The author discusses the development and manifestation of empathy in children. A three component model of empathy, involving cognitive and affective elements, is proposed. (Author/HMV)

Investigates the representative frequencies of aggression of 43 children at the ages of 2 and 5 years. Dimensions of physical aggression at age 2 predicted dimensions of physical aggression at age 5. Frequency, initiations, and average length of aggression decreased between 2 and 5 years of age. (RJC)

Portions of this paper were presented at the 1967 meeting of the Society for Research in Child Development, New York.

Longitudinal data concerning fear responses in 30 boys and 30 girls observed from ages one month to 8 1/2 years suggest that in males--but not in females--a predisposition to a particular level of fearfulness is set by events that occurred before 6 months of age. (Author/MG)

Possible antecedents of toddler gender separation were studied with 57 toddlers with a mean age of 35 months. There were no differences between gender-segregating and nonsegregating children regarding gender toy preferences or gender awareness, but teachers saw gender-segregating girls as more socially sensitive. (SLD)

Two studies documented gender differences in preschool children's responses to situations of vulnerability. Children playing with same sex friends showed no sex differences in time responding to vulnerability; some sex differences were noted in response type. Children's preferences for vignettes representing categories of response to the same…

Investigated sex differences in the motor activity level of 83 children of 5-8 years. Relative maturity was negatively related to activity level. Girls were less motorically active and more mature than boys. (RJC)

Research supported by grant MH-08667 from the National Institute of Mental Health, and Public Health Service General Research Support grant 1-S01-FR-05632-02 from the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare.

The literature suggests that children steadily move away from egocentric thought and acquire more effective interpersonal skills as they age, but at puberty a new egocentrism makes self-disclosure difficult. To develop an adequate behavioral measure of self-disclosure, 16 situations were described to children aged 8, 11, and 14 years old, who then…

Attractiveness ratings of 50 children (26 males and 24 females) aged 12-38 months are studied in relation to adults' socializing behavior and attitude toward them. Correlations between attractiveness scores and child behavior reflect sex differences. A greater impact of attractiveness on girls' development than boys is noted. (SLD)

Sex differences in activity selection or choice appear by age 12 or 18 months. These choices are one of the earliest indicators of sex differences in the behavior of young children. Differences in activity participation or toy choices are evident long before the emergence of sex differences in personality characteristics like passivity or…

Development in general, and sex-role behavior in particular, is influenced by both biological and environmental factors. However, the coalescence of these factors around the child's growing social cognitive abilities is the critical factor in the development of sex role behavior. (Author/EB)

This paper discusses the processes that are at work which produce some of the differences between male and female human beings. The sex of the child is an important attribute of the organism's identity. Before birth, parents express preferences for the sex of the unborn child and start providing names as a function of the sex of the child. Studies…

Study behaviors common to elementary school students were incorporated into a questionnaire administered to 793 fourth and sixth graders. Factor structures varied by sex and grade level, but gender differences in study strategies apparent by grade six may be the source of persistent gender differences in academic achievement. (SLD)

THE INTENT OF THIS STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE THE PATTERNS OF BEHAVIOR OF NURSERY SCHOOL CHILDREN, AND TO DETERMINE HOW THESE ARE RELATED TO BEHAVIOR PATTERNS AND ACHIEVEMENT IN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL. IN 1930-1938, THE BEHAVIORS OF 138 NURSERY SCHOOL CHILDREN WERE CHARACTERIZED BY THEIR TEACHERS IN TERMS OF 61 MOLAR VARIABLES. SUB-SAMPLES OF THIS GROUP…