Explores age differences (6 to 22 years of age) in conceptions about the nature of the skills required by verbal and nonverbal (abstract) intelligence tests. (HOD)

Two studies examined second- through fifth-grade children's negative-item bias with responses to the Self Description Questionnaire and how it is related to cognitive development and reading achievement. Results showed that younger children and poorer readers responded less appropriately to negative items, thus biasing the interpretations of their…

A study of age and time differences in motivation for learning French and in attitudes toward French instruction found attitude variation decreasing with time, and found rural and suburban students' attitudes linked most to the learning situation while urban students' motivation was rooted in desire to communicate in French. (MSE)

Reviews and integrates several aspects of peer interaction in the infant/toddler period. Reveals convergence between age-related changes in social skills and similarly timed cognitive developments. (HOD)

Examines the hypothesis that biases in peer interpretations of social behavior may contribute to the stability of social acceptance and rejection in children. (HOD)

Tested 32 4-year-olds and 32 6-year-olds for free and cued recall following either play-and-remember or sort-and-remember instructions and assessed them for their metamemory of the efficacy of conceptual and perceptual sorting strategies. Younger children recalled more items under sort-and-remember, whereas no recall differences were found for the…

Describes two experiments that examined whether the amplitude of the human eyeblink by a mild tap between the eyebrows can be increased if a brief tone is presented simultaneously with the tap and how these effects change from newborn infants to adults. (HOD)

Describes a study of second, third, and fourth grade children in Israel to determine if computer assisted instruction is utilized differently by different groups of students (younger and older), and extent to which effort expenditure (total amount of time a child is engaged at the computer) is related to achievement. (MBR)

Self-report data were collected from 100 enuretic children between the ages of 5 and 14 to determine how they viewed their incontinence problem. Although the children were generally unhappy with their wetting, they had a relatively positive view of self and did not exhibit an excessive number of behavior problems. (HOD)

The Neugarten Life Satisfaction Index A (LSIA) was completed by 760 randomly selected farm residents in an upper midwest state. Significant differences were found between mean LSIA scores according to subjects' education level and income but not age or gender. Generally, as education and income level increased, life satisfaction increased. (JHZ)

Meta analysis was used on 18 studies of elementary students that tested the effects of teacher expectation on pupil IQ. Data supported the view that the better teachers know their pupils at the time of expectancy induction, the smaller the treatment effect. Additional findings and implications for further research are discussed. (BS)

Studied two pediatric surgery populations (N=66) to determine differences in retention of preparatory information. Results showed that children exposed to a hospital-relevant film retained more information than those children not prepared regardless of age, IQ, previous experience, sex, and time of film preparation. (LLL)

Presents a replication of Looft's 1971 study on vocational preference and expectation in a 1981 study of 108 preschool and primary students. Results showed modest changes in occupational preferences, still mediated by sex role implications. Girls' expectations of obtaining preferred occupations were very low. (JAC)

Describes a study done to test the hypothesis that factors that shape children's production of their native language (L1) will also influence adults' pronunciation of sounds in a foreign language (L2). Results confirmed the hypothesis that developmental processes are "reactivated" when adults attempt to produce L2 sounds not found in their L1.…

Investigates recall of toy preferences in the parents of 56 four-year-old children classified either as early readers or as nonreaders. Results indicated that early readers cannot be differentiated by IQ or family demographic information alone and that consistent toy preferences precede the acquisition of early reading skills. (Author/CI)