To illuminate individual differences in the development of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms in the general population, psychometric measures are needed that can capture general population-level symptom variation reliably, validly, and comparably from childhood through to the transition to adulthood. The ADHD subscale of the…

Previous studies show that newborn infants and adults orient their attention preferentially toward human faces. However, the developmental changes of visual attention captured by face stimuli remain unclear, especially when an explicit top-down process is involved. We capitalized on a visual search paradigm to assess how the relative strength of…

Objects can be grasped in different ways to ensure a movement plan is aligned with the intended action. The current study assessed grasp posture in joint action object manipulation in children (ages 6-11, n = 68), young adults (n = 21), and older adults (n = 23). Participants performed two actions (pickup and pass; pickup and pass for use) within…

A large body of research has investigated both the emotional elaboration of facial stimuli in adults and the development of children's recognition of emotional expressions. Yet, it is still not clear whether children's ability to recognize an emotional face may be modulated by prior exposure to a different face, and whether an emotional expression…

The current study examined whether relationships also influence personality trait development during middle and older adulthood, focusing on the individual's perception of support from the relationship partner. Using data from the Health and Retirement Study (n = 20,422; mean age = 65.9 years), we examined the longitudinal relationships between…

In this article, we review, on three grounds, the nature of the life story. First, we evaluate the appropriateness of the proposal that the life story emerges in adolescence (the time of the traditional identity crisis). Second, we examine the relation between big stories (of which the life story is one) and small stories. Finally, we consider…

This study characterizes several aspects of emerging ethnic identity in childhood and its associations with interethnic group social preferences. Understanding these processes is important, as early interethnic group social practices may form a foundation for later interethnic group attitudes and behaviors in adolescence. Children of Cambodian,…

A new action-theoretical conceptualization was used to study developmental differences in children's generalized perceived control. Cross-sectional age differences in control beliefs, means-ends beliefs, and agency beliefs about school performance and friendship were studied in 240 boys and girls between 7 and 12 years of age. (RH)

Investigated development of altruism in children according to a theoretical perspective that integrated Piagetian micromodels accounting for change from preoperational to operational stages. Subjects were 90 children of 5-12 years of age. Older children were more likely to consider an altruistic act in terms of gain construction than cost…

Children who left a gap between the sky and the horizon in their drawings and paintings were significantly younger than those who left no gap. Omission of the gap was associated with the use of devices to represent three-dimensional space in two dimensions. (RH)

In childhood, family conflict themes focus on children's failure to meet social obligations, inadequacy of parental helping behaviors, and children's disappointment in the frequency of contact between parent and child. Themes of family conflicts that take place during adolescence are also discussed. (RH)

Discusses research on human development from an interactional perspective; methodological problems connected with interindividual differences in biological maturation (using empirical studies from a longitudinal program); and major implications for further development research in an interactional perspective. (Author/BE)

Describes a model of adaptation to the environment across the life span. Proposes that an individual's performance in an activity is affected not only by cognitive capacity but also by perceptions and definitions of the activity. Empirical support for the model, based on a survey of individuals' everyday experiences and on laboratory studies, is…

The present study investigates the contribution of general processing resources as well as other more specific factors to the life-span development of sensorimotor synchronization and its component processes. Within a synchronization tapping paradigm, a group of 286 participants, 6 to 88 years of age, were asked to synchronize finger taps with…

Presents a global overview of psychological approaches to the individual problem of self-definition. Self-reflection and the experienced presence of others discussed as two "pillars" of that problem. A developmental sketch is given, and two forms of problems (self-concept contradictions and identity problems) distinguished. Resolutions…