RULE-GUIDED BEHAVIOR AND SELF-MONITORING ON THE TOWER OF HANOI DISK-TRANSFER TASK

Problem-solving efficiency, rule-based strategies, and self-monitoring were observed on a novel planning task that provided feedback, practice, and the opportunity for strategy revision. The 3- and 4-Disk Tower of Hanoi (TOH) task was administered to 100 children ranging in age from 3 to 12 years, depending upon age and success on the 3-Disk version. On the 3-Disk task, efficiency improved with age and deteriorated with more complex problems; age differences increased with problem complexity. Efficiency on the 4-Disk task was affected by problem complexity only. Error types were surprisingly similar across the age range, reflecting primitive rules that reemerged in performance when problems exceeded processing capacity. The self-monitoring score on the 3-Disk task showed age changes and predicted planning efficiency only moderately. The particular task environment and performance analysis used here revealed both better performance in younger children than had been found previously, and regressions" in the performance of older children in response to reaching their problem solving "limit.". © 1991."