Discusses solutions to the problem arising when parents are ready for their child to be toilet trained and the child shows no interest. Provides information on physical and emotional readiness and environmental factors in readiness. Recommends that lessons in good hygiene be included in toilet training. Notes that when physical, emotional, and…

Two experiments examined development of the ordinality concept in infants. Found that 11-month-olds successfully discriminated, whereas 9-month-olds failed to discriminate sequences that descended in numerical value from sequences increasing in numerical value. Nine-month-olds could discriminate the ordinal direction of sequences that varied in…

This synthesis of articles in the special issue highlights the influence of context and psychological mechanisms on school-to-work transition, especially the effects of sociohistorical changes, gender, occupational aspiration, and parental socioeconomic status. Concludes that forming occupational aspirations and entering a career are complex…

This article summarizes viewpoints expressed at a British special education conference on whether it matters if children acquire a standard pencil grip. Some participants felt children should be encouraged to use the standard tripod grip, while others believed children should be allowed to choose their own style of grip. (CR)

Two experiments used a formal model of developmental discontinuity derived from catastrophe theory to test whether the transition from Rule I to Rule II on the balance scale task proceeds discontinuously from ages 6 to 10, focusing on five catastrophe flags. Found that bimodality, inaccessible region, hysteresis, and sudden jump were clearly…

This study assessed the relationship between college students' identity development and their levels of academic achievement in an introductory psychology course. Results demonstrated the validity of Erikson's position that formation of identity continues into young adulthood. Study raises the issue of how intervention programs that assist…

A study examined developmental changes in talker recognition skills by assessing 72 children's (ages 3-5) recognition of 20 cartoon characters' voices. Four- and 5-year-old children recognized more of the voices than did 3-year-olds. All children were more accurate at recognizing more familiar characters than less familiar characters. (Contains…

Examines the biological, psychological, and social developmental changes that characterize the years from 6 to 14, and highlights ways in which the organization of programs, schools, and family life can support positive outcomes for youth. In these years children forge a personal identity and form a self-concept and orientation toward achievement…

Considers the child's development journey from a Montessorian perspective to explain how personal development recapitulates the historical complexity of human exploration and rational discovery in mental processes that connect the individual with the environment. (JPB)

Debunks the "myth of the first three years"--notions about synaptic density changes, critical periods, and "enriched" or complex environments in early brain development. Neuroscientists say synaptic densities vary over the life span. There is no linear connection between number of synapses in the brain and brainpower or intelligence. (Contains 44…

Shows how education among traditional communities in Benin is an initiatory process where acquisition of practical knowledge is interwoven with religion and custom. States that rites of passage, tests, and acquisition of appropriate forms of knowledge may mark an individual's developmental stages. Describes several specific forms of education.…

Four experiments investigated the development of visuomotor control in sequential pointing in tasks varying in difficulty among 6- to 10-year-olds and adults. Comparisons across difficulty levels and ages suggest that motor development is not a uniform fine-tuning of stable strategies. Findings raise argument for stage characteristics of…

Studied whether patterns of developmental progression in reality monitoring were present in visual and auditory modalities and the role of cross-modal imagery in reality-monitoring tasks. Found scores revealed evidence of developmental progression in both auditory and visual source-monitoring tasks, but no effect of cross-modal imagery. (Author)

A study documented the literacy development of a preschool child with deafness. Findings indicated he went through several levels as he learned to read: focusing on pictures in books, reading familiar words in context, focusing on sign print, relating sign print to written English, and reading written English independently. (Contains references.)…

A longitudinal sample of 226 infants were tested monthly on habituation and novelty preference tasks, augmented with simultaneous heart rate recording from 3 to 9 months of age. Infants were then administered the Bayley Scales of Infant Development II (BSID) and MacArthur Communicative Development Inventory (MCDI) at 12, 18, and 24 months. Prior…