This commentary endorses J. Kagan's (2008) conclusion that many of the most dramatic findings on early perceptual, cognitive, and social competencies are ambiguous. It supports his call for converging research operations to disambiguate findings from single paradigms and single response indices. The commentary also argues that early competencies…

J. Kagan (2008) urges contemporary developmentalists to (a) be cautious when attributing conceptual knowledge to infants based on looking-time performance, (b) constrain their interpretation of infant performance with multiple methodologies, and (c) reconsider the possibility that qualitative development may be the path by which perceptual infants…

Makes the observation that the attempt of the child to make sense of the world is not necessarily guided by traditional literary structures but by expressive tactics influenced, in large part, by what the child is thinking and struggling with at the moment. (HOD)

Maintains that one future direction for cognitive development research involves a closer integration with knowledge about the developing brain. Presents a framework for analyzing and interpreting postnatal functional brain development. Discusses three contributing hypotheses, within which a variety of phenomena associated with the neural basis of…

Discusses how Adolph's research is relevant to four themes that are foundational to contemporary research on the development of perception and action: (1) reciprocity between perception and action; (2) prospective control of behavior; (3) variation and selection in the development of new behaviors; and (4) contributions of age and experience.…

In contrast to the three-stage theory of attitude development proposed by Goodman (1964), Dr. Phyllis A. Katz, director of the Institute for Research on Social Problems, suggests that eight overlapping but separable steps occur in the acquisition of racial beliefs. The major points in Katz's schema are: (1) early observation of racial cues; (2)…

Since it is unavoidable that children will experience the death of people and animals through media, literature, and real-life situations, they will need adult help when trying to understand what death is and how it affects them. Researchers generally agree that a child's perception of death is developmental, closely associated to either age or…

Maintains that advances in the literature on perception-action development suggests that tool use may be a more continuous developmental achievement than previously believed. Suggests new research directions, including efforts to investigate the processes by which children detect and relate affordances between objects, coordinate spatial frames of…

Relevant orientation and mobility (OM) skills for visually impaired infants foster sensory, motor, and conceptual development. OM personnel need to consider alternative teaching models, personnel preparation needs, sensory aids issues, and research issues. (DB)

Argues that the operating characteristics of perceiving and remembering provide a foundation for progress on detailing the processes through which knowledge is realized in real-time tasks and in detailing the processes of developmental change. Includes three examples to illustrate how forming developmental hypotheses in terms of perceiving and…

Extends William James' classification of phenomenalistic reality (PR) and analyzes PR using empirical data available in developmental psychology; focuses on the relation of PR to a human subject; to rational constructions; and to the idea of truth. Concludes that the development of phenomenalistic reality is qualitatively different from the…

In all of his published work, Jean Piaget never abandoned his original theoretical framework for the understanding of human development. This framework insists that intelligence is essentially a biological phenomenon; its development is best understood as the development of a sophisticated and highly successful adaptation device. This device…

Discusses the need for communication between parents, caregivers, and infants in high quality caregiving. Emphasizes the importance of a developmentally appropriate program. Addresses primary caregiving in terms of the overall care and nurture of a small group of infants. Discusses methods of reporting and assessment used by caregivers. (GLR)

This monograph provides a detailed description of the child about whom and for whom the activities of the elementary school industrial arts program are directed and of the role of industrial arts in the elementary school curriculum. The first section is a detailed description of the child from age three to thirteen and includes general physical…