Imitation, vocabulary, pretend play, and socially insightful behavior were investigated in 5,206 same- and opposite-sex 2-year-old twin pairs in the United Kingdom. Individual differences in imitative ability were due to modest heritability (30%), while environmental factors shared between twins (42%) and unique to each twin (28%) also made…

The social behavior of 38 preschool children in a village play group was shown to exhibit considerable consistency from one half term to the next, from one term to the next, and between indoor classroom and outdoor playground situations. (Author/JMB)

Examines the manipulative strategies of 2- to 6-year-olds in terms of three structural principles--hierarchical complexity, interruption and role change--which are formally parallel to dimensions of language structure. Paper includes an extensive discussion of related studies. (JMB)

Examined peer-related social interactions of preschool children with communication disorders. Found that subjects engaged in fewer positive social interactions and conversed with peers less often during nonplay activities than did normal peers, were less successful in their social bids, and appeared to be less directive with their peers. However,…

Children's ability to produce integrated sequences of discrete behaviors was examined as a function of age and task demands for several behavioral domains. Results are discussed in terms of possible age-related constraints on combinatorial skills that operate at a general, cross-domain level during toddlerhood. (RH)

This article presents a scheme which would allow investigators to shift back and forth among model assumptions while maintaining the integrity of separate models of development. The scheme is illustrated in a study of 16 nursery school children's personal-social behaviors within 2 contexts during 2 time periods. (Author/JMB)

Examined the effects of labeling an infant as a boy or girl on adult-infant interactions. Subjects for the study were 24 fourteen-month-old infants and 24 adult strangers. (JMB)

In this sample of 66 dual-earner mothers and fathers and their 1-year-old infants, associations among parental ratings of infant difficulty, parental perceived control over caregiving outcomes, and parental sensitive and directive behavior were examined during a triadic free-play session in the home. Perceived infant difficulty was related to…

Examined three- to five-year-old children's understanding of pretense and deception in folktales in which a villain deceived his victim by pretending to be someone else. Found that the three-year-olds were able to follow the pretense but were not able to grasp the false belief integral to the deception. (MOK)

Reviews and integrates several aspects of peer interaction in the infant/toddler period. Reveals convergence between age-related changes in social skills and similarly timed cognitive developments. (HOD)

Maintains that the "getting into shape" hypothesis of explaining the inverted-U distribution of exercise play across age is likely incorrect. Argues that the biological study of human physical activity play, as recommended by Pellegrini and Smith (1998), will reveal whether physical activity play represents an example of…