This article introduces a developmental perspective on kindness. The central goal is to posit a new framework for the study of kindness and its development. From an ethical perspective, kindness can be considered a virtue. It reflects emotions, cognitions, and inner states that convey a particular gentleness and benevolence. These orientations can…

The use of touchscreen mobile devices in early childhood education has gained considerable attention. Several studies have been conducted to investigate the impacts of touchscreen mobile devices on children's cognitive and affective development. Researchers have further indicated the need to probe in which contexts children can learn effectively…

Background: The theoretical understanding of firesetting behaviour has predominantly been developed with men in prisons or psychiatric hospitals without neurodevelopmental disabilities. Consequently, there is a lack of evidence regarding the validity of current theory when applied to adults with intellectual disabilities and/or autism. Method:…

The author suggests the brain's cerebellum and cerebral cortex are the origin of culture and considers the cerebellar models that came to constitute culture to be derived specifically from play. He summarizes recent research on the behavioral, cognitive, and affective evolution of the cerebellum and the cerebral cortex that shows the development…

Symbolic play is a powerful vehicle for supporting emotional development and communication. It embraces all developmental capacities. This article describes how symbols are formed and how emotional themes are symbolized whereby children reveal their understanding of the world, their feelings and relationships, and how they see themselves in the…

Three tables outline a framework for conservation and environmental studies curriculum development. (KM)

The 21st century promises to make very different demands on our children and schools in a knowledge-based society. A slow but dynamic shift has been occurring in the Singapore educational system toward a learning nation and thinking school ethos. In the midst of this change, children will need to acquire a new set of skills. They will need to be…

This article reports two studies on teacher confirmation. The first examined (1) students' feelings of confirmation or disconfirmation as a function of perceived teacher behaviors, and (2) whether teacher confirmation behaviors occur in hierarchically arranged clusters. Sixty-one percent of the variance in students' feelings of confirmation was…

This paper presents a theoretical model of empathy in which empathy is defined as a largely involuntary vicarious response to affective cues from another person or from his situation. The model has three components: affective, cognitive, and motivational. In the presentation of the affective component, five distinct models of empathic affect…

A discussion of the role of affective factors in reading within the framework of the substrata factor theory is presented. The substrata factor theory and theories of the intellect are briefly discussed, and the absence of affective factors in these theories is pointed out. These affective factors are seen as influential in the individual's…

A field experiment of ninety-six employees tested a model of the relationships among dispositional learning orientation, self-efficacy, goal orientation context, and declarative knowledge. Specifically, the model predicted positive influences of task-specific self-efficacy (pre- and mid-training) and declarative knowledge in the relationship…

Presents a model of a computer writing skill consisting of four stages of development: (1) writing easier; (2) writing more; (3) writing differently; and (4) writing better. This process represents the evolution of a natural computer-based writing approach under favorable conditions regarding the starting state of the user and a range of…

A developmental model for an empathy-based prosocial motive is presented. The framework of the model is presented in terms of three components of empathy. The first component, empathic affective arousal, is discussed and six involuntary psychological mechanisms which underlie it are described briefly. These mechanisms, in the order in which they…

Reviews the major literature on creative processes in children that should be predictive of adult creativity, focusing on affective processes and children's play. Describes Russ's (1993) model of affect and creativity, and cognitive processes, personality processes, and affective processes important in creativity. Discusses theories of play,…

Highlights the strengths of the Halberstadt et al. contribution to the literature on social-emotional development. Discusses three issues relating to their model: (1) the inseparability of cognitive representation in both emotional and social functioning; (2) the role played by context; and (3) the significance of goals in any construct involving…