bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Conflicting Communications: A Longitudinal Study
Authors: Khalique Nazre , Haq Masoodul
Published: March 2013

Changes in the amount of conflicting communication experienced by 30 male students were measured over four years from the age of 20 to 23 years using the Conflicting Communication Scale (Yeomans et al. 1970). It was found that the amount of conflicting communication experienced decreased significantly each year over the four year period.
Knowing and Imaging Spatial Relations
Authors: Dean Anne L.
Published: March 2013

This study examined the imaging processes that children at different operatory levels used on a spatial rotation task. A procedure was devised in which children were required to draw states of movement to an end-state which gradually and imperceptibly changed from the geometrically correct to an incorrect position during the course of the drawing. The quality of children's anticipation of the rotation movement was assessed on the basis of whether children drew the geometrically correct end-state, ended their drawings at the incorrect slide end-state, or drew a different and arbitrary end-state. Thequality of children's hindsight was assessed on the basis of the frequencies and timing of corrections to previously drawn states occasioned by the changing end-state. Relations between children's patterns of performance on the imaging measure and their level of performance on Euclidean geometric operations tasks generally confirmed predictions based on Piaget et al.'s (1960) theory of relations between children's spatial anticipatory imagery and their knowledge of the structure of Euclidean space.
Behavioral Analysis of Aging: A Review of the Operant Model and Research
Authors: Baltes Margret M. , Barton Elizabeth M.
Published: March 2013

Over the last decade, research has shown the plasticity and modifiability of aging behaviors heretofore considered irreversible. The last years produced theoretical review papers summarizing empirical findings of this new breed of intervention research in aging. Two major streams of intervention research appear to have evolved: (1) cognitive intervention research which is largely based on the life-span model of development (for review see Baltes and Willis 1977; Barton et al. 1975; Labouvie-Vief 1976) and (2) behavioral intervention research based on the operant learning model (for review see Baltes and Baltes 1977; Baltes and Barton 1977; Hoyer 1973, 1974). In the present paper, these latter research findings and intervention programs will be summarized and analyzed. Furthermore, recent research developments within the operant model will be outlined, the findings of which seem to promise enhancement of the effectiveness of long-range intervention programs with the elderly. It should be noted here that much of the cognitive intervention research with the elderly has often used an operant paradigm but will not be considered here. Furthermore, many intervention studies are implemented in an implicitly operant mode, but are not explicitly conducted within the operant framework. These studies will not be considered here since it would make this review a voluminous one.
The Effects of Physical Attractiveness on the Behavioral Attributions and Peer Preferences of Acquainted Children
Authors: Langlois Judith H. , Styczynski Lyn E.
Published: March 2013

Age-dependent differences in the relationship between physical attractiveness and the social perceptions of acquainted classmates were investigated in children three through ten years of age. Children were shown photographs of attractive and unattractive, sameage, known peers and indicated which of their classmates they liked, disliked, and viewed as most likely to exhibit prosocial, antisocial, and competence behaviors. In general, attractive children were viewed more positively as age increased. However, contrary to the 'beauty-is-good' stereotype, attractive boys were selected more often than unattractive boys for negative categories as age increased.
A Synergistic Process Approach to the Study of Prenatal Malnutrition
Authors: Lester Barry M.
Published: March 2013

The multifactorial relationship between nutrition and other intrauterine influences seems to exert a combined effect on birthweight, particularly during the third trimester. Full-term infants who may have suffered fetal malnutrition, as indicated by the weight for-length ratio of the ponderal index, were compared with full weight controls on the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale and on acoustic features of the infant's pain cry. The underweight infants showed poorer performance than the controls on the four Brazelton scale dimension scores of social interaction, motor processes, organization of state, and physiological organization. The cry of the underweight infants had a shorter fist cry length, longer expiratory period, fewer harmonics, and a higher fundamental frequency than the full weight infants. It was suggested that the Brazelton scale and cry analysis may be useful in the assessment of pediatrically healthy infants who may be at risk. A synergistic model was proposed in which nutritional effects are viewed within the obstetric and reproductive history of the mother and the broader sociocultural environment of the family. The infant at risk becomes part of a feedback system in which he affects and is affected by the caregiving environment.
Perception of Mother in Four-and-a-Half-Year-Old Children; A Comparison with the Mother's Social and Emotional History
Authors: Uddenberg Nils , Englesson Irmelin
Published: March 2013

In a projective play session 70 first-born children, 41/2 years old described their mother. The information from the children was comprised in two scales measuring the 'strictness' and the 'warmth' of the mother. Information about the mother was independently obtained from a longitudinal study, starting when the mother was expecting the investigated child. Thus the child's experience of its mother could be compared to the previous and present social and emotional situation of the mother.

