This study represents a quasi-experimental test of the role of early social-emotional experience and adult-child relationships in the development of typically developing children and those with disabilities birth to 4 years of age living in orphanages in St. Petersburg, Russian Federation. The three orphanages in the current study were selected…

There are 11 behavioral dimensions which parents and preschool teachers can use in assessing the development of preschool children. These dimensions are: (1) sleeping; (2) eating; (3) toilet habits; (4) range of affect or emotion; (5) variations in play; (6) curiosity; (7) acceptance of authority; (8) initiative; (9) interest; (10) spontaneous…

The author presents an overview of Pascual-Leone's Theory of Constructive Operators, a process-structural theory based upon Piagetian constructs which has evolved to both explain and predict the temporal unfolding of behavior. An application is made of the theory to the demands of a discrete motor task and prediction of (a) the minimal age…

Takes an exploratory look at the relationships between (1) the various fears that develop during infancy, (2) perceptual-cognitive development and the exhibition of specific fears, and (3) individual differences in temperament and the manifestation of specific fears. This paper was presented at the Merrill-Palmer Institute Conference on Research…

This paper is in memory of Esther Thelen, who passed away while President of the Society for Research in Child Development. A survey of Esther Thelen's career reveals a trajectory from early work on simple movements like stepping, to the study of goal-directed reaching, to work on the embodiment of cognition, and, ultimately, to a grand theory of…

Describes a study of some conditions which facilitate the acquisition of behavioral chains by young children. Three experiments are presented which concern: (1) overt responses to the internal components of the chain; (2) use of an aversive consequence; and (3) added instructions at the beginning of training. (Author/SDH)

This paper elucidates the implications of life-span developmental psychology for theory and method in the field of child development. Emphasis is given to three theoretical issues: (1) historical-evolutionary versus ontogenetic components of change, (2) the role of chronological age, and (3) continuity versus discontinuity in the description and…

This document presents an analysis of the early attending responses and orienting reactions of infants which can be observed at birth and shortly thereafter. Focus is on one specific orienting reaction, the early direction and maintenance of one's eyes and head toward certain stimuli instead of others. The physical properties of stimuli that…

Studied 112 preterm infants to determine developmental changes and stability of individual differences. Results indicate significant developmental gains with age, and highly significant individual stability of performance across age. (RJC)

Argues that the world view of contemporary behavior analysis, especially behavior analysis of child development, is contextualistic, not mechanistic. The history of behavior analysis is presented in a revised account that focuses on philosophic movements. Contextualism of behavior analysis is contrasted with mechanism with respect to five core…

Examines possible neurological causes of the various indices of D attachment status. Describes a system of attachment categories and the criteria for assessing disorganized and disoriented behavior, pointing out which of these behaviors may result from neurological abnormalities. Suggests a strategy for differentiating neurological risk status…

The intellectual development and behavior of U.S. citizen infants with undocumented alien parents were compared with infants of documented alien parents or Hispanic American parents. Demographic and environmental variables were equivalent for both groups. Infants of undocumented parents scored significantly lower on the Bayley mental and…

Three examples of children (five to nine years old) with acting-out behaviors are cited to illustrate the author's contention that such behavior is indicative of specific developmental levels of social and emotional functioning. The need for intervention appropriate to the developmental level is asserted. (CL)

Tests and rejects the hypothesis that sensory motor curiosity declines from childhood to adolescence, by conducting a follow-up study of a group of pupils (N=32) whose curiosity behavior was filmed in 1970 when the age range was 6-12 years. Behavior is compared to that of a group in 1976. (CS)