Early childhood education must bolster basic cognitive and social-emotional competencies to prepare children for authentic learning. The preschool educators should view academic skills and concepts as valuable tools in the process of developing essential competencies.

Women living in poverty are at increased risk for depression, especially during their childbearing years. Whereas poverty has known adverse effects on children's cognitive, social, and communication development, maternal depression may place these children at additional risk of developmental delays. The maternal sensitivity of mothers with and…

To bring out Giyoo Hatano's contributions to the understanding of culture and cognitive development, we note first his special style--thoughtful, inventive, and always focused on central issues and on combining theory with data--and then, for three areas, some of the conceptual advances he proposed. The areas have to do with ties between cognitive…

Humans are adapted to spontaneously transfer relevant cultural knowledge to conspecifics and to fast-learn the contents of such teaching through a human-specific social learning system called "pedagogy" ( Csibra & Gergely, 2006). Pedagogical knowledge transfer is triggered by specific communicative cues (such as eye-contact, contingent reactivity,…

Elderly men (N=18) and elderly women (N=18) were assigned to three treatment conditions: feedback, practice, or control. Subjects were post-tested on measures of spatial egocentrism, fluid intelligence, perceptual speed, and volume conservation. The effect of feedback was to improve scores on spatial egocentrism, but this influence did not…

One of a series intended for parents and other caregivers, this handbook on child development focuses on the first 2 years of life. Contents include discussions on (1) basic developmental principles; (2) physical development; (3) cognitive development and language acquisition; (4) personality development, temperament, attachment, and bonding; (5)…

This paper traces some of the major theories and research findings concerning the development of self-identity during the first two years of life. The discussion begins with some basic assumptions of identity formation, offers an historical perspective with discussion of William James' major aspects of self, and concludes with observations on the…

A survey of research findings on environmental and person variables provides clues as to what is required in a high quality infant-toddler program. One of the most important components of such a program is a loving, responsive caregiver. Research has shown that there are specific adult qualities that nurture the roots of intellectual competence,…

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)

This study investigates spatial and conceptual role-taking at the preschool level to determine the components of and relationship between these two forms of role-taking. A total of 80 children between 3 and 5 years of age were tested individually on four spatial tasks and five conceptual tasks and rated on the levels of egocentrism employed.…

To test role-taking development 60 middle class subjects, 10 boys and 10 girls of each age (4, 5, and 6), were administered a role-taking task designed to enable the role-taker ("S") to make and explain predictions about a peer's responses to a situation in which "S" has information not available to the peer. Results suggested…

Discusses the way Piaget's theories operate in the classroom. (ED)

Study examines the Slaby and Frey (1975) gender-constancy interview, which has been widely used in tests of the cognitive-developmental account. Sixty children, aged between 42 and 54 months, were given the interview either in the traditional order or in a reversed order. Order effects were found. Methodological issues are discussed. (Author/BN)

An analysis using data drawn from Nancy Bayley's Berkeley Growth Study is performed for didactic purposes to illustrate the use of structural equation modeling on a child development data set. Alternatives to standard latent factor approaches are demonstrated for use in research situations in which the subject-to-variable ratio is less than…

Studies the effects of mothers' presence and absence on two infants from birth to two years. (AJ)