Mothers described as 'strict' or as 'not warm' characterized their child in a more negative way than others. The same mothers had reported less good mental health than others, especially for the growing-up period (retrospective information) and the post partum period. Mothers described as 'strict' or as 'not warm' also reported less good parental relations than others. When the child was a boy the mother's contact with her father seemed to be more important than her contact with the mother. When the child was a girl, however, the mother's relationship with her mother was the more important. Generally the child's description of the mother was not associated with the social situation of mother and child.
Developmental Differences in the Timing of Children's Awareness of Category Relations in Free Recall
Authors: Bjorklund David F.
Published: March 2013

Second-third and sixth grade children were presented with sets of categoricallyrelated pictures for free recall, but unexpectedly asked, just prior to recall, whether they had noticed in the set any 'groups, pictures that were alike or went together in some way'. Children's latencies to identify their first categories were recorded. Second-third grade children in a standard condition took significantly longer to identify their first categories than did second-third grade children who were prompted to identify categories at time of item presentation. There were no differences in latencies to identify categories between prompted and non-prompted subjects at the sixth grade level. Results were interpreted as reflecting developmental differences in the timing of organization in children's free recall.
The Role of Metamemory and Metamemory Activation in the Development of Mnemonic Performance
Authors: Wimmer Heinz , Tornquist Krista
Published: March 2013

The study investigated the role of metamemory and of metamemory activation in the development of mnemonic performance. Seventy-two subjects from three age levels (7-, 10-, and 17-year-olds) served in an awareness and in a control condition. In the awareness condition knowledge about the effect of categorical grouping on recall (metamemory) was questioned before the main memory task while in the control condition this metamemory question was subsequent to the main memory task. Categorical grouping as a preparation for recall (mnemonic performance) was assessed by using both a liberal and a conservative criterion. Contrary to a previous conclusion by Salatas and Flavell (1976), it was found that metamemory was a necessary condition for mnemonic performance, when the latter was assessed in a more valid, conservative way. Developmental differences were found both in metamemory and in the actual use of metamemory. This latter difference could not be eliminated by providing metamemory activation in the awareness condition.
Infants' Perception of Structure and Form Across Changing Orientations
Authors: Ball William A.
Published: March 2013

In two studies babies aged 110-130 days observed pairs of objects in rotary motion. Significant differences in looking time were obtained for regular over scrambled schematic faces and a round cross over a square. The data suggest that young infants process the distinctive features of objects that continuously change orientation. The importance of the findings for theories of cognitive and perceptual development is discussed in light of previous studies of infants' tracking of moving objects.
The Consequences of Adolescent Childbearing on Postnatal Development
Authors: Gunter Nancy C. , LaBarba Richard C.
Published: March 2013

The literature dealing with the effects of adolescent childbearing on postnatal infant development is critically reviewed in this paper. The data concerning intellectual development, mental retardation, physical, motor, and neurological development, academic achievement, and social and emotional development as a functuon of maternal age are presented. It is concluded that the existing data on the developmental sequelae of adolescent childbearing lends only minimal support to the hypothesis that maternal immaturity places the newborn infant at increased developmental risk. Nevertheless, because of the socioeconomic characteristics of adolescent mothers, the outlook for infants of such mothers is dismal primarily because of postnatal environmental factors. Some suggestions for future research in this area are offered.
Group Formation by Two-Year Olds
Authors: Frankel Daniel G. , Arbel Tali
Published: March 2013

In order to study a process of group formation among young children, six 2-year-olds were observed during the first four weeks of a daily play group. Results suggested that the children formed a dominance structure that corresponded with increased group stability. The dominance hierarchy appeared to reflect a more general social structure than just an ordering for who could successfully aggress against whom; it was correlated with centrality orderings for non-agonistic behaviors. The absence of a co-ordination between hierarchic orderings for different forms of agonism, however, suggested that the group was not characterized by a fully unified structure, at least not by the end of fourweeks. Analyses also indicated that social asymmetry or status was not the only factor that systematically affected the resolution of social conflict. Prior possession of an object too seemed to constitute an important social norm.
The Development of Moral Behavior: Continuities and Discontinuities
Authors: Chandler Michael , Siegel Michael , Boyes Michael
Published: March 2013

A conceptual framework and supporting research findings are presented which are intended to contribute to a better understanding of the relationship between moral judgment and moral action. A transactional model, based in part upon the earlier work of Piaget, is outlined. Within this framework, the outcome of moral deliberation is viewed as the joint product of an individual's current level of cognitive complexity and the structural complexity of the moral dilemma which he or she must arbitrate. In this context cognitive development level is assumed to predict concrete behavioral choices whenever individuals are at least as complex as are the moral alternatives which confront them.

