The end-state comfort effect has been observed in recent studies of grip selection in adults. The present study investigated whether young children also exhibit sensitivity to end-state comfort. The task was to pick up an overturned cup from a table, turn the cup right side up, and pour water into it. Two age groups (N = 20 per group) were…

There is little experimental evidence that any non-human species is capable of purposefully attempting to manipulate the psychological states of others deceptively (e.g., manipulating what another sees). We show here that chimpanzees, one of humans' two closest primate relatives, sometimes attempt to actively conceal things from others.…

Parker and Gibson's developmental model of evolution of language and intelligence in early hominids is described and discussed; data from a comparative study of object manipulation in two apes and a human infant are reported; and, human ontogenic developmental retardation in locomotion is discussed in terms of its implications for the differential…

Previous research has emphasized the role of within-match similarity in children's comparisons. The current study investigated another potentially important contributing factor, namely the distinctiveness of the matching items relative to other items in the scene. Using a well-known relational mapping task, we found that 3- and 4-year-olds made…

A set of boxes with incongruous animal pictures and a set of plastic Bristle Blocks were presented to 20 preschool children and 20 college students to investigate or play with as they wished. The time spent in investigative exploration and play was recorded over three 10-minute sessions on separate days. (Author/JMB)

Compared mothers' play with infants with Down syndrome (DSC) and typically developing children (TDC) matched for mental or chronological age. Found that TDC mothers exhibited more object demonstrations with their developmentally younger children, who showed less object play. DSC mothers were more directive and supportive than mothers of younger…

The extent to which free play versus sequenced questioning conditions facilitates preschoolers' associative fluency was investigated in this study. Twenty-four children (12 boys and 12 girls, with a mean age of 50.7 months) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: free play, sequenced questioning, and control. In the sequenced…

This study sought to determine whether there exist performance distinctions between artists and nonartists on specific two- and three-dimensional nonverbal problems. The factorial structure of scores on ten nonverbal ability tests was analyzed to identify mental process differences between the two groups. (Author/SJL)

To establish baseline data on South African children's behavior, observed 80 children at home and interviewed the children's primary caregiver. Gathered data on patterns of interaction and language use, content of activity, and use of objects. Presents general biographical and behavioral data, notes gender differences, and compares this data to…

Researchers studying monitoring accuracy currently use two different indexes to estimate accuracy: relative accuracy and absolute accuracy. The authors compared the distributional properties of two measures of monitoring accuracy using Monte Carlo procedures that fit within these categories. They manipulated the accuracy of judgments (i.e., chance…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a creative movement program on gross motor skills of preschool children. Sixty children between the ages of 3 to 5 were drawn from the population of a preschool in Taichung, Taiwan. An experimental pretest-posttest control-group design was utilized. The children enrolled in the…

The purpose of this four-group controlled experiment was to ascertain: (1) the effect of a motion model on a learner's performance behavior and (2) the effect of verbal description of the processes included in the demonstration upon a learner's performance behavior. After viewing video tape presentations, one with commentary and one without, of…

This paper describes two empirical studies which investigated the importance for spatial learning of view control and object manipulation within 3D environments. A 3D virtual chemistry laboratory was used as the research instrument. Subjects, who were university undergraduate students (34 in the first study and 80 in the second study), undertook…

The purpose of this study was to assess the effectiveness of two generative learning strategies, concept maps and manipulation of objects, and to determine if either works better with individual learners or in cooperative learning groups. A total of 80 sixth-grade students in science education were randomly assigned to group or individual…