This experiment investigated relational complexity and relational shift in judgments of auditory patterns. Pitch and duration values were used to construct two-note perceptually similar sequences (unary relations) and four-note relationally similar sequences (binary relations). It was hypothesized that 5-, 8- and 11-year-old children would perform…

When a behavior disappears and then resurfaces, developmental psychologists typically look more closely at the behavior to figure out what is different before and after--that is, they increase the grain with an eye toward discovering how the system that generates that behavior has changed. But what ought to count as a U-shaped phenomenon? How…

This study describes the results of an empirical research project concerning the artistic abilities of children aged 4, 5 and 6 years and their development, when these children make drawings within a "guided" teaching intervention. This research is based on an operational use of Luquet's ideas, which have been used, not only as a…

Background: Specific language impairment (SLI) is currently partly defined by the presence of non-verbal IQ scores in the normal range. However, not only is there a debate concerning where "normal thresholds" should be, but increasing information about the presence of processing deficits in SLI have led some researchers to question the use of IQ…

The use of assisted reproductive technology is increasing rapidly. Research, although sparse, has resulted in inconsistent findings as to the developmental prognosis for infants conceived by assisted reproductive techniques such as in vitro fertilization and the use of fertility drugs. In the present study, the authors compared twins who were…

Cognitive, home, and family factors that theoretically could influence whether or not preschoolers' interests were focused on domains characterized by the acquisition of knowledge concerning object concepts (e.g., dinosaurs, horses) were assessed in a short-term longitudinal investigation of 211 4-year-olds. Boys were six times as likely as girls…

Most moral psychologists have come to accept two types of moral reasoning: Kohlberg's "justice" and Gilligan's "care", but there still seem to be some unresolved issues. By analysing and comparing Kohlberg's statement on some theoretical issues with some of Gilligan's statements in an interview in April 2003, I will look at some key issues in the…

Concern exists that a constellation of negative maternal emotions during pregnancy generates persistent negative consequences for child development. Maternal reports of anxiety, pregnancy-specific and nonspecific stress, and depressive symptoms were collected during mid-pregnancy and at 6 weeks and 24 months after birth in a sample of healthy…

Factors affecting performance on base-10 tasks were investigated in a series of four studies with a total of 453 children aged 5-7 years. Training in counting-on was found to enhance child performance on base-10 tasks (Studies 2, 3, and 4), while prior knowledge of counting-on (Study 1), trading (Studies 1 and 3), and partitioning (Studies 1 and…

Children's autobiographical memory is hypothesized to be a function of their understanding of mind (Perner & Ruffman, 1995; Welch-Ross, 1995). In the context of mother-child reminiscing, children may learn about and display their understanding of mind (Nelson, 1999; Welch-Ross, 1997). We studied links among maternal reminiscing style,…

Worldwide interest in work and learning is generating a large volume of disparate disconnected studies which can help improve the understanding of both work and learning as separate domains, but which lack an overall perspective. This paper proposes the outline of a conceptual framework for relating work and learning by an individual worker as a…

This case study describes an instructional approach that may be useful in inquiry-based science classes. It involves adopting a particular discourse orientation that aims at helping pupils value their science learning. The contextual descriptions and interpretation presented can help teachers form images of classroom practices that will be…

Since the early 1980s we have been engaged in the design, implementation, and evaluation of "cognitive acceleration" programs, which claim to enhance students' general intellectual processing skills. We have published extensive data showing long-term effects of these programs on students? cognitive development and academic achievement. In this…

Meditation is now one of the most enduring, widespread, and researched of all psychotherapeutic methods. However, to date the meeting of the meditative disciplines and Western psychology has been marred by significant misunderstandings and by an assimilative integration in which much of the richness and uniqueness of meditation and its…

R.S. Peters coined the term "paradox of moral education". In this article, the author identifies two subordinate paradoxes: how habituated reason is psychologically possible and how heteronomously formed autonomy is morally/politically possible and justifiable. He sketches possible Aristotelian solutions of those paradoxes and argues that for…