The author explores the concept of behavior modification through self-reinforcement. This concept allows for greater responsibility for one's own behavior than other strategies. General techniques to alter behavior are presented, along with a detailed case history. (RP)

Examined development of inhibitory control using a stop-signal procedure with subjects ages 6 to 81 years. Found that the speed of stopping becomes faster with increasing age throughout childhood, with limited evidence of slowing across adulthood. The go-signal reaction time clearly increased through childhood and slowed markedly through…

Emotion regulation has emerged as a popular topic, but there is doubt about its viability as a scientific construct. This article identifies conceptual and methodological challenges in this area of study and describes exemplar studies that provide a substantive basis for inferring emotion regulation. On the basis of those studies, 4 methods are…

Emotion regulation cannot be temporally distinguished from emotion in the brain, but activation patterns in prefrontal cortex appear to mediate cognitive control during emotion episodes. Frontal event-related potentials (ERPs) can tap cognitive control hypothetically mediated by the anterior cingulate cortex, and developmentalists have used these…

The importance of carefully planned transition programs for children commencing school has been advocated in the literature. These programs should be based on sound principles of transition and reflect the voices of parents, preschool and school staff, and children. A variety of practices exists, and children's participation in transition programs…

Research spanning the fields of social, developmental, and neuropsychology provides cogent and comprehensive evidence that experiences in the very early years of a child's life serve as a foundation for later academic performance, behavior, personality, and social skills. In recent years, researchers have begun to identify complex…

"Don't tell me no; I tell you no!" is a classic example of a frustrated mother reprimanding her toddler. Certainly, other parents and even teachers of young children experience and/or understand this sentiment as they pursue the slow process of teaching infants and toddlers self-control and self-regulation. This article illuminates how teachers…

Describes an attempt, through a curriculum designed to promote self-control, to help children with social and emotional problems and to prevent such problems from developing. (EJT)

The purpose of the study was (1) to examine the results from a two-association perceptual-motor task as to their implications for Luria's theory about the development of verbal control of non-verbal behavior; (2) to explore the effects of various learning experiences upon this development. The sample consisted of 20 randomly selected children in…

Describes a cognitive intervention package for increasing self-control and decreasing primary nocturnal enuresis in young children. The package consists of five gradual steps directed toward changing maladaptive habits, helping the child to understand the enuresis process, increase bladder control, develop self-control, and eliminate enuresis.…

This study relates parenting of 3-month-old children to children's self-recognition and self-regulation at 18 to 20 months. As hypothesized, observational data revealed differences in the sociocultural orientations of the 3 cultural samples' parenting styles and in toddlers' development of self-recognition and self-regulation. Children of…

Infants develop self-regulatory abilities with the responsive and nurturing care of consistent adults. Children who lack individualized, consistent care suffer emotional and physical harm. The authors of this article describe how infants in congregate care (a NICU and an orphanage) experience inconsistency and how administrators and …

Studies of child-rearing practices have consistently shown that the degree of physical punishment used by parents is positively correlated with various forms of psychopathology and negatively related to conscience development. One explanation of these findings has to do with modeling; the child learns by example that aggressiveness toward those of…

Individual differences in industriousness are discussed. It is proposed that reinforcement for increased physical or cognitive performance, or the tolerance of aversive stimulation, gives a reward value to the sensation of high effort and reduces effort's aversiveness. Applications for self-control, moral development, and education are described.…

It is demonstrated that the topics discussed in contemporary research in metacognition are integral parts of the theory of cognitive development of L. S. Vygotsky. Unique to Vygotsky's approach is a focus on the sign system of human language and the linguistic tools of thought and control. (SLD)