Notes advantages of using dynamic models to understand cognitive functioning: (1) they are specifically intended to represent changes that systems undergo as they evolve; (2) they can capture change in a continuous fashion; (3) they can account for development of behavior that appears orderly at times and disorderly at others, and (4) chaotic…

Evaluates the degree to which the social-referencing perspective provides a valid explanation of some features of infant behavior. (MP)

Applies a systems approach to the development of expressive and communicative action of infants in the first year of life. Hypothesizes that the systems approach (which integrates expressive and communicative actions with other elements of the infant's physiology, cognition, behavior, and social environment) will explain previously unexplained…

Investigates a proposed four-stage developmental sequence that describes how children explain changes in sad and angry feelings and how their ability to understand is related to their theories of how feelings change. (HOD)

Two longitudinal studies examined patterns of reading disability in children. Results indicated that remission of reading disability was relatively common with up to 37% of reading-disabled children showing remission within a 2-year period. Results suggest that the presence of measurement errors may lead to misleading impression of the rate of…

Introduces this special journal issue by describing what developmental approaches are and how they can be applied to children with disabilities. Gives a short preview of the articles in the issue and raises future challenges for developmental research and intervention with young children with disabilities. (JS)

This approach is primarily concerned with social reasoning and judgment, with how children reason about social phenomena, not just what they reason. The how of social reasoning is called structure, what is reasoned about, content. Presented at the American Psychological Association, Chicago, 1975. (Author)

A study examined preschoolers' metacognitive self-regulatory behaviors. It was hypothesized that tasks that omitted or greatly decreased verbalization would allow preschool children to exhibit evidence of metacognitive self-regulatory behaviors. Subjects were 20 preschool children, half identified as special needs and half designated as typical…

Delineates Sigmund Freud's theories of symbolic relations, Jean Piaget's theories of cognitive development, and Eric Erickson's concept of identity crisis to analyze and explain the characteristics and phenomena of adolescent development. Suggests roles and tasks for teachers and parents in promoting healthy development. (WL)

This book represents the proceedings of the Conference on Advancing Research on Developmental Plasticity: Integrating Behavioral Science and the Neuroscience of Mental Health. The conference featured scientific presentations from many leading scientists in behavioral sciences, neuroscience and psychiatry, as well as a poster session for newer…

Presents an integrated clinical approach, based on a developmental, structuralist framework, to classify adaptive and pathological personality organizations and behaviors in infants and preschool children. (Author/DB)

Reviews research on the early development of symbolic play. Suggests that symbolic play begins to emerge near the beginning of the child's second year and continues to play an important role in his or her development throughout the preschool years. Proposes basic techniques caregivers can use to facilitate and promote the development of symbolic…

The Mental Development Scales: Birth to Three Years are instruments designed to assess developmental levels of young children within a setting familiar to the child. They (1) provide a greater understanding of child behavior and development, (2) serve as a basis for planning an individualized curriculum for each child, and (3) furnish the means…

Written for researchers and clinicians, this book integrates key perspectives in order to illuminate common beliefs about core processes of emotional development. The book is divided into three parts. Part 1 discusses the nature of emotional development. Topics covered here include: (1) questions relevant in a developmental assessment of emotions;…

In all of his published work, Jean Piaget never abandoned his original theoretical framework for the understanding of human development. This framework insists that intelligence is essentially a biological phenomenon; its development is best understood as the development of a sophisticated and highly successful adaptation device. This device…