Explores implications of two cognitive development perspectives for characterizing ontogeny of causal reasoning. Reviews literature on causal reasoning in the preschool years and concludes that the hypothesis of an invariant causal scheme is only partially correct. (Author/SO)

Presents a model of the development of desociocentering, decentering relative to the social group, which is based on Piagetian research and theory and Wernerian concepts. (Author/SS)

Critically reviews research on developmental differences in reactions to the physically disabled in order to illustrate age-related influences and to provide a clearer conceptualization of such reactions. (Author/CM)

Presents and reviews Piaget's recent work on equilibration. (BD)

Comments on Lewis's ideas about reconciling stage and specificity in neo-Piagetian theory in this issue. Focuses on whether general stages, domain specificity, and individual diversity are compatible from a nonlinear, dynamic perspective. Suggests that, by using catastrophe theory, intra- and interindividual diversity and domain specificity can be…

To resolve tension between general stages and conceptual specificity in neo-Piagetian theory, R. Case introduced the idea of central conceptual structures. To resolve difficulties of separating developmental level and conceptual diversity, this article reconceptualizes central conceptual structures as self-organizing systems that stabilize in…

Comments on Lewis's ideas about reconciling stage and specificity in neo-Piagetian theory in this issue. Summarizes R. Case's central conceptual structure and its relation to other neo-Piagetian theories. Notes similarities between Lewis and Piaget, suggesting that differences adhere to a limited number of general laws instead of being…

Discusses study of the development of children's drawing as infused with Western cultural values. Suggests that changes are needed in the images used to describe development, especially the use of developmentally ordered stages. Maintains that the light spectrum is the most promising reconceptualization of artistic development because it captures…

Discusses processes in the development of shared pretend representations: adoption of shared pretend focus; metacommunication defining the activity as pretend play; and communication within pretend play. Examines claims that children's play becomes intersubjective only after three years of age. Concludes that intersubjectivity in peer pretend play…

Reviews a book which describes the Sociomoral Reflection Measure-Short Form. Compares the test to that of Lawrence Kohlberg, pointing out benefits and drawbacks of the test, and concludes the test represents a notable advance in the measurement of Kohlberg's first four stages of moral development. (TM)

Offers a theoretical and methodological approach to study of children's socio-cognitive interaction. Observation of object-centered activities among three age groups of children showed different modes of collaboration. Processes were similar across age groups; roots of basic peer interaction patterns reach back into infancy. Similarities across…

Comments on Verba's ideas about collaboration in peer interaction in this issue. Praises Verba for setting new direction in the study and understanding of social processes in cognitive development and for establishing important continuities in how children communicate with peers. Notes that Verba's analyses suggest natural categories of…