Critiques Rodgers et al.'s June 2000 research on the relation between birth order and intelligence, which suggests that it is a methodological illusion. Explains how the intellectual environment and the teaching function (whereby older children tutor younger ones) contribute to the growth of intellectual maturity, the first negatively and the…

The article reviews the literature on two questions: what is the normal course of creative development, and do peak periods exist during which people are most open to efforts to foster creative abilities. Six specific periods are identified as peak periods of creative growth. (DB)

With specific attention to appropriate teaching strategies, the author defines a developmental stage theory of children's interest in and psychological uses for knowledge. The four stages are: mythic (up to approximately age 9/10); romantic (ages 9/10 to 15/16); philosophic (ages 14/15 to 20/21); and ironic (adult). (SJL)