Purpose: The authors explored a novel technique with potential for assessing conceptual development. Participants rated how "normal" to "really weird" an image was in order to determine whether (a) participants would rate images by amount of variation (slight/significant) from the standard image, (b) participants would treat…

Based on a 2-component framework of episodic memory development across the lifespan (Shing & Lindenberger, 2011), we examined the contribution of memory-related binding and monitoring processes to false memory susceptibility in childhood and old age. We administered a repeated continuous recognition task to children (N = 20, 10-12 years),…

This study explored children's development of a "mental time line" and considered the propositions that younger children view the temporal domain as bi-polar, while older children display signs of using finer gradations on their mental time ruler that approach conventional structures of clock and calendar time. Subjects were a group of…

Reviews research on development of children's beliefs about intelligence; proposes that this development represents simultaneous processes of concept acquisition and theory building. Discusses research foci on children's definitions of intelligence, beliefs about the component structure of intelligence, criteria children use to evaluate ability,…

Maintains that Madole and Oakes' hypotheses are incorrect. Shows that conceptual development frequently goes from the abstract to the concrete and that extensive literature shows that there is more than one kind of categorization. Discusses ways in which perceptual and conceptual categorization differ. (Author/KB)

People acquire spatial information from many sources, including maps, verbal descriptions, and navigating in the environment. The different sources present spatial information in different ways. For example, maps can show many spatial relations simultaneously, but in a description, each spatial relation must be presented sequentially. The present…

This study attempted to discover the characteristics of the developmental process whereby children follow a sequential pattern in their understanding of social relationships. A questionnaire was administered describing several simple dyadic situations in terms of one person helping or hurting another. The respondents were to indicate whether the…

Compares concepts defining Kohlbergian stages of moral development with those associated with orders of hierarchical complexity determined with a generalized content-independent stage-scoring system. Finds that Kohlberg's sequence generally matches that identified with the scoring system and that contract and authority concepts match the concepts…

Responds to Mandler's critique of authors' view of infant categorization. Maintains that their view of infant categorization is not characterized by a shift from one type of category to another but by gradual changes in the kinds of information infants can use in forming categories. Clarifies position regarding a single categorical process using…

Examined developmental changes in the use of distance-based and calendar-based approaches to estimate the recency of two events. Found that children's ability to discriminate temporal relationships between two events appears by four to five years of age. In contrast, use of calendar information and cognizance of annual patterns was found only in…

Demonstrates the need for a process-oriented, constructivist approach to understanding infants' categorization abilities. Suggests that emphasizing the distinction between perceptual and conceptual categorization has been an obstacle to forging an approach. Proposes a more microanalytic consideration of features available to infants at different…

Freedom is subject to a variety of conceptions in life because people think of it from where they are in life. Psychological literature contains a great deal about freedom but it is almost always found under the rubric of freedom versus determinism. This study examined the concepts of freedom in subjects (N=450) who ranged in age from 7 to 21…

Extends William James' classification of phenomenalistic reality (PR) and analyzes PR using empirical data available in developmental psychology; focuses on the relation of PR to a human subject; to rational constructions; and to the idea of truth. Concludes that the development of phenomenalistic reality is qualitatively different from the…

Explored sex differences in adolescent preference for older versus younger mates. Found that teenage males were willing to date females of a wide age range, whereas teenage females prefer dating males from their own age to several years older. Data suggested viewing development of sex differences in dating partner preference from the perspective…

Four studies examined preschoolers' use of the cue of action initiation to infer another's desired goal. Found that differences in action initiation play an increasingly important role in 3-year-olds' mentalistic explanations of action, and that this development may be related to other critical changes occurring in their developing theory of mind.…