Speech productions of 40 English- and 40 Japanese-speaking children (aged 2-5) were examined and compared with the speech produced by 20 adult speakers (10 speakers per language). Participants were recorded while repeating words that began with "s" and "sh" sounds. Clear language-specific patterns in adults' speech were found,…

Studies investigated the development of children's ability to differentiate what they see from what they know in the context of conceptual perspective taking. Two developmental levels accounted for children's performance when they were asked about a naive observer's knowledge of the identity of objects. Perspective awareness training improved…

In this study of the distinction between temporal distance and location, children were asked to judge the relative recency and time of target events that occurred one and seven weeks before testing. All judged recency and localized time of day correctly. Six- and eight- but not four-year olds localized longer time scales. (BC)

Investigated the ability of young children to recognize themselves in delayed videotapes and recent photographs. Results suggested a significant developmental delay in young children's success on mark tests of self-recognition using delayed feedback as compared to live feedback, which may have important implications for characterizing the…

Examined early development of guilt in 106 children observed in laboratory paradigms in which they were led to believe they had damaged valuable objects during 2 sessions at 22, 33, and 45 months. Found support for a mediational model in which fearful temperament contributed to guilt proneness, which served to inhibit children's tendency to…

Examined developmental changes in the use of distance-based and calendar-based approaches to estimate the recency of two events. Found that children's ability to discriminate temporal relationships between two events appears by four to five years of age. In contrast, use of calendar information and cognizance of annual patterns was found only in…

Studied effects on nutritional supplementation, with or without psychosocial stimulation, on the development and growth of 129 stunted children compared with 32 nonstunted children. Found that after six months, initially low activity levels of stunted children matched those of nonstunted children, regardless of treatment. Supplementation improved…

Predicted children's loneliness and social satisfaction growth curves based on changes in peer victimization status from kindergarten through third grade. Found that trajectories for children moving from nonvictim to victim classification showed increasing loneliness and decreasing social satisfaction. However, moving from victim to nonvictim…

Investigated mothers and children's concepts of children's areas of personal discretion, autonomy, and individuality. Findings indicated that mothers viewed their roles as educators and nurturers and valued the development of individuality in their children. Gender differences were found in the ways mothers characterized boys' and girls'…

Examined 5- to 12-year-olds' judgment regarding the behavior of balance scales and other levers whose arms varied in a causal or a noncausal variable. Results indicated age-related increases in correct judgments about the influence of physical features of objects at an earlier age than about spatial relations between objects. (MOK)

Examined caregiving environments for 243 premature, low birthweight infants living in poverty to determine effects on health and development. Found that children's health and development benefited significantly from six protective caregiving factors: (1) increased parental responsiveness; (2) availability of toys and learning materials; (3)…

This study used longitudinal data from five Irish American families and nine Chinese families in Taiwan, in conjunction with cultural psychology research evidence, to propose universal, culturally variable, and developmental dimensions of children's pretend play. Findings raise the theoretical issue of how universal and variable dimensions of…

Examined longitudinally committed and situational compliance in "Do" and "Don't" contexts and internalization of standards among 108 young children through age 4. Found that the "Do" context was more challenging than the "Don't" context. Both forms of compliance were longitudinally stable, but only within a given context. Committed compliance was…

Investigated the extent to which family environment predicted differences in trajectories of adaptive development in young children with Down syndrome. Found that growth in communication, daily living skills, and socialization domains were predicted by family cohesion and mother/child interaction beyond that predicted by maternal education. Bailey…

Examined the relationship of environmental input to cognitive growth in language, spatial operations, concepts, and associative memory in children tested four times six months apart and differing in the amount of school input received. Found that children made greater growth over periods with greater amounts of school input for language, spatial…