborate. Recently I have been investigating
how child characteristics, such as temperament or compliance, may
regulate collaboration in parent-child dyads. My hypothesis is
that certain child characteristics may function as a coercive way
of getting adults to adjust the guidance and support for children
they provide during joint problem solving.
In addition to examining the influence of social collaboration
on cognitive development, I am also concerned with how the structure
of a task or experience with a setting may influence the development
of thinking skills. This interest is central in my research in
spatial cognition which has involved studies of the influence of
the goal that guides exploration of a space on the development of
children's spatial knowledge, the influence of experience in the
workplace on the organization and use of spatial knowledge among
adults, and the influence of everyday spatial experiences among
Navajo children on their ability to plan a route through a familiar
setting.
Most recently I have been studying what children do after school.
My initial question in this study was "What do children do
when they have nothing to do?" However, this question had
gradually changed as I discover that many children, particularly
those in certain sociocultural communities, rarely have "nothing
to do." Many young children today have their time extensively
committed both during and after school hours. These patterns have
peaked my interest in the ecology of young children's everyday lives,
particularly in relation to the larger cultural values and commitments
these practices reflect, and my graduate students and I are conducting
further research on this topic.
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
Gauvain, M. (2001). The Social Context of Cognitive Development.
New York: Guilford Publications.
Gauvain, M. (2001). Cultural tools, social interaction, and the
development of thinking. Human Development, 44, 126-143.
Gauvain, M. (1999). Everyday opportunities for the development
of planning skills: Sociocultural and family influences. In A.
Goncu (Ed.), Children's engagement in the world: Sociocultural
perspectives, (pp. 173-201). New York: Cambridge University
Press.
Gauvain, M., & Huard, R. D. (1999). Family interaction, parenting
style, and the development of planning: A longitudinal analysis
using archival data. Journal of Family Psychology, 13, 75-92.
Gauvain, M. (1998). Cognitive development in social and cultural
context. Current Directions in Psychological Sciences, 7,
188-192.
Savage, S., & Gauvain, M. (1998). Parental beliefs and children's
everyday planning in European-American and Latino families. Journal
of Applied Developmental Psychology, 19, 319-340.
Fagot, B. I., & Gauvain, M. (1997). Mother-child problem
solving: Continuity through the childhood years. Developmental
Psychology, 33, 480-488.
Gauvain, M. (1995). Thinking in niches: Sociocultural influences
on cognitive development. Human Development, 38, 25-45.
Gauvain, M. (1993). The development of spatial thinking in everyday
activity. Developmental Review, 13, 92-121. |