This work aims to analyse the specific contribution of social abilities (here considered as the capacity for attributing knowledge to others) in a particular communicative context. 74 normally developing children (aged 3;4 to 5;9, M=4.6) were given two Theory of Mind (ToM) tasks, which are considered to assess increasing complexity levels of…

Four experiments examined the development of negative priming (NP) in 3-5-year-old children using as a measure of children's executive function (EF) the dimensional change card sort (DCCS) task. In the NP version of the DCCS, the values of the sorting dimension that is relevant during the preswitch phase are removed during the postswitch phase.…

Three-, four-, and five-year-olds were given problems to test their ability to recognize absolute number and relative order. Results suggest that children understand number as an absolute amount before they understand it as part of a progressive sequence in contradiction to the "ordinal theory of number." (Author/DST)

This longitudinal study found that 37 preschool children with Down's syndrome, compared to children with normal development, exhibited a disturbance in nonverbal requesting, and individual differences in nonverbal requesting were associated with subsequent development of expressive language in these children. Data indicate that acquisition of…

A cognitive-developmental approach to reading instruction for preschool children is presented in this document. Common misunderstandings about reading instruction are discussed, and examples of young children's reading readiness are used to illustrate how developmental readiness, self-motivation, and the influence of an appropriate learning…

This article presents three studies that were designed to map the dimensions involved in "g," with an emphasis of the place of self-awareness in it. The first study involved preschoolers from 3 to 7 years of age. These were examined in three domains (spatial, quantitative and categorical reasoning) with both actual tasks and tasks addressed to the…

Nine tasks were designed to test the developmental sequence of three types of "because" (affective, physical, concrete logical) in 100 children aged 3 to 7 years. The tasks tested whether comprehension of "because" preceded its usage and at what point children understood that sentences with reversed clauses were incorrect.…

Describes a study which explored developmental changes in preschoolers' knowledge of the writing system. The children were asked to write four utterances without knowing the purpose of the request and without additional explanations. The purpose was to determine how early children's graphic responses in decontextualized situations have features of…

Reexamined the theoretical question of early childhood egocentrism by replicating Piaget and Inhelder's mountain experiment with variations to insure the age appropriateness of the task for 3- and 4-year-old children. (SDH)

Investigates the development and production of spatial deictic terms ("this/that", "here/there", "my/your") in the context of a hide-and-seek game using preschool children and college age adults. (Author/ED)

Reports on three studies which investigated the development of the concept of horizontality in subjects from nursey school through college age. Normative data collected allowed for evaluation of Piaget's stages and for differences due to age, sex, and apparatus shape and orientation. (ED)

Recent empirical findings have challenged Vygotsky's theory regarding the self-regulatory functions of children's private speech. This study hypothesized that semantic tasks and instructions to talk out loud would maximize private speech production. Results supported Vygotsky's notion that private speech does not disappear with age but "goes…

This book provides a comprehensive clinical-developmental framework for understanding and treating behavior problems in early childhood. Examining the developmental tasks and transitions that young children face in cognitive, social, and family contexts, the book helps readers distinguish between typical, age-appropriate behaviors and those that…