The older children’s success with the remote pair was clearly related to their use of language. If a child could say the equivalent of “The smaller one is always right,” he could succeed with the remote pair.
None of the children who failed to express in words the principle of correct choice during initial learning transposed the correct response on the test with the remote pair; 73 per cent of the children who stated the correct solution in words, either spontaneously or upon questioning, successfully transposed what they had learned.