In one experiment, second and fourth graders used more categorical information when they made inferences than did preschoolers. In two other experiments, second graders, but not preschoolers, distinguished between categorical information and appearance when they made inferences about known concepts and familiar properties. (BC)

Research on multiracial individuals is often cross-sectional, obscuring the fluid nature of multiracial self-categorization across time. Pathways of racial self-identification are developed from a nationally representative sample of adolescents aged 14-18, measured again 5 years later. A significant proportion of multiracial adolescents change…

Two studies of 7-, 8- and 9-year-olds assessed the effect on cognitive development produced by varying degrees of physical isolation of family dwellings and the consequent variation in the amount of verbal communication children had with peers and adults. (JMB)

The present study is based on a form of task analysis that explicates in detail the hypothesized solution behavior of skilled performers of the task. (Authors)

Assessing Markman's hypothesis that the organizational principles underlying collection concepts facilitate children's performance on cognitive tasks requiring part-whole comparisons, three experiments indicated that the facilitative effect of collection labels appears to be specific to the class-inclusion task. Results suggest that Markman's…

An exploration of age-related characteristics of children's personal categorizing schemes and relationships between free recall clustering (measured in reference to these schemes), and the number of items recalled. The 60 subjects were from five grade levels: 1, 4, 7, 10 and college. (Author/SDH)

Determines the frequency distribution of Brainstem Auditory Evoked Potential variables (BAEP) for premature babies at different stages of development--normal newborns, infants, young children, and adults. The author concludes that the assumption of normality underlying most "standard" statistical analyses can be met for many BAEP…

Studied effects of presence of novel social category on intergroup attitude formation in 6- to 9-year olds. Found that after four weeks of the functional use of color groups, children's attitudes showed consistent biases favoring their own group. Children with higher self-esteem showed higher intergroup stereotyping than did children with lower…

Examined the nature of perceptual classification in children and young adults. Found that most children attend selectively to one stimulus dimension when making perceptual classification judgments. Suggests that this developmental trend does not appear to be a holistic-to-analytic shift but rather a trend toward greater consistency in following a…

Two experiments investigated perceptual primacy of dimensional and similarity relations in stimulus classification of mentally retarded children. Results support a distinction between separable and integral stimulus structures, but do not support an integral-to-separable shift in perceptual development. Results suggest implications for…

This study was designed to examine the effects of adults' labeling and use of social groups on preschool children's intergroup attitudes. Children (N=87, aged 3-5) attending day care were given measures of classification skill and self-esteem and assigned to membership in a novel ("red" or "blue") social group. In experimental classrooms, teachers…

Examined the relations between parents' child-rearing style and their older adolescent children's behavior with a sample of 178 college students and their families. Found that students from Nondirective homes had significantly higher SAT scores than students from Authoritarian-Directive and Democratic homes. Students from Unengaged homes had the…

Followed 150 children over four years who were classified according to cluster analysis of teacher ratings into four types of social withdrawal: unsociable, passive-anxious, active-isolate, and sad-depressed. Found that unsociable children had elevated sociometric neglect rates, active-isolates had higher levels of rejection, and sad-depressed had…

Children often perseverate, repeating prior behaviors when inappropriate. This work tested the roles of verbal labels and stimulus novelty in such perseveration. Three-year-old children sorted cards by one rule and were then instructed to switch to a second rule. In a basic condition, cards had familiar shapes and colors and both rules were stated…

Reports two experiments showing a possible developmental shift from memory organization based on associative criteria to an organization based on categorical criteria. Children in first, fourth, and seventh grades were given a sort/recall task with items that could be organized into groups of categorical or associative pairs. (Author/CB)