Bjorklund synthesizes promising research directions in developmental psychology using an evolutionary framework. In general terms, we agree with Bjorklund: Evolutionary theory has the potential to serve as a metatheory for developmental psychology. However, as currently used in psychology, evolutionary theory is far from reaching this potential.…

The understanding of nature and nurture within developmental science has evolved with alternating ascendance of one or the other as primary explanations for individual differences in life course trajectories of success or failure. A dialectical perspective emphasizing the interconnectedness of individual and context is suggested to interpret the…

In this paper, data generated in the intermediate-size transposition paradigm under a variety of experimental conditions are related to a 2-process model involving perceptual and cognitive components. (Author/JMB)

This rejoinder to McCall (Volume 56, 217-218) discusses the differences in viewpoint with respect to the relationship between models and theory, the notion of "direct" tests of propositions, and the use of measures of explained variance to evaluate model performance. (Author/BE)

Longitudinal studies in two countries investigated impact of father absence on girls' early sexual activity (ESA) and teenage pregnancy. Findings indicated that greater exposure to father absence strongly related to elevated ESA and adolescent pregnancy risk. Elevated risk was not explained (U.S. sample) or only partly explained (New Zealand…

Tested equivalence of theoretical model of parenting behaviors linking financial strain to adolescents' achievement for African American and European American families and single- and two-parent families. Found no significant differences in structural equation models between ethnic/racial groups or between family types. Negative parent-adolescent…

Bruner's (1973) review of infant skill development is updated and extended by (a) placing it in the context of recent motor learning research; (b) discussing the concept of efference in its most recent conceptualization; and (c) explicating certain implicit themes relevant to a theory of infant motor intelligence. (ED)

Presents meta-analysis evidence of the association between paternal sensitivity and infant-father attachment from eight studies with 546 families (combined effect size r = 0.13). A meta-analysis of 950 families from 14 studies found an overall correlation of 0.17 between infant-mother and infant-father attachment. Presents a data-based model of…

Tested predictions of dynamic field theory in study of 3-year-olds' location memory errors in task with homogeneous task space. Found that young children's spatial memory responses are affected by delay- and experience-dependent processes as well as the geometric structure of the task space. Both dynamic field theory and category adjustment models…

Argues that dynamic systems approaches may provide an explanatory framework based on general scientific principles for developmental psychology, using principles of self-organization to explain how novel forms emerge without predetermination and become increasingly complex with development. Contends that self-organization provides a single…

Presents a study of a theoretical confluence model which predicts the effects of birth order, child spacing and family size on intellectual development. The fit of this model was tested on samples of families with biological and adopted children. (JMB)

Notes that the Piagetian perspective admits the existence of interindividual differences but interprets them as noise masking the universal logical succession of structures, whereas the differential perspective views development as consisting of "vicarious processes." Asserts that the main aim of the "procedural studies"…

Tested role of event plausibility and script-relevant knowledge in events suggestively planted in memory of 5- to 7-year olds and 9- to 12-year olds. Found that the majority did not remember either false event. Significantly more children recalled the plausible but not the implausible false event; only one recalled the implausible but not…

Conducted meta-analysis to examine empirical inconsistencies and theoretical controversies concerning false-belief tasks and understanding about mental states. Found that a combined model including age, country of origin, and four task factors accounted for 55 percent of the variance in false-belief performance. Findings are consistent with…

Temperament and attachment, as defined by Bowlby and his followers, are fundamentally different constructs, and research guided by the attachment perspective cannot meaningfully be assimilated to the temperament construct. Qualitative aspects of relationships simply cannot be reduced to individual behavioral dimensions. (RH)