In order to test this hypothesis, children at three levels of conceptual maturity were presented with six dilemmas, representing all pairwise combinations of rituals, rules and principles, and were required to formulate specific plans of action to resolve these conflicts. The results are consistent with the hypothesis and show a significant interaction between the structural complexity of moral dilemmas and cognitive complexity of persons who attempt to resolve them.
The Mother-Child Picture Test: Presentation of a New Method for the Evaluation of Mother-Child Relations
Authors: Smith Gudmund J.W. , Almgren Per-Erik , Anderson Alf L. , Englesson Irmelin , Smith Maj , Uddenberg Gunborg
Published: March 2013

The mother-child picture test (MCPT) was administered to 100 pairs of mothers and their 7-8-year-old children. A drawing of a woman feeding a small child was presented with a perceptgenetic technique, i.e., tachistoscopically in a series of 20 presentations starting with subthreshold exposure values which were successively prolonged. Subjects were asked to describe the picture. It was found that when a mother reacted "negatively" to the stimulus her child was also likely to do so. The scoring categories were validated against the results of a parallel mother-child study. It was concluded that the MCPT presented with a perceptgenetic technique reflects essential aspects of mother-child relations.
Conservation Accidents Revisited
Authors: Dockrell Julie , Campbell Robin , Neilson Irene
Published: March 2013

McGarrigle and Donaldson's (1975) claim that the Genevan conservation test procedure underestimates the child's cognitive competence is examined. Experiment 1 reports a successful replication of their original work. We then consider several objections to McGarrigle and Donaldson's claim that the tasks they used did in fact test the child's ability to conserve number. Firstly, as only four counters were used in their study the child's judgment of numerosity could have been perceptually rather than conceptually based (Winer 1974). Secondly, teddy may have acted as a distracting agent leading the child to ignore the post-transformational state of the arrays and to answer the experimenter's post-transformational question (correctly) by mere repetition of his earlier response. In experiment 2 a procedure which is free from these objections, but otherwise similar to McGarrigle and Donaldson's procedure, is employed, together with appropriate comparison conditions. This procedure results in a decrease in the overall incidence of conservation responses, but fails to eradicate the difference between accidental and intentional transformation of the arrays (p < 0.001). In the final part of the paper we consider the implications of these and McGarrigle and Donaldson's results for our understanding of the social psychology of the conservation task.
Sex Differences in Psychological Differentiation among Different Cultural Groups
Authors: Sinha Durganand
Published: March 2013

Prediction made regarding sex differences in psychological differentiation within the general framework of eco-cultural perspective that male-female stylistic differences would be minimal in nomadic groups and with sedentarization they would get consistent was tested in four cultural groups, viz., nomadic Birhors, transitional sedentary Birhors, agricultural Oraons, and sedentarized urban school children. Results indicated that sex differences in cognitive style did not occur consistently among less acculturated nomadic groups. Contrary to the prediction, male-female differences were small and insignificant among the transitional Birhors and agricultural Oraons. Urban boys were, however, significantly higher on field independence than girls. The findings are explained in terms of differences in nature of socialization and sex-role specialization in the groups studied.
Life-Span Developmental Changes in Mnemonic Organization: A Multimethod Analysis
Authors: Wingard Joseph A.
Published: March 2013

A set of pictures of common objects classifiable either perceptually on the basis of five color categories or semantically on the basis of five categories of meaning was randomly arranged and presented to groups of 4-year old, 6-year old, 10-year old, adult and elderly adult subjects. Free recall was assessed for the tendency to cluster semantically related items and items of the same color. In a recognition memory task, the tendency for subjects to erroneously select semantically or chromatically similar distractors was measured. Subjects also classified the pictures in a free sorting task, and the amount of semantic and color sorting was measured. A maximum-likelihood multimethod factor analysis of the correlations among the measures of recall clustering, free sorting and recognition errors revealed significant convergent validity for consistent use of a semantic and perceptual organization strategy in the three tasks. Subsequent analysis of errorfree "latent" organization scores revealed that 10-year old, adult, and elderly adult subjects relied on a semantic strategy. Four and six-year olds encoded both semantic and perceptual information about the stimulus items, with the younger preschoolers relying primarily upon the latter when using an organizational strategy. Age differences in memory capacity did not substantially affect this developmental trend in strategy use. Implications of these findings for parallel developments in memory and cognition were discussed.
Birth Weight and Measures of Development, Object Constancy, and Attachment in Multiple Birth Infants: A Brief Report
Authors: Krall Vita , Feinstein Sherman , Kennedy Dennis
Published: March 2013

