Research
How do people and AI systems become intelligent and creative? The CreAI Lab addresses this question by studying how humans and AI systems develop the cognitive abilities that underlie intelligence and creativity, with a particular focus on analogy as a core mechanism. We use psychometric and mechanistic interpretability methods to quantify when AI systems are truly reasoning, generalizing, and generating novel insights rather than relying on superficial shortcuts. We also use developmental comparison as a scientific method to understand how these abilities emerge in humans and how they can be fostered in AI systems.
This work is funded by an NWO Vidi grant, an NWO Open Competition grant and a NIAS Theme Group fellowship; see the grants on our Projects page.
Here you can find the latest publications of the lab.
Highlighted
Which Attention Heads are like the Human Head? Not the Ones that Compute
arXiv preprint arXiv:2609.37991, 2026
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01 Jan 2026
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nmT-EaUAAAAJ:Xz60mAmATU4C
All
2026
Transformer See, Transformer Do: Copying as an Intermediate Step in Learning Analogical Reasoning
Proceedings of the 2026 Conference on Language Modeling (COLM 2026)
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21 Aug 2026
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arXiv:2604.06501
Automated assessment of creativity in multilingual narratives.
Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts
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01 Aug 2026
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doi:10.1037/aca0000725
Collaborative Creative Story Generation with Peers vs Chatbots: A Pilot Study
Frontiers in Artificial Intelligence and Applications
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02 Jul 2026
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doi:10.3233/FAIA260555
Can Large Language Models Generalize Analogy Solving Like Children Can?
Transactions of the Association for Computational Linguistics
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01 Jan 2026
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doi:10.1162/tacl.a.614
Modelling Analogies and Analogical Reasoning: Connecting Cognitive Science Theory and NLP Research
Transactions of the Association for Computational Linguistics
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01 Jan 2026
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doi:10.1162/tacl.a.632
Varieties of divergent thinking: A network analysis of Guilford, Merriefield and Cox (1961)
Intelligence
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01 Jan 2026
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doi:10.1016/j.intell.2025.101975
Attentional Alignment in Abstract Reasoning across Developing Minds and Machines
Conference on Cognitive Computational Neuroscience (CCN 2026)
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01 Jan 2026
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nmT-EaUAAAAJ:CYCckWUYoCcC
Analogical Reasoning Abilities of MLLMs, Children and Adults on Bongard Problems
Conference on Cognitive Computational Neuroscience (CCN 2026)
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01 Jan 2026
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nmT-EaUAAAAJ:qe6vwMD2xtsC
Playing with Words, Improving with Rewards: Training Language Models for Creative Association
arXiv preprint arXiv:2605.27832, 2026
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01 Jan 2026
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nmT-EaUAAAAJ:silx2ntsSuwC
AGC-Bench: Measuring Artificial General Creativity
arXiv preprint arXiv:2607.01152, 2026
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01 Jan 2026
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nmT-EaUAAAAJ:SIv7DqKytYAC
Which Attention Heads are like the Human Head? Not the Ones that Compute
arXiv preprint arXiv:2609.37991, 2026
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01 Jan 2026
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nmT-EaUAAAAJ:Xz60mAmATU4C
Creative cognition: a collaborative research agenda
The Journal of Creative Behavior 60 (2), e70097, 2026
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01 Jan 2026
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nmT-EaUAAAAJ:UuEBAcK4md4C
Causality≠ Invariance: Function and Concept Vectors in LLMs
International Conference on Learning Representations 2026, 83393-83417, 2026
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01 Jan 2026
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nmT-EaUAAAAJ:LXmCCkuhhTsC
2025
Analogical Reasoning Inside Large Language Models: Concept Vectors and the Limits of Abstraction
arXiv
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06 Mar 2025
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arXiv:2503.03666
Pencils to Pixels: A Systematic Study of Creative Drawings across Children, Adults and AI
Proceedings of the 47th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society (CogSci 2025)
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11 Feb 2025
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arXiv:2502.05999
Do large language models solve verbal analogies like children do?
Proceedings of the 29th Conference on Computational Natural Language Learning
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01 Jan 2025
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doi:10.18653/v1/2025.conll-1.40
Large Language Models Show Signs of Alignment with Human Neurocognition During Abstract Reasoning
arXiv
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01 Jan 2025
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doi:10.48550/arXiv.2508.10057
Evaluating Creative Short Story Generation in Humans and Large Language Models
Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Computational Creativity (ICCC 2025)
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01 Jan 2025
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doi:10.48550/arXiv.2411.02316
Moderate evidence for large language models reflecting human neurocognition during abstract reasoning
Computational Cognitive Neuroscience, 2025
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01 Jan 2025
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nmT-EaUAAAAJ:rbm3iO8VlycC
Cognitively inspired interpretability in large neural networks
Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society 47, 2025
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01 Jan 2025
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nmT-EaUAAAAJ:IsPWOBWtZBwC
2024
Playing single-player tasks together: Dyads’ collaborative activities across two games in Math Garden
Computers in Human Behavior Reports
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01 Aug 2024
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doi:10.1016/j.chbr.2024.100456
Characterising the Creative Process in Humans and Large Language Models
Proceedings of the 15th International Conference on Computational Creativity (ICCC 2024)
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07 Jun 2024
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arXiv:2405.00899
Distinct neurocognitive pathways underlying creativity: An integrative approach.
