Young children's naive beliefs about physics are commonly studied as isolated pieces of knowledge. The current paper takes a different approach. It asks whether preschoolers interlink individual beliefs into larger configurations or Gestalts. Such Gestalts bring together knowledge such as how an object's mass relates to its sinking speed, how an…

This document defines memory as a complex, interactive process that is a prerequisite for all higher learning. Without intact memory skills, a host of disorders may ensue ranging from mild learning problems to disorientation and helplessness (Lezak, 1983). Because of the pervasive and central role memory plays in people's lives, school…

The development of ordering and correspondence operations, under varying degrees of the presence of length cues to number, was studied in 91 preschool children. Findings are interpreted in terms of the young child's difficulty in separating and coordinating the dimensions of length and number. (Author/ED)

In this paper conceptual and methodological issues in the analysis of developmental sequences are discussed. Conceptually, the reconstruction of the logic of acquisition calls for the use of task or structure analysis. Methodologically, it calls for an individual-oriented approach, the use of statement calculus for formulation of the postulated…

In an effort to bring together some general findings on empathy in children, the author attempts to answer these questions: (1)what is empathy? (2)under what conditions is empathy likely to occur? (3)what types of judgements appear to be involved in an empathic response? Presented at American Psychological Association, New Orleans 1974. (Author)

Paper, revised for publication, presented at a Symposium on Heredity and Environment (AERA, New York City, Feb. 16, 1967)

A cognitive-developmental approach to reading instruction for preschool children is presented in this document. Common misunderstandings about reading instruction are discussed, and examples of young children's reading readiness are used to illustrate how developmental readiness, self-motivation, and the influence of an appropriate learning…

This paper draws together briefly theories and knowledge from research in morphology and cognitive psychology, as well as some hypothetical information from traditional psychiatry, to show the ramifications of play in children's development. Play is defined as any of a wide variety of behaviors through which an individual attempts to discover what…

This study investigated (1) the nutritional status of urban American disadvantaged children, (2) the relationship of nutritional status to mental growth and development, (3) the relationship of physical maturation to the development of perceptual-motor factors of intelligence, and (4) if found, the effects of undernutrition on intellectual…

The various chapters in the text provide details of factual situations and teaching practices in the school environment. The authors convey their conviction that the field of experimental pedagogy must remain autonomous while utilizing the findings of psychology and that all hypotheses derived from psychology must be verified through actual…

Cognitive categories in infants that have relevance for linguistic development were investigated. "Agent" and "recipient," the categories chosen, are relational categories which by definition involve action. This experiment explored infants' (48 males, 14-24 months of age) sensitivity to certain "action parameters" of events. The question of…

Described is an empirical and rational inquiry into the formation of a small set of special or geometrical concepts of young children. The approach taken by the author is to attempt to specify intellectual growth in one particular area, a child's acquisition of diagonality, in such a way as to be representative. That is, to give a clean portrayal…

The paper reviews a theory advanced by Satz and Sparrow (1970) which purports to explain the nature and cause of specific developmental dyslexia, and evaluates several developmental hypotheses which are generated bythe theory. The theory postulates that developmental dyslexia is not a unitary syndrome but rather reflects a lag in the maturation of…