Mixed-effects models are an analytic technique for modeling repeated measurement or nested data. This paper explains the logic of mixed-effects modeling and describes two examples of mixed-effects analyses using R. The intended audience of the paper is psychologists who specialize in cognitive development research. Therefore, the concepts and…

Increasingly, cognitive developmental researchers are forming partnerships with museums as a way to achieve both overlapping and distinctive goals. Such partnerships can further our understanding of cognitive development by providing opportunities to study children's learning within social contexts. At the same time, these collaborations can…

Acquiring research skills is considered to be a highly challenging aspect of developing expertise in the social sciences. Because instruction and mentoring in these skills are typically grounded in the self-report of researchers, difficulties in learning the material may be due to the content and accuracy of these explanations. Using a…

The developmental course in the distance-speed-time domain is still a matter of debate. Traditional stage models are contested by theories of continuous development and adaptive thinking. In the present work, we introduce a formal framework for modelling the developmental course in this domain, grounding on Competence-based Knowledge Space Theory.…

In this article, the authors aim to make accessible the careful application of a method called instrumental variables (IV). Under the right analytic conditions, IV is one promising strategy for answering questions about the causal nature of associations and, in so doing, can advance developmental theory. The authors build on prior work combining…

Research literature has long indicated that action research may stimulate practitioners themselves to actively evaluate the quality of their practice. This study is designed to report the use of action research for the development of early years professional practice by analyzing the pre-project and the post-project video-filmed teaching events.…

Discusses the logical discontinuity between object and personal knowledge. Proposes an extension of Piaget's subject-object equilibrium to a dialogic situation between an ego and an alter. Suggests that this structural model provides a scheme by which differences in adulthood between adaptive and maladaptive cognitive change can be clarified.…

Tested infants' understandings of self and mother in the domains of agency and featural knowledge. Four developmentally sequential tasks were administered to infants. It was hypothesized that infants would pass the mother versions of feature tasks before the self versions, and would pass the self versions of agency tasks before the mother…

Three experiments investigated (1) whether developmental differences in the information integration rule apply to ulterior motive information; (2) whether such developmental differences are limited to situations involving parental reward; and (3) how related age differences among children can best be explained. (RH)

Micronesian children residing on Truk and Kosrae were examined for performance on eight conservation tasks and on one task each of centration and reversibility (generally precursors of conservation in Piaget's theory of cognitive development). A total of 75 children were tested--33 in the village of Moen, Truk, and 42 in all the villages of…

Assessed 3- to 7-year-old children's sensitivity to logical necessity by contrasting performance in insufficient and sufficient information conditions. A search task used in Experiments 1 and 2 allowed children to search for additional information in insufficient conditions. A judgement condition used in Experiment 2 required a "can't tell"…

Investigated whether and how children age 5 to 7 employed counting to measure and integrate the duration of two events, which were accompanied by metronome beats for half the children. The rhythm enhanced use of counting in younger children. By age 7, most counted spontaneously, using sensible counting strategies. (SKC)

Studied 2 1/2- to 6-year-old children's judgments of age category and relative age of stimulus faces, using a paired-comparison task. Faces showed variations in craniofacial profile shape, frontal face feature vertical placement, and facial wrinkling. (Author/NH)

Studies young children's behavior regarding acceptability of objects (cookie, comb and juice) that were contaminated with insects or human hair. (NH)

Epstein (1974) claims evidence for regular two-year growth spurts in the development of brain and mind, a phenomenon he calls phrenoblysis. Unfortunately, repeated analysis of the data he presents as proof of his theory provides no support. (Author/RH)