The Behavioral and brain sciences
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21 May 2024
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pmid:38770864
Do Large Language Models Solve ARC Visual Analogies Like People Do?
Proceedings of the 46th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society (CogSci 2024)
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14 May 2024
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arXiv:2403.09734
Saliency Suppressed, Semantics Surfaced: Visual Transformations in Neural Networks and the Brain
arXiv
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30 Apr 2024
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arXiv:2404.18772
Distinct neurocognitive pathways underlying creativity: An integrative approach
Behavioral and Brain Sciences
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01 Jan 2024
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doi:10.1017/S0140525X23003497
Are LLMs tools to understand human neurocognition during abstract reasoning?
Computational Cognitive Neuroscience, 2024
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01 Jan 2024
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nmT-EaUAAAAJ:SGW5VrABaM0C
2023
Solving ARC visual analogies with neural embeddings and vector arithmetic: A generalized method
arXiv
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15 Nov 2023
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arXiv:2311.08083
Do large language models solve verbal analogies like children do?
arXiv
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01 Nov 2023
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arXiv:2310.20384
Multilingual semantic distance: Automatic verbal creativity assessment in many languages.
Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts
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01 Aug 2023
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doi:10.1037/aca0000618
How Accurate are GPT-3’s Hypotheses About Social Science Phenomena?
Digital Society
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03 Jul 2023
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doi:10.1007/s44206-023-00054-2
Creative or not? Hierarchical diffusion modeling of the creative evaluation process.
Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition
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01 Jun 2023
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doi:10.1037/xlm0001177
Do large language models solve verbal analogies like children do?
arXiv
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01 Jan 2023
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doi:10.48550/arXiv.2310.20384
2022
Putting GPT-3's Creativity to the (Alternative Uses) Test
Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Computational Creativity (ICCC 2022)
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22 Jun 2022
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arXiv:2206.08932
2021
How much intelligence is there in artificial intelligence? A 2020 update
Intelligence
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01 Jul 2021
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doi:10.1016/j.intell.2021.101548
A Minimal Theory of Creative Ability
Journal of Intelligence
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16 Feb 2021
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doi:10.3390/jintelligence9010009
2020
Creative Mathematical Thinking in a Numbers Game
MDPI AG
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15 Oct 2020
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doi:10.20944/preprints202010.0314.v1
A Minimal Theory of Creative Ability
Center for Open Science
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23 Jun 2020
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doi:10.31234/osf.io/t5e3g
Final Technical Report Automated AUT scoring using a Big Data variant of the Consensual Assessment Technique Project The development of a valid and usable creativity test …
[no publisher info]
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01 Jan 2020
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nmT-EaUAAAAJ:-jrNzM816MMC
Automated AUT scoring using a big data variant of the consensual assessment technique
[no publisher info]
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01 Jan 2020
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nmT-EaUAAAAJ:sA9dB-pw3HoC
2019
Idiographic Approach Using Computer Adaptive Practicing
MDPI
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01 Jul 2019
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[no id info]
2018
Learning to solve figural matrix analogies: The paths children take
Learning and Individual Differences
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01 Aug 2018
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doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2018.04.010
A Solution to the Measurement Problem in the Idiographic Approach Using Computer Adaptive Practicing
Journal of Intelligence
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02 Mar 2018
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doi:10.3390/jintelligence6010014
The dynamics of the development of mathematics skills: A comparison of theories of developing intelligence.
Center for Open Science
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28 Feb 2018
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doi:10.31219/osf.io/xa2ft
A Solution to the Measurement Problem in the Idiographic Approach Using Computer Adaptive Practicing
MDPI AG
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13 Feb 2018
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doi:10.20944/preprints201802.0092.v1
2017
Adolescents' responses to online peer conflict: How self‐evaluation and ethnicity matter
Infant and Child Development
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23 Nov 2017
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doi:10.1002/icd.2067
CBM maze-scores as indicators of reading level and growth for seventh-grade students
Reading and Writing
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18 Nov 2017
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doi:10.1007/s11145-017-9803-8
Role of Working Memory and Strategy-Use in Feedback Effects on children’s Progression in Analogy Solving:an Explanatory Item Response Theory Account
International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education
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01 Sep 2017
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doi:10.1007/s40593-016-0129-5
Differences in Need for Instruction: Dynamic Testing in Children with Arithmetic Difficulties
Journal of Education and Training Studies
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07 May 2017
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doi:10.11114/jets.v5i6.2326
Network Models for Cognitive Development and Intelligence
Journal of Intelligence
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20 Apr 2017
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doi:10.3390/jintelligence5020016
Training in the adolescent brain: An fMRI training study on divergent thinking.
