BY POINTING UP SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BRAINS AND COMPUTERS, WE PRESENT CYBERNETIC CONCEPTS WHICH MAY PROVE RELEVANT TO THE MENTAL HEALTH WORKER IN HIS INVESTIGATION OF MENTAL PROCESSES. WE FOCUS ESPECIALLY ON THE MENTAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHILD, AND USE AS TENTATIVE ILLUSTRATIONS THE PROBLEM AND SYMPTOMATOLOGY OF INFANTILE AUTISM AND…

This paper outlines research designed to establish dietary correlates of malnutrition, and questions the common assumption that high protein foods should be used as dietary supplements in humans. Because thorough investigation of dietary needs in children is ethically unfeasible, squirrel monkeys were used in the research to study the biological…

The problem investigated was the relationship between cognitive category width and certain other cognitive and perceptual variables, with the intent of gaining additional insight into the effect which individual differences in cognitive conceptualization exert on certain other behaviors. Cognitive category width, defined as the score obtained on…

Sixty children of varied socioeconomic backgrounds who ranged in age from first through eighth grade were shown photographs of workers in different occupations, asked to rate jobs according to prestige and to give reasons for their rankings. These reasons were then analyzed for level of cognitive functioning manifested. Reasons were seen as…

To analyze the relationship of logical development and comprehension of syntax, 60 children aged 5-8 years were individually tested. Measures included class inclusion, conservation of substance and weight, a sorting test, and a test of comprehension of active and passive sentences. Class inclusion was not strongly related to syntactical…

The researcher believed that the value of library service could best be measured by its ability to contribute to psychological development via quality reading. Questionnaires were administered to 34 college students, ranging from freshmen to graduate students. The students were tested to determine each individual's level of psychological…

RESEARCH FINDINGS RELATED TO RIGIDITY IN CHILDREN'S PROBLEM-SOLVING ACTIVITIES ARE REVIEWED. EINSTELLUNG RIGIDITY WHICH AFFECTS CHILDREN'S PERFORMANCE IN PROBLEM SOLVING IS CAUSED BY THE MATERIALS AND THE SEQUENCE OF EVENTS INVOLVED IN PROBLEM SITUATIONS. FUNCTIONAL FIXATION OCCURS WHEN CHILDREN ARE UNABLE TO USE OBJECTS FOR PROCESSES IN THE…

This study examined the resistance to conservation of quantity extinction in 180 subjects across the life span. The results indicated that both resistance judgments and explanations were found to develop in a curvilinear fashion, increasing with age until young adulthood and declining thereafter. (JMB)

Corneal infrared photography was used to record the visual fixations of 24 infants (4-6 weeks and 10-12 weeks) exposed to simple geometric figures. The results are discussed in relation to developmental changes in responsiveness to visual figures and in increasing ability to process information. (JMB)

Records of children admitted to a growth clinic and follow-up questionnaires were examined to determine the incidence of learning problems in children with constitutional growth delay and those with familial short stature. (Author/PHR)

Examined the relationship between two components of class inclusion (hierarchical classification and quantification of inclusion) and investigated the effects of methodological modifications. Subjects were nine girls and nine boys each from first, second, and third grades. (Author/JMB)

Available from: Council for Exceptional Children, 1920 Association Drive, Reston, Virginia 22091.

In two experiments using a large scale space and a third using a model of that space, the ability of 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old children to coordinate two perspectives of a large scale space was examined. (Author/SB)

This study used a rating scale, a betting game, and a feedback phase to examine the certainty with which 60 second graders and 36 fifth graders made judgments on tasks involving various forms of conservation and transitivity. (Author/JMB)

Presents major considerations in modeling and simulation of variant forms of mental development, provides insight into simulation methods, describes the goals and essential features of two recent models representative of prominent behavioral modeling philosophies, and proposes underlying mechanisms for tow important aspects of development in…