Investigated development of altruism in children according to a theoretical perspective that integrated Piagetian micromodels accounting for change from preoperational to operational stages. Subjects were 90 children of 5-12 years of age. Older children were more likely to consider an altruistic act in terms of gain construction than cost…

A longitudinal study of 31 babies in their twelfth through twenty-third weeks of age tested the Neo-Piagetian theory of a shift or spurt in infants' cognitive development at the age of 4 months. Results were consistent with this neo-Piagetian concept of stage change. (MDM)

Reconsiders the predominant views on the acquisition of kinship terms. Topics discussed include: (1) kinship and the ontogenesis of logic; (2) kinship and semantic development; (3) the language learner as naive theorist; (4) development and domain specificity; and (5) an alternative approach to kinship. (RJC)

Argues that developmental psychology remains parochial in spite of increased cross-cultural developmental research. Reviews research and theories dealing with cognitive development in childhood and adolescence. Contributions outside Piagetian and Vygotskian traditions are outlined along with suggestions for further research on emotional…

Explores longstanding inconsistencies in Piaget's account of development of spatial representation and perspective-taking. Examines Piaget's early writings and the findings of the original "three mountains" experiment. Concludes that Piaget's alternative theory is compatible with contemporary thinking and is important as a contributory…

Argues that Susan Sugarman's article in this issue contains some valid criticism of assumptions in developmental psychology, but that some of her conclusions regarding other assumptions need to be questioned. Suggests that many problems raised by Sugarman would disappear if developmental psychologists concentrated on children's early achievements…

Argues that there are significant ways in which neither Piaget nor his successors in developmental psychology have adequately described the child's mind and how it changes. Proposes alternative guidelines for research that aims more directly at identifying essential constituent features of the child's mental reality. (PCB)

Examined the ability of children from 6 to 12 years of age to draw human figures and to reconstruct the drawing abilities they possessed at earlier ages. Found that diachronic thinking, or the ability to understand a present situation as a stage in an evolving process, developed with age. (MDM)

Examined the relationship between 7-, 9-, and 11-year old children's performance on a battery of selected Piagetian measures and on a proportional reasoning task. Found a strong relationship between stage level and (1) the complexity of hypotheses used, (2) the use of the proportional hypothesis, and (3) the overall use of logical hypotheses. (HOD)

Filmed 30 infants monthly between one and seven months of age where mothers or unfamiliar women responded to their cries by picking up or talking to the infants. Results suggest that infants develop conditioned associations among distress-relief patterns by one month, and cognitive expectations by four or five months. (Author/BB)