Summarizes presentations given at a recent White House Conference which showed that early experiences, particularly in the first three years of life, have a dramatic impact on brain development. Includes presentations on such topics as parent education, brain functioning, quality caregiving and child care services, and early intervention programs.…

Examines the role attributed to cultural mediation in Piaget's and Vygotsky's theories. Mediation of human action by cultural artifacts was central to Vygotsky's account of human development, but less important for Piaget. Vygotsky's claims regarding social origins of individual mental processes need to be understood in light of claims regarding…

Piaget's theory has been characterized as descriptive and not explanatory, not qualifying as causal explanation. Piaget was consistent in showing how his theory was both explanatory and causal. Vygotsky also endorsed causal-genetic explanation but, on the basis of knowledge of only Piaget's earliest works, he claimed that Piaget's theory was not…

Two complementary concepts of creative thinking are discussed, regression and progression, both of which are in the service of the ego. Interactions between the field dependence-independence and fixity-mobility styles are discussed, as are psychoanalytic, trait, physiological, and developmental perspectives of style. (Author/DB)

Eight-, 10-, and 19-year-olds performed a verbal or spatial domain primary memory task. The task was performed alone or in conjunction with a verbal or spatial secondary memory task. In their performance of the primary task, only 8-year-olds showed interference by a secondary task that was based on a different domain from the primary task. (BC)

Effects of career interventions on vocational construct differentiation and integration were tested with 121 undergraduates in 4 groups: Vocational Card Sort (n=31), Self-Directed Search (n=28), System of Interactive Guidance and Information Plus (n=31), and controls (n=31). All three interventions had a substantial impact on vocational cognitive…

Provided 2- and 2.5-year-olds with partial visual information about a ball's path as it moved toward a hiding place. Found that both age groups were equally proficient at tracking the ball as it rolled behind a transparent screen with 4 opaque doors, but 2.5-year-olds were more likely to reach to the correct door when asked to find the ball.…

Used point-light displays (lights corresponding to the joints of the human body) to examine 3-year-olds' understanding of verbs. Found that children could extend familiar motion verbs (walking, dancing) to videotaped point-light actions shown in an intermodal preferential looking paradigm. Children watched the action matching the requested verb…

Reviews the cognitive development of children, with a focus on Piagetian theory as a framework for understanding Developmental Counseling and Therapy (DCT). Describes both the assessment process and intervention planning, and provides specific applications to counseling children in school settings. (Contains 35 references.) (GCP)

The authors describe a family counseling practicum that is based on cognitive-developmental theory and uses a Deliberate Psychological Education (DPE) model for developing a curriculum. Designed to promote the growth and development of adult learners, DPE facilitates learning and the developmental growth of beginning family counselors. (Contains…

Considers the work of developmental scholar William Kessen (1925-1999) in light of James Mark Baldwin, one of the founders and principal architects of developmental psychology. Traces Kessen's interest in Baldwin's thought and examines Baldwin's legacy for developmental psychologists. Asserts that Baldwin's theory sought to integrate the role of…

To assess children's understanding of intentions as distinct from desires, this study presented 3- to 7-year-olds and adults with situations in which intentions were satisfied but desires were not, or vice versa, in a story-comprehension task and target-hitting game. Findings indicated that younger children were unable to differentiate desires and…

This study investigated whether attention to either physical or social entities is linked to autistic development. Comparison of 15 children with autism with normally developing children matched for mental age found a strong correlation between joint attention and set-shifting in typically developing children but not those with autism. (Contains…

Explores the influence of student development and year-in-program on the improvement of affective/trait-based empathy and cognitive/skill-based empathy. Results revealed mixed findings on the relationship between cognitive development and empathy levels. (Contains 40 references.) (GCP)

Studied gender effects on false belief development among children ages 2 to 6 years. Found a slight advantage for girls on false belief task performance in both datasets that was apparent in younger but not older children. Language ability could be controlled only in a small subsample and cannot be ruled out as a mediator to this effect. (JPB)