For over 60 years, longitudinal research on tens of thousands of high ability and intellectually precocious youth has consistently revealed the importance of spatial ability for hands-on creative accomplishments and the development of expertise in science, technology, engineering, and mathematical (STEM) disciplines. Yet, individual differences in…

An overview of theory and research in memory as it relates to developmental differences is offered in this paper, which is intended to provide background information for the staff of the Skills Essential to Learning Television Project (a multi-level series of video and print resources for classroom use). A model for viewing information processing…

This review of two distinct areas of research--brain research and psycho-epistemology--indicates a possible link between the two which may potentially help to identify an as yet unknown molar trait which could be responsible for divergent opinions regarding teaching and learning theories, and may help to explain differential achievement when these…

Critically reviews research since 1972 on maternal deprivation. Topics discussed include: the development of social relationships and the process of bonding; critical periods of development; links between childhood experiences and parenting behavior; influences on parenting; and possible reasons why so many children do not succumb to deprivation…

An approach to intelligence which emphasizes domain-specific constraints on knowledge structures is compared to information processing approaches. The evaluation of any cognitive ability as being intelligent crucially depends on prior specification of the formal constraints on the domains of knowledge from which that ability originates. (Author/RD)

From investigations of cognitive development, intellectual ability, and learning strategies, representative examples of research are used to highlight dilemmas which attend the use of the terms "stages,""levels,""styles," and "strategies" to describe different aspects of human thinking and learning, especially in adolescents and young adults.…

Researchers have concluded that the continued debate over the heredity-environment issue concerning the nature of intelligence is nonproductive. Recent evidence demonstrates that intellectual abilities can be improved with practice. Heredity may determine upper limits of abilities within individuals, but there is considerable room left for…

Intended as a nontechnical review of current scientific knowledge in the field, this essay considers the nature of primary and secondary intellectual abilities, plus the major features of, and the development of individual differences in, the skills and capacities constituting intelligence. Part of a theme issue on intelligence. (Author/SJL)

The research described in this article addressed the question of why siblings commonly have different developmental outcomes despite their common beginnings. The studies analyzed behavioral development, especially through examination of deviant behaviors and intellectual development, by tracing siblings' different life histories. The work is based…