Interactions between metaphor comprehension and level of operational thought were examined to determine what advantages individuals at the formal operational level had in natural language tasks such as the understanding of figurative language. After 30 undergraduate students were classified as either late concrete, early formal, or late formal…

The interview techniques developed by Carol Chomsky were used in a comparative study of the language acquisition of 32 bilingual and monolingual third grade students. After these students were matched for age, socioeconomic status, IQ, family environment (both parents in the home), and reading ability, they were placed in four…

This paper presents the philosophy, goals and curriculum of the San Jose University Demonstration Preschool Project and presents preliminary data on the integration of mild to moderately handicapped preschool children into the program. The program, which enrolls 6 handicapped children and 14 non-handicapped children, is based on the developmental…

The career development needs of students entering college with declared majors were investigated. The Goodson Career Development Survey was administered to 2,153 students entering 11 colleges on the campus of Brigham Young University. Approximately three-fourths of the students were new freshmen and one-fourth were lower division transfer students…

Homo sapiens is the only extant species for which there exists a significant post-reproductive period in the normal lifespan. Explanations for the evolution of this species-specific trait are possible through "non-deterministic" theories of aging positing "wear and tear" or the failure of nature to eliminate imperfection, or…

A study was undertaken (1) to determine if a relationship existed between preadolescents' levels of reading comprehension as defined by T. C. Barrett's Taxonomy of Reading Comprehension and their levels of moral development according to Lawrence Kohlberg's stage sequence and (2) to discover if females demonstrated higher levels of reading…

A model of identity formation, based on the cognitive developmental stages of social perspective-taking, was tested to determine if identity is achievable through cognitive strategies of considering the self in relation to friends, family, peers, and society. Two separate studies, one involving college students (N=28) and one involving high school…

A study was conducted to examine young children's perceptions of television characters. Three preschool children were observed intensively for three years, with supplemental information gained from parents' diaries and interviews. As the children watched television and as they engaged in television-related play, their verbal descriptions and…

Three preschool children were observed intensively for three years to document children's early television viewing repertoires and programing preferences. Relevant information was obtained from children and parents during biweekly home television viewing sessions. In addition, parents reported in diaries and questionnaires all aspects of their…

Do women go through identifiable developmental stages? Can generalizable patterns of transition be found, and if so, do these patterns differ according to the age of the respondent? What are women's most difficult and most satisfying times of life? To provide some exploratory quantitative data on these questions, a sample of 120 women completed a…

The term, "schema," used largely as a descriptive convenience rather than a theoretical guidepost in social psychology is examined through an analysis of its development, function, and structure. This paper articulates a model of schema development in adults by defining a schema as a representation of some stimulus domain and a set of…

Providing information about the interrelationships among learning, teaching, and the act of reading, this book serves as a guide for gaining an understanding of the psychological bases of the reading process. The 11 chapters discuss the following topics: (1) language and intellectual development during the formative years; (2) the aspects of child…

This paper briefly describes four early childhood education philosophies (cognitive-interactionist, behaviorist, affective-interactionist, and developmental-maturationist). Each philosophy is briefly reviewed to provide understanding of its application to an appropriate curriculum model. A reading program congruent with each philosophy and model…

Group interaction research typically focusses on behavior under "laboratory" conditions rather than in less contrived situations. Observation of natural group behaviors at different ages can effect a better understanding of their occurrence and patterning at various developmental stages. Knowledge of age-related group behavior tendencies could…

It was hypothesized that high visual imagery is a liability during acquisition periods and an asset during consolidation periods of Piaget's stages of concrete and formal operations. It was also hypothesized that at all ages high imagery would be related to performance on a "spatial egocentrism" task. A sample consisting of 195 children…