Children show more advanced cognitive processing when they are tested within contexts that are familiar and well practiced. This is one of the main points of the _________.

The situated cognition view of cognitive development holds that thinking always takes place within a specific context, and always in relation to a particular problem, situation, or interaction.  According to this view you cannot really understand thought or its quality or level without also examining the context in which the thought takes place. For example, suppose you ask a first grader, “What is 4 divided by 2?” then he will probably be unable to answer. But give him four cookies and tell him to make sure that he and his brother both get the same number, and watch how quickly the boy solves the problem.