This paper explores the issue of sex bias in a contemporary major theory of moral development, cognitive moral theory. It explains critical reactions by Carol Gilligan and others questioning whether cognitive moral theory adequately accounts for female moral reasoning and behavior in its theory and research procedures. Several general…

Results argue against the too frequent use of human figure drawings as a single, stable, and accurate measure of intellectual ability. (Authors/CB)

This study was undertaken to determine the relative contribution of age, sex, and three stimulus features (board shape, block arrangement, and block shape) to perceptual accuracy on 39 board/block adaptations of Piaget's three-mountain task. (Author/SB)

Specifies some problems in the Piagetian characterizations of assimilation and accommodation and offers an alternative formulation intended to resolve some conceptual anomalies. On the basis of the revision, the orthogenetic law of developmental progression is explicitly derived. Further, Piaget's notion of "equilibrium" is extended into…

Summarizes the theory of psychological differentiation and reviews recent cross-cultural research on the roles of child rearing, culture, and ecology in the development of individual, group, and sex differences in the field dependence-field independence cognitive style component of psychological differentiation. (SS)

Reports on experiments that examined the extent to which children's moral orientation is affected by the gender of characters experiencing a dilemma in children's literature. Children often responded to the character's dilemma by expressing a concern for others (care orientation) or focusing on issues of rights and justice (rights orientation).…

Female traits of caretaking, nurturance, sociability, and empathy are not simply internalizations of societal norms and values. Rather, they result from early forms of thought that shape sex-role concepts in predictable ways. Their development can be traced to the young child's belief that "anatomy is destiny." (Author/KH)

The sex-differentiated socialization emphases of parents and other representatives of societal institutions are considered as they influence personality development and behavioral orientations. Such emphases, shaping behaviors, and teaching styles are evaluated with regard to the nature of "meta-messages" conveyed to children. (Author/RH)

Two land-grant universities cooperated with the Extension Service and the National Agricultural Library to identify the knowledge and research base of Extension 4-H Youth Development education and to abstract/compile the foundation materials to strengthen research-based 4-H youth development education throughout the United States. The resources…