Empathy is an essential building block for successful interpersonal relationships. Atypical empathic development is implicated in a range of developmental psychopathologies. However, assessment of empathy in children is constrained by a lack of suitable measurement instruments. This article outlines the development of the Kids' Empathic…

Physical fitness camp experience resulted in significant changes from an external to an internal locus of control (as well as in physical fitness performance levels) of children ages six to fourteen. (MB)

Investigates a proposed four-stage developmental sequence that describes how children explain changes in sad and angry feelings and how their ability to understand is related to their theories of how feelings change. (HOD)

An experimental task with accompanying apparatus was developed for use in the study of developmental and cultural differences in the cooperative-competitive behavior of children in a small Mexican town and in California. Two groups of 20 Mexican children (aged 7-8 and 10-11), from an elementary school in a town in Baja, California, Mexico, were…

Seventeen processes in the development of expressive behavior are reviewed and coordinated in a framework that is shown to accommodate current perspectives on expressive behavior development. Works of Ekman, Izard, Lewis and Michalson, and Sroufe are briefly reviewed. Neglected areas of research are indicated and the course of expressive behavior…

Proposes and tests an attributional model of parent social cognition and examines parents'inferences about why everyday child behaviors occur and what consequences these inferences may have for socialization. (HOD)

Emotional control has traditionally been emphasized in Chinese culture. The primary purpose of the study was to examine the relevance of early affect to social functioning in Chinese children. A sample of children, initially at two years of age, and their mothers in the People's Republic of China participated in this two-year longitudinal study.…

This paper discusses infant attachment, which it defines as a long-lasting emotional bond revealed when a child under stress seeks out and tries to stay close to a specific figure. The paper addresses: (1) What is attachment? Who are the pioneers in attachment theory?; (2) How do we notice attachment in action?; (3) Is attachment the only…

Rather than being nurtured into healthy beings, the children who experience rejection and blame can become discouraged and angry. They respond with escalating, acting-out behavior to the perceived hostile environment. Success with these children requires adults who can live with them in their world without becoming entangled in counteraggression.…

Disorganized attachment relationships were first formally identified on the basis of the anomalous behavior of some infants during laboratory separations and reunions with the parent. This book presents new research and theory on the topic of attachment disorganization, an area of investigation that is of increasing importance in the study of…

Describes several books and activities designed to help children analyze situations in which they feel victimized and encourage them to react appropriately. Intended for elementary school children, the books cover such topics as name-calling and teasing to sexual abuse and neglect. (GEA)

The factors involved in assuming the role of members from different social groups were studied in six- and eight-year-old white Anglo-American children. The role taking task involved rating various ethnic members in terms of their desirability as uncles or nephews for the role person. A cognitive-developmental factor was manipulated by choosing…