Mother-Child Mediated Learning Experience Strategies and Children's Cognitive Modifiability: Theoretical and Research Perspectives

The focus of this chapter is on the effects of mediated learning experience (MLE) interactions on children’s cognitive modifiability. The MLE theory is presented followed by selected research findings, demonstrating the impact of MLE strategies in mother-child interac-tions in facilitating cognitive modifiability. Research findings support the effects of distal factors (e.g., socioeconomic status) on MLE processes and the effects of the proximal factors (MLE) on cognitive modifiability. Mediation for Transcendence (expanding) was found consistently as the most powerful strategy predicting cognitive modifiability. Distal factors in samples of children with learning difficulties were found as directly pre-dicting cognitive modifiability. These findings might indicate a need to modify or refine the MLE theory. A few suggestions are offered for future research.