The tendency of two year olds to select an unfamiliar over a familiar object was less when they were asked to choose between items than to identify a referent for an unfamiliar name. This result suggests that children have both an attraction for novel items and a tendency to honor lexical principles. (BC)

Groups of younger and older children in a sample of two to five year olds were assessed for gender knowledge, gender standards, and gender-linked behavior. All children exhibited more same- than cross-sex typed behavior. Older children expressed self-approval for same-sex behavior and self-criticism for cross-sex behavior. (BC)

Normal and mentally retarded children were attentive to adults who showed distress, fear, and discomfort. Autistic children looked at adults less and engaged in more toy play than other children when adults pretended to be hurt. Autistic children were less attentive than normal children to adults who showed fear. (BC)

In one task, preschoolers pretended to use common objects. Three- and four-year olds used gestures in which body parts represented the objects. Five-year olds used gestures that involved imaginary objects. In a second task, preschoolers were asked to imitate gestures modeled by the experimenter. Three-year olds could not imitate imaginary object…

In three experiments, children were asked whether animals, plants, and artifacts that had been damaged could heal through regrowth and whether a person could mend them. Four-year olds realized that both animals and plants could regrow and that artifacts had to be fixed by humans. Three-year olds were less knowledgeable than four-year olds. (MDM)

Examined dual representation among toddlers and preschoolers in four studies. Found that dual representation was as difficult for 2.5-year-olds with a set of individual objects as it was with an integrated model. Decreasing the physical salience of a scale model made representation easier for 2.5-year-olds. Increasing the model's salience made…

Previous studies have reported, but not explained, the reason for a robust association between reading achievement and antisocial behavior. This association was investigated using the Environmental Risk (E-Risk) Longitudinal Twin Study, a nationally representative 1994-1995 birth cohort of 5 and 7 year-olds. Results showed that the association…

Two experiments explored whether children's correct answers to counter factual and future hypothetical questions were based on an understanding of possibilities. Children played a game in which a toy mouse could run down either 1 of 2 slides. Children found it difficult to mark physically both possible outcomes, compared to reporting a single…

Maternal involvement effects on symbolic play development in toddlers were investigated. Sixteen mother-child dyads were observed at bimonthly intervals in a free-play setting during the period from 20 to 28 months of age. The complexity and length of play episodes increased when the mother was available to play with the child. (Author/BN)

Investigated the influence of the child's knowledge base on symbolic play in terms of event schemas. Pretend play of 10 mother-child (ages 24 to 29 months) dyads was observed in novel and free play contexts. Play was examined for thematic content, self-other relations, substitute/imaginary objects, action integration, and planfulness. (Author/BN)

Academically competent third-graders and their parents were studied to (1) determine whether the illusion of incompetence documented in fifth graders appears in younger children; and (2) examine the influence that parents exert on their children's development of self-perceptions of academic competence. (PCB)

Longitudinal study of two cohorts of children selected in the second or third year of life as being extremely cautious and shy (inhibited) or fearless and outgoing (uninhibited) in regards to unfamiliar events revealed preservation of these two behavioral qualities through their sixth year. (PCB)

Production and judgment tasks were used to investigate five- through eight-year-old children's metalinguistic awareness of pragmatic rules concerning direct and indirect requests for action and information. Results showed several effects for age of child and for type of request. (Author/RH)

Quantitatively describes the gait development of a group of African children to determine how pattern changes would relate to growth and maturation. A total of 65 children from the Gusii tribe of southwestern Kenya, ranging in age from 13 to 69 months, were selected for study. (Author/RH)

Abilities of 2-, 5-, and 7-year-old children to interpret, judge acceptability of, and produce class extensions were assessed. It was concluded that increasing ability to deal appropriately with class extensions is primarily due to general advances in language acquisition rather than to any development unique to the class-extension word-formation…