The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship of method of presentation, grade level, sex, and achievement within grade and sex to the various bases upon which children of low socioeconomic background classify geometric concepts. Two tasks were administered to 96 subjects in the fifth, eighth, and eleventh grades--32 at each grade…

Examined effects of negative group stereotypes on reasoning about peer retribution (child hits another child in response to name calling) among 2,604 Arab and Jewish adolescents in Israel. Found evidence that Arab and Jewish students hold stereotypes about one another and that in-group bias affected approval and reasoning about peer retribution…

A naturalistic study looked at the acquisition of English by two Japanese boys, aged 4 and 8 years, during a 2.5-year stay in the United States. Data were collected through observation and transcription of spontaneous speech in daily life. Analysis included a variety of features of language use and of the acquisition process, including attitudes…

This book provides an overview of research and thinking on age-related dimensions of language acquisition, intended for students, researchers, and educators with some experience in linguistics and applied linguistics. The first chapter introduces the variety of issues associated with age and language acquisition. Chapter 2 examines the evidence…

A meta-analysis was conducted of 137 studies investigating the effects of father absence due to employment, military service, death, divorce, separation, or desertion on children's cognitive performance as assessed by scores on standardized intelligence, scholastic aptitude, and academic achievement tests and school grades. Aggregation of the…

Americans generally lack foreign language competence, and their exposure to foreign languages in the United States is inadequate. Foreign language instruction is deficient in both quality and quantity, and although there are indications of improvement in both areas, it will be many years before the effects of improvements are clear. The…

As part of a longitudinal study of the New York State Experimental Prekindergarten Program (PreK), several measures were administered to the four-year-old children in the fall of 1975 and to a sample of the same children in the spring of 1976. Analyses of covariance were carried out on three measures of cognitive development with one of five…

A research project of environmental learning in children is discussed. Most of the studies conducted during the research involved observation of children aged 3-12, in mapping and free environmental behavior, and in curricular experiments using perceptual surrogates for map-learning and macro-environmental conceptualization in the lower elementary…

This longitudinal study examined the multiple influences of social class and family socialization on intelligence at age 7, and on the development of cognitive competence from age 7 through age 15 in a sample of 121 urban Icelandic children and adolescents. Socialization condition was defined as sources of parental support and control strategies,…

Performance of 162 children, ages five to seven, on concept formation and perception tests indicated that enforced delay in responding minimally affected all reflective subjects and impulsive boys; impulsive girls improved. (Available in microfiche from: Carfax Publishing Company, Haddon House, Dorchester-on-Thames, Oxford 0X9 8JZ, England.) (CP)

We compared health status, anthropometric and psychological development of 123 children adopted before 18 months of age from China, East Asia (Vietnam, Taiwan, Thailand, South Korea, Cambodia), and Eastern Europe (mostly Russia). Data were collected close to the time of arrival, and 3 and 6 months later. Anthropometric measures included weight,…

Research indicates that children are especially vulnerable to the effects of television viewing. Taking a psychological, social-science perspective, this book explores how television viewing affects children. Chapter 1, "Introduction," (MacBeth) discusses the issues involved, how researchers go about studying media effects, whether television…

Recent investigations have demonstrated greater variance in change in intellectual performance between different generations or age groups than is true for generalized developmental change across chronological age. Such findings have led to a careful investigation of certain environmental factors which might account for such change. A new…

The development of political thinking during adolescence was studied by interviewing 463 suburban and urban schoolchildren of average intelligence in grades 6, 8, 10, and 12. Each subject was interviewed individually by means of a Piaget-type questionnaire. Analysis of the questionnaire responses revealed a very distinctive developmental pattern.…

To reemphasize the dangers inherent in the misuse of testing instruments, a study of language and cognitive development in poverty preschoolers investigated 1) whether the interpretation of Peabody scores could be applied to this population, and 2) the contribution of the linguistic form of the Peabody to performance. (MS)