Studied children's sex-category constancy judgments and accompanying explanations over three years. Found that constancy improvements were linked to explanations based on operational reasoning. Lower constancy scores were linked to explanations emphasizing gender-role norms and external appearances. Judgment-explanation relationships were stronger…

In discussing cognitive development in infants, the article focuses on how the infant brain is taught to learn, what the learning mechanisms are (events that happen at synaptic contacts between nerve cells that lead to learning and memory), what causes mental retardation, and what can be done to prevent or reverse mental retardation. (SM)

Building on the foundation of research on how critical thinking develops during college and on the extensive research on differences in the resident and commuter student experiences, this article explores aspects of the college experience that might be associated with cognitive development. Analyzes data from six institutions representing 326…

This study sought to differentiate pervasive developmental disorder not otherwise specified (PDDNOS) from similar nonautistic disorders on the basis of a cognitive deficit, theory of mind (ToM), which is the ability to infer mental states in others, a deficit highly prevalent in autism, a disorder similar to PDDNOS. Results suggest that children…

Addresses educational and policy issues related to use and interpretation of intelligence (IQ) tests in schools. Summarizes research on cognitive abilities and origins of individual differences in IQ. Considers implications of findings for educational and social policy. Discusses important issues related to practical application of IQ tests in…

Administered five Piagetian tests to 180 adolescents for comparison to similar samples from 1967 and 1972. Found that today's adolescents exhibited higher levels of cognitive development than did previous cohorts. Gain varied across tasks, being very large for combinatory thought but mixed for conservation. This acceleration of cognitive…

Demonstrates the need for a process-oriented, constructivist approach to understanding infants' categorization abilities. Suggests that emphasizing the distinction between perceptual and conceptual categorization has been an obstacle to forging an approach. Proposes a more microanalytic consideration of features available to infants at different…

Three longitudinal studies examined means-ends behavior of 6- to 8-month olds. Found that intentional means-end behavior increased between 6 and 7 months, with 7-month olds' performance influenced by the presence of a toy on the cloth. Performance was the same when cloth was attached to or separate from the toy. By 8 months, infants adjusted…

Two studies examined preschool teacher and child interactions regarding personal, moral, and socioconventional issues in the classroom and the development of personal concepts. Findings suggested that in both judgments and social interactions, teachers and children identified a personal domain in which children can and should make choices about…

Investigates the characteristics of the intrafamily environment that change the intellectual environment of the children and interact with the factor of birth order. Concludes that the effect of birth order is linked: (1) with the gender configuration of sibling relationships; and (2) with various cognitive and personal characteristics of the…

Surveyed 7-year-olds' ideas about the Earth in space, focusing on their ideas about shape and their ability to represent and describe land masses or other surface features, Earth's size relative to the sun and moon, and its nature as a planet. Found that focusing on the Earth's shape and gravity alone has underestimated youngsters' learning…

Two studies examined preschool children's beliefs about maternal intention as a mechanism for trait inheritance. Study 1 indicated that preschoolers believe that maternal intention plays a role in inheritance of physical traits. Study 2 suggested that children see some properties as outside maternal control, and that maternal intention operates…

Compared the interaction of depressed and nondepressed mothers and their infants with joint attention during mother-infant play. Found that although maternal vocal attention was generally higher for male infants than for female infants, depressed mothers gave more vocal attention to female infants. Found no correlation between mothers' vocal…

Maintains that although Kohlberg emphasized the importance of perspective taking in moral reasoning, his view of developmental stages is inconsistent with this position. Argues that a modification of Kohlberg's conception of stages drawing on Piagetian theory would result in a view of moral reasoning as a process of coordinating all perspectives…

Examined the relationship between language and cognitive development and emotional-behavioral problems (measured concurrently and at a 5- and 17-month follow-up) in 680 nonreferred 4-year-olds from financially-disadvantaged families. Found that language delays were significantly related to emotional-behavioral problems. When cognitive differences…