Effect of order of presentation on simultaneous and sequential Matching Familiar Figures tests

48 third grade children were administered both the standard, simultaneous version of the Matching Familiar Figures and a sequential presentation version of the same test. Order of administration of the two formats was counterbalanced. Subjects who took the simultaneous version first committed fewer errors on the sequential version than did subjects who took the more difficult sequential version first. This same finding was reported in other research by the authors and suggests that performance on the easier task primes the subject for the later administration of the more difficult task. Implications for teaching problem-solving skills and the cognitive style literature were presented.