This report contains a series of articles from Japan, New Zealand, and the U.S. dealing with child development. The articles concern: (1) a social dynamic theory of early human development and a program of research based on this theory; (2) the need for intervention and the structure of intervention for children with disabilities on the island of Hokkaido; (3) the idea that when the theme of self eclipses the theme of relationship in individual development, a condition described as Acquired Relationship Deficiency Syndrome results; (4) the results of a study of the relation between mother-infant interactions and attachment classifications; (5) the results of a study of children's retrospective reports of earlier behavior that was classified as inhibited or uninhibited; (6) a review of the literature on verbal interactions among preschool children and mothers in the U.S.; (7) the tenets of a sociocultural approach to mediated action; and (8) the results of a study of interactions between Japanese mothers and children during picture storybook reading. Reference lists are appended to some articles. A roster of members of the Research and Clinical Center for Child Development is included. (BC)