The possibility that perceptual predispositions may assist young language learners in the initial identification of words in speech was investigated in a corpus of early words. Results suggest that syllables that are stressed or final in adult speech are particularly salient to young children and likely to be extracted and included in first…

Suggests that Piaget's early theory on moral development and moral education can elucidate the discussion about broad or narrow definitions of morality. Explores the connection between interaction and morality, mutual respect, and cooperation. Argues that Piaget's concept of mutual respect is an important educational device for dealing with…

Proposes a theoretical model of cognitive development and applies this model to the secondary analysis of two large-scale studies which focus on the acquisition of formal operational schemata by adolescents in the United States and Israel. Results support the "unity" hypothesis of cognitive development that the various schemata of formal…

Discusses how young minds come to understandings about how words work, what conditions are necessary for these realizations, and how teachers can help. Discusses instruction that hinders, allows, or helps students' progress. (RS)

Provides a contemporary Government-and-Binding reinterpretation and evaluation of Klima and Bellugi's 1966 work on the acquisition of interrogatives. It is argued that wh-questions in Child English involve a wh-pronoun positioned in the head complementizer position within the Complementizer Phrase (CP) and that children learn that wh-questions…

This study used saccadic eye movements to assess visuospatial attention in 53 normal children (ages 8-15). Saccadic latency, the ability to suppress extraneous saccades during fixation, and the ability to inhibit task-provoked anticipatory saccades all improved with age. Developmental patterns varied by task. Analyses of age-related changes may be…

Thirty-four school-aged children with developmental disabilities were assessed for level of tactile defensiveness (TD) and then presented with a repeated tactile stimulus while engaged in computer games. Evidence was found for a differential sensitivity in TD but not an inhibition deficit. Another finding included a negative correlation between TD…

This article uses a case study of a deaf-blind infant to examine issues in the early cognitive development of such infants. The study used an ecological approach involving naturalistic observation, videotaping, anecdotal accounts, and the use of four global developmental scales. (DB)

Finds that the strategies used by children with hearing impairments to invent spellings were developmentally and phonologically similar to those used by hearing children. (SR)

Presents a clinical-developmental framework of adolescent suicidal behavior that combines theory, research, and interviews with adolescent girls under psychiatric care for suicide attempts. (HTH)

Includes "The Paradox of Productive Aging" (Sicker); "Beyond Productive Aging" (Riley, Riley); "Changing Concepts; Visionary or Short-Sighted" (Holstein); "Making Aging Meaningful" (Glanz, Neikrug); and "Perspectives on Productive Aging from Austria, Bolivia, Denmark, Finland, Japan, Venezuela."…

Children of the Baka, a preliterate society of Pygmies in southeast Cameroon, were tested for their conception of mind. Several studies conducted in other countries were reviewed. Results provide support for the claim that belief-desire reasoning is universally acquired in childhood. (GLR)

Two experiments tested two, three, and four year olds' ability to understand false beliefs. Results of both experiments support earlier claims that an understanding of false beliefs and deceptive ploys emerges at around age four. Two and three year olds can be led to produce such ploys but show no clear understanding of their effect. (GLR)

The matching of 5 predictors of organizational commitment with 5 career stages was investigated with a sample of 1,536 Air Force employees. Between- and within-stage analysis showed that team cohesion was stronger during second stage, job challenge during third, supervisor behavior during fourth, and organizational climate during fifth.…

Describes a study of the extent to which children in early intervention programs are experiencing a reiteration of Individual Educational Program (IEP) objectives from one year to the next and whether this repetition results from establishing initial objectives too difficult for the children. Finds a significant amount of repetition and objectives…