The authors examined the relations of maternal supportive parenting to effortful control and internalizing problems (i.e., separation distress, inhibition to novelty), externalizing problems, and social competence when toddlers were 18 months old (n = 256) and a year later (n = 230). Mothers completed the Coping With Toddlers' Negative Emotions…

Previous research has suggested that preschoolers possess a cognitive system that allows them to construct an abstract, coherent representation of causal relations among events. Such a system lets children reason retrospectively when they observe ambiguous data in a rational manner (e.g., D. M. Sobel, J. B. Tenenbaum, & A. Gopnik, 2004).…

In 3 studies, young children were tested for their understanding of pretend actions. In Studies 1 and 2, pairs of superficially similar behaviors were presented to 26- and 36-month-old children in an imitation game. In one case the behavior was marked as trying (signs of effort), and in the other case as pretending (signs of playfulness).…

Examined data on cognitive ability of mono- and dizygotic twins who ranked in the bottom 10th percentile of cognitive ability at 14, 20, 24, and 36 months. Statistical analyses suggested that there is a genetic etiology in low cognitive ability groups and that the stability of low cognitive ability over time is due primarily to genetic factors.…

Investigated the role of parental interaction styles on children's developing skill at providing contextual orientation in personal experience narratives. Eighteen monthly narratives were elicited from toddlers. The children's increasing skill at independently providing context about when and where was correlated with mothers' frequency of using…

Two-year-olds' difficulty with rule execution was examined through one of six tasks: a task assessing knowledge about a series of items, a deductive card sort requiring the use of knowledge to sort items by rules, and four modifications of the card sort. Found that the toddlers performed better on the knowledge task than the other tasks. (MDM)

Examined linguistic and nonlinguistic context effects on the shape bias in three year olds' word learning. Results indicated that children systematically attended to shape in interpreting novel count nouns, but their interpretation of adjectives was contextually determined. (GLR)

This study investigated novel word acquisition by 18- and 24-month-old children in the context of adult referential behavior independent of variations in salience. Findings suggest that 24-month olds use referential intent of the speaker to learn new words, but when learning, they may have a less secure grasp on the meaning of speakers'…

Examines the relations of levels of task engagement to investigation and visual attention in data from 30-month-old children. Finds significant correlations between task and other mastery behavior. Postulates task engagement as valid assessment of mastery behavior. Suggests the motivation for young children's play is acquisition and mastery of…

The ability of three-year-old children to deceive was examined in order to determine whether they were able to hide their emotional expression intentionally. Results indicated that very young children have begun the process of learning how to mask their emotional expressions and support the role of socialization in this process. (RH)

Three studies examined children's learning of second labels for objects. Found that, at 24 months, subjects learned both labels equally well but had difficulty with the second label if a third word was introduced. Results suggest that, from six months on, mutual exclusivity helps children interpret novel words. (WP)

Studies 12- to 24-month-olds in a series of videotaped tasks assessing single object manipulation, relational play, pretend play, distractibility and persistence. Develops eight relatively subtle measures of three aspects of individual differences in infant behavior: developmental level, attention span, and exploratory diversity. (Author/NH)

Four word-learning studies exposed 2-year olds to novel verbs and nouns. Found that knowledge of what action or object was impending was not necessary for learning the words; children learned a novel verb for an intentional but not an accidental action; and children learned a novel noun for an object being sought, but not ones rejected while…

Three experiments explored determinants of two-year olds' perseverative errors in a search task. Found that active search, even in the absence of observation, produced perseveration on post-switch trails, but mere observation did not. Results indicated that active search is required to elicit perseveration, which points to failures of response…

Reviews study of toddlers' responses to specific and neutral requests for clarification, focusing on ability to locate linguistic errors that provoked clarification requests and their successes in repair. Argues that this behavior provides evidence for a speech monitor that detects errors and enables repair. Suggests that metalinguistic ability…