Developmental Changes in Questioning Strategies during Adolescence

Abstract

Males andfemales from early, middle, and late adolescent age groups were tested with three arrays in a modified version of a 20 Questions problem-solving task The arrays differed by perceptual and conceptual categorical contrasts. The participants'questions were examined to determine (a) how efficiently they used the categorical information present in the arrays and (b) the frequencies of different question types. Analysis showed that the arrays varied in how efficiently they were solved and that late adolescents were the most efficient at reducing alternatives by their third question. Question types differed predictably by array, exceptfor a slight bias favoring conceptual category questions for an array with a balanced mixture ofperceptual and conceptual properties. Developmental differences in both efficiency and question type seem related, and middle adolescent males exhibited a high frequency of syncretic questions, which may constitute aform of risk taking.