Reviews new developments in the field of child language acquisition that emphasize the role of communication and dialogue. Mentions work on precursors to dialogue in infancy, the development of communicative intent, and the importance of cognitive over syntactic strategies of language processing by the young child. (Author/SS)

Reviews research and current knowledge regarding infant auditory and visual perception and concludes that from a very early age, infants are able to perceive the world around them and organize their perceptual experience. Outlines areas for future research and application. (GC)

Provides a rationale for the significance of the study of early feeding and delineates major issues that require investigation. Includes a list of acquisition processes implicated in the development of food acceptance patterns. (RH)

This paper reviews, first, experimental studies of perceptual-cognitive development and related work directed to the assessment of infant intelligence and, second, naturalistic observation of the exploratory patterns of infants during free play. Techniques used, such as the Fagan Test of Infant Intelligence, offer the potential to identify…

Examines evidence that the research community studying infants' object concept and the community concerned with adult object-based attention have been studying the same natural kind. Maintains that the discovery that the object representations of young infants are the same as the object files of mid-level visual cognition has implications for both…

Calls for a process-oriented approach to study of categorization in infancy. Maintains that further understanding of infant categorization and its changes with development requires a more direct assessment of infants' category formation. Argues that two research directions will enhance understanding of categorization: (1) contextual variations on…

Reviews literature suggesting that a sociocultural model of infant social development is needed to examine variable influencing infants' interactions with caregivers. Significant variables include familial influences and cultural expectations. Positive development requires that these variables lead to adults who respond appropriately to infant…