For this study, computer technology was used to teach attentional skills to six young children. Prior reinforcement histories of individual stimuli were manipulated to examine whether they are the variable that controls the features of compound cues to which young children attend. (RWB)

Offers an organizational perspective designed to illuminate processes of symbolic development in both normal and abnormal populations. Focuses on the symbolic system of Down Syndrome children. Data support the claim that the symbolic system of these children is intact. (RWB)

Demonstrates that young autistic children suffer from deficits in social understanding and symbolic representations of other individuals. Data suggest that the core deficit appears to lie at the intersection of representational abilities and social experiences. (RWB)

This study, which uses the organizational perspective, synthesizes major contributions to the examination of symbolic development in abused children. Focuses on the interrelationship between and the impact of maltreatment on children's cognitive, socioemotional, and linguistic development. (RWB)

Reports on interplay between social and developmental processes in children's numerical understandings in working- and middle-class home settings. Methods included interviews with 78 children aged 2 1/2 and 4 1/2 years to assess their numerical understandings, interviews with the mothers about their children's everyday number activities, and…

Documents a seven-year-old child's early activities as a writer from the perspective of (1) intentionality, (2) conditions and production, (3) learning strategies, (4) composing patterns in other semiotic activities, (5) availability, and (6) literacy community, and attempts to analyze those activities through narrative, explication and argument.…

Corporal punishment and suspension are cruel and discriminatory. School social workers can help to implement more humane strategies such as the following: (1) in-school suspension; (2) timeout procedures; (3) assignment to alternative schools; (4) behavior contracting; (5) use of peers and parents; and (6) social and cognitive skills training. (VM)

Describes the "ALERT" procedure, whereby teachers may combine the language experience approach with the use of radio, television, newspaper, and magazine advertisements in a strategy that is useful for developing critical thinking skills, even in very young students. (ARH)

Responding to criticism that teaching thinking places a misguided emphasis on process at the expense of curricular content, this article contends that teachers should focus on how to relate both content and process for meaningful learning, because the value of any knowledge or skill depends on its context. (TE)

Findings from relevant research applying Piaget's theory to mental retardation, psychosis, and autism are reviewed. Many autistic individuals show an arrest in operative functions at the sensorimotor functions. The early arrest interferes with subsequent development of higher-level conceptual, symbolic, and social skills. (Author)

Describes a pilot study, involving 48 institutionalized infants and toddlers, which aimed to treat iron deficiency anemia and to discover other factors contributing to the problem. Results indicate improvement in cognitive development after the administration of iron among three groups, while no significant differences were observed in psychomotor…

Presents a global overview of psychological approaches to the individual problem of self-definition. Self-reflection and the experienced presence of others discussed as two "pillars" of that problem. A developmental sketch is given, and two forms of problems (self-concept contradictions and identity problems) distinguished. Resolutions…

Provides a theoretical framework for thinking, from a developmental perspective, about the role of television as a "dominant activity" of American childhood. (PD)

Investigates the role of intraverbal learning (a process through which semantic knowledge is acquired from purely linguistic information) in preschool children's acquisition of semantic concepts. Shows that the relative effectiveness of pictorial and intraverbal information depends on the child's age, the type of information supplied, and the…

Offers perspectives on how conceptual changes actually take place in students. Proposes that elements of Kuhn's concept of scientific paradigms and Wittgenstein's concept of the "language-game" be considered in an analysis of conceptual change. Explains how components of these models relate to science learning. (ML)