Discusses the development of thinking from a sociocultural perspective, focusing on how Super and Harkness' (1986) concept of "developmental niche" may be used as a framework for organizing cognitive developmental research in relation to culture. Argues for the utility of this approach in furthering understanding of the precise linkages between…

Three studies examined young children's understanding that, if one "remembers" or "forgets," one must have known something previously. The majority of four-year olds, but not three-year olds, understood that, when two characters currently knew something, the one with prior knowledge remembered and that, when neither character…

Five studies examined adults' responses to weight conservation questions which were constructed to give subjects a choice of two incorrect answers. The results showed that adults (1) acquiesced to the misleading implications of the questions; and (2) exhibited greater nonconservation in response to questions about the body than about external…

Describes outcomes of research into the ability to process and evaluate information about musical rhythm and pitch. Reports that the Pitch Rhythm Integration Measure (PRIM) is reliable and statistically the same across age groups. Concludes that there is a significant age-related increase in the importance of rhythm for novices' perceptual…

Cognitive apprenticeship involves modeling of a task by an expert, learner performance and reflection with coaching, internalizing, and generalizing. It is effective because knowledge is created and made meaningful by the context in which it is acquired. (SK)

Describes Jean Piaget's transformation of society's conception of childhood thought. Emphasizes the enduring contribution to developmental psychology of Piaget's constructivism, his description of developmental mechanisms, his cognitivism, his explication of structural and functional analysis, and his addressing of epistemological issues and…

Three experiments tested four- to seven-year olds' ability to understand and reconcile message-desire discrepant stories. The findings suggest that young children can refrain from a performative response and, as a consequence, attend to literal meaning under some conditions when evaluating utterances. (MDM)

Briefly summarizes Vygotsky's life, the appeal and subsequent abandonment of his ideas in the 1960s, and renewal of interest in the 1970s and 1980s (often at the expense of Piaget). Praises van der Veer and Valsinger's book as a realistic picture of Vygotsky's background, life, and work, of the scientific and political context in Russia and of his…

Three studies involving eighth through twelfth graders examined the role of relativistic thinking in the cognitive, social, and emotional lives of adolescents. Findings indicate that adolescents appreciate the relativistic character of the knowing process and that there is a close relationship between epistemic attitude and identity status. (SH)

Describes laboratory research on REM (rapid eye movement) sleep in children ages five to eight. Image quality, self-representation, and narrative complexity of dreams all develop as age progresses. Children's representational intelligence predicts their rate of dream production, but language skills do not. (GH)

Argues that saying that students have "thinking problems" is hardly a useful diagnostic statement or even a sensible description of flawed cognitive development. Maintains that what is needed to encourage students to think are some sensible models and attractive opportunities to do it in contexts that matter to them. (RS)

Addresses the question of whether the social studies should be abandoned. Discusses Kieran Egan's analysis of the importance of storytelling and Egan's proposal to abandon the social studies curriculum in favor of a pedagogy more consistent with the way children think. Critiques Egan's view and examines implications for educators. (SG)

Preschoolers made judgments about solutions in which substances were dissolved. Preschoolers (1) distinguished visual appearance from underlying reality; (2) recognized the conservation of taste, smell, and dangerous properties; and (3) by age five recognized that matter can be decomposed into pieces too tiny to be seen by the naked eye. (BC)

Describes 4 experiments examining 10-month-old infants' causal event perception. Results from all experiments indicated that infants perceived causality of simple events by associating a specific agent with a causal action. These results provide more support for an information-processing view of causal perception than for a view that explains…

Discusses how research in the developmental cognitive neurosciences can contribute to an understanding of the complex relations between various aspects of naming and reading processes. Reviews findings from both neuropsychological and reading research on letter-naming and general naming speed, and analyzes the methodological differences between…