Investigates the effect of presentation context, taxonomy, and age of child on mothers' choices of category names in object-naming tasks. Contextual factors had a primary role in determining mothers' selections of category names, and the three independent variables had a complex and dynamic effect on mothers' naming practices. (Author/CI)

Reinterprets Jeannie R. Aschkenasy and Richard D. Odom's findings (Journal of Experimental Child Psychology; v34 n3 Dec 1982) on perceptual and cognitive development. The increasing dimensionalization of stimulus relations rather than the increasing detectability or influence of stimulus differences is argued. (BJD)

Thirty-five children who had participated in a study of mastery motivation at one year of age were reevaluated at 3.5 years. Findings differed for boys and girls and indicated that a wide range of behaviors in the cognitive-motivational domain must be examined to find developmental continuities. (Author/CB)

Short, creative thinking sessions can help fill the time between classes while encouraging students to develop all of their thinking processes. Activities are offered that require organizing, imagining, observing, patterning, and questioning skills. (DF)

The capacity of high technology to expand the limited capabilities of young disabled children is discussed. The role of technology in cognitive development, communication, self-help, and socialization skills is discussed. The appropriate goals for utilizing technology in early childhood special education, and steps for implementing those goals,…

Assessment practices in the Soviet Union reveal three trends. The so-called pedology movement was replaced in the 1930s by an anti-testing policy, followed more recently by a reassessment of psychodiagnostic practices. Late 1970s and the beginning of 1980s reveal strong interests in psychodiagnosis. (Author/CL)

Reviews recent research on the cognitive development and functioning of older adults in relation to vocational retraining. Proposes that retraining programs designed to facilitate the career adaptability and success of older persons should attempt to increase their complexity and flexibility. (JAC)

In a study using preschool and elementary school children, the children's judgments of whether brief stories described valid instances of a concept shifted in a manner consistent with the authors' hypothesis that meanings typically develop from representations in which characteristic features predominate to those in which defining features become…

Mean scores of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development for 61 very low-birthweights, corrected for prematurity, were within the normal limits at both testing occasions. However, there was a significant decrease in mental development scores from one to two years of age. (Author/CL)

Examines the effects of an extra five minutes of interaction on the psychomotor and mental development of Iranian infant orphans largely deprived of opportunities to interact with caretakers and peers. Daily intervention continued for six weeks; effects were assessed after a 6-month interval. (RH)

Suggests that there are no sharp distinctions among children's linguistic comprehension, production, and knowledge. Instead, all performance and understanding are embedded in a fluctuating, interrelated thought system. (PD)

Current research correlating brain growth and changes in electroencephalograph patterns with Piagetian periods of development does not warrant conclusions about educational planning, for cognitive development studies show no correlation between spurts and plateaus in brain growth and children's ability to learn new skills. (TE)

Perceptual counterparts of a series of conservation of length tests were presented to subjects who were categorized as conservers or nonconservers conservation of length pre-tests, and to conservers and nonconservers given conservation length training. Perceptual performance of the untrained nonconservers was significantly worse than that of the…

This is a developmental study of the effects, and role, of imagery in retrieving information from long-term memory. In two blocks of trails, first graders, fourth graders and adults determined whether or not various animals are characterized by various properties, first upon consultation of a visual image and then without imagery. (Author/SB)

The author presents a series of programmed exercises designed to help teachers develop the skills necessary to incorporate Piaget's concepts of child intellectual development into effective classroom use. (MB)