One cohort of low birth weight, preterm quintuplets and one cohort of low birth weight, preterm quadruplets were regularly tested during the first two years of life to determine if these infants lag behind in development as is reported for low birth weight, preterm singletons. Bayley mental and motor scales of development were administered at three month intervals through 18 months and again at 24 months of age; scores were adjusted for gestation. Decarie measures of Object Constancy and Objectal Relations were obtained at the same ages to study attachment to mother in a multiple caretaking situation. Both adjusted and unadjusted Mental Development and Motor Development Indices were significantly correlated with birth weight. Low birth weight preterm multiple birth infants do lag behind initially in development but they "catch" up by 2 years. Objectal scores developed earlier than object constancy scores on the Decarie, and this difference persisted longer for low birth weight infants. It was inferred that the multiple caretaking situation did not interfere with the specific attachment to the mother.
Continuity and Discontinuity in the Behaviour of British Working-Class Mothers and Their First-Born Children
Authors: Hall Fae , Pawlby Susan J.
Published: March 2013

In a longitudinal study of the first-born children of working-class women in an inner-London borough continuities have been found between the baby's behaviour at 6 days and his later behaviour at 27 months and 31 years. Continuities have also been found in the child's cognitive development from 27 months to 32 years. The pre-and perinatal histories of the mothers were examined in relation to the outcome for the child but any associations found were slight and became weaker as the child increased in age. A much stronger and longer-lasting relationship was found between a history of adverse psychological and emotional difficulties in the mother, prior to the baby's conception, and 'atypical' or 'problem' behaviour and poor cognitive development in the child. Possible mechanisms to explain these areas of continuity are discussed.
Conceptual Prerequisites for an Understanding of Stability-Change and Continuity-Discontinuity
Authors: Overton Willis F. , Reese Hayne W.
Published: March 2013

Divergent understandings of the nature of development result from incompatible philosophical assumptions or world views. One perspective maintains that reality is best represented as stable and fixed, and as a consequence development or change is understood as a function of antecedent causes. A second perspective maintains that reality is best represented as active and changing, and as a consequence the course of development does not permit antecedent causal explanation. Implications for the investigation and explanation of development are discussed. A major implication of the determining influence of the two world views involves the continuity-discontinuity issue, i.e., the issue of the appearance of novelty during the course of development and the explanation of novelty. The stability perspective asserts a strict continuity in that it allows for no gaps in antecedent-consequent causal sequences. The activity and change perspective permits discontinuity.
Social Interaction and Social Organization of Israeli Fiveto Seven-Year-Olds
Authors: Hertz-Lazarowitz Rachel , Feitelson Dina , Zahavi Shoshana , Hartup Willard W.
Published: March 2013

Four hundred and eight children kindergartners and first-graders from three experimental infant schools in Israel were observed in outdoor free play, forty minutes each day, for three continuous weeks. Social interactions and social organization were recorded using a modified version of Parten's (1932) system of categorization. Findings showed that the children engaged mainly in positive-active behaviors (over fifty-four percent). Solitary play and onlooker behavior accounted for thirty percent of children's social behavior. Parallel play occurred less frequently than reported earlier for younger children, although no age differences were observed between kindergartners and first graders. Boys were significantly more active than girls, and exhibited negative social interaction more frequently.

Social organization was balanced. Children were observed fifty-seven percent in dyads, twenty-seven percent in groups of three and four children, and fourteen percent in groups with more than five children. Kindergartners participated in significantly smaller groups than first graders.
Intellectual and Emotional Development in Premature Children from 1 to 5 Years
Authors: Grigoroiu-Serbanescu Maria
Published: March 2013

The work was designed to the study of 317 preterm and 78 full-term children followed up from birth to age 5 years. Emotional and intellectual deficits were found in prematures, especially in boys with gestational age under 29 weeks up to the age of 3 years. Unlike full terms, the prematures showed a marked tendency toward multiple deficits (simultaneous impairment of at least two developmental directions as represented by intelligence, emotional maturity, language and motricity). The recovery period depended on degree of prematurity to age 3; after three years, no manifest effect of prematurity on development could be seen. The risk of persistent subnormality was not linked to prematurity degree. The long-term prognosis for emotional and intellectual development was more certain in preterm girls and in boys with gestational age under 29 weeks than in other prematures.
The Development of Referential Communication in Deaf and Hearing Children: Competence and Style
Authors: Alegria Jesus
Published: March 2013

