Investigated genetic and environmental influences on the similarity and differences among five tests of cognitive abilities in 1,958 pairs of same-sex twins born in 1994 in the United Kingdom. Results suggest a developmental trend from modularity to molarity when considered in relation to multivariate genetic results later in life that show that…

Discusses the need to teach children age-appropriate and effective financial lessons based on developmental theories of social and cognitive learning. Provides recommendations and techniques suggested by experts. (JOW)

Argues that developmental significance of friendships cannot be examined without distinguishing between the concepts of having friends, the identity of the child's friends, and friendship quality. Concludes that the identity of the child's friends and friendship quality may be more closely tied to developmental outcomes than merely whether the…

Notes the heterogeneity of focus in the articles in this issue (PS 525 026-031) and their relation to emotion theory. Explores the implications of the articles' socioemotional themes for early intervention. (HTH)

Examines whether developmentalism has been a dangerous way to think about human life. Traces the emergence of different types of developmental discourse, explains the dominance of developmentalism in education, and examines the conjuncture of developmentalism and progressivism in shaping educational discourse since the late 19th century. (SLD)

Discusses a theory of interpretive reproduction--the importance of children's reproduction of and participation in their own peer cultures for their evolving membership in society. Describes themes of communal sharing and control in children's peer cultures, presenting examples of peer routines and activities. Considers the importance of…

Play has been difficult to define because it is an aspect of many activities rather than of just a specific kind of activity. Classic theorists such as Piaget and Vygotsky emphasized representational play as play in its purist form, but both immediate and ultimate functions of play can be discerned in simple physical activity play. (Author)

Two studies examined age differences in conditional reasoning. Results indicated that 8-year-olds performed better when antecedents were weakly associated with consequents than on strongly associated antecedent/consequents, with no difference among 11-year-olds. Eight-year-olds did better on ad hoc premises than on causal premises, with no…

Investigates the display of expert behavior by seven outstanding video game-playing children ages 10 and 11. Analyzes observation and debriefing transcripts for evidence of self-monitoring, pattern recognition, principled decision making, qualitative thinking, and superior memory, and discusses implications for educators regarding the development…

This literature review's underlying premise is, that implicit and nonanalytic memory processes are important "techniques" children use to guide their interactions in the world. Based on the literature review, it is argued that memory research and theory will remain largely irrelevant to understanding the developing child as long as they…

Explores developmental disabilities using a post-disciplinary approach through social construction and metaphors drawn from social cartography. Considers how the cartographies drawn by special education and other human services practices provide a rationale for continued dehumanization and oppression. (Contains 178 references.) (Author/SLD)

Discusses reflective thinking as developed in the teaching practice of Developmental Education, an approach based on the ideas of Vygotsky and the tradition of psychological theory of activity. Describes the ideas of Dewey and Vygotsky on the process of reflective thinking and examines the notion of reflection in developmental education and the…

Reevaluates Lev Vygotsky's theory of children's development. Argues that we can understand development as history only when we think simultaneously about how changing contexts affect what children appropriate from them, and how children's appropriations modify the contexts that guide development. (JPB)

Discusses Rispoli's data on a model of pronoun case errors in child English, arguing that his claim that overextensions of he and him are antagonistic is inaccurate and his explanation for why her subjects are more frequent than other errors is insufficient. Discusses an account in terms of relative input frequencies, suggesting the fundamental…

Research on solitary play most often views solitary in contrast to social play. Children who play alone more than is typical fall into four groups: shy and non-shy soloists, isolated, and depressed children. Only the latter two groups present clear concerns during the preschool years. Solo play should be viewed as an important developmental…