Maurice Sendak's picture book Where the "Wild Things Are" was investigated as a means of emotion recognition in preschool children. Sixty-six children and 60 adults participated in two tasks. The first was a book task, requiring identification of emotions in three target pictures, in three conditions. The visual condition presented the…

Background: Evocative gene-environment correlation (rGE) describes a process through which children's heritable characteristics influence their rearing environments. The current study examined if heritable influences on parenting and children's behavioral outcomes operate through child negative emotionality. Method: Using data from the Early…

This dissertation consists of three independent chapters in applied microeconomics. In the first chapter, I study the causal effect impact of early life circumstances on adult psychological well-being using the property reform in China as a positive and policy driven change in economic resources in early life. Exploiting the staggered adoption of…

The present study examined Japanese children's and adults' awareness of the effects of psychological taste experiences on biological processes such as growth and illness. Studies 1 and 2 showed the following: (1) preschoolers tended to assume that good-tasting experiences would make one grow taller and gain more weight, while adults seldom…

In two experimental and exploratory studies, we wanted to test the differentiated effects on preschoolers with externalizing behavior (EB) of two short-term social information processing (SIP) and Theory of Mind (ToM) training sessions, in comparison with typically developing (TD) preschoolers or with preschoolers with EB whom didn't receive…

Kindergarten retention is a popular practice for children who are considered unready for primary school. However, past research has not yet succeeded to find consistent, strong empirical evidence supporting the practice. In the current study, kindergarten repeaters' development in nine psychosocial domains is compared with that of equally at risk…

The present study compared 6- to 9-year-old children's reports of their decisions to express anger, sadness, and physical pain; methods of controlling and communicating felt emotion; and reasons for doing so in response to hypothetical situations across three groups: old-city India (n = 60), suburban India (n = 60), and suburban United States (n =…

Background: Early childhood malnutrition is associated with cognitive and behavioral impairment during childhood and adolescence, but studies in adulthood are limited. Methods: Using the NEO-PI-R personality inventory, we compared personality profiles at 37-43 years of age ("M" 40.3 years, "SD" 1.9) of Barbadian adults who had…

Researchers, the authors state, link play to cognitive and affective processes important for a child's development and overall well-being. In this article, the authors examine the relationships involving pretend play, coping, and subjective well-being (the last of which they conceptualize as positive affect--positive mood--and life satisfaction)…

Purpose: In this study, the authors aimed to examine the long-term effects of prenatal cocaine exposure (PCE) on the language development of 12-year-old children using a prospective design, controlling for confounding prenatal drug exposure and environmental factors. Method: Children who were exposed to cocaine in utero (PCE; "n" = 183)…

The purpose of the study was to compare the level of sense of coherence (SOC) in parents of children with autism and in parents of typically developing children, and to examine the association between SOC level and coping strategies. Two questionnaires were used: Sense of Coherence Scale (SOC-29) and Ways of Coping Questionnaire. Parents of…

We explored the perceptual structure of facial expressions of six basic emotions, varying systematically in intensity, in adults and children aged 7 and 14 years. Multidimensional scaling suggested that three- or four-dimensional structures were optimal for all groups. Two groups of adults demonstrated nearly identical structure, which had…

There is rising interest in identifying precursors to bipolar disorder symptoms, including thought disorder. Thought disorder is identified in adults through self-report and in school-aged children through parent report and child story-telling. This study is an exploration to determine if preschoolers with mood dysregulation have evidence of…

Two humanist, critical approaches--those of Dorothy Dinnerstein and Immanuel Kant--are summarized, compared, and employed to critique gender bias in science education. The value of Dinnerstein's approach lies in her way of seeing conventional "masculinity" and conventional "femininity" as developing in relation to each other from early childhood.…

The transition to adulthood is characterised by both great potential for positive change and a relatively high incidence of problem outcomes. A multidimensional model of positive development during the transition to adulthood (at 19-20 years) has recently been proposed. However, an unresolved question regarding the nature of positive development…