Children of the Baka, a preliterate society of Pygmies in southeast Cameroon, were tested for their conception of mind. Several studies conducted in other countries were reviewed. Results provide support for the claim that belief-desire reasoning is universally acquired in childhood. (GLR)

This study examined the development of implicit race attitudes in American and Japanese children and adults. Implicit ingroup bias was present early in both populations, and remained stable at each age tested (age 6, 10, and adult). Similarity in magnitude and developmental course across these 2 populations suggests that implicit intergroup bias…

This research compared the effects over time of parents' control and autonomy support on children's functioning in the United States and China. American and Chinese (N = 806) seventh graders (mean age = 12.73 years) participated in a 6-month longitudinal study. Children reported on their parents' psychological control, psychological autonomy…

Two concept-formation experiments were conducted with groups of American and Liberian Ss differing in age and educational background. (Authors)

Critically examines the empirical and theoretical basis for Maccoby and Jacklin's contention that males are more biologically predisposed toward aggressive behavior than are females. (Author/MP)

Investigated differences and similarities in child-rearing practices among three groups of parents. Chinese and immigrant Chinese parents rated higher than Caucasian-American parents on parental control, encouragement of independence, and emphasis on achievement. (PCB)

During observed interactions between mothers and infants in New York, Paris, and Tokyo, mothers responded to infants' exploration of the environment with encouragement, infants' vocalized nondistress with imitation, and infants' distress with nurturance. Cultural differences in maternal responsiveness to infant looking behavior were found. (BC)

Subjects from urban and rural Yucatan were tested on a short-term and incidental memory task. Urban subjects were in school, whereas most rural subjects were not. Results indicated that formal schooling is an important factor in the development of mnemonic skills in short-term memory. (ST)

Samples of spontaneous speech were collected from 20 English and 20 German preschool children and their mothers. The children's frequency of use of various tenses was compared at different age levels within each language, across languages, and with their mothers' frequency of tense usage in speech to the children. (Author/JMB)

The tape-recorded cries of low- and high-risk newborn infants were rated by 150 inner-city Anglo-American, Black-American, and Cuban-American mothers during the hospital lying-in period following childbirth. Reliable differences were found between low- and high-risk infant cries on all of four perceptual responses, with culture and parental…

Two studies examined beliefs about revealing emotion among children from Brahman, Tamang and American cultures. Findings indicated three distinct cultural patterns: Tamang were more likely to appraise difficult situations in terms of shame, while the others endorsed anger. Brahmins were more likely not to communicate negative emotion. Americans…

Examined differences among Black, Anglo, Puerto Rican, and Dominican adolescents in the relation between cigarette and alcohol use and psychosocial functioning. (PCB)

Trained observers conducted direct observations of Thai and American children's school behavior and obtained teacher reports on the same children. Observers reported twice as much problem behavior and off-task behavior in American children as in their Thai age-mates, contradicting some earlier studies. Findings support the value of direct behavior…

A powerful means to understand young children's normative development in context is to examine their everyday activities. The daily activities of 79 children (3 years old) were observed, for 20 hr each, in their usual settings. Children were selected from 4 cultural groups: European American and African American (Greensboro, United States), Luo…

A reading test was constructed in English, Japanese, and Chinese to assess the validity of the claim that children learning to read Chinese and Japanese do not evidence reading disabilities. Large samples of fifth-grade children in Japan, Taiwan, and the United States were given the test along with a battery of 10 cognitive tasks. (Author/RH)