In this commentary, I delineate several questions raised by the Hammond and Drummond (2019) paper: (a) to why there seems to be an association between state positive emotion and prosocial behavior in young children, and if and how early positively tinged prosocial behavior provides a pathway to (b) later prosocial behavior more generally…

In this article, Peter Molenaar responds to three commentaries (this issue) on his article, "An Interpretation of Part of Gilbert Gottlieb's Legacy: Developmental Systems Theory Contra Developmental Behavior Genetics." He addresses aspects of relational developmental systems (RDS) mentioned and questions raised in each of the…

The concepts and paradigms "development", "evolution", and "developmental behavior genetics" target, in their statements, populations. The laws of genetics and evolution are supposed to apply to every single case in a population. It can be counted among the major contributions of Gottlieb (1992, 1995) to have pointed…

Molenaar's (2015) article concerns Developmental Systems Theory (DST) in relation to behavior genetics and he presents implications of DST for empirical research, especially the need for subject-specific studies. In this commentary, the article is discussed from a broader developmental science perspective, particularly regarded through the lens of…

The main theme of this paper concerns the persistent critique of Gilbert Gottlieb on developmental behavior genetics and my reactions to this critique, the latter changing from rejection to complete acceptation. Concise characterizations of developmental behavior genetics, developmental systems theory (to which Gottlieb made essential…

In mammalian species, behavior begins in utero, hidden within the mother's body. This biological fact has made it difficult to observe or to access fetuses, leaving the beginnings of behavior to the imagination or allowing it to be forgotten or ignored. Such truncation of perspective probably helped many to consider behavioral capabilities first…

The intent of this article is to illustrate the effectiveness of using the tenets described in the "Ways of Knowing Through the Realms of Meaning" by Dr. William Allan Kritsonis (2007) to improve ethical conduct. Ten recommendations to implement the "Ways of Knowing Through the Realms of Meaning" (2007) for the improvement of ethical conduct are…

Discussed are the ontogenetic and evolutionary implications of Dr. Gottlieb's perinatal research with ducklings. His evolutionary theory which proposes that behavior is the primary engine driving evolution is reviewed as is his experimental examination of behavioral neophenotypes. The methodology and findings from Gottlieb (1991/2007) are…

Gottlieb's (1991/2007) study on social malleability of ducking response to maternal calls is perhaps a paradigmatic example of research within the transactional approach to behavioral development--an approach which has fundamental links with the ecological approach to perception-action (Gibson, 1979). This commentary fleshes out these links…

A case study of one child, Alicia, is used to explore how children's identities as readers are constructed across time as they move thorough school. Attention to time helps us attend to how students draw on ongoing, familial, and historical resources in ways that are both recursive and future-oriented as they construct themselves as readers across…

Discusses potential beneficial effects of children's illnesses on their behavioral development. It is argued, on the basis of clinical experience and related research, that minor illnesses give children many opportunities to increase knowledge of self, other, prosocial behavior, and empathy and to realistically understand the sick role. (Author/RH)

Aims at clarifying the concept of the sensitive period. Differentiates imprinting and sensitivity and defines the latter as an interval of heightened responsiveness to certain kinds of stimuli. Argues that "sensitive period" is a descriptive, not an explanatory term which is consistent with an interactional approach to developmental…

Following a brief consideration of the nature of "stress" as implied in the articles in this special section, the possible role of biological measurements in the study of behavioral development is examined. (PCB)

Direct instruction in vocational ethics offers many advantages over the indirect approach as a means of teaching students to recognize and deal with ethical conflict. Advantages include clear instructional goals, replicable teaching strategies, and objective evaluation procedures. (JOW)

The articles in this special Practitioner's Edition of "Psychology in the Schools" share the application of sound educational and behavioral practices in real school and classroom contexts. Given this emphasis in these articles on the applied use of behavioral practices, the purpose of this brief commentary is to highlight and comment on some of…