The purpose of this paper is to disconfirm Piaget's theory of an invariant sequence of intellectual maturation for all youths in all cultures. The author's view is that the kinds and sequences of human development vary greatly, depending on the cultural milieu. The author derives 36 propositions from Piaget's theory, dismisses 5 of them as…

Age and cognitive developmental level were used as independent variables in order to assess their relative effects on the number and kinds of self-referent constructs used by children and adolescents. Fifty-four 8-year-olds, sixty-four 12-year-olds, and forty-six 16-year-olds were recruited from their respective third, seventh, and eleventh grades…

An exploratory study investigated the communicative behaviors that differentiate talkative from reticent children. Four three-year-old girls who varied in degree of talkativeness were observed in naturalistic interactions with six to eight previously unfamiliar adults. All four children had demonstrated age-appropriate knowledge of linguistic…

Methods of mathematics instruction adapted for mentally handicapped students are considered. Using three theories of J. Piaget--that children's mental capabilities increase with age, that their mental capabilities pass through fairly observable stages, that mentally retarded children take longer to pass from one stage to another--the author…

Kohlberg's (1969) slx stages of moral development are grouped into three levels of two stages each: (1) preconventional (morality is externally controlled); (2) conventional (doing the right thing and respecting authority); and (3) postconventional (principles of morality are to be applied universally). Rest (1974) typifies these stages in the…

Children's learning from television was studied in 343 fourth, sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students who viewed an edited version of a television program and took a posttest. It was hypothesized that children would learn more plot-relevant information (central learning material) as they moved from concrete operational to formal operational…

Communication behaviors which facilitate cooperative problem solving were investigated in 3- to 5-year-old children. Thirty-two dyads, matched on age, sex and friendship were videotaped as they used balance scales to locate pairs of blocks of varying weight and surface design, but identical in size. All subjects had conventional labels for the…

This paper indicates the need for continuing research in music education and emphasizes the relevance of developmental and educational research to the Kodaly program of music instruction. While music research based on Piaget's and Skinner's work has been done, interest in measures of musical aptitude has declined. Music educators especially need…

A conceptual framework of the adjustment to parenthood as a developmental stage in which parents are faced with a wide range of complex tasks in several social systems is described. Results are presented of an extensive longitudinal study of of 64 mothers and 57 husbands during the first year with a new baby. Results indicated that parents become…

Changes in manipulative play with objects were examined in a longitudinal sample of 10 boys and 9 girls tested at ages 9, 13, and 18 months. Stability of individual differences in play was also examined. Each child was observed individually for 7 minutes in a room in which a tea set was the only toy present. Seven types of play behavior were…

This paper presents an overview of the literature on mother-infant attachment behavior. Attachment is defined by Ainsworth as involving affection, discrimination, observable behavior, active participation by both parties, and reciprocal response. The process of attachment is seen by Stone, Smith, and Murphy as taking place in three stages over the…

Analyzes selected aspects of Piaget's theory of cognitive development and offers guidelines for primary social studies curricula based on the analysis. (CM)

Adolescents were administered classical and practical moral dilemmas. They were asked to judge the actions of others (judgments), and to reach a personal decision and justify what they would do (deliberation). Stage of moral reasoning for deliberation on practical dilemmas was lower than moral judgment on classical dilemmas. (Author/RD)

Twenty-eight five- and seven-year-old children were reinforced for key pressing according to a DRL (differential reinforcement of low rates) five-second schedule of reinforcement. (Author)

College curricula are designed for students who operate at Piaget's "formal operational" stage of mental development, a stage that the majority of college freshmen have not attained. Modification of curricula to promote development toward this stage would (1) increase student retention rates, (2) improve financial stability, and (3) promote equal…