Children's evaluations of empathizers were examined using vignette-based tasks (N = 159 4- to 7-year-old U.S. children, 82 girls, 52% White) between March 2023 and March 2024. Children typically evaluated empathizers positively compared to less empathic others. They rated empathic responses as more appropriate, selected empathizers as nicer, and…

A critical skill of childhood is learning social norms. We examine whether the generic pronouns "you" and "we," which frame information as applying to people in general rather than to a specific individual, facilitate this process. In one pre-registered experiment conducted online between 2020 and 2021, children 4- to…

Caregiving is requisite to wholesome child development from the beginning of life. A cross-sectional microgenetic analysis of six caregiving practices across the child's 1st year (0-12 months) in 42,539 families from nationally representative samples in 38 low- and middle-income countries is reported. Rates of caregiving varied tremendously within…

"Interpersonal" rejection and "intergroup" exclusion in childhood reflect different, but complementary, aspects of child development. Interpersonal rejection focuses on individual differences in personality traits, such as wariness and being fearful, to explain bully-victim relationships. In contrast, intergroup exclusion focuses on how in-group…

Trauma symptoms, recovery patterns, and life stressors of children between the ages of 9 and 18 (n = 387) following Hurricane Katrina were assessed using an adapted version of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network Hurricane Assessment and Referral Tool for Children and Adolescents (National Child Traumatic Stress Network, 2005). Based on…

The availability of educational programming aimed at infants and toddlers is increasing, yet the effect of video on language acquisition remains unclear. Three studies of 96 children aged 30-42 months investigated their ability to learn verbs from video. Study 1 asked whether children could learn verbs from video when supported by live social…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the distinct forms (i.e., physical and relational) and functions (i.e., proactive and reactive) of aggressive behavior during early childhood (n = 101; M age = 45.09 months). Forms, but not functions, of aggressive behavior were stable over time. A number of contributors to aggression were associated…

Examined the ability of children of different ages to encode and retrieve from memory descriptions of aggressive and withdrawn behavior displayed by hypothetical peers. Descriptions of two hypothetical peers were read aloud to the children studied. (PCB)

Examined responses of 6- to 7- and 9 to 10-year olds to adult-child conflict, compared them to responses to adult-adult conflict, and further examined responses in relation to verbal and physical expression of anger. Participants in the conflict, the form of anger, and the age and gender of the subject moderated some responses. (DR)

Continuity in relationship representation and developmental links between relationship representation and behavior from infancy to late adolescence were examined using longitudinal data from a risk sample (N185). Significant correlations were found among diverse representational assessments (e.g., interview, drawing, projective narrative) and…

Examines the effects of providing different reasons for young children inteacting with a peer during play. Shows that dispositional or situational information about an unknown peer affects children's impressions of that peer differently, depending on the age of the child. (HOD)

Examined 30 Indonesian toddlers' play with their mothers and siblings. Found that the level of object play and mutual involvement in cooperative social pretend play increased with age. Findings suggest that older siblings can be effective facilitators of pretend play with younger children. (MDM)

Data from 431 children in grades 3-10 on a personal space task were pooled into 4 sex-age groups and separately factor analyzed. (Authors)