Whether kids should be encouraged to play video games remains a topic of debate among many parents, who often entertain some of the myths associated with video game play. The authors review the latest scientific evidence to dispel worries that video game play contributes to obesity, desensitizes players to real-world violence, and causes…

Asperger Syndrome (AS), a condition on the autistic spectrum, is characterized by deficits in the ability to use social cues to infer mental state information. Few studies have examined whether these deficits might be understood in terms of differences in visual information processing. The present study employed functional magnetic resonance…

Researchers in early social-cognition have found that the ability to reverse an ambiguous figure is correlated with success on theory of mind tasks (e.g. Gopnik & Rosati, 2001). The present experiment examined children with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD) without mental delay to see whether a similar relationship existed. Ropar, Mitchell, and…

Using teachers as co-researchers to collect and analyze data, this case study explored preschool and kindergarteners' learning when they were engaged in hands-on activities in the garden and greenhouse areas of a model outdoor classroom. Key findings suggest that when young children are participating in garden and greenhouse activities they are:…

The purpose and design of a longitudinal study of Project Head Start is summarized in this document, the fourth in a set of ten reports documenting the project. (Material from Project Report 3 was used extensively in preparing this document.) The study was designed to evaluate on a nationwide basis the Head Start Educational Services and to…