Individuals track probabilities, such as associations between events in their environments, but less is known about the degree to which experience--within a learning session and over development--influences people's use of incoming probabilistic information to guide behavior in real time. In two experiments, children (4-11 years) and adults…

This paper brings together two areas of considerable interest to researchers, practitioners and policy makers: young children's developing self-regulation and metacognition, and the impact of adult (practitioner) presence or absence on their behaviour and learning. One hundred and twenty-eight observations of 29 children aged 4-5 years in a…

Youth in pain often show self-defeating and destructive patterns of behavior which should be seen as calls for help and positive support. Instead, deep-seated brain programs and cultural beliefs about discipline can trigger angry or avoidant behavior by adults who deal with these young people. This brief introduction to the Conflict Cycle…

The current paper proposes a Relational Frame Theory (RFT, Hayes, Barnes-Holmes, & Roche, 2001a) conceptualization of empathy and perspective taking that follows previous literature outlining a relationship between those phenomena and general functioning. Deictic framing, a relational operant investigated by RFT researchers, constitutes the…

Research supported by State of Washington Initiative 171 Funds for Research in Biology and Medicine.

It is argued in this paper that, while newborn infants are ignorant of the the life-ways of the society into which they are born, by age 3 children have become socialized participants of their culture. It is the thesis of the discussion that the rapid development of babies into participants of society is accomplished through a finely tuned…

Examined the role of difficult temperament or behavioral style and tobacco, alcohol, and marijuana use in the 133 subjects of the New York Longitudinal Study. Results indicated that the possession of difficult temperamental characteristics at age five and in early adulthood are associated with drug use in young adulthood. (JAC)

Attractiveness ratings of 50 children (26 males and 24 females) aged 12-38 months are studied in relation to adults' socializing behavior and attitude toward them. Correlations between attractiveness scores and child behavior reflect sex differences. A greater impact of attractiveness on girls' development than boys is noted. (SLD)

To investigate children's ability to describe and make inferences about feelings, thoughts, and intentions that occur in interpersonal relationships, 60 middle class girls were divided into three age groups: 6, 9, and 12 years. Each group viewed two sections of a movie portraying episodes of social interaction. After each section, the children…

Research suggests that primary control increases as humans develop from infancy through middle age and then decreases in old age. To minimize losses, individuals rely on cognitively based secondary control processes in middle and old age. Literature on adult control processes is reviewed. (SLD)

Findings based on extended analyses of cognitive, familial, personality, and social-behavioral data from two previous research investigations are presented. Data for the main study, i.e., the present study, was collected principally by means of interviews. Findings of the principal study include the following: (1) Parental figures living in the…