Early parent-child interactions (PCI) impact social cognitive development. Relatedly, children with various developmental disorders exhibit abnormal parental attachment relationships. Parental characteristics and behaviors can impact PCI and socioemotional development as well. No research has examined the parent-child dynamic in Prader-Willi…

The purpose of this study was to examine the developmental course and implications of the personality metatraits ego resiliency and ego control across the first 3 decades of life. The sample consisted of 139 participants who were assessed 9 times between ages 2 and 33. Participants completed measures of ego resiliency, ego control, Big Five…

Guided by two perspectives, one theoretical, and the other, methodological, we assume that social interactions provide organizing principles for transforming natural human growth into cultural development. From birth onward, the healthy child is primed to be "in transaction" with their caregivers, their surroundings, co-constructing the…

Cognitive control develops rapidly over the first decade of life, with one of the dominant changes being a transition from reliance on 'as-needed' control (reactive control) to a more planful, sustained form of control (proactive control). Although the emergence of proactive control is important for mature behavior, we know little about how this…

Despite increased popular and research interest in youth development and outdoor education, very little research has focused upon the design principles that enhance the effectiveness of these programs. This article presents a scoping review of the literature discussing youth development activities occurring in outdoor environments, in order to…

Advantageous inequity aversion emerges relatively late in child development, yet the mechanisms explaining its late emergence are poorly understood. Here, we ask whether children begin to reject advantageous inequity, a costly form of fairness, once reputational concerns are in place. Specifically, we examine the role of peer monitoring in…

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder characterised by deficits in social interactions and communication, with stereotypical and repetitive behaviours. Recent evidence suggests that maternal immune dysregulation may predispose offspring to ASD. Independent samples t-tests revealed downregulation of IL-17A concentrations in…

Living within state care can have detrimental effects on children's development, as substantial research has proposed. Recognising how music-making may support children's social, emotional and personal development, many cultural organisations have begun developing music projects that work specifically with care-experienced children. Although…

Several studies have previously investigated the effects of sticky mittens training on reaching and grasping development. However, recent critique casted doubts on the robustness of the motor effect of this training. The current study presents a pre-registered report that aimed to generalize these effects to Swedish infants. Three-month-old…

Children in many parts of the world spend increasing time using digital devices (tablets, mobile phones etc.). In the present study, the developmental consequences of interacting with and through such devices are explored from a cultural--historical perspective with a focus on the development of executive functions. What makes digital devices…

Scientists have long employed puppets in research with young children; this essay explores the validity of this practice. After considering what puppets are, their main types and history, I note the different ways puppets have been employed in research. One of these uses raises the issue of whether and when children apply their theory of mind to…

What do we know about immersive media--virtual, augmented, mixed, and cross realities (VR, AR, MR, and XR)--and young children? So far, designers, developers, and media producers have been focusing on creating hardware, software, and content for and conducting studies with adolescents and adults--but children find these technologies incredibly…

Researchers have demonstrated the important contribution of mothers' sensitive parenting to children's developing cognition over the first 5 years of life, yet studies examining sensitivity beyond the early years, controlling for earlier effects, are limited. In this exploratory study, we examined the developmental pathways through which mothers'…

Purpose: With climate change education becoming more prevalent in schools around the globe, it is increasingly important that we understand parental perspectives on this topic. Children cross the boundaries between home and school culture every day, and their parents' attitudes, beliefs, and practices can influence their academic engagement in all…

Direct assessments of early childhood development (ECD) are a cornerstone of research in developmental psychology and are increasingly used to evaluate programs and policies in lower- and middle-income countries. Despite strong psychometric properties, these assessments are too expensive and time consuming for use in large-scale monitoring or…