This essay reviews empirical evidence that suggests that emotion type and emotion intensity are associated with distinct and independent patterns of frontal electroencephalographic (EEG) activity in infants. The role of the frontal lobe and related brain systems in emotion expression and regulation is also discussed from a developmental…

A reanalysis of recent clinical research suggests that three different neural processes or brain mechanisms may underlie the regulation of emotion: (1) contralateral disinhibition of cortical centers; (2) ipsilateral disinhibition of subcortical centers; and (3) excitation of specific subcortical or neocortical centers. (MDM)

Examines ways in which individual differences in emotion regulation may be influenced by children's attachment experiences. It argues that individuals characterized by the flexible ability to accept and integrate both positive and negative emotions are generally securely attached, whereas individuals characterized by either limited or heightened…

Suggests that homes and educational settings must become true celebrations of options and choice that allow children to appreciate the beauty of individual styles, especially their own. This helps children not just to tolerate diverse thoughts and styles but to value them as vital elements in a free society. (TJQ)

A model of cognitive slowing is proposed that correctly predicts a positively accelerated reaction between latencies of older and younger adults and provides a unified account of the effects of task complexity, practice, speed-accuracy tradeoffs, and fluctuations in individual performance. (SLD)

An optimal unbiased classification rule is proposed based on a longitudinal model for the measurement of change in ability. In general, the rule predicts future level of knowledge by using information about level of knowledge at entrance, its rate of growth, and the amount of within-individual variation. (SLD)

Finds support for eight theoretically derived hypotheses concerning how highly misanthropic individuals respond differently to influence attempts, and concerning the positive relationship between misanthropy and the avoidance of health care. Shows that respondents high in misanthropy report higher actual incidence of stress-related diseases. (SR)

Infants at two, four, and six months of age learned a string-pulling task and were tested again two months later. Individual differences in emotional expressions of anger during extinction, and interest and enjoyment during learning, were stable over the two-month interval. (BC)

Individual differences in industriousness are discussed. It is proposed that reinforcement for increased physical or cognitive performance, or the tolerance of aversive stimulation, gives a reward value to the sensation of high effort and reduces effort's aversiveness. Applications for self-control, moral development, and education are described.…

At a Suburban New Jersey elementary school, the principal learned to let go and provide the means for staff to solve their own problems. Some lessons include learning to listen, establishing patterns of communication, understanding individual styles, promoting open communication, working to build trust, thinking with new perspectives, promoting…

The relationship between elementary operations underlying processing of numerical information and performance on psychometrically derived ability measures requiring processing of numbers but defining separate ability factors was studied for 102 Air Force recruits (54 males and 48 females). Patterns of convergent and discriminate relationships for…

Examined developmental changes and individual variations in the ways children use expressive information from others. Concluded that processing deficits are more probable for younger children or for children with low perceived control than for other children. (BB)

Examines information-processing differences among four types of readers differing in reading comprehension and speed. Finds that good comprehenders outperformed poor comprehenders on all types of tasks, but the results were less clear for the high- and low-speed readers. Proposes differences in working memory as a source of individual differences…

In 2 studies, subjects between 7 and 16 years of age indicated predictions for the water level in a tilted container or the position of a plumb line. Found that sex differences were evident at all ages; task performance improved with age according to a discrete stage process; and task performance was determined by field effects and rule strategy.…

Observed play behaviors in 21 African American preschool children from impoverished families in Head Start classrooms. Play behaviors were categorized as functional, constructive, or pretend. Found that children engaged most frequently in functional play, although many also engaged in pretend play, suggesting that impoverished black children have…