ABSTRACT
This conclusion presents some closing thoughts on the concepts covered in the preceding chapters of this book. The book provides a brief historical overview of the continuing debate over controlled vs. naturalistic methods. It analyzes the studies in terms of such methodological factors as the source of the research question, type of design used, type of stimuli used, type of conclusion, and whether theory is invoked in the design or interpretation of the study. The book investigates the constructs that everyday cognitive research potentially shares with and can gain from an examination of other new areas of scientific inquiry. It reviews theories of intrapsychic non-monotonic reasoning in which assumptions are made in the absence of information to the contrary; according to Chapman these types of assumptions match those made in everyday argument. The book is concerned with everyday infant memory, and outlines the reasons for the rising interest in this area.
