Previous research shows that children evaluate the competence of others based on how effectively someone accomplished a goal, that is, based on the observed outcome of an action (e.g., number of attempts needed). Here, we investigate whether 5- to 10-year-old children and adults infer competence from how efficiently someone solves a task by…

Psychosocial skills are variables related to human behavior, beliefs, and attitudes and shape social interactions, learning processes, academic achievements, and general goal-directed behavior. Psychosocial skills seem particularly important during the adolescent period when large changes in goal setting, learning attitudes, and ability…

This study compares the achievement of two cohorts of immigrants with ages between 7 and 30 years old. Two sets of participants were assessed in two points in time and in different regions of Portugal. 169 students with similar immigration conditions for this analysis (nationality, length of residence, previous education in the country of origin)…

HIV-exposed uninfected (HEU) children during the preschool and early school ages may be at-risk for neurodevelopmental challenges due to in utero and perinatal exposure to HIV and/or antiretroviral (ARV) medications. HEU children and HIV-unexposed uninfected (HUU) children from the community were recruited and tested at 3 to 4 and 5 to 6 years of…

Purpose: The development of a physical literacy definition and standards framework suitable for implementation in Australia. Method: Modified Delphi methodology. Results: Consensus was established on four defining statements: Core--Physical literacy is lifelong holistic learning acquired and applied in movement and physical activity contexts;…

Cognitive performance is characterized by at least two distinct life course trajectories. Many cognitive abilities (e.g., "effortful processing" abilities, including fluid reasoning and processing speed) improve throughout early adolescence and start declining in early adulthood, whereas other abilities (e.g., "crystallized"…

While it is accepted that there are "sensitive" and "critical" periods of life during which certain human capabilities are more readily acquired, and where the multiplied returns on our investment in human capability building are more significant, it is also argued that there are place-based contexts (society, nature, culture,…

Executive functions (EF) necessary for purposeful goal-directed activities undergo rapid change and development during the preschool years. However, of the few psychometrically valid measures of EF suitable for use with preschoolers, information on task sensitivity and predictive validity is scant. The neurodevelopmental correlates of early…

In his work as a family therapist and researcher with children and families in educational and community settings, the author encounters children who are anxious, depressed, lacking in empathy, self-esteem and motivation, and naive in their expectations about their physical and mental abilities. They haven't been properly challenged. These kids…

A total of 48 Canadian, middle-class 3-year-olds participated in a study of their abilities to predict the actions of a story character with a false belief and a story character engaged in pretence. In the experimental situation, a red puppet with pen-markers for legs left an "inky trail" to the location of a hidden treasure in one of…

Because little is presently known about changes in children's knowledge of the logical principles of arithmetic and, more specifically, about how children's developing knowledge is reflected in the use of solution procedures, two types of three-term arithmetic problems were presented for solution to 6-, 7-, 9-, 11-, and 20-year-olds. Problems were…

Following an outline of the theoretical approach and method of a study of components of sex role development among German children, results which concern ontogenetic changes in sex role stereotypes preferences are presented. In addition, interrelations of different components of sex role development and cognitive variables are analyzed. The…

The role of content in formal operations tasks was explored in research that systematically varied the content of tasks and children's performance by developmental level and socioeconomic status (SES). Subjects were 110 Icelandic 12-year-olds who had entered a longitudinal study when they were 7 years old. Two extreme ability groups of children…

Among children ranging in age from 5.5 to 7.5 years, there was no evidence that social conflict engineered in dyads composed of a conserver and a nonconserver stimulated cognitive change. It is concluded that the ineffectiveness of symmetrical social conflict is consistent with Piaget's conception of nonconservers. (RH)