The seven cohort studies of the relation between prenatal and postnatal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) to cognitive, neuropsychological and behavioral development have suggested that exposure to PCBs can cause persistent changes in cognitive functioning. D.V. Cicchetti, A.S. Kaufman, and S.S. Sparrow (this issue) apply six scientific…

In this paper we address the points raised by groups of scientists who were invited to respond to our initial critique of polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) research in this special issue. In that article, we applied six objective criteria to more than two decades of published PCB research and concluded that much of the research was badly flawed. The…

This study investigates young children's humourous activity as a form of play and considers the implications on their cognitive development and learning. The study was conducted in an infant room of a university based group child care center and multiple qualitative data collection methods were used. The findings of this study suggest that during…

This longitudinal study examined the extent to which dimensions of infant negative temperament in the first year predicted IQ at age 3, and whether these associations depended on the quality of the infant-mother attachment relationship. In a sample of 63 infant-mother dyads, mothers completed Rothbart's (1981) IBQ when infants were 4 and 12…

School readiness tests are significant predictors of early school achievement. Measuring school readiness on a large scale would be necessary for the implementation of intervention programs at the community level. However, assessment of school readiness is costly and time consuming. This study assesses the predictive value of a school readiness…

Objective: To examine how maternal depressive symptoms are related to infant development among low-income infants in rural Bangladesh and to examine how the relationship is affected by maternal perceptions of infant irritability and observations of caregiving practices. Methods: Development was measured among 221 infants at 6 and 12 months with…

This policy brief explores kindergarten readiness observation and its benefits to local and state level stakeholders; highlights efforts by California counties and other states to measure school readiness; and makes recommendations for moving toward statewide use of kindergarten readiness observation tools. Key points include: (1) Early efforts to…

Inflammation during the perinatal period has become a recognized risk factor for developmental brain injuries over the past decade or more. To fully understand the relationship between inflammation and brain development, a comprehensive knowledge about the immune system within the brain is essential. Microglia are resident immune cells within the…

Successful treatment of many childhood diseases once considered terminal has resulted in the emergence of long-term effects of the disease or consequences of treatment that were previously unrecognized. Many of these long-term effects involve the central nervous system (CNS) and are developmental in the way that they emerge over time. Because we…

Standardized clinical assessments from the point of view of children are rare. A standardized narrative assessment measure, developed to assess children's perceptions of their caregiving environments, the Narrative Story-Stem Technique (NSST), was used with two fraternal twins, age 8, with histories of severe maltreatment and multiple foster…

Childhood abuse has been implicated in such difficulties as developmental lags, family dysfunction, social problems, and emotional distress. This paper presents a review of the empirical literature which examines the relationship between physical abuse and object relations impairment. Data in the literature were commonly derived from either…

This book articulates and defends the "theory theory" of cognitive and semantic development: the idea that very young children just beginning to talk are engaged in profound restructurings of several domains of their knowledge. These restructurings are analogous to theory changes. The children's early semantic development is closely tied…

The phenomenon known in cognitive psychology as U-shaped behavioral growth is discussed in relation to second language learning. The U-shaped growth concept focuses on the fact that some behaviors appear, disappear, and then apparently reappear over time. It has been documented in children's learning of physical concepts, musical concepts,…

Focusing on the development of systematic observation procedures, this document provides guidance in choosing methods to assess the development of children within an early childhood program. The document discusses how to use observation data to guide decisions about curriculum and teaching, provide feedback on educational and developmental…

In the past 25 years, there has been an explosion in research on the development of perception. The research has produced discoveries at multiple levels: ecological analyses, models of representation and process, and improved understanding of biological mechanisms. This book provides a comprehensive treatment of infant perception, bringing…