**Meet the editors**

Dr. Heidi Kloos received her Ph.D. in psychology from the Arizona State University in 2001. Currently, she is associate professor in psychology at the University of Cincinnati and director of the Children's Cognitive Research lab in the department of psychology. Her research focuses on cognitive development and concept learning in early childhood, with an emphasis on young

children's spontaneous learning about abstract concepts and the circumstances in which they can change a mistaken belief.

Bradley J. Morris is a Developmental Cognitive Scientist whose research program includes basic research in cognitive development and its application in designing effective K-12 STEM instruction. His research focuses on three domains: Scientific and Mathematical reasoning, Formal reasoning, and Motivation. The goal of his research program is to identify mechanisms underlying

children's reasoning (e.g., strategy acquisition and selection) and motivation (e.g., praise type) using a variety of experimental methods (e.g., eye tracking) and computational modeling.

Joseph L. Amaral, M.S., M.A. received a M.S. in Counseling and Counselor Education from Indiana University in 2008 and a M.A. in psychology from the University of Cincinnati in 2011. His current research focuses on exploring cognitive and social development in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders with an emphasis on how contextual factors affect task performance. The

overall goal of this work is to develop innovative assessment and intervention strategies.

Contents

**Preface VII** 

Chapter 1 **Learning in Cognitive Niches 1** 

Ana Flávia Lopes Magela Gerhardt

Chapter 4 **The Emergence of Scientific Reasoning 61**  Bradley J. Morris, Steve Croker,

Chapter 6 **Beyond the Black-and-White of Autism:** 

**Adult Video Game Players 123** 

Chapter 8 **The Impact of Moving Away from Home on** 

Chapter 7 **Psychological Fitness in Young** 

Kevin Downing

Chapter 2 **Using the Dynamics of a Person-Context System** 

Chapter 3 **Preschoolers Learning Science: Myth or Reality? 45**  Heidi Kloos, Heather Baker, Eleanor Luken, Rhonda Brown, David Pfeiffer and Victoria Carr

Amy M. Masnick and Corinne Zimmerman

Daisy A. Segovia and Angela M. Crossman

Chapter 5 **Cognition and the Child Witness: Understanding the Impact of Cognitive Development in Forensic Contexts 83** 

> **How Cognitive Performance Varies with Context 105**  Joseph L. Amaral, Susan Collins, Kevin T. Bohache and Heidi Kloos

Mieczyslaw Pokorski, Lukasz Borecki and Urszula Jernajczyk

**Undergraduate Metacognitive Development 137** 

**to Describe Children's Understanding of Air Pressure 21**  Steffie Van der Steen, Henderien Steenbeek and Paul Van Geert
