Results of a series of studies suggested that excessive early vocal stimulation may be detrimental to infants' cognitive processing, and that optimal development may be associated with a moderate amount of early stimulation. Study 1 involved 59 3-month-old infants and their mothers. Study 2 observed 23 mothers and infants seen 3 months after the…

A study was made to determine whether fathers and mothers provide different types of linguistic and cognitive experiences for their preschool children. Sixteen preschoolers, divided into two groups by age and sex, participated in the study with their parents. During home visits each child was observed interacting with each parent individually.…

This paper questions social interaction studies that use frequency or duration of behaviors in mother-infant relations as reliable measures of infant interactive competence. An infant's high score on frequency and duration tests may falsely indicate that the child is more communicative than other subjects. Such results may suggest that mother and…

Adolescence is a time when formal abstract thought becomes possible, enabling the individual to work through the highest stages of morality. Adolescents' understanding of religion and their commitment to it seem to differ sharply from those of children. It has been proposed that adolescents are likely to change, expand, or abandon their religious…

The incidence and nature of depressed and nondepressed mothers' unpremeditated "teaching" behaviors was investigated during 8-minute periods of videotaped interactions between each mother and her toddler and a suitcase full of toys. Diagnosed mothers had experienced depressive episodes during their child's lifetime. Nondepressed mothers…

Case studies of six gifted productive youth (9-18 years old) were conducted to search for the special environmental conditions and personality characteristics that precede and accompany such productivity. Interviews were held with the students, their parents, and their teachers. Students were also requested to keep a journal to record their…

Two studies investigated the role that parental attitudes and behavior play in filtering the complexity of the world into manageable forms for children. Cognitive and behavioral patterns used as dependent variables were cognition (reading scores, language use, general information, beliefs, reality-fantasy discrimination); imagination;…

In the developmental literature increasing attention has been given to childrearing factors and their influence on the development of childhood behavior and attitudes, focusing primarily on maladaptive behaviors. Relatively little attention has been focused on positive family factors and their influence on prosocial development. However, research…

To determine whether or not both speech and laboratory assessments of referential communication ability measure a single area of competence, three groups of children were formed on the basis of their parents' diagnostic status: schizophrenic, unipolar depressive, or bipolar disordered. The breakdown of subject groups was as follows: 23 children of…

Reports on a survey made of 300 freshmen college students on the amount of perceived parental influence on college and vocational choice. Although students surveyed indicated that they made their own decisions, most said that they sought parental advice on important issues. (Author/PC)

Parents of students with reading problems can be taught to do many things to help enhance their children's language skills. (JH)

Presents a rationale for providing preschool children with experiences related to classification, seriation, and pattern recognition because they are means by which a child can organize the world around him. These are considered to be the early steps in the long developmental sequence leading to logical thinking and reflective observation. (GS)

One pathway through which second order effects proceed is "social referencing," a process in which the individual utilizes another's interpretation when appraising a situation. This phenomenon is well identified in adults and older children. While it had not been studied in infancy, there are good indications that the necessary cognitive…