The paper examines the development of communicative competence in deaf children and its interactions with the use of gestures and/or words to comunicate. Deaf children, in addition to the cognitive problem involved in communication, must also choose a particular channel to produce the verbal and/or gestural message. In the first experiment the experimenter designated one out of four drawings to the "transmitter", who had to produce a message for the "receiver" to enable him to identify the drawing. The data show that (1) the use of gestures to communicate increases with age while the speech used remains constant, and (2) the amount of gestures used is correlated with communicative accuracy. A possible explanation of these data is that the increased use of gestures has a cognitive base: i.e., that it comes from a better understanding of the communication situation. Experiment 2 is aimed to test this hypothesis. The main results show that individual differences in communicative competence are correlated with the use of gestures but not with the use of speech, and that children increased the number of gestures, but not the number of words, when communication difficulty increased.
Maternal and Perinatal Effects of Adolescent Childbearing
Authors: Gunter Nancy C. , Labarba Richard C.
Published: March 2013

The developmental consequences of adolescent childbearing were investigated in a group of 60 low income, pregnant adolescents under the age of 18, and a low income control group of 60 pregnant adult women aged 20 to 29 with equal numbers of blacks and whites in each group. The adolescents were matched to controls of the same race and parity who initiated prenatal care at the same point in pregnancy. Antepartum and postpartum measures of state and trait anxiety, depression, and hostility were taken from both groups of mothers. Data were also obtained on the antepartum, delivery, and postpartum performance of the mothers, along with data on infant status within each maternal group. No differences were found in the incidence of either maternal or infant complications between adolescent mothers and controls. Furthermore, adolescents under the age of 17 did not differ significantly from 17 year olds on maternal and infant complications. Multiple regression analysis did indicate that an adolescent under 17 was more likely to have an infant of low birth weight if she has a low prepregnancy weight, a lower than average weight gain during pregnancy, a low delivery hemoglobin, and sought prenatal care late in pregnancy. No group differences were found on maternal emotionality measures. While maternal emotionality trait scores remained stable across antepartum and postpartum periods, maternal emotionality state scores were found to be lower in the postpartum period. Whereas, adolescents did not differ significantly from controls on emotionality, a significant age by race interaction was found for depression, with white controls showing less depression than white adolescents and black controls. Adolescents and black controls did not differ significantly. Possible explanations and implications are discussed.
On the Sequentiality of Ordinality and Cardinality
Authors: Kingma J. , Koops W.
Published: March 2013

Some research with Brainerd-like number tasks is reported. 266 subjects (from kindergarten and from primary school grade 1) completed 4 tasks: concrete ordinal correspondence tasks, abstract ordinal correspondence tasks, ordinal number tasks, and cardinal tasks. Results revealed no differences in difficulty level between concrete and abstract ordinal correspondence tasks. The ordinal number tasks were more difficult than the ordinal correspondence tasks. The data also suggest that the child acquires ordinality prior to cardinality. The last finding confirms the conclusion of Brainerd (1978, 1979). Nevertheless, these conclusions are rather weak because of serious differences in psychometric qualities between different kinds of tasks, because of poor operational definitions of cardinality and ordinality, and because of uncontrolled differences in task sensitivity. Only with more refined analyses of task variables will the future of a theory of number development be promising.
Imitation During Preschool Peer Interaction
Authors: Lubin Lisa , Field Tiffany
Published: March 2013

Two to four-year-old preschool children's peer interactions were observed during free play. Positive, negative, and sustained peer interactions were coded as were the initiating behaviors of these interactions including imitation. A curvilinear relationship between age and imitation was noted with the three-year-olds engaging in the greatest amount of imitation. The use of imitation as an initiator of interaction also contributed to the greatest amount of variance on sustained interactions.
A Cross-Cultural Study of Young Children's Understanding of Spatial Prepositions
Authors: Cox M. V. , Batra P. , Singhal S.
Published: March 2013

Bengali-, English and Hindi-speaking children aged 5 to 9 years were asked to place an object 'in front of or 'behind' a frontedor nonfronted-object. All children responded on the basis of an inherent object cue when the fronted-object was used. When a nonfronted-object was used all children treated it as if it was a fronted-object facing towards themselves. These results were compared with those of Hausa-speakers who also use the inherent object cue for fronted-objects but treat nonfronted-objects as if they are facing away from themselves.
The Social Function of Reciprocal Imitation in 2-Year-Old Peers
Authors: Nadel-Brulfert J. , Baudonniere P. M.
Published: March 2013

13 triads of familiar peers aged from 2;0 to 2;1 1 were brought together without adult presence in an experimental setting containing three sets of ten different categories of objects.

