The proposed conceptualization of logical competence has 3 dimensions; principles, content, and complexity. (SB)

Explores some of the constraints on knowledge development through a multi-perspective examination of a project in which there was an intention and enacted process to develop knowledge. Engaged with the generic question of what the conditions that facilitate knowledge creation in organizations are, considers data from three theoretical…

Two studies tested three year olds' understanding of five mental states in a false belief scenario. Results indicated that children understand that desires can differ from reality before they understand that beliefs can. Results concerning children's understanding of pretenses, and dreams that differ from reality are discussed. (BC)

Jerome Bruner points out in his prologue to the first volume of the English translation of The Collected Works that Vygotsky flirts with the idea that language creates free will. This article attempts to consider the influence of the Dutch seventeenth-century philosopher Spinoza on Vygotsky. An account of Spinoza's anti-Cartesian conception of…

Recent infant studies indicate that goal attribution (understanding of goal-directed action) is present very early in infancy. We examined whether 6.5-month-olds attribute goals to agents and whether infants change the interpretation of goal-directed action according to the kind of agent. We conducted three experiments using the visual habituation…

Minority is a term that has become particularly visible within the rehabilitation literature due to the increasing focus on the application of minority models to the understanding of the disability experience. At the same time, it is also one of the most ill-defined and misunderstood terms. In this article, the authors explore the meaning of…

This paper provides answers to questions about minimum legal drinking age. The questions include: (1) Youth in other countries are exposed to alcohol at earlier ages and engage in less alcohol abuse and have healthier attitudes toward alcohol. Don't those countries have fewer alcohol-related problems than we do?; (2) Does educating teens about…

The discovery that 3-year-old children have difficulties understanding false belief has fuelled two decades of research directed at understanding why children have this problem. One unresolved question is whether false belief problems are due to difficulties with mental or representational aspects of mental states. This question has implications…

Preterm birth is associated with an increased risk of developmental difficulties. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is increasingly being used to identify damage to the brain following preterm birth. It is hoped this information will aid prognostication and identify neonates who would benefit from early therapeutic intervention. Cystic…

The development of mental imagery in relation to the comprehension of concrete proverbs (e.g., "one rotten apple spoils the barrel") was examined in children, adolescents, and adults who were ages 11 to 29 years old (n = 210). The findings indicated that age-related changes occurred in mental imagery and in proverb comprehension during the years…

In this decade of Education for Sustainable Development, it is timely to consider the methodological issues associated with researching this topic not only with adults but also with the young children who, as members of the next generation, will experience the success or otherwise of current environmental sustainability efforts. We argue that it…

What are the characteristics of programs that have the greatest likelihood of success in promoting the development of very young children at risk? This brief review of research offers insights for policy makers and early childhood educators alike. The United States is fortunate to have well-designed early educational intervention programs that may…

We examined whether individual differences in children's performance on a scaled battery of theory-of-mind tasks was predicted by parents' performance on an adult theory-of-mind task. Forty-six 3-year-old children and their parents participated in this study when children were aged 2;11 to 4;0. Thirty dyads returned 6 months later for a second…

Young children's skilled generalization of newly learned nouns to new instances has become the battleground for two very different approaches to cognition. This debate is a proxy for a larger dispute in cognitive science and cognitive development: cognition as rule-like amodal propositions, on the one hand, or as embodied, modal, and dynamic…

Young children tend to generalize novel names for novel solid objects by similarity in shape, a phenomenon dubbed "the shape bias". We believe that the critical insights needed to explain the shape bias in particular, and cognitive development more generally, come from Dynamic Systems Theory. We present two examples of recent work focusing on the…