Used the Bracken Basic Concept Scale to examine whether concepts are related to each other on the conceptual development of 40 six-year-olds. Found significant correlations between the SRC concepts (color, letter, number/counting, comparison, shape) and direction as well as social/emotional concepts and the size concepts. Found that direction…

Two experiments examined whether young children's difficulty with behavioral predictions when appearance was misleading would extend to more general domains. Found that while both 3- and 5- year-olds understood that persons dressing up in costume would retain their real identities, 3-year-olds were unable to predict that the character's biological…

Five experiments examined children's understanding of logical consistency. Findings indicated that only by 6 years of age were logically inconsistent claims understood despite good memory for claims, varying question forms, ability to identity other types of statements as not sensical or to compare/contrast claims in other ways, and attempts made…

Asserts that theory of mind is unique to humans and that its original function was to provide a more abstract level of describing ancient behavioral patterns, such as deception, reconciliation, and gaze following. Suggests that initial selective advantage of theory of mind may have been increased flexibility of already-existing behaviors, not…

The purpose of this article is to contribute to the dialogue about the notion of advanced mathematical thinking by offering an alternative characterization for this idea, namely advancing mathematical activity. We use the term advancing (versus advanced) because we emphasize the progression and evolution of students' reasoning in relation to their…

The current experiment investigated the effect of differential training histories on responses to a 5-term linear chain of nonsense syllables (described here with sequential, alphabetical characters; A [is less than] B [is less than] C [is less than] D [is less than] E) across unreinforced probe trials. Participants' responses to nonarbitrary…

Individuals can infer what others are likely to know by clustering knowledge according to common goals, common topics, or common underlying principles. Although young children are sensitive to underlying principles, that manner of clustering might not prevail when other viable means are presented. Two studies examined how a sample of 256 children…

A label can convey nonobvious information about category membership. Three studies show that preschoolers (N144) sometimes ignore or reject labels that conflict with appearance, particularly when they are uncertain that the speaker meant to use those labels. In Study 1, 4-year-olds were more reluctant than 3-year-olds to accept that, for example,…

The aim of this study was to develop a model of students' energy concept development. Applying Case's (1985, 1992) structural theory of cognitive development, we hypothesized that students' concept of energy undergoes a series of transitions, corresponding to systematic increases in working memory capacity. The US national sample from the Third…

This study examined the knowledge and strategies that young children used for comparing sizes of geometric figures. Sixty-nine children from the ages 3 to 6 years were asked to compare sizes of geometric figures and their placement and adjustment strategies were observed. The children were also presented with strategies for comparing sizes and…

This experimental study explores how 60 primary-age children's (9-11 years old) understanding of rocks was effected by instruction that used the conceptual structure of the rock cycle together with the analogy of aluminium can recycling. Using a combination of probes into children's understanding, including concept maps and semi-structured…

It is commonly assumed that artifacts are named solely on the basis of properties they currently possess; in particular, their appearance and function. The experiments presented here explore the alternative proposal that the history of an artifact plays some role in how it is named. In three experiments, children between the ages of 4 and 9 years…

Four experiments with the habituation procedure investigated 14-22-month-olds' ability to attend to correlations between static and dynamic features embedded in a category context. In Experiment 1, infants were habituated to four objects that exhibited invariant relations between moving features and motion trajectory. Results revealed that…

In his testimony before the Joint Economic Committee of the United States Congress, the author discusses what he considers to be the underlying question concerning issues of early childhood education: How to invest in preschool programs so that they have a reasonable chance of being a success. The testimony takes the form of a series of questions…

"Science Briefs" summarize the findings and implications of a recent study in basic science or clinical research. This brief reports on the study. This Brief summarizes the findings and implications of "Prenatal Exposure to Ultrasound Waves Impacts Neuronal Migration in Mice" (E. S. B. C. Ang, Jr.; V. Gluncic; A. Duque; M. E. Schafer; and P.…