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ERIC Number: EJ939697
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2004
Pages: 10
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1524-8372
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
U-Shaped Interest in U-Shaped Development--and What It Means
Siegler, Robert S.
Journal of Cognition and Development, v5 n1 p1-10 2004
Interest in U-shaped development has itself undergone a U-shaped progression. Twenty-five years ago, interest in U-shaped development was high. This interest was evident at a 1978 conference in Tel Aviv on "U-shaped Behavioral Growth" that resulted in the publication of a book of the same title 4 years later (Strauss, 1982). The breadth and depth of interest in U-shaped development at the time was reflected in the range of areas in which the phenomenon was being studied and in the prominence of the people who were focusing on it. The areas and people included language development (Melissa Bowerman and Jacques Mehler), artistic creativity (Howard Gardner and Ellen Winner), face perception (Susan Carey), social cognition (Walter Emmerich), and scientific reasoning (David Klahr, Sidney Strauss, Ian Wallace, and the author). Following this early flowering, interest in U-shaped curves declined. And then interest in U-shaped development again increased. One sign of this upsurge was an exchange in November and December of 2000 on the Cognitive Development Society Listserv. The exchange began with a query from Alan Slater, which noted that although development generally involves performance going from worse to better, it sometimes goes from better to worse and other times follows a U-shaped function. In this article, the author believes that the increasing attention to U-shaped performance that is reflected in this special issue is indicative of an increasing emphasis on the goal of explaining development. The time seems ripe for such renewed efforts at well-grounded developmental explanations; the present special issue illustrates the benefits that such efforts can produce.
Psychology Press. Available from: Taylor & Francis, Ltd. 325 Chestnut Street Suite 800, Philadelphia, PA 19106. Tel: 800-354-1420; Fax: 215-625-2940; Web site: http://www.tandf.co.uk/journals
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: R305H020060
Author Affiliations: N/A