Cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT), founded on the seminal work of Vygotsky and evolving in the subsequent work of Leont'ev and Engestrom, continues to emerge as a robust and increasingly widely used conceptual framework for the research and analysis of the complex social mediation of human learning and development. Yet there remains…

Background: At the heart of this polemic lies the view that contemporary research in PE and Health (PEH) has largely overlooked one of the key determinants of social behaviour, social class and its expression in and outside schools; an omission that has quite serious consequences for how we (researchers and teachers) think about and conceptualise…

Two experiments were conducted to test effects of infants' ability to locomote on their social and exploratory behaviors. Results indicated that walker-assisted or independent locomotion afforded similar experiences within a standard environment but experiences quite different from those of the nonlocomoting infant. (Author/RH)

Draws parallels between MacIntyre's account, in "After Virtue," of contemporary moral theory and practice and the conduct of young adults in conflicts developed over the breaking of an agreement to cooperate. Implications of the similarities and differences are discussed. (Author/RH)

When not socially engaged, children showed a significantly greater percentage of reoriented attention during vocalizing than nonvocalizing periods. Findings confirm the existence of an attention/vocalization relation and are consonant with Greenfield's predictions about the nature of this relation. The relation held equally for prelinguistic and…

Results of two experiments indicate that dimensions of the social situation in which social behaviors are modeled influence eight-month-old children's tendency to imitate and their choice of recipients for their imitation. (Author/RH)

Analyzes the exploratory behaviors of 11 infants with Down Syndrome and 11 nondelayed infants, matched on Bayley mental raw scores and gender. Although both groups of infants organized their exploratory activities in similar manners, they showed significant differences in how they distribute these activities. (Author/BE)

Study examined peer sensitivity to (1) differences in the social behaviors of hyperactive and normal comparison peers, and (2) medication-related behavioral differences. Discussion focused on children's detection of treatment-related differences in social behaviors of peers, as well as on the imperfect relation between social behavior and social…

Reports two studies of 3- to 12-year-old children's social decision making which were designed to demonstrate that previously shown age differences may result from development of the requisite information-processing capabilities and social-situational factors. Implications for the cognitive developmental influence upon social behavior are…

Examines children's conceptions of parental authority. A total of 120 children were interviewed and asked to evaluate social events (stealing, family chores, friendship choice) pertaining to restraint of behavior and maintenance of parental rule systems. Results suggest that children's notions of authority are heterogeneous with respect to the…

Observes early social interactions in free play settings of Israeli kibbutz and urban preschool children. Kibbutz preschoolers displayed some aspects of more advanced group functioning (e.g., coordinated play) but also more behaviors reflecting affective distancing (e.g., solitary play, reduced affective expression, verbal aggression). (Author/NH)

This study compared judgments of social appropriateness to videotaped scenes by children and adolescents with (n=19) and without (n=19) autism. The non-autism group detected inappropriate behaviors significantly more often than the autism group for verbal but not nonverbal scenes. Groups also differed in the reasons given for their judgments in…

Current conceptual and empirical advances in appreciation of normal patterns of friendship development are reviewed and integrated for insight into the meaning of social competence for young special needs children. Questions are posed for researchers as well as for practitioners seeking to enhance the social effectiveness of special needs…

Studies social play and social and solitary pretend play in well-acquainted toddlers aged 14-38 months in order to describe a sequence of progressively more complex social pretend play forms. Results indicate that social pretend play forms emerge later than comparable solitary pretend and social play forms. (RJC)

Behavioral and physiological assessments of 41 seven-and-one-half-year-old children who had been selected to be inhibited or uninhibited at 21 months and observed again at four and five-and-one-half years revealed that each of the two original behavioral profiles predicted theoretically reasonable derivatives. Shy children remained shy, while…