Task characteristics and performance in interpersonal cognitive problem solving

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Social Cognition

Background:

• Gendered interests can influence children's engagement with activities.
• Interpersonal cognitive problem-solving (ICPS) skills are crucial for social development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate how sex-typed goals in social problem-solving tasks affect children's performance.
• To examine gender differences in ICPS skills based on task goal orientation.

Main Methods:

• Fifty 7-8-year-old children completed ICPS tasks with boy- or girl-typed goals.
• Assessed Alternative Solutions Thinking (AST) and Consequential Thinking (CT) skills.
• MANOVA analyzed liking, solution, and consequence generation by gender and task type.

Main Results:

• Children showed significantly higher liking for tasks aligned with their own gender's typical interests.
• No significant gender differences were found in the number of alternative solutions or consequences generated.
• Task goal type did not significantly impact ICPS skill performance.

Conclusions:

• While children prefer gender-congruent tasks, this preference doesn't impede their cognitive problem-solving abilities.
• ICPS interventions should consider gendered interests without assuming differential skill development.
• Findings suggest potential for inclusive ICPS training formats.