Lucy evaluates her environment in terms of time, especially when it comes to telling Ricky about their baby in a timely manner.

Jeff tries to hold together his theory of Thorwald as a murderer in the face of opposition from Stella, Lisa, and especially Doyle.  He’s more interested in the why and when of the murder, leaving the how to Stella and Doyle to consider, and piecing his ideas together to form the big picture.

As a seven year old child, Josh employs both methods of problem solving, but he tends to favor a more holistic approach.  Early in the story, Josh is so reluctant to beat his father at chess, he doesn’t even want to play him.  His reluctance demonstrates his desire to hold the relationship together.  He doesn’t want to change the status quo—the relationship he has with his dad.  He is sensitive to inequities, as demonstrated by his sensitivity to the imbalance between winning and losing, and his sensitivity toward the people around him.