Mothers' mental-state references predict individual differences in preschoolers' false-belief (FB) understanding; less is known about the origins of corresponding variation in school-age children. To address this gap, 105 children completed observations with their mothers at child ages 2 and 6, three FB tasks and a verbal comprehension…

This research traces the development of symbol-infused joint engagement during mother-child interactions into the preschool years. Forty-nine children, who had been previously observed as toddlers (L. B. Adamson, R. Bakeman, & D. F. Deckner), [Adamson, L. B., 2004], were systematically observed during interactions with their mothers at ages…

Researchers have suggested that as children's language skill develops in early childhood, it comes to help children regulate their emotions (Cole, Armstrong, & Pemberton, 2010; Kopp, 1989), but the pathways by which this occurs have not been studied empirically. In a longitudinal study of 120 children from 18 to 48 months of age, associations…

This research examined the ability of young (N = 96) children to learn about a change in the location of a hidden object, either via an adult's verbal testimony or from direct observation. Thirty-month-olds searched with equal accuracy whether they were told about the change or directly observed it. By contrast, when 23-month-olds were told about…

This study examined how societal changes associated with modernization are related to cognitive development. Data were from 4 cultural communities that represented a broad range of traditional and modern elements: the Garifuna (Belize), Logoli (Kenya), Newars (Nepal), and Samoans (American Samoa). Naturalistic observations and the performances of…

A crucial skill in scientific and everyday reasoning is the ability to interpret data. The present study examined how data features influence data interpretation. In Experiment 1, one hundred and thirty-three 9-year-olds, 12-year-olds, and college students (mean age = 20 years) were shown a series of data sets that varied in the number of…

Sex differences in risk-taking were examined by observing 480 three- to 11-year-old children at four different risk-taking locations at the San Antonio zoo. While girls were just as likely as boys to enter the zoo, at all four of the risk-taking situations, significantly more boys than girls engaged in risk-taking behavior. (Author/RH)

Gauged the impact of mastery and relative-ability appraisal goals on observational behaviors of 230 children of 4-10 years. Results confirmed that younger children observe others in order to develop mastery, but older children observe to assess relative ability. (RJC)

Twenty-two subjects (school-age children, their younger siblings, and their best friends) were observed in their homes while playing a popular board game. Five roles were operationalized and observed: teacher, learner, manager, managee, and playmate. (Author/RH)

Investigates the developmental sequence of learning to transform objects into agents and recipients of action in early symbolic play. Each of 48 children (from 14 to 25 months old) demonstrated initiative pretending after an adult modeled agent and recipient substitutions in pretending to talk on the telephone. (Author/CB)

Five groups of children, ranging in age from 4 to 11 years, were observed for instances of immediate imitation of peers in a free-play setting. Results showed that imitation decreased with age, that more verbal than motor acts were imitated, and that dominant children were imitated more often. (Author/JMB)

Infants were observed at 10, 12, and 14 1/2 months to test whether social interaction among infant peers develops as a by-product of object-centered play. Age differences were noted. Object-centered contact did not influence early social interaction; long interactions emerged at later ages regardless of whether or not toys were present. (Author/DB)

One hundred and fifty-six children between the ages of 18 and 76 months were observed three times for 10 minutes each during free play in an attempt to describe the helping behavior of preschool children. (Author/RH)

Observation indicated that children most frequently represent objects by performing actions appropriate to the represented objects. With increasing age, children represent objects without using functional actions and with objects bearing little physical similarity to the represented objects. (Author/DB)