This experimental situation made it possible to gather continuous filmed data, from which the authors are able to assess the importance of spontaneous imitative sequences, as well as put forward the social function of reciprocal imitation as a means of dialogue.
Characteristics of Maternal and Paternal Behavior in Traditional and Nontraditional Swedish Families
Authors: Lamb Michael E. , Frodi Ann M. , Frodj Majt , Hwang Carl-Philip
Published: March 2013

Forty-five Swedish couples (N = 90) were observed at home interacting with their 16month-old infants. Fifteen of the fathers had been primary caretaker for more than one month (x = 2.8 months). These men were designated Involved whereas their partners were deemed Less Involved. Men who took little or no parental leave were considered Less Involved, and their partners were deemed Involved. Analyses of the parents' behavior revealed that mothers were more likely to vocalize, display affection toward, touch, tend to, and hold their infants than fathers were, regardless of relative involvement in caretaking. Involvement in caretaking had no significant effects on parental behavior. However, involved mothers scored highest on all six of the major behavioral measures. The findings suggested that gender differences in parental behavior are much less amenable to social influence than many psychologists believe, although we are not yet able to say whether gender differences in parental style have some biological basis.
Current Trends in Studies of Behavioral Development in Japan
Authors: Azuma Hiroshi
Published: March 2013

Japanese have had strong concern on child rearing and socialization since ancient years. Earlier publications on those topics date back to around 1400 AD. But scientific studies of behavior development belong to modern years, and it was after 1950 that the studies of psychological development have become prominent. Especially during the last 20 years, the number of studies of behavior development reported at psychology conventions increased rapidly, and during the period of 1976-1980, the behavior development studies account for more than one fifth of all psychology papers. Among them, the number of studies of personality development is the largest, followed by that of studies of cognitive development. Works on language development are also increasing in recent years, gaining their share in terms of percentage against the total number of behavior development studies. The method of research most frequently used is experimental, accounting for more than half of reported studies.

Some research topics which are attracting attention are exemplified by recently conducted studies, which include language acquisition, "Kanji" as cognitive tool, mother-child interaction and cross-cultural studies.
Recent Progress in the Study of the Effects of Television Viewing on Social Development
Authors: Collins W. A. , Korac N.
Published: March 2013

Television viewing is a popular activity for children throughout the Western nations and in many developing countries. Although little is known about the functions of viewing, considerable evidence indicates that televised models of social behavior influences viewers' post-viewing actions. Recent advances in research on behavioral effects include field experiments and panel studies that permit use of nonexperimental causal-inference techniques. In addition, the scope of recent research has expanded to include other types of effects (e.g., children's concepts of social reality) and cognitive processing of televised information. Directions for the future include the need to (1) examine further developmental aspects of response to typical television programming and (2) study the interaction of television content with children's common contexts and experiences.
Learning Through Media: A Comparison of 4-8 Year Old Children's Responses to Filmed and Pictorial Instruction
Authors: Murphy Catherine M. , Wood David J.
Published: March 2013

Murphy and Wood (1981) present an analysis of young children's abilities to use pictorial information. Using the same task and situation, the responses of another group of children to filmed instruction were observed. This paper compares the effects of different visual media on the learning abilities of 4-8 year old children. Three learning conditions are examined: videofilm, pictures and non-instruction. One hundred and ten children, from 4 to 8 years of age, were asked to construct a three-dimensional toy under one of three conditions: forty children viewed a filmed demonstration of the procedure; 40 children were provided with a series of photographs depicting critical stages in the construction; a third group of thirty children acted as controls and were asked to attempt the task without instruction.

There was a general improvement in performance from non-instruction through pictorial instruction to filmed demonstration. It is suggested that there is an age and sex difference in the relative effectiveness of the two forms of visual media. Filmed demonstration is of most asisstance to boys and the youngest children: the performances of girls and five year old children, though improved by filmed instruction, are quite efficient after pictorial teaching.
A Naturalistic Study of Young Children's Explorations Away from Caregiver
Authors: Martinsen Harald
Published: March 2013

29 child-caregiver pairs were observed in a public park without the adults' preknowledge, to examine the effects of mode of locomotion and age of child on exploration. A clear relation was found between child exploration and both age and walking vs. crawling ability. Ability to walk seems to be the most important determinant. No effect of age was found on mean length away or number of explorations away from caregiver among walking children ages 12-36 months. Age differences, however, were found in mean distance (computed from measurements taken every 10 sec) to caregiver. On this measure children who were more than two years old tended to be farther away. The divergence between the two measures 'mean length of distance to caregiver' and 'mean length of exploration' may be explained by group differences in the amount of time spent in vicinity of the caregiver. No differences were found in a number of sorties or time spent away between groups aged 12-18, 19-24, and 25-36 months. The duration of sortie was lower in the youngest age group. The younger children seemed mainly to make short and brief sorties punctuated by equally brief moments of proximity and tended not to return from their longer sorties. The older children made fewer and longer sorties and they returned regularly. The findings are compared in some detail with the findings reported by Anderson (1972a, b).
The Relationship between How Much is Said and the Quality of the Utterance: Can Young Children Tell the Difference?
Authors: Sonnenschein Susan
Published: March 2013

