Executive Functions (EFs) are crucial top-down processes characterized by cool and hot aspects, required for goal-directed behaviour. Only a few studies evaluated and trained concurrently cool and hot EFs. Therefore, we promote a training aiming to enhance both EFs components. A total of 91 children attending the second year of kindergarten were…

Executive Functions (EFs) development is critically affected by stress and trauma, as well as the socioeconomic context in which children grow up (Welsh, Nix, Blair, Bierman, & Nelson, 2010, Journal of Educational Psychology, 102, 43-53). Research in this field is surprisingly lacking in relation to war contexts. This study represents a first…

This study aimed to investigate the influence of Outdoor Education (OE) on different areas of development in 1-3-year-old children attending Italian nursery schools. The sample was composed of 160 children (1-3-year-old) divided into a first group (Traditional), with 76 children attending nursery schools with traditional educational activities;…

Individuals with sex chromosome trisomies (SCTs) have an increased risk of language delays and impairments. However, there are only a few data relative to their language development in early childhood. The present study aimed to investigate the preverbal skills shown by a group of 8-month-old children with SCTs to assess the presence of a possible…

In the number-to-position task, with increasing age and numerical expertise, children's pattern of estimates shifts from a biased (nonlinear) to a formal (linear) mapping. This widely replicated finding concerns symbolic numbers, whereas less is known about other types of quantity estimation. In Experiment 1, Preschool, Grade 1, and Grade 3…

In human adults, visual dominance emerges in several multisensory tasks. In children, auditory dominance has been reported up to 4 years of age. To establish when sensory dominance changes during development, 41 children (6-7, 9-10, and 11-12 years) were tested on the Colavita task (Experiment 1) and 32 children (6-7, 9-10, and 11-12 years) were…

The effects of warning on false recognition and associated subjective experience of false recollection and familiarity were investigated in 7-to 13-year-old children and young adults (N = 259) using the Deese-Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm. Two warning conditions (warning with an example of a critical lure and warning without an example of a…

Background: Research conducted on preterm children's linguistic skills has provided varying pictures, and the question of whether and to what extent preterm children are delayed in early language acquisition remains largely unresolved. Aims: To examine communicative and linguistic development during the second year in a group of Italian children…

Crying behavior and mother-infant interactions during episodes of crying were coded using the Cry Observation Codes and then compared for 48 mother-infant dyads of children with autism, children with developmental delays, and typically developing children. At 1 year of age, children who would later be diagnosed with autism showed a different…

Episodes of crying with higher fundamental frequency (f0) are perceived as more aversive and distressful than lower frequency cries. Besides, previous studies have speculated that in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) higher f0 may account for evoking mental states of uneasiness in the caregiver. Moreover no evidence on developmental…

The aim of the book is to serve for clinical, practical, basic and scholarly practices. In twentyfive chapters it covers the most important topics related to Autism Spectrum Disorders in the efficient way and aims to be useful for health professionals in training or clinicians seeking an update. Different people with autism can have very different…

Presents findings of ethnographic research on children's talk and behavior, specifically routines in spontaneous peer play and verbal routines in structured activities. Concludes that instructional strategies should incorporate some of the features of children's play routines and peer culture. (SRT)

Despite U.S. world leadership in research in child healthcare and development, in all the statistical indicators of children's well-being the United States lags well behind most advanced industrialized societies. This book discusses U.S. public policy issues concerning the healthcare and development of children under age three. Studies are cited…

Reports on a comparative study of nursery school children in the United States and Italy. Identifies and discusses the importance of basic routines in the peer culture of young children for the development of communication skills and social knowledge. Explores the possibilities of universal features in young children's peer cultures and develops…

Using a comparative-cultural perspective, this collection of essays examines the co-constructivist nature of human development in culturally organized environments. The contributions also cover a large age span--infancy to adulthood. Chapters in part 1 cover two different directions in the study of early adult-infant interaction from a comparative…