Research suggests that individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) have significant difficulties with adaptive behavior skills including daily living and functional communication skills. Few studies have examined the developmental trajectory of adaptive behavior across childhood and adolescence. The present study examined longitudinal…

This study examined how the manifestation of overt aggression changes during early adolescence using Hierarchical Linear Modeling. The distinct courses of physical and verbal aggression identified in this study provide support for developmental transformations in overt aggression, which would have been obscured unless aggression had been defined…

The relation between Piaget's logical theory of formal operational thinking and his account of cognitive development is discussed. Formal operational thinking was found to be a unitary construct, and both heterogeneity of performance and decalage were found to be smaller than a recent review had suggested. (Author/KC)

Evolutionary developmental psychology is a discipline that has the potential to integrate conceptual approaches to the study of behavioral development derived from psychology and biology as well as empirical data from humans and animals. Comparative research with animals, and especially with nonhuman primates, can provide evidence of adaptation in…

The Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) underwent a generalizability study examining the consistency and stability of scores. Canonical correlation and principal components factor analysis indicated that the organization of environment changes over the first two years of life, and the amount--not type--of stimulation is…

The purpose of this paper is to provide a formal three-step explication of a question that has been traditionally viewed as fundamental to developmental theory construction and explanation: Is behavioral development continous or discontinuous, or is it both? First, a preliminary structural definition of behavioral development involving a certain…

Studied the ontogeny of walking by prelocomotor infants. Results support a dynamic systems view of development and the view that upright locomotion emerges from the self-organization of multiple cooperating elements rather than as a result of a preexisting neural code. (Author/GR)

Provides a brief history of the empiricism-nativism issue, considering present-day intellectual roots of nativist and empiricist inclinations. A schema is proposed for explaining the ontogenetic origin of an innate attribute or principle relevant to language. An attempt is made to explain the origin of primitives as derived by learning. (Contains…

Two longitudinal studies examined patterns of reading disability in children. Results indicated that remission of reading disability was relatively common with up to 37% of reading-disabled children showing remission within a 2-year period. Results suggest that the presence of measurement errors may lead to misleading impression of the rate of…

The theoretical perspective of Sullivan proposes that during preadolescence, a "chum" relationship increases a child's sense of self-worth. Subjects were 60 male sixth graders, with an equal number in the chumship and non-chumship groups. Self-concept was measured with the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale. The results show that…

Reports on the misconceptions held about behavior analysis among students in two advanced undergraduate courses in behavior modification. Finds that only 3 of 13 common misconceptions were held widely. Reveals that these three misconceptions were resistant to change. (CFR)

Examination of the child development beliefs of 40 families reveals that Greek-Australians regard behaviors reflecting initiative and independence, personal maturity, and interpersonal sensitivity to be appropriate at a later age than do Anglo-Australians, but the converse holds true for respect, self-control, and unsupervised activities. Parents'…

Despite much research on Chinese children's learning achievement, little research exists on their early development of beliefs about learning. This study examined the perceptions of purposes for and affective and value expression toward learning among 129 Chinese preschoolers aged 3-6 years. To tap culturally valid perspectives, free narratives…

This methodological investigation examines the accuracy of narrative-based scaled ratings covering several post high school years. Guided narratives by young adults described developmentally relevant behaviour and context for each month between ages 17 and the mid-20s. "Prospective" narratives covered shorter time periods in three interviews…

The factors involved in assuming the role of members from different social groups were studied in six- and eight-year-old white Anglo-American children. The role taking task involved rating various ethnic members in terms of their desirability as uncles or nephews for the role person. A cognitive-developmental factor was manipulated by choosing…