Young children were given tasks in which they were to identify small variations in complex patterns. Results indicated the children were able to perform the task more accurately than developmental models would have predicted. (ST)

Eight quantitative comparison tasks were administered to four- to seven-year-olds. Findings indicated that performance on comparison tasks was related to performance on a number conservation test and to age. Factor analysis yielded a unitary factor. (RH)

Four experiments examined children's understanding of the inverse relationship between the number of parts into which a quantity is divided and the size of each part. Found that children tended to judge that bigger shares resulted from sharing with more recipients. Seven-year olds performed correctly on a simplified equal-sharing task. Five-year…

Findings from 2 longitudinal studies replicate and considerably extend past work on child temperament as a moderating link between parenting and successful socialization outcomes. In Study 1 (N = 106 mothers and children), child fearfulness, mother-child positive relationship, and maternal power assertion were assessed at 22 and 33 months; the…

Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are at risk for adverse outcomes such as substance abuse and criminality, particularly if they develop conduct problems. Little is known about early predictors of the developmental course of conduct problems among children with ADHD, however. Parental psychopathology and parenting …

This study aimed to prospectively examine the role of peer and media influences in the development of body satisfaction (incorporating the desire for thinness and satisfaction with appearance) in young girls, as well as the relationship between body satisfaction and self-esteem. A sample of 97 girls 5-8 years of age completed individual interviews…

Two experiments examined young children's use of behavioral frequency information to make behavioral predictions and global personality attributions. In Experiment 1, participants heard about an actor who behaved positively or negatively toward 1 or several recipients. Generally, children did not differentiate their judgments of the actor on the…

Evaluates the relations between visual attention received from peers and social competence in young preschool children by correlating Q-sort scores for social competence with visual regard. Results suggest that visual regard from peers may index general social visibility rather than social competence. (SKC)

When shown photographs, young children preferred children with attractive faces as potential friends, and attributed prosocial behaviors to them. They disliked unattractive faces and attributed antisocial behaviors to them. (ST)

In first of 2 experiments, an early negative component of 400 4 to 6 year olds distinguished between happy and angry expressions. A later positive component distinguished between target and nontarget events. Both components were observed in a second experiment. Results are discussed in the context of children's allocation of attentional and memory…

Investigates whole body stiffness as a function of developmental level in the hopping of seven children of four-eight years. Proposes that stiffness may be a key parameter that is controlled by the central nervous system when children hop. (RJC)

First- and third-graders' emotion dissimulation in a disappointing gift task was compared with their degree of dissimulation in a highly motivating game task that required the same ability but involved a self-gain motive. Although boys reduced their expression of negative affect in the game task, they still showed higher levels of negativity than…

Sixty young children were tested for their understanding that a person who is mentally focused on one thing devotes little or no simultaneous attention to another, totally irrelevant thing. Though most 6- and 8-year olds demonstrated an understanding that task-oriented thought and attention were selectively focused, most of the 4-year olds showed…

In a study of 50 normal children and 65 children with expressive language disorder (ELD), results showed no differences in the frequency, duration, or timing of episodes of otitis media. For children with ELD, there was a relationship between otitis media and expressive language improvement. (BC)

Children with and without imaginary companions (ICs) were asked to describe the IC or a real friend. Seven months later, children's descriptions of ICs were as stable as their descriptions of real friends. Children with and without ICs did not differ in their ability to distinguish fantasy from reality. (BC)