This research was a preliminary investigation into why young children give certain types of communications. Previous research had indicated that 5-year-olds are more likely to imitate the length rather than the quality of a speaker model's utterances. Experiment I replicated that finding. Experiment 2 explored whether this was due to young children confounding length with quality and therefore judging any long communication to be adequate. In both studies, 5-year-olds participated in a referential communication task. The stimuli were pictures of geometric shapes differing on color, pattern and size. The results for experiment 2 indicated that message length was not a factor in judging the adequacy of a communication. Discussion focused on other explanations for why young communicators imitate length rather than quality.
Developmental Psychology in China
Authors: Fan Liu
Published: March 2013

A brief history of Chinese developmental psychology is given and the current main research projects are outlined. Developmental psychological concepts had already been formulated within ancient Chinese philosophy. However, modern Chinese developmental psychology was strongly inspired by European and American psychology. Research work in developmental psychology has been especially promoted since 1977 with particular reference to children's cognitive development and educational reform. Current research projects mainly concern child development within the following areas: cognition development (development of the number concept and operational abilities), language development, relation of thinking and language, personality and moral development, supernormal children, mental retardedness.
The Consistency of the Home Environment and Its Relation to Child Development
Authors: Bradley Robert H. , Caldwell Bettye M.
Published: March 2013

The study examined the relation of the consistency of the home environment during the first two years of life and children's intelligence test performance at age three for 72 black and white children. Little residual relation between 6-month Caldwell HOME scores and 3-year IQ scores was observed when 12-month HOME scores were partialled out. However, the residual between 12-month HOME and IQ was significant with 6-month HOME partialled out. Some residual relation was observed between 12-month HOME and 3-year IQ with 2-year HOME partialled out. A number of race and sex differences in the relation between HOME scores and IQ were observed with the relation being slightly higher for blacks than whites, especially during the first year of life. Black males showed the most atypical pattern of performance among the four race/sex subgroups
Components of Achievement Motivation in Young Children
Authors: de Bruyn Eric E.J. , van den Bercken John H.L.
Published: March 2013

The emergence of the components of achievement motivation was studied in two groups of kindergarten children of 5:06 and 6:06 years old. The theoretical framework was provided by Heckhausen's concept of motivation as a self-reinforcing system. Several tasks were constructed, each consisting of 6 items, half of which were manipulated to be failed, in order to measure the children's causal attribution, affective self-evaluation, goal-setting and perception of task difficulty. In addition scores on a test for achievement motivation were obtained. Perception of difficulty and affective self-evaluation were found to be influenced by type of task and by age. The relations between the task variables did not reflect the structure predicted by Heckhausen's theory. The development status of the components of the achievement motivation system is discussed. The results are interpreted as reflecting a differential development of a cognitive and affective evaluative structure in young children.
Institutionalization and Its Relation to Processes Mediated by the CNS and General Institutional Functioning
Authors: McDonald Richard J.
Published: March 2013

The present study examined longitudinally the relationship between institutionalization and (a) functions mediated by the central nervous system and (b) behavioral observations of general institutional functioning. Subjects were residents of a nursing home and were the survivors of a longitudinal study. There were five assessments over a two year period. Behavioral rating scales and psychometric performance tests were employed. It was hypothesized that the effects of the intervening months of institutionalization changes occurring between the baseline and post evaluations would have detrimental effects on the parameters investigated. The composite findings, however, did not substantiate this. Rather, the consequences of the intervening months of institutional life reflected stability or variability in the context of general institutional functioning and in the processes mediated by the central nervous system, such as speed of response and information processing.
Understanding and Auto-Control of Cognitive Functions: Implications for the Relationship Between Cognition and Behavior
Authors: Lefebvre-Pinard Monique
Published: March 2013

A heightened interest in cognitive psychology for questions about the awareness and conscious control people may have of their own cognitive functioning is becoming more and more apparent, problems which, for many decades, cognitive psychologists gave no attention to or simply enclosed in parentheses. In the first part of this paper, an attempt will be made to present an integrated view of the contributions made by various sections within cognitive psychology, in which such renewed and growing concern with problems of consciousness manifests itself with increasing force. This attempt at integration includes various theoretical positions derived from quite different epistemological traditions (developmental cognitive psychology, information processing, cognitive-behavioral, and cognitive social psychology), but which have as their common denominator that they all seek to elucidate the capacity present in humans to regulate the nature of their own mental functioning and the development of their cognitive acquisitions. The second part of this paper will point out the implications, resulting from these new concerns evident in present-day cognitive psychology, for the still poorly understood relationship between cognition and behavior. It attempts to show, by considering in turn the cognitive and the behavioral aspects of this relationship, how one might hope to finally bridge the gap separating cognition from behavior.
Aging: Sensitivity vs Criterion in Taste Perception
Authors: Kushnir T. , Shapira N.
Published: March 2013

