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)

Provides an alternative conception of postconventional moral development which fits existing data on late adolescent and adult moral judgment better than Kohlberg's higher stage descriptions. Data is from a longitudinal study of 26 undergraduates at Harvard. (Author/SS)

Constructs a tentative stage model of the development of the understanding of suicide motives, based on interview data from 14- to 22-year-old male and female subjects of different SES backgrounds. Development is characterized by these trends: extension of time perspective; differentiation and individualization of actor schemata and motive…

Sixteen families expecting their second child at the beginning of the study were observed over a period of two years in their homes, in order to conceptualize changes in family structure as it changes from a triadic to a tetradic (group or arrangement of four) form. (MP)

In an investigation of the relationship of the logical operations to other developmental sequences, 30 college students were assessed as to logical operational ability and poetic interpretation. The strong relation found between these two abilities supports the theoretically predicted applicability of central, formal reasoning structures to…

Reports a two-year longitudinal study of 55 adolescents and young adults who were divided into three groups and given Reflective Judgment Interviews and the Concept Mastery Test to investigate sequentiality of reflective judgment stages. Results indicate support for seven hypothesized shifts in epistemic assumptions over time.(Author/RH)

Outlines Piaget's late ideas on categories and morphisms and the impact of these ideas on the comprehension of the inclusion relationship and the solution of arithmetic problems. Reports a study in which fourth through sixth graders were given arithmetic problems involving two known quantities associated with changes rather than states. Identified…

Coded discourse of three preschool girls during an entire play session. Analyzed discourse as an instance of Goffman's concept of social frames specifying 13 reality modes, from deeply engrossed play action to nonplay interaction. Proposes a theoretical view regarding the society-instituting function of pretend play from a constructivist…

Several experiments with 8- to 9-year-old children are reported to demonstrate that "decalage" observed between success in problems of conservation of weight, volume, and density is due to the different task situation as presented by Piaget and Inhelder. (Author)

A dialectical schemata framework was used to interpret, code, and compare 27 interviews on the nature of education with freshmen, seniors and faculty members at a small, highly selective liberal arts college in order to provide a description of the organization of dialectical thinking and its presence in mature thought. (Author/DB)

Identifies three categories of baby diaries--scientific, educational, and domestic--prevalent from the late 18th to late 19th century in Western Europe and the United States. Discusses the diarists and recurring themes in the diaries, such as the nature of instinctive behaviors and recapitulationism. Explores contemporary uses of the diary method.…