This paper presents a model of cognitive development across the life span that is designed to integrate the diverse empirical evidence in the area of cognitive development in childhood and adulthood. Relevant research is reviewed in the relationships between performance and age, and the effects of training on performance. A model is then proposed…

To date, the focus of research has been to demonstrate the link between interpersonal problem-solving skills and adjustment. Little attention has been given to the study of how specific interpersonal problem-solving abilities evolve or to age-related changes in overall ability. White students (N=30) identified as socially well-adjusted,…

Examined 5- to 12-year-olds' judgment regarding the behavior of balance scales and other levers whose arms varied in a causal or a noncausal variable. Results indicated age-related increases in correct judgments about the influence of physical features of objects at an earlier age than about spatial relations between objects. (MOK)

Describes phonological sensitivity at different grain sizes as a good predictor of reading acquisition in all languages. Presents information on development of phonological sensitivity for syllables, onsets, and rimes. Illustrates that phoneme-level skills develop fastest in children acquiring orthographically consistent languages with simple…

Elementary schools generally expect similar achievement levels of children who are 12 months apart in age at the kindergarten level. Suggests 11 steps to apply practices to primary grades that are common in working with younger children that allow for the normal variation in development that exists among children. (MLF)

Notes that Grusec and Goodnow's model of discipline encounters as context for children's internalization of parental values seems best suited for middle childhood and adolescence. Suggests that processes such as social referencing, sensitivity to standard violations, emergence of self, and self-regulation may be important antecedents and signs of…

Presents results of an analysis of a collection of statements about God written by German students between 16 and 22 years of age. Examines results from a psychoanalytic and cognitive-developmental perspective. Also considers the ways in which adolescents talk about the relationship between God and the church. (BB)

Information about adulthood that evaluators need to consider as they help others grow is presented as a series of templates of development and change. Examples are given of growth receptivity at different ages and positions in life. In self-development evaluation, the individual might write an Individual Development Plan. (SLD)

Individuals with Down syndrome (n=49) were assigned to three groups: those showing cognitive deterioration, those comparable in age, and those not showing cognitive deterioration but younger. Those experiencing cognitive deterioration were less likely to receive day services, had more impoverished life experiences, and required more support.…

Used cross-sectional life span data from normative sample for Woodcock-Johnson Psycho-Educational Battery to examine independence of age-related cognitive changes in childhood and adulthood. Found that majority of age-related differences were shared across different cognitive variables and were well predicted by individual differences in…

Extends William James' classification of phenomenalistic reality (PR) and analyzes PR using empirical data available in developmental psychology; focuses on the relation of PR to a human subject; to rational constructions; and to the idea of truth. Concludes that the development of phenomenalistic reality is qualitatively different from the…

This study used longitudinal data from five Irish American families and nine Chinese families in Taiwan, in conjunction with cultural psychology research evidence, to propose universal, culturally variable, and developmental dimensions of children's pretend play. Findings raise the theoretical issue of how universal and variable dimensions of…

This intergenerational study focused upon obstacles confronting three gifted women in three generations in the same family. Obstacles included providing for basic needs of family, children, work, and others; the role of personal satisfaction as a quality of life; and the ability to accommodate wants, needs, and expectations of others. (Author/CR)

Preschool children (N=23) and fifth-grade children (N=23) and their mothers judged the acceptability of corporal punishment as a function of the type of transgression (acting danerously, violating a social rule, or violating a moral precept) and discipline agent. Children of both ages and their mothers discriminated among different types of…

This study longitudinally examined attributes of children's social networks as they changed from the preschool period to middle childhood. The social networks of 75 middle class white children at 3, 6, and 9 years of age were assessed for daily contact and number of contacts with kin, nonkin, adults, peers, and same and opposite sex friends. Data…