On balance and buzzer tasks, different developmental trends were found for recall of covariance ideas than for recall of explanation ideas. There were developmental increases in the frequency of "if" and "because" statements used to describe causal sequences. Third- and fifth-graders systematically paired "if" with…

Studies the development of creativity (defined as the inclination to transgress the confines of an established perceptual context) in children ages 7 to 11. The main hypothesis, that signs of creativity would decrease at about 7 years of age and increase at about 10 to 11, was partially confirmed. (Author/RH)

Two studies assessed the way in which changes in appearance and sex-typed names affected the performance of 124 preschool, second-, and fourth-grade children on a gender constancy task. Results suggest that children who lack an understanding of gender constancy can be misled by changes in appearance and name cues. (RJC)

Examines school recess playground activities of second and fifth graders. A one-year follow-up assessment also measured logical reasoning, interpersonal understanding, and understanding of game rules. Both grade and gender differences were found in the complexity of children's activities. Discusses results in terms of social and sex role…

Pairs of elementary school children at different concept development levels were given problems to discuss, in order to examine the prediction, derived from the equilibration model, that when two children holding different beliefs must arrive at a consenus, the child possessing the higher level of cognitive development will prevail over the child…

Examined the beliefs of children 7 to 12 years of age about the effectiveness of effort, attributes, powerful others, luck, and unknown factors in producing outcomes in school performance and friendship. (RH)

Eight- to 12-year-old primary school children and 13-year-old secondary school children were given a live and photographed face recognition task and several other figural tasks. While scores on most tasks increased with age, face recognition scores were affected by age, decreasing at age 12 (puberty onset). (Author/BB)

The current study developed a new paradigm to determine the age at which children begin to show the self-reference advantage in memory. Four-, 5-, and 10-year-olds studied lists of colourful object pictures presented together with self or other face image, and participants were asked to report aloud "who is pointing at the (object)."…

Age-dependent differences in the relationship between physical attractiveness and the social perceptions of acquainted classmates were investigated in children (n=160) 3-10 years of age. (Author/MP)

Examined the accuracy with which parents judged their children's preferences, and the relationship between parental accuracy and children's cognitive performance. Mothers were more accurate than fathers; parents of fifth graders were more accurate than parents of second graders. The accuracy of parents' predictions was related to children's…

Four studies revealed that (1) children judged a wrongdoer in a story to feel happy; (2) the incidence of happy judgments did not decline with age; (3) the presence of their teacher had an effect on children's judgments; and (4) some children judged the wrongdoer to feel sad rather than scared. (BB)

Used a Jewish Rating Scale and Piagetian scale to investigate the influence of intellectual growth on ethnic self-definition and the meaning of Jewishness to Jewish children in Israel. Found a high positive correlation between children's age and the mode of their definition of their Jewishness. (Author/BB)

Assessed Indian children's perception of control in the cognitive, social, and physical domains of school functioning by using the multidimensional measure of children's perception of control. Data analyses indicated a significant developmental difference in children's perception of the source of control, and this varied with their success or…