The Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) underwent a generalizability study examining the consistency and stability of scores. Canonical correlation and principal components factor analysis indicated that the organization of environment changes over the first two years of life, and the amount--not type--of stimulation is…

American schools traditionally have been expected to have a role in students' affective development by encouraging positive development and preventing undesirable development. (MM)

Two views of emotion in the writings of Paulo Freire are discussed. Freire views emotions as critical forces to be curbed if not eliminated. Emotions are also seen as a necessary part of that essential element of education for critical consciousness--dialog. (JN)

Presents a mathematical model of the development of reaching behavior in infants, along with the results of two experiments that showed that infant movements could be decomposed into the underlying submovements using a principled method; and the angular error in infant reaches matches the form and magnitude of error assumed by the model. (MDM)

Examines the role of gender in preschoolers with behavior problems. Child characteristics, parent characteristics, and independent assessment of mother-child interactions were conducted. Few differences between the sexes were observed for any variables. Girls and boys shared more similarities than differences in terms of origins and developmental…

Research reports are reviewed which illustrate the close ties between creativity and entrepreneurship. Comparisons of the characteristics and behavior typical of creative individuals and entrepreneurial individuals indicate the existence of striking similarities. (JDD)

Studied 112 preterm infants to determine developmental changes and stability of individual differences. Results indicate significant developmental gains with age, and highly significant individual stability of performance across age. (RJC)

Argues that the world view of contemporary behavior analysis, especially behavior analysis of child development, is contextualistic, not mechanistic. The history of behavior analysis is presented in a revised account that focuses on philosophic movements. Contextualism of behavior analysis is contrasted with mechanism with respect to five core…

Notes advantages of using dynamic models to understand cognitive functioning: (1) they are specifically intended to represent changes that systems undergo as they evolve; (2) they can capture change in a continuous fashion; (3) they can account for development of behavior that appears orderly at times and disorderly at others, and (4) chaotic…

This issue's special section on canalization of behavioral development is introduced. In the special section, an invited paper by Gilbert Gottlieb, adopts a systems approach that stresses the complex interaction of genes, behavior, and environment. Several comments on the Gottlieb paper are also included. (BC)

Evaluates John B. Watson's contributions to developmental psychology. Watson's insistence on objective methodology in psychology retains its influence, but his extreme environmentalism has been rejected. His concern with the principles of learning is reflected in the work of Hull and Skinner. (BC)

Thirty-two preschoolers were observed while they played with realistic play props and nonrealistic play materials in an effort to determine whether realism of play objects was related to overall symbolic object transformation. Boys of all ages and girls under age five demonstrated greater symbolic activity with realistic play props. (SH)

Theories are discussed concerning the relative significance of biological and environmental issues to giftedness, with discussion organized into the "onset" period of the late nineteenth century, with contributions by Charles Darwin, Frances Galton, and Karl Pearson; and the "flowering" period of the early twentieth century with Lewis Terman. (JDD)

This study of 59 children (ages 1-3) at risk for severe mental retardation suggests that subjects exhibited repetitive motor behaviors topographically similar to those exhibited in typical infant development; there were significant age differences in expression of these behaviors; and a small percentage of these children exhibited atypical…

Describes seven myths regarding the role of genes in determining behavior and the modifiability of behavior that permeate the thinking of many educators and psychologists. Examines each myth, dispels it, and states what are believed to be correct conclusions from different kinds of behavior-genetic and related data, considering the implications…