The basic aspects of emotional comprehension seem to be acquired around the age of 5. However, it is not clear whether children's emotion knowledge is based on facial expression, organized in scripts, or determined by sociocultural context. This study aims to shed some light on these subjects by assessing knowledge of basic emotions in 4- and…

A large linguistic distance exists between spoken Arabic and the Modern Standard Arabic (MSA) the literary language (a diglosia). Novice readers, therefore, struggle with the complex orthography of Arabic as well as the mastering of MSA. Here, we tested whether structured activities in MSA would advance kindergarteners' MSA aptitude by the end of…

The goal of the current study is to explore the influence of knowledge on socioeconomic discrepancies in word learning and comprehension. After establishing socioeconomic differences in background knowledge (Study 1), the authors presented children with a storybook that incorporates this knowledge (Study 2). Results indicated that middle-income…

Data from a developmental task administered to children in grades 1, 3, 4, 5, and 6 were interpreted as evidence that memorization is not an isolated skill but, rather, one of many manifestations of an individual's characteristic age-related approach to problems. (Author/WY)

In an effort to determine whether intelligence and school readiness could be estimated from observin g behavior and if middle class Head Start teachers ranked highly those pupils whose behavior resembled middle class behavior, the behavior patterns of 36 Head Start pupils were compared with their teachers' ranking of perceived intelligence and…

The relative development of Piagetian concrete logical operational abilities was investigated in Mexican American and Anglo American children. Performance was assessed on eight classification tasks and three forms of transitivity, measuring seriation skills. One phase of the study compared the performances of 30 Anglo and 30 Mexican American…

Guessing patterns differ between children of lower and middle class. It is hypothesized that lower class children, because they live in an environment affording fewer rewards for problem solving, come to expect a lower degree of success than their middle class peers. Eighty white kindergarten children attending urban public school were divided…

TWO GROUPS OF CHILDREN ATTENDED THE UNIVERSITY OF KANSAS NURSERY SCHOOL FOR EIGHT WEEKS. THE MORNING CLASS WAS HELD FOR 20 FOUR-YEAR-OLD CHILDREN OF MIDDLE-CLASS FAMILIES. THE AFTERNOON CLASS WAS FOR 24 FIVE-YEAR-OLD CHILDREN OF LOW-INCOME FAMILIES. THREE COMPARATIVE STUDIES WERE MADE. IN STUDY I NO CHANGE WAS FOUND ON THE PEABODY PICTURE…

The purpose of this study was to assess the importance of teacher attitudes, maternal attitudes, and traditional versus Montessori nursery school training on the learning and achievement of the preschool child. Eighty-two middle class children and thirty-eight disadvantaged children who attended either Montessori or traditional preschools…

To determine the relationship between parental childrearing practices, sex-role preference, and intellectual functioning in young boys, 21 lower class and 21 middle class white fathers were observed at home interacting with their 4-year-old sons. The Binet, the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, and Brown's "It" Scale were subsequently…

The objectives of this project were to assess and improve learning skills and language abilities in culturally disadvantaged children. The five studies included under this cover were prepared as self-contained reports yet they shared these common objectives. The studies are: (1) Learning Efficiency and Elaboration Training among Four- and…

This study investigated methods of assessing the effects of cultural deprivation in relation to school adjustment. The investigators developed new methods of assessment in areas of self-concept, (sample of 49 children) concept formation, (314 children) and value orientation, (45 children) The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (sample of 60 children)…