Demonstrates that young autistic children suffer from deficits in social understanding and symbolic representations of other individuals. Data suggest that the core deficit appears to lie at the intersection of representational abilities and social experiences. (RWB)

Findings from relevant research applying Piaget's theory to mental retardation, psychosis, and autism are reviewed. Many autistic individuals show an arrest in operative functions at the sensorimotor functions. The early arrest interferes with subsequent development of higher-level conceptual, symbolic, and social skills. (Author)

An experiment demonstrating that children in Piaget's preoperational stage, who generally still cannot give conceptually correct answers to questions about rate and time, evidence an ability to imitate a given rate-time relationship demonstrated by the experimenter. (ST)

If the principles of languages are applied to the learning of arithmetic, it appears that elementary grade pupils are being introduced to mathematical symbols at too early an age. (MP)

Case studies examined impact of early intervention on the rate of acquisition of communicative and linguistic behaviors for a small group of severely and profoundly deaf infants. Found that infants who were diagnosed and used amplification by six months of age acquired vocal and linguistic skills at an age more comparable to hearing peers than did…

Tested understanding of correspondence on the part of 2.5- to 3.5-year olds who watched a toy hidden in a model and tried to find an analogous toy in a room. Retrieval scores increased with increasing model-room similarity; were higher for older than younger children; and were affected by object and size similarity. (BC)

According to Alfred North Whitehead, education precedes through three stages as it develops students' minds: (1) romantic; (2) precision; and (3) generalization. These stages are related to Whitehead's ideas about prehension and symbolic reference. Educational practices should strike a balance between the stages to encourage learning. (PP)

This study examined (1) the level of symbolic capability as revealed in play, (2) the use of spontaneous vocal imitation, and (3) the nature of certain classes of words occurring in spontaneous infant language. Facets of child behavior were examined during the period of single-word utterances and early multiword combinations with a view to…

This researcher investigated the relationship of hierarchical classification processes in subjects categorized as to developmental level as defined by Piaget's theory, and explored the validity of the hierarchical model and test used in the study. A hierarchical classification test and a battery of four Piaget-type tasks were administered…

Visual and auditory stimuli were presented to children to measure symbol processing abilities. Slides which required matching the similarities in two objects in a group of three were presented. At times the matching criteria varied between function, color, and form. Reaction time was quicker when matching by color than by function, which was…

Explores two hypotheses about the effect of symbolic systems on psychological functions: (1) culturally elaborated systems of signs affect psychological functioning in a general way; and (2) systems of signs, when used to support skilled action, affect the organization of human activity. Reviews research that supports the second hypothesis. (LB)

The effects of different models of exploration questioning on young children's associative fluency were examined in two experiments with kindergarteners. It is concluded that asking descriptive and difference exploration questions are most facilitative of children's associative fluency. (Author/SEW)

Studies of the effect of environmental stimulation on an individual's development in either general or specific ability conclude that some specific stimulation should be introduced at an early age while a child is still malleable. An intense, persistent, and regular tutorial approach within the family encourages the development of a special talent…

To assess the importance of visual attributes relative to acoustic and semantic attributes in children's encoding, a 64-item recognition test was administered to first- and sixth-grade children. Recognition items were linedrawings of simple objects accompanied by aural labels. By manipulating the picture, label, and referent in various…