A recent critique of Kohlberg's cognitive-developmental approach to morality by Kurtines and Grief (1974) is examined in detail. Results find that empirical support for the "stage" and "sequence" components of Kohlberg's theory is underestimated, as is the evidence favoring the relationship between moral judgment and moral action. (Editor/RK)

Presents a study of the development of conservation of weight among socially deviant adolescents. (BD)

Reviews the theories of Piaget, Smilansky, Sutton-Smith, Vygotsky, and others on the role of play in child development. (SB)

Discusses children's reactions to death from a developmental viewpoint. (SB)

This study used a set of Piagetian tasks to examine the sensorimotor skills of 40 profoundly retarded institutionalized children ranging in age from 8 to 14 years. (JMB)

A series of stimuli designed to assess the dependence of children's cardinal number judgments on relative length and relative density cues was administered to 4- and 6-year-old children. (SB)

Use of Perry's developmental scheme to test college students' intellectual development found that instead of developmental stages, there are two possible general attitudes taken toward knowledge: it (1) consists of facts to be supplied by faculty; or (2) is a quest in which students have responsibility for their own learning. (Author/MSE)

Participants (N=24) included undergraduates and nontraditional students over age 25. Of the critical events investigated, 27 percent were qualitatively different from Chickering's description of developing autonomy but were similar to his relationship task. Concluded there is no single way to develop autonomy. (Author/ABL)

Offers specialists in group work with incest survivors a developmental perspective. Links suggestions for therapy to developmental issues. (Author/ABB)

Discusses utility of Kantor and Lehr's three family types for the study of divorce, including these types in their ideal and flawed forms. Traces a course for each type, from factors leading to divorce through plausible postdivorce responses. Closes with implications for the treatment and study of families who divorce. (Author/ABL)

Examines the perceptions of one experienced and four inexperienced college writers regarding the functions of writing in academic settings, citing social and personal factors influencing content and motivation. Presents 13 functions following a developmental sequence identified through inference by the researcher, including responsive, evaluative,…

One factor leading to the "invention" of modern adolescence was what the reformers saw as the corruption of youth by the city. The plight of youth set the stage for a child-saving movement during the last century, taking youth off the streets, putting them in schools, and stretching out the home-leaving age from 14 to 18. (Author/KS)

Used a set of six measures to analyze both the products and process of spatial grouping in 40 children between the ages of 18 and 42 months. Results confirmed and elaborated on previously established developmental findings for each measure. (SKC)

An examination of the relationship of faculty levels of moral reasoning to that of students at various stages of a teacher education program revealed that no group of students (including graduate level) exhibited faculty members' abilities to recognize principled moral judgments and that the student groups did not differ from each other in such…

Four studies investigated whether inconsistency of children aged four to six on developmental tasks may reflect a misinterpretation of the experimenter's intent in communication under repeated questioning. (SKC)