We investigated children's information seeking in response to a surprising claim (Study 1, N = 109, 54 Female, Range = 4.02-6.94 years, 49% White, 21% Mixed Ethnicity, 19% Southeast Asian, infStudy 2, N = 154, 74 Female, Range = 4.09-7.99, 50% White, 20% Mixed Ethnicity, 17% Southeast Asian, September 2020-December 2020). Relative to younger…

The development of scientific thinking was assessed in 1,581 second, third, and fourth graders (8-, 9-, 10-year-olds) based on a conceptual model that posits developmental progression from naïve to more advanced conceptions. Using a 66-item scale, five components of scientific thinking were addressed, including experimental design, data…

This longitudinal study examined growth in the English productive vocabularies of bilingual and monolingual children between ages 24 and 36 months and explored the utility and validity of supplementing parent reports with teacher reports to improve the estimation of children's vocabulary. Low-income, English-speaking and English/Spanish-speaking…

Explains that from a prediction standpoint the confluence model is not very efficient. Very modest increments in accuracy are associated with family configuration variables once chronological age is covaried. Suggests that the major postulates of the theory be tested directly, within individuals and with longitudinal data. (Author/AS)

In cross-cultural child development research there is often a need to translate instruments and instructions to languages other than English. Typically, the translation process focuses on ensuring linguistic equivalence. However, establishment of linguistic equivalence through translation techniques is often not sufficient to guard against…

This study assessed the validity of striking a Bobo clown as a measure of aggression by correlating the rate of this behavior with peer ratings, teacher ratings, and self-ratings of aggressiveness in a preschool. (Author/JMB)

Epstein (1974) claims evidence for regular two-year growth spurts in the development of brain and mind, a phenomenon he calls phrenoblysis. Unfortunately, repeated analysis of the data he presents as proof of his theory provides no support. (Author/RH)

Describes the biomotometer and reports a reliability and a validity study of the instrument. (SB)

Using the multitrait-multimethod matrix design, this study investigated the convergent and discriminant validity of three selected measures of aggression in second, third, and fourth grade children based on three methods of data collection: teacher ratings, peer ratings, and self report. (BD)

The gross-motor activity of 27 three- and four- year-olds was assessed through teacher ratings, parent responses to the activity scale of the Colorado Childhood Temperament Inventory, and data from uncalibrated actometers worn by children during free play. Activity scores composited across multiple actometers had high reliability and correlated…

Describes a new observational study of home television viewing by young children which involved placement of time-lapse video cameras in the homes of five-year-olds from middle-class families for a 10-day period. Families maintained TV viewing diaries, and control groups of families were employed to assess the impact of observational equipment in…

Discusses principles of human development which are durable across changes in time, culture, and cohort. Analyzes the form these principles are likely to take, the limitations and strengths they are likely to display, and the process by which they are likely to be discovered. (Author/JMB)

Challenges the typical treatment of causal effects in longitudinal data, arguing that models should be conceptualized and tested in ways that directly reflect prior assumptions as to the trait- or state-like nature of the variables. Examples demonstrate that meaningful longitudinal studies of state variables can be conducted without assuming their…

Data from infants unable to complete experimental sessions were compared to those for whom there were complete data. Results suggest that the elimination of large numbers of infants may have a potentially biasing effect on reported data. (Authors)