The study employed the signal-detection paradigm as a model for investigating age related biological vs cognitive (decision) effects on perceptual behavior. Old and young subjects reported the presence or absence of sugar in threshold level solutions and tap water. It was found that the aged subjects displayed a higher detection threshold. They also obtained a higher (stricter) criterion of decision, fewer false-positives and a greater false-negatives-to-total-errors ratio. These findings were interpreted as strategic behavior motivated by the elderly subjects' greater need to perform well through reducing the error rate.

A post-hoc interview found that most subjects equated the term 'error' with false-positives only. Therefore, the negative response bias found among the elderly subjects may represent a strategic attempt to reduce the rate of false-positive errors. It is also speculated that it may reflect a need to save energy, since negative responses imply an unwillingness to commit oneself to exert effort.
In, on, and under: Examining the Relationship between Cognitive and Language Skills
Authors: Halpern Esther , Corrigan Roberta , Aviezer Ora
Published: March 2013

Based on language comprehension data, previous literature had suggested that cognitive rules determined the order of acquisition of the spatial concepts 'in', 'on', and 'under'. However, this research had not independently assessed language and cognitive sequences in the same children. The present research examined the order of emergence of these concepts using both a non-verbal cognitive task and linguistic comprehension and production tasks. Subjects were 75 Israeli children between 14 and 30 months of age. In the cognitive tasks, children actively manipulated blocks in procedures designed to elicit the three types of space. In the language tasks, children were either asked to follow verbal instructions of the form "put X (in, on or under) the Y", or to use the respective locatives in their language. Scalogram analyses of the construction, comprehension, and production tasks indicated that 'in' space developed earlier than 'on' space, which developed before 'under' space. In general, cognitive tasks were solved prior to language comprehension tasks, which occurred prior to language production tasks. The discussion concludes that the same underlying skills are necessary for the solution of both the cognitive and language tasks.
A Comparison of Reversal and Extra Dimensional Shifts in IGBO (Nigerian) Children
Authors: Ozioko Julius O. C.
Published: March 2013

Seventy-two Nigerian (Igbo) children learned reversal (R) or extradimensional (ED) shifts under one of the two conditions of locality (Urban or Rural) and one of three conditions of Age (4, or 7, or 10 years). Results showed three significant main effects of shift ( p < 0.001); Age ( p < 0.05), and locality ( p < 0.025). Shift by age interaction was also significant. Reversal shift was more difficult for the younger subjects but performance improved as age increased. The ED-shift did not follow a developmental trend: the 7-year-olds found it more difficult than either the 4-yearor the 10-year-olds. Urban subjects learned both shifts faster than their rural counter-parts, and the 7-year-olds from both localities experienced greater difficulty with the ED-shifts problem than either the 4-year-olds or 10-year-olds. The result were interpreted as consistent with the Kendlers' (1962) mediational theory.
Current French Research in Developmental Psychology
Authors: Bramaud du Boucheron Genvieve
Published: March 2013

Summarizes some trends in French developmental psychology. The following areas are considered: cognitive development in relation to Piaget's theory (but stressing the importance of individual strategies), psycholinguistics in preschool children, social interaction and structuring time and space in infants and toddlers. Other areas, such as emotional adjustment, adolescence and ageing are not considered.
The Emergence of 'Wanting to Do It Oneself': A Precursor of Achievement Motivation
Authors: Geppert Ulrich , Küster Ursula
Published: March 2013

The presented pilot study analyzes the prerequisites of achievement motivation by studying children's wanting to do things themselves. The development of the intention to produce an outcome and the development of the self-concept are critical elements in this study. Wanting to do it oneself as a precursor of achievement motivation is inferred from children's articulations of the desire to perform tasks by themselves after their flow of action is interrupted by the experimenter.

Forty-one children between 0;9 and 6;6 years of age were observed while playing with a collection of tasks. Classifying the children's various reactions to the experimental manipulations revealed different behavioral patterns that supported the hypothesis of developmental stages of wanting to do things oneself; these stages corresponded to the degree of development of self-concept. The prerequisites of achievement motivation such as centering on the action-outcome, attributing outcome to the self as the originator, and relating outcome to a sense of competence were identified.