This meta-analysis examined the relationship between prenatal maternal stress and/or anxiety and the outcomes of children aged 3 months to 9 years. Of the 8754 studies published before June 2021 that were synthesized, 17 conducted in Western countries were included in the meta-analysis (N[subscript total] = 23,307; M[subscript males] 54%;…

Orphans and vulnerable children affected by HIV/AIDS (HIV OVC) are at risk for cognitive difficulties and lack of access to education. Interventions addressing cognitive or educational outcomes for HIV OVC worldwide were examined through systematic searches conducted from October 2016 to 2019. We examined the summative effectiveness of…

Argues that the simplification strategy of research is useful for understanding the basic cognitive processes that are necessary for mature performance in conservation, transitivity, moral judgment, causal inference, and other Piagetian tasks. (JMB)

Reviews the literature on the effects of summer programs, and offers a reinterpretation of the role of summer learning in cognitive development. (PCB)

This article uses longitudinal data from approximately 2,000 low-income families participating in the national evaluation of the Comprehensive Child Development Program to examine the associations between preschool children's living arrangements and their cognitive achievement and emotional adjustment. The analysis distinguishes families in which…

Interpersonal conflicts of children in natural settings are the focus of this review of the empirical literature in social and cognitive development and sociolinguistics. The central role of conflict in various developmental theories is outlined. Studies indicate substantial relations between children's socio-cognitive functioning and their…

Reviews research on children's and adults' beliefs about fantasy and their tendency to engage in "magical thinking." Suggests that children are not fundamentally different from adults in their ability to distinguish fantasy from reality. Both entertain fantastical beliefs and engage in magical thinking. Offers suggestions regarding age…

Recent studies on the biological development of the prefrontal cortex in rhesus monkeys are reviewed. These studies have elucidated the basic neural circuitry underlying the delayed-response function in adult nonhuman primates and suggest that a critical mass of cortical synapses is important for the emergence of this cognitive function. (BN)

Discusses the relevance of the study of the neurobiology of cognitive development, for an understanding of both the neural bases and the nature of cognition. Also considered are the age at which hemisphere specialization first appears and whether hemisphere specialization changes over time. (PCB)

Finds that, between five and seven years of age, the majority of healthy children in modern urban-industrial societies achieve an understanding of the irreversibility, nonfunctionality, and universality of death. Suggests reasons for ambiguous findings concerning the relationship between the acquisition of the concept of death and developmental…

If human cognitive development advances through a series of broad and general stages, then the child's mind at any developmental point should seem consistent and similar across situations in its maturity level and general style. However, there appear to be factors and conditions that promote homogeneity and heterogeneity in the child's cognitive…

Reviews evidence for a developmental sequence in symbolic play and attempts to provide a theoretical rationale for predicting correspondences between symbolic play and early language. (Author/RH)

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…

Maintains that recent theoretical and methodological advances have sparked renewed interest in studying children's learning. Describes consistent and interesting findings regarding how children learn and intriguing proposals regarding mechanisms underlying learning. Argues that increasing the focus on children's learning promises practical…

Argues that motor and cognitive development may be fundamentally interrelated. Summarizes evidence of close co-activation of the neocerebellum and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in functional neuroimaging, similarities in the cognitive sequelae of damage to dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the neocerebellum, motor deficits in…