Infants as young as 5 months of age view familiar actions such as reaching as goal-directed (Woodward, 1998), but how do they construe the goal of an actor's reach? Six experiments investigated whether 12-month-old infants represent reaching actions as directed to a particular individual object, to a narrowly defined object category (e.g., an…

Examined whether early differences in stress reactivity were related to self-recognition at 18 months. Found that self-recognition was related to greater cortisol response and less rapid quieting at 6 to 18 months, whereas cortisol and quieting responses of 2- to 4-month-olds did not differentiate self-recognizers and non-self-recognizers,…

Presents experimental findings that indicate that some number capacity is present in 22-week old infants, long before the onset of verbal counting. Suggests that verbal counting may have precursors present during infancy. (CS)

Two experiments examined 6-month olds' ability to categorize natural infant-directed utterances. Infants heard seven different tokens from one class of utterance (comforting, approving). Findings indicated that infants who later heard a test stimulus from the unfamiliar class showed response recovery, whereas those who heard a novel stimulus from…

This study investigated the cognitive and behavioral functions associated with iron deficiency anemia in infants and toddlers and the short-term effects of therapy on such behaviors. Subjects were 24 iron deficient and anemic infants, 9 to 26 months old. The subjects were randomly assigned to a treatment or control group. The Bayley Scales of…

A method for reading Piaget is presented in this guide, written for practicing teachers who want better understanding of Piaget's writings. An account of a Piagetian experiment is given, followed by a discussion of its theoretical and practical implications. Eight topics are explored: number, measurement, knots, perspectives, coordinates, floating…

Reviews research and current knowledge regarding infant auditory and visual perception and concludes that from a very early age, infants are able to perceive the world around them and organize their perceptual experience. Outlines areas for future research and application. (GC)

Piaget's theory of space perception is presented in the format of a hypothetico-deductive system. Eleven hypotheses regarding infants' space perception are defined, and Piaget's evidence for each is summarized. Presuppositions underlying the arguments are explicated. Critical notes are inserted and general conclusions are briefly discussed.…