This study examined the effect of a "ghost" demonstration on toddlers' imitation. In the "ghost" condition, virtual pieces moved to make a fish or boat puzzle. Fifty-two 2.5- and 3-year-olds were tested on a touchscreen (no transfer) or with 3D pieces (transfer); children tested with 3D pieces scored above a no demonstration…

Study compares the effects of different conditions which imply reversibility on children's judgments of conservation of quantity. (Authors)

Three experiments examined effects of language on developing knowledge of distinction between real and apparent properties. Found that when Spanish verbs for "to be" -- "Ser" and "Estar" -- were substituted for "is,""Ser" gave the Spanish-speaking and bilingual speakers a unique advantage in…

Four experiments investigated 3-year-olds' understanding of the differential importance of shape for categorizing solid objects. Found that they categorized rigid and deformable objects differently in a non-naming task and knew that material was important for deformable items and shape for rigid items. In two naming tasks, they generalized names…

Examined development of infants' relational coding in spatial orientation problems. Found that 6-month-olds performed poorly in a peekaboo task in which they had to turn to a target after displacement to a novel position and direction. Twelve- month-olds solved the tasks whether or not target was located between two landmarks; 8.5-month-olds…

Four studies compared preschoolers' fast mapping of new proper and common names following indirect exposures requiring inference with their learning new names following ostensive cues. Found that inferential learning of names and learning by direct instruction were largely equivalent: learning from a situation with clear joint references…

Two experiments were conducted to assess the effects of varying degrees of external evaluation not only on performance but also on continuing motivation. (Authors)

In order to determine whether non-Western children would show a memory deficit for contextually organized spatial ability, the performances of 30 Mayan and 30 American nine-year-olds on reconstruction of an organized three-dimensional miniature scene were examined. (MP)

Five experiments examined whether young children believe a lie tellers' implausible statement about a misdeed when the statement violates their developing knowledge of the reality- fantasy distinction. Findings suggested that 5- and 6-year-olds tended to report that the individual making the implausible statement actually committed the misdeed; 3-…

Two studies determined the extent to which feedback could improve eighth graders' and adults' decision-making. Results showed that neither benefited from verbal feedback in choosing between easy and hard questions to earn points. Adults benefited more than adolescents from outcome feedback. Adults also benefited more than adolescents in context of…

Five experiments compared metamemory abilities in 6- to 9-year olds with autism, mentally retarded children, and normal controls. Found that children with autism were not impaired on any of the metamemory tasks, although they were less likely than controls to make spontaneous use of memory strategies involving other people. Unexpectedly few…

Two studies investigated whether 10- to 11-month-olds possess skills for parsing ongoing behavior along boundaries correlated with initiation and completion of intentions. Found that infants showed renewed interest in test videos in which motion paused in the midst of an actor's pursuit of intentions; suspended motion at intentional boundary…

Reveals that different aspects of the environment differentially contributed to variability in communication performance of one-year-old infants. Findings support the environmental specificity hypothesis and underline the need to consider physical environmental parameters when investigating environmental influences. (Author/RH)

Compensation as assessed by any one test or criterion used is more difficult than conservation. And, the understanding of the compensation principle, as manifested in verbal statements, continues to develop well after the age at which liquid conservation may be taken for granted. (Authors)

Examined performance on ventromedial prefrontal tasks of preschoolers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), preschoolers with developmental delays, and typically- developing 12- to 46-month-olds, matched on mental age. Found that children with ASD performed similarly to comparison groups on all executive function tasks. Ventromedial, but not…