Developmental Psychology
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01 Feb 2017
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doi:10.1037/dev0000239
Network Models for Cognitive Development and Intelligence
MDPI AG
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25 Jan 2017
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doi:10.20944/preprints201701.0107.v1
2016
Dynamic Testing of Analogical Reasoning in 5- to 6-Year-Olds
Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment
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03 Aug 2016
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doi:10.1177/0734282915622912
Dynamic testing: Assessing cognitive potential of children with culturally diverse backgrounds
Learning and Individual Differences
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01 Apr 2016
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doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2015.12.025
Dynamic testing of analogical reasoning in 5-to 6-year-olds: Multiple-choice versus constructed-response training items
Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment 34 (6), 550-565, 2016
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01 Jan 2016
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nmT-EaUAAAAJ:hsZV8lGYWTMC
2015
Third graders’ verbal reports of multiplication strategy use: How valid are they?
Learning and Individual Differences
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01 Jan 2015
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doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2014.11.010
2014
Training creative cognition: adolescence as a flexible period for improving creativity
Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
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29 Oct 2014
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doi:10.3389/fnhum.2014.00827
Visual relations children find easy and difficult to process in figural analogies
Frontiers in Psychology
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05 Aug 2014
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doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00827
2013
Working Memory and Dynamic Measures of Analogical Reasoning as Predictors of Children's Math and Reading Achievement
Infant and Child Development
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12 Dec 2013
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doi:10.1002/icd.1833
Working memory as a moderator of training and transfer of analogical reasoning in children
Contemporary Educational Psychology
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01 Jul 2013
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doi:10.1016/j.cedpsych.2013.02.001
Explanatory item response modeling of children's change on a dynamic test of analogical reasoning
Intelligence
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01 May 2013
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doi:10.1016/j.intell.2013.01.003
Assessing Software Design Skills and their Relation with Reasoning Skills.
EduSymp@ MoDELS
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01 Jan 2013
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[no id info]
Individual differences in the effect of feedback on children's change in analogical reasoning.
AIED Workshops
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01 Jan 2013
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[no id info]
2012
Dynamic Testing: Measuring Inductive Reasoning in Children With Developmental Disabilities and Mild Cognitive Impairments
Journal of Cognitive Education and Psychology
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01 Jan 2012
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doi:10.1891/1945-8959.11.2.159
Puzzling with potential: dynamic testing of analogical reasoning in children
Division of Developmental and Educational, 2012
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01 Jan 2012
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nmT-EaUAAAAJ:UeHWp8X0CEIC
2011
Computer or paper analogy puzzles. Does assessment mode influence young children's strategy progression?
British Psychological Society
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01 Jan 2011
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[no id info]
Computerized Dynamic Testing: A Study of the Potential of an Approach Using Sensor Technology
Journal of Cognitive Education and Psychology
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01 Jan 2011
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doi:10.1891/1945-8959.10.2.178
Dynamic testing with an electronic console: Do children listen to the computer
Journal of Cognitive Education and Psychology 10 (2), 178-194, 2011
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01 Jan 2011
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nmT-EaUAAAAJ:U_HPUtbDl20C
2009
Analogical reasoning skill acquisition with self-explanation in 7–8 year olds. Does feedback help?
Educational and Child Psychology
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01 Jan 2009
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[no id info]
An ART neural network model of discrimination shift learning
Proceedings of the 31st Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society (CogSci 2009)
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01 Jan 2009
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nmT-EaUAAAAJ:IjCSPb-OGe4C
2004
Discovery and maintenance of the many‐to‐one counting strategy in 4‐year‐olds: A microgenetic study
British Journal of Developmental Psychology
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01 Mar 2004
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doi:10.1348/026151004772901122
The Alternative Uses Task: A Comparison between various Scoring Methods Charlotte Tanis University of Amsterdam
[no publisher info]
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[no date info]
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nmT-EaUAAAAJ:KaMxkj08jr0C
Experiences with a UML-based software design skills test
[no publisher info]
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[no date info]
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nmT-EaUAAAAJ:jE2MZjpN3IcC
Semantic-Based Algorithm for Scoring Alternative Uses Tests (AUT)
[no publisher info]
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[no date info]
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nmT-EaUAAAAJ:QyXJ3EUuO1IC