This study attempts to rebut criticisms of the developmental theories of Jean Piaget by showing that most criticisms derive from misinterpretation and forget the dialectical, constructivist, and developmental nature of Piaget's work. Important aspects of Piaget's theory have not been assimilated by developmental psychologists. (SLD)

In response to a previous article (Bialystok) on perspectives on the development of applied linguistics, this article begins by adding its own perspectives to what has already been offered. The article concludes by discussing the research agenda for the future. (Author/JL)

Four studies examined the influence of essentialist information such as internal properties and perceptual similarity on 3-, 4-, and 5-year olds' interpretations of labels. Results suggested that children have essentialist beliefs about animals, but not about artifacts, and that these beliefs interact with children's assumptions about word meaning…

Maintains that Muller and Overton (1998) misrepresent her theory of infant concept formation in infancy, makes corrections to their representation, and notes that her theory was developed in part because of the lack of detailed mechanisms in Piaget's theory to account for concept formation. Argues that Muller and Overton's proposed alternative…

Presents a study in which participants were trained on nine single-digit multiplication problems over three sessions. Transfer of practice was tested with nine different multiplication problems in the fourth session for half the participants. Interprets problem-size, transfer, and retention effects within a network-interference model of mental…

Discusses the four planes of development and the periods of creation and crystallization within each plane. Identifies the type of independence that should be achieved by the end of the first two planes of development. Maintains that it is through individual work on the environment that one achieves independence. (KB)

Discusses the links between emotional development and pretend play in young children using basic foundations of psychoanalytic and learning theories. Explains emotional development and pretend play through interactive levels of expression, control and modeling of emotion, and emotional intelligence. (JPB)

Research emphasizes the impact of service learning on college students' development. Less evidence exists of its cognitive impact. To improve academic learning quality, researchers must identify intellectual outcomes best facilitated through service learning, create measures of these outcomes to embed into instructional processes, and conduct…

Focuses on the conceptual implications of analyses of individual differences in francophone post-Piagetian research. Maintains that these analyses are preoccupied by the "American question" of measurement and method, instead of attempting a theoretical account of the issues raised by intraindividual and interindividual variability in…

Examines results and interpretations from recent books, journal articles, policy studies, and media stories on how the emerging understanding of brain development and neural function could revolutionize educational practice, focusing on: the neuroscience and education argument; synaptogenesis; critical developmental periods; enriched environments…

Three experiments examined the relative importance of original function and current function in artifact categorization for young children and adults. It was concluded that 6-year-olds have begun to organize their understanding of artifacts around the notion of original function, whereas 4-year-olds have not. Data were examined in terms of how…

Notes young children's fast mapping ability for word and fact learning. Finds children's extension of a new word to novel objects from same category but lack of extension for new facts, as replicated by Waxman and Booth, unsurprising. Poses more interesting question: is word learning done solely through more general cognitive systems or through…

Four studies examined the tendency of preschoolers to use verbal labels versus appearance information in making novel inductive inferences. Results revealed that preschoolers tended to use trait labels of "shy" or "outgoing" rather than superficial resemblance in making psychological inferences. These results could not be attributed to biases on…

Examines intellectual and metacognitive development of 300 male college students in a longitudinal design. Although the change in Dualism and Relativism confirmed previous research, Commitment, Empathy, and metacognitive measures followed a V-shaped discontinuous path. Intellectual and metacognitive development was found to vary with academic…

Demonstrates that connectionist models described in "Rethinking Innateness" (Elman, et al., 1996) depend on innately assumed representations and do not offer a genuine alternative to nativism. Presents simulation results showing that the models are incapable of deriving genuine abstract representations that are not presupposed. Maintains…