The association among mothers', fathers', and infants' risk and cognitive and social behaviors at 24 months was examined using structual equation modeling and data on 4,200 on toddlers and their parents from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort. There were 3 main findings. First, for cognitive outcomes, maternal risk was directly…

To test the hypothesis that biological motion perception is developmentally integrated with important social cognitive abilities, 12-month-olds (N = 36) were shown a display of a human point-light figure turning to observe a target. Infants spontaneously and reliably followed the figure's "gaze" despite the absence of familiar and socially…

Investigated the development of social referencing (children's looks toward parents, instrumental toy behaviors, affective expressions, etc.) in 40 infants aged 6-9, 10-13, and 14-22 months. Results indicated that looking behavior of younger children may function differently from that of older children, and social referencing involves a number of…

Studies the distribution of attention to actors in a visual event and the influence of linguistic variables on attention. Naming an actor had a strong directing influence on attention in a neutral period and more limited effects on attention during and after the action. (RMH)

Examined 3- to 5-year olds' justifications for conformity to physical laws and social rules. Found that children's justifications for social rule conformity involved consequences and permission/obligation, and for physical laws involved physical limitations or impossibility. Older preschoolers, but not 3-year olds, appreciated that social…

It is suggested that altruism is a multidimensional concept and that in the young child its expression may in part reflect differing levels of cognitive development. (Authors)

Observed a group of 46 children classified at 20 months as either behaviorally inhibited or uninhibited, and 18 children who were classified aa falling at neither extreme at 5.5 years of age, in contexts designed to evaluate behavior in social situations and heart rate, heart variability, and pupillary dilation to cognitive tasks. (HOD)

Reports on two studies during which 6-, 8-, and 10-year-old children were interviewed about three different types of regularities or rules: social conventions, physical laws, and logical necessities. Shows that older children made more distinctions between social and nonsocial items than did younger children. (HOD)

Two classrooms of first graders (N=40) were administered Damon's moral judgment measure, Shure and Spivack's social problem solving measure, and the Stanford-Binet vocabulary. Concurrently, two observers in the children's school environment recorded incidences of successful resolutions of interactions, amount of derogation, and the number of times…

Examined the relationship between maternal and infant measures of interaction, maternal psychosocial problems, infant cognitive development, and infant attachment security at 18 months of age and child behavior problems at age 5. Disorganized-disorientated attachment status and maternal psychosocial problems were the strongest predictors of…

The sex-differentiated socialization emphases of parents and other representatives of societal institutions are considered as they influence personality development and behavioral orientations. Such emphases, shaping behaviors, and teaching styles are evaluated with regard to the nature of "meta-messages" conveyed to children. (Author/RH)

Examines the effects of persistent economic hardship on children. Both black and white children who experienced persistent family economic hardship demonstrated problems in peer relations, showed conduct problems at school, and reported low self-esteem. Connections between persistent economic hardship and psychosocial adjustment were more…