To date, cross-cultural studies on Theory of Mind (ToM) have predominantly focused on preschoolers. This study focuses on middle childhood, comparing two samples of mainland Chinese (n = 126) and Australian (n = 83) children aged between 5.5 and 12 years. Strange Stories, the most commonly used measure of ToM, was employed. The study aimed to…

Extant research has compared the processing of affectively laden words between L1 and L2. However, most studies used verbal stimuli that were validated for a single language or for both languages but using independent samples. We systematically compared ratings of valence, emotional intensity and subjective familiarity of negative, neutral,…

Increasing age is characterized by greater positive affective states. However, there is mixed evidence on the implementation of emotion regulation strategies across the life span. To clarify the discrepancies in the literature, we examined the modulating influence of contextual factors in understanding emotion regulation strategy use in older and…

Guided by assumptions from the cognitive-affective theory of learning with media, we conducted a teaching experiment to corroborate past correlational research that suggested instructor misbehaviors, in the form of antagonism toward students, impede students' cognitive learning. Participants were 472 undergraduate students who were randomly…

Background: Although low positive affect (PA) and high negative affect (NA) have been posited to predispose to depressive disorders, little is known about the developmental trajectories of these affects in children at familial risk for mood disorders. Methods: We examined 202 offspring of mothers who had a history of juvenile-onset unipolar…

Temperament is important for considering differences among diagnostic groups and for understanding individual differences that predict problematic behavior. Temperament characteristics, such as negative affectivity, effortful control, and surgency (highly active and impulsive), are predictive of externalizing behavior in typically developing…

We are grateful to the commentators for providing many stimulating and valuable observations. The main point of our article was to call attention to the overestimation of individual differences correlations in a subset of neuroimaging papers. To structure our discussion of these comments, we list the main points from our paper, note where…

Examines the level and quality of object play and other cognitive and socioemotional aspects of the play situation, both as individual entities and as interrelated aspects of the way the child with Down syndrome approaches and deals with the animate and inanimate world. Relationships among these aspects and the child's level of functioning were…

Data on problem solving collected within the framework of G. Eckblad's cognitive theory of affect (1981) are analyzed with 3-mode principal component analysis. Eight tasks with 6 judgment scales were completed by 32 13-year-old boys. The effectiveness of the TUCKALS principal components analysis method is discussed. (SLD)

A new measure of temperament, Rothbart's Children's Behavior Questionnaire (CBQ), was used to compare children with attachments to objects and those without such attachments. Comparisons were used to determine whether temperament differences between children with and without a history of object attachment held for children with and without a…

Aggression in a proportion of people with intellectual disabilities is often assumed to be due to social-cognitive deficits. We reported on two studies in which we compared the emotion recognition and perspective-taking abilities of 43 frequently aggressive individuals and 46 nonaggressive peers. No difference was found between the groups' ability…

Evaluated respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) and heart period in 5-month-olds during interaction challenges. Found that during object-mediated challenge, RSA increases were uniquely related to positive engagement. During person-mediated challenge, subjects showed more complex integration of autonomic and behavioral responses such that only infants…

Mothers whose infants varied in early biological characteristics (born at term, n = 120; born at very low birth weight [VLBW], n = 144) were randomized to a target group (n = 133) or developmental feedback comparison group (n = 131) to determine whether learning responsive behaviors would facilitate infant development. The target condition…

Administered two questionnaires to 800 Israeli subjects which examine the affiliation need in four groups of situations. No differences were found between first and later-borns in their tendency to associate with others. Results showed significant interaction between sex and specific situational factors. (Author/RC)

Compared rate of conflict, conflict resolution, and the appearance of reflection on emotions and literate language in friend and nonfriend dyads of kindergarten children. Found that, although rates of conflicts were similar, friends resolved conflicts more frequently than nonfriends and generated more emotional and literate language. Support was…