A three-day experiment set up by an early childhood teacher explored Piaget's view that children younger than age eight lack ability to take another's point of view. The experiment focused on a bear, the class mascot, and observations of children's empathetic behavior toward its "injury." Age-related differences in the children's…

Examined the predictive relationship between family adjustment and emotional adjustment during early adolescence and the influence of adolescents' levels of self-worth, peer support, and coping abilities. Found that family adjustment and emotional adjustment are reciprocally related and that high levels of self-worth, peer support, and coping…

Investigated effects of object reinstatement on event recall by 6- and 9-year olds'. Subjects were interviewed either 10 days and again 10 weeks after an event, or only 10 weeks after an event. Interviewing included free recall, prompts, and questions. Found that age, delay, and object reinstatement all affected amount and accuracy of recall. (JW)

Reports a study that analyzes the importance of individual difference variables in explaining subject performance in formal reasoning in 72 first-year college students. (PR)

Describes the conventional-behaviorist and the developmental-cognitive schools of thought concerning moral education. Suggests a third perspective using a perceptual-experiential model. Recommends the construction of moral reality through a curriculum of stage-appropriate sensory challenges. Argues that when moral concerns are experienced and…

Suggests that play begins with infant-adult interaction soon after birth rather than with much later peer interactions. Proposes a developmental sequence of infant play that reverses the sequences of the Howes peer play scale, and cites pertinent literature to support that proposal. (BC)

Examines the relationship between music and human development. Gives an overview of research on children's musical responses. Says music educators can create an environment where children can develop musical knowledge and skills. Urges more longitudinal research like Harvard University's Project Zero where characteristics of developmental stages…

Special issue includes (1) "Introduction" (Burlew); (2) "Leisure Counseling (LC): A Call to Order" (Emerson); (3) "Integrating Leisure into Adult Career Counseling Process" (Pearson); (4) "Developmental Approach to LC Theory" (McDaniels); (5) "LC for the Elderly" (Clark); (6) "LC with AIDS…

Examination of syntactic complexity in the movie retellings of 77 elementary school-age Spanish-speaking children revealed developmental differences in the length of T-units, index of subordination, use of relative clauses, and prepositional phrases. Analysis underscores the significance of subordination as a cohesive device and as an indicator of…

Discusses the causes of biting behavior and techniques that parents and educators can use to manage biting toddlers. Notes that solutions need to consider the developmental level and needs of the child, the influence of the child's environment, and the role of adults in the child's life. (MDM)

The errors on word-initial consonant clusters made by children (ages 2-9) in the Iowa-Nebraska Articulation Norms Project were tabulated by age range and frequency. Error data showed support for previous research in the acquisition of clusters. Cluster errors are discussed in terms of theories of phonologic development. (Author/JDD)

Reviews the research on (1) developmental stages of play among young children; (2) solitary play as a separate continuum with its own developmental stages; and (3) benefits of solitary play on the child's whole development. (BB)

Argues for expanding the present discourse on developmental appropriateness on the grounds that this discourse assumes consensus about child development; is premised on a suspect notion of broad, universal stages; and ignores alternative perspectives on learning and development and the relationship between the two. (LB)

Adaptive behavior in mentally retarded males with fragile X syndrome was longitudinally examined in 17 subjects, ages 1 to 17. Findings included relative strength in daily living skills and weakness in socialization only for older subjects, and significant declines in adaptive behavior scores from first to second testing for the older subjects.…

Studied the extent to which psychosocial development thorough the first 5 stages of E. H. Erikson's theory of personality development is associated with personality disorder symptoms, using 106 undergraduates. Negative resolutions of stages one through five may predict the presence of personality disorder symptomatology during late adolescence.…