Our ability to perceive our own and other people's bodies is critical to the success of social interactions. Research has shown that adults have a distorted perception of their own body and those of other adults. However, these studies ask perceivers to estimate for adults with a similar bodily make-up. This study explored the developmental…

Although the human proclivity to engage in impression management and care for reputation is ubiquitous, the question of its developmental outset remains open. In 4 studies, we demonstrate that the sensitivity to the evaluation of others (i.e., evaluative audience perception) is manifest by 24 months. In a first study, 14- to 24-month-old children…

During adolescence, young people are traversing exciting and also challenging stages in their development. Mindfulness, if taught in a developmentally appropriate way, has the potential to be an asset in adolescents' lives. Developmentally appropriate approaches of mindfulness intervention during adolescence need to consider adolescents'…

We conducted 3 studies to explore cultural differences in global versus local processing and their developmental trajectories. In Study 1 ("N" = 363), we found that Japanese college students were less globally oriented in their processing than American or Argentine participants. We replicated this effect in Study 2 ("N" =…

Observers aged six to 24 years estimated distances between elements in patterns illustrating Gestalt grouping principles of proximity, similarity, closure, and good continuation. Magnitude of distance distortions decreased significantly with age, suggesting that perceptual development includes improving ability to disregard Gestalt groupings when…

Despite external changes such as those of magnitudes, the functional properties of the visual system also improve with increased age. According to Jean Piaget's centration/decentration theory, the process of perceptual development might continue until adulthood and even after. However, perceptual development should not be understood in all of its…

In the past 25 years, there has been an explosion in research on the development of perception. The research has produced discoveries at multiple levels: ecological analyses, models of representation and process, and improved understanding of biological mechanisms. This book provides a comprehensive treatment of infant perception, bringing…

Examined perception of object unity in partial occlusion in 72 infants. Recorded how long subjects looked at a display of complete and incomplete rods. In test and control conditions, infants looked longer at broken rods than at complete rods, suggesting that infants' cognitive, visual, or attentional skills may be insufficient to support…

Two experiments examined changes in the search of infants aged six, seven, and eight months. Experiment 1 found that the majority of infants displayed transitional search before intentional search. Experiment 2 showed that the infants' awareness of a hidden object develops gradually. (Author/RH)

Explores the relationship between Piaget's work on awareness and aspects of language development, pointing out continuities and discontinuities between the two areas of development. (Author/RH)

In a study of drawing development, children's and adults' drawings of cubes were classified into drawing types. Differences between children's and adults' drawings suggest that younger children use a similarity geometry with feature-based criteria, whereas older children and adults use a vantage-point geometry that includes direction-based…

Theorists and researchers have developed abstract divisions in the life span to mark significant stages. To explore the conceptual labels individuals use to make divisions in their life spans, 92 adults, aged 20 to 55 years, marked significant milestones on a lifeline. Participants also completed a demographic questionnaire. Data on the labels…

Investigated the moderating effect of high and low anxiety on counselor perception of stages of dying. After completing the A-state scale, subjects observed a terminally ill speaker. Results indicated that high-anxious subjects, when compared with low-anxious, perceived the speakers as more denying, more angry, less accepting, and less hopeful.…

Investigated the correspondence between stage changes hypothesized by the Kubler-Ross theory and the perception of the course of illness by seriously ill patients and their spouses. Supported the use of Q-methodology as a research procedure for investigations of terminal illness. (Author)

Investigated relationship between perceived parental drug use and college student (N=106) drug use. Psychoactive mushroom users and nonusers completed a questionnaire regarding social and subjective aspects of drug use, including parental drug use. Men's drug use was relatively independent of, while women's drug use was strongly related to,…