Knowing humor development can be rather beneficial in terms of providing opportunities to better know children and evaluate their development. This study aimed to explore the process of humor development in preschool and primary school children in line with McGhee's humor development theory. The study employed a single screening model,…

This article presents three studies, two of them longitudinal, which investigated the relations between age, processing speed, working memory (WM), and fluid intelligence ("g[subscript f]") from 4 to 16 years of age. Structural equation modeling showed that speed was a powerful covariate of age ([approximately] - 0.6 to - 0.7) from 4 to 13 years,…

The purpose of this research was to investigate the cognitive abilities that explain reading comprehension across childhood and early adulthood. Drawing from the standardization sample of the Woodcock-Johnson III, analyses were conducted with large samples at age levels spanning early childhood to early adulthood: 5 to 6 (n = 639), 7 to 8 (n =…

In current research on achievement goal theory, most researchers differentiate between performance-approach and performance-avoidance goal orientations. Evidence from prior research and from several previously published data sets is used to highlight that the correlation is often rather large, with a number of studies reporting correlations above…

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)

Used pictorial stimuli to test for revelation effect with 4- and 8-year-olds and adults. Found reliable revelation effect at all ages, indicating the complex fluency-of-processing discrepancy detection and attribution mechanisms thought to be responsible for the effect function similarly from 4 years through adulthood. Found recognition decisions…

Recounts 3 experiments providing evidence against 2 interpretations of previous research findings that explicit memory develops substantially from 3 years of age to adulthood while implicit memory remains stable. Argues that the implicit-explicit memory developmental dissociation reflects differences in strategic processing (strategy use and…

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…

Interviewed 5-, 6-, 7-, 8-, and 10-year olds, and adults regarding their knowledge about primary-consciousness, reflective-consciousness, and control activities. Found that the recognition that people do not engage in conscious mental activities when unconscious is still developing during the late middle-childhood years. (Author/KB)

Examines the concept of utilization deficiency related to memory strategy development. Argues that problems with current definition obscure previous important theoretical distinctions and limit investigations of strategy inefficiencies that are likely to be important in understanding development of strategy use. Maintains that the developmental…

Focuses on the importance and meaning of the degree of spontaneity in memory strategy production. Situates the concept of utilization deficiency within current work on memory strategy heterogeneity, contextual support, and situation-specific skills. Concludes that work on utilization deficiencies helps balance the focus on early emergence of…

Psychological and biological reasoning are intertwined yet differentiated in preschoolers' understandings of bodily processes and events. Three studies suggest that preschoolers distinguish biological phenomena from psychological ones in their causal reasoning, although their reasoning about biological phenomena is sometimes influenced by…

Discusses how friendships are transformed from equality-based exchange relationships during early childhood into need-based communal relationships during adolescence. Builds upon thesis that developmental changes in friendships can best be understood using both deep- and surface- structure levels of analysis. Examines cognitive representations of…