This study investigated the relationships between parental treatment of thirty-two 4-year-old girls and the girls' relative competence and dependence. The conduct of the girls and their parents was observed. The parents' child-rearing attitudes were assessed from questionnaires. The following classification scheme was created: parents who treated…

Four papers discuss the Harvard Preschool Project whose goal is to learn how to structure the experiences of the first six years of life to encourage maximal development of human competence. To determine what competence at age 6 is, a group of 13 highly competent 6-year-olds of mixed residence, class, and ethnicity were compared to a like group of…

In a discussion of psychological development separate sections are devoted to (1) biological and cultural influences on development, (2) development in infancy, early childhood, middle childhood, and adolescence, (3) physiological foundations of behavior, (4) motivation and cognitive development, (5) intellectual development, (6) imagination and…

Five years have elapsed since the International Conference on Malnutrition, Learning, and Behavior at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The present Seminar was held to examine progress since then. The following papers were presented and discussed: "Malnutrition and the Nervous System," Donald B. Cheek, A. B. Holt, and E. D. Mellits;…

This report presents information on the interrelation of selected behavioral characteristics of children six to eleven years of age as obtained in the Health Examination Survey of 1963-65. Data were obtained from the parents on a self-administered medical history questionnaire and a more detailed supplemental medical history administered by a…

Psychosocial development is the focus of this psychology textbook. In part 1, a view of human development and society, the following areas are covered: (1) basic concepts of psychosocial development; (2) ways of viewing human development; and (3) dilemmas in human development. Part 2, the development of symbolic behavior and special factors in…

This study determines the effect a secondary school humanities program had upon the personal-social adjustment of its students as indicated by response to selected items in a problem checklist. The Mooney Problem Checklist, Form H (1950) was administered to 936 respondents, 454 males and 482 females. Response to all items (330) in the checklist…

This document presents the evaluation design and findings of the second year of operation of the Experimental Bicultural Early Childhood Program, an Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title III project operating in Bridgeport, Connecticut. The major objectives of the program were: (1) to facilitate the development of school readiness…

Parents of 31 developmentally delayed children (ages 1-27 months) received training to assess their children's developmental status. No initial differences existed between parent and professional scores in the motor, social, or language domains. Differences in the self-help domain disappeared after 4 months and in the cognitive domain after 12…

Investigates the influence of infant-mother attachment patterns on the development of peer interaction between the toddler and preschool periods. Notes that, in an initial encounter with an unfamiliar peer, attachment patterns appear to be related more to the child's attractiveness as an interactive partner than to the child's own active interest…

In relationships among attachment classification, psychopathology, and personality, traits were examined in a group of 60 psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents. Attachment was examined in 27 adolescent-mother pairs. Both adolescent and maternal attachment status were overwhelmingly insecure and were highly concordant. Results support a model of…

Examined long-term sequelae of severe adolescent psychopathology from the perspective of adult attachment theory. Compared 66 upper-middle-class adolescents who were psychiatrically hospitalized at age 14 for problems other than thought or organic disorders, to 76 socio-demographically similar high school students. When reviewed at age 25,…

Adolescents in psychiatric treatment (N=133) participated in a case-comparison study investigating the association of attachment patterns with a history of suicidal behaviors. Attachment patterns were assessed using the Adult Attachment Interview. In accordance with definitions provided in the scoring system, 86% of case and 78% of comparison…

Examines changes in patterns of prosocial motivation between grades 2 and 12 in samples from West Germany, Poland, Italy, and the United States. Uses a questionnaire to assess within-subject preference for 5 prosocial motives: hedonism, self-interest, conformity, task orientation, and other-orientation. (MW)

Examined the role of pretend play interactions in stimulating social and emotional competence by comparing the quality of pretend and nonpretend social play. Found that pretend play involved more complex, mutually responsive, and emotionally invested social interaction than nonpretend play. Expression of psychosocial issues within pretense was…