Using data from the first 2 phases of the NICHD Study of Early Child Care, the authors examine the links between maternal employment in the first 12 months of life and cognitive, social, and emotional outcomes for children at age 3, at age 4.5, and in first grade. Drawing on theory and prior research from developmental psychology as well as…

Comments on Thelen and Ulrich's monograph in this issue. Examines theoretical and empirical sections and findings, concluding that the authors have taken a major step forward by introducing the dynamic systems perspective to the study of behavioral coordination in infants, thus opening the way for experimental investigation of phenomena that could…

Discusses Adolph's research on locomotion with regard to the requirements of an ecological psychology, especially the use of control laws; her examination of individual styles and normative patterns as it reflects a dynamic systems perspective; and her use of cognitive processes of decision making in explaining why infants approach or avoid a…

Studied the ontogeny of walking by prelocomotor infants. Results support a dynamic systems view of development and the view that upright locomotion emerges from the self-organization of multiple cooperating elements rather than as a result of a preexisting neural code. (Author/GR)

Despite the importance of learning abilities and disabilities in education and child development, little is known about their genetic and environmental origins in the early school years. We report results for English (which includes reading, writing, and speaking), mathematics, and science as well as general cognitive ability in a large and…

This monograph presents an oral history of selected aspects of the child development movement, based on interviews with prominent researchers since the 1920's. Topics include reactions to major figures and influences, the relationship of child development to pediatrics and child psychiatry, and the relevance of research to child care practices.…

Finds Bloom and Tinker's description and measurement of active, integrated, and situated children to be a credible scientifically rigorous paradigm for language acquisition research. Highlights their use of the naturalistic, observational method to understand the changing patterns of integration and use of multifaceted abilities in child language…

Developmental psychologist Ainsworth discusses early influences on her work in attachment theory; similarities and differences in attachment behaviors across cultures; construction of assessments and research designs; individual differences in attachment and maternal support; and the influence of early relationships on later ones. (HTH)

A series of studies examined one to five year olds' developmental changes in reaction to achievement-related outcomes. Results were used to formulate a three-stage model for the development of achievement-related self-evaluation. Concludes that a distinction between achievement standards and prescriptions for behavior is not meaningful with young…

Maintains that the monograph, "Self-Evaluation in Young Children," by Stipek and others, forces a consideration of the "self" in "self-evaluation," and a rethinking of views about emotions. It attests to the lack of information on effects of socialization in early childhood. Monograph should add to research on the connection between cognition and…

Reports the results of a series of experimental studies and a sociodemographic survey designed to determine the relative influence of age and educational experience in the development of cognitive skills as manifested in formal, psychological experiments. (CM)

Reviews major perspectives through which social exclusion has been examined in developmental and social psychological research and examines their limitations. Maintains that Killen et al.'s findings raise questions about attempts to account for social exclusion solely in terms of broad variables, such as prejudice, and point to the importance of…

Investigated the universality of children's use of their mothers as a secure base. Found that, on average, children in all seven of the countries and contexts studied were characterized as using their mothers as a secure base, but that they differed across cultures in the degree to which their behavior conformed to the definition of a securely…

Reports a series of studies conducted to investigate possible differences in the exploratory manipulation and play behavior of human infants 7-1/2- 11-1/2 months of age as a function of the attributes of the stimulus, the familiarity of the subject with the stimuli, the age and sex of the infants, and individual differences. (Author/CS)

Examined utility of the Attachment Q-set (AQS) instrument for cross-cultural comparisons of mother-child interactions. Found that interpretations concerning the structure of attachment and other social domains made on the basis of Q-sort descriptions of middle-class English-speaking U.S. children need not be substantially modified when…