Investigated development of altruism in children according to a theoretical perspective that integrated Piagetian micromodels accounting for change from preoperational to operational stages. Subjects were 90 children of 5-12 years of age. Older children were more likely to consider an altruistic act in terms of gain construction than cost…

Examined the disruption effect in two recall experiments with six- and eight-year olds. In the first experiment, vivid irrelevant actions were better recalled than disruptions that were obstacles, but were not better recalled than disruptions that were distractions. Results of the second experiment suggest that disruptions that lead to more…

Three studies investigated the degree to which young children understand that the acquisition of certain types of knowledge depends on the modality of the sensory experience involved. Results suggest that an appreciation of the different types of knowledge our senses can provide develops between the ages of three and five years. (GLR)

Adults and adolescents listed possible consequences of either accepting or declining opportunities to engage in various potentially risky behaviors, such as drinking and driving, and skipping school. Response patterns were similar for both groups. (MM)

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)

Pursues three goals: (1) to study developmental trends of cognitive functions across different age groups of Finnish students; (2) to identify distinct cognitive subgroups and profiles among students; and (3) to compare cognitive styles of normal and language-impaired (dysphasic) students. Reports and interprets findings in terms of the PASS…

The study investigated at what age children draw boundaries around pairs of objects that share either similarity or proximity. In two studies (N=132 and N=252) using a Wertheimer array, a clear age trend between 4 and 8 years showed that while young children were more likely to code objects into individual regions, older children were more likely…

This study examined age-related change in the ability to inhibit responses using two varieties of the stop signal paradigm. Three age groups (29 7-year-olds, 24 10-year-olds, and 28 young adults) performed first on a visual choice reaction task in which the spatial mapping between the go signal and response was varied between blocks. The choice…

Recent anatomical and electrophysiological evidence suggests that the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is relatively late to mature. This brain region appears to be critical for monitoring, evaluating, and adjusting ongoing behaviors. This monitoring elicits characteristic ERP components including the error-related negativity (ERN), error…

To examine (a) how young adults' personal goals change as they progress from emerging to young adulthood in their university studies and immediately after and (b) the extent to which such changes are associated with the normative transitions and the life events they experience and their age, 297 university students completed the revised Personal…

The present investigation examined the developmental course(s) of lifetime cigarette use and panic attack comorbidity. Participants included 4,409 adults, ages 15 to 54 years of age (M[Age] = 33.1, SD = 10.7, N (females) = 2,221) from the National Comorbidity Survey (NCS). The primary objective of the present investigation was to better understand…

Developmental differences in the organization and complexity of dyadic play among 12 children of 4 1/2 years and 12 children of 3 years were investigated. While findings indicated no age differences in the organization of play, developmental and sex differences in the complexity of play were found. (RH)

Two basic postulates, (1) ego stage progression with increasing age, and (2) development of the ego as it meets the different crisis elements of the ego stages, were tested on a sample of 120 5-, 8-, and 11-year-old boys, using a projective instrument and a coding system. The first postulate found preliminary confirmation; the validity of the…

Three experiments examined the early development of three- to five-year-old children's analysis of spatial patterns. Found that the youngest children segmented out simple, well-formed, spatially independent parts and used simple relational structures to bind these parts together, whereas older children constructed forms that included increasingly…

Examined memory in 8- to 12-year-olds classified as either strategic or non-strategic on a sort-recall pretest. Found, at the end of 11 weeks, that changes to strategic behavior occurred suddenly rather than gradually. Once children began using organizational strategies, recall improved immediately. Deliberate strategy use was reflected in sorting…