The effect of communication among children, mothers, primary caretakers, and other family members on what children learn about language and communication is discussed. (JD)

Demonstrates that children in grades 2 through 10 have a more complex concept of "life" than previous research has suggested. (Author/RL)

Derives a theoretical statement about children's understanding of the mind from Wittgenstein's private-language argument that understanding the mind involves acquiring rules governing the use of linguistic expressions about the mind. Presents developmental evidence illustrating Wittgenstein's argument and its differences from the simulation and…

Surveyed more than 1,200 families with newborns during the infants' first year to establish data about basic demographics of child care: initiation and amount; child care history patterns; and types, multiplicity, and stability of care. Found high reliance on infant care, rapid entry into care post birth, and instability in care. (MT)

Describes psychological approaches to study of cognition and emotion, identifies issues that may provide direction to understanding the organization and integration of cognition and emotion in development. Maintains that an integrative model for the study of "cogmotion" is needed, suggesting that cogmotion research will contribute to the exchange…

Three experiments using "backward reasoning" found that: age differences occurred in predicting surprise relative to false belief; by age five or six, children claim that surprise occurs when gaining knowledge where one was previously ignorant or held a false belief; by age seven to nine, they understand that surprise will more likely…

To determine whether 1 or 2 dimensions of infant emotionality best characterized infant functioning, parental reports (10 months) and elicited emotion (12-13 months) were examined. Found that early positivity (12-13 months) predicted later positivity (18-20 months) better than later negativity, with the reverse being true of early negativity.…

Students learn more when they are up, moving, and actively participating. The article discusses what teachers can do to incorporate movement into the classroom every day and describes several exercises from "Brain Gym." A sidebar illustrates the connections between muscular activity, the neural network, and the brain. (SM)

Whether results previously found in adults, demonstrating a relationship between intellectual ability, speed of information processing, and memory capacity could be found in young children was studied with 109 children. Findings suggest that children's intelligence cannot be explained using a model of adult intelligence. (SLD)

This article examines the development of conduct disorder (CD) in children and adolescents using Hans Eysenck's biosocial theory of personality. Eysenck's antisocial behavior hypothesis is discussed and intervention suggestions based on this theory are presented. The interactions of temperament-based personality profiles with interventions for CD…

Examines the findings of self-concept studies and meta-analyses that examine the development of healthy self-concepts in children and adolescents. A theoretical model for self-concept is presented that proposes how healthy self-concepts develop and can be acquired. Recommends that future self-concept research employ only scientifically defensible…

Discusses the importance of genetic and epigenetic factors in the development of the nervous system and the performances it conditions. From the perspective of rules, play, and relaxation of rules, learning and education are not considered as a kind of conditioning but as providing a content in which the cumulative expression of potential can take…

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.…

Investigated the effect of mother-infant skin-to-skin contact on self-regulatory processes of premature infants. Found that infants treated with prolonged skin-to-skin contact showed improvements in state distribution, sleep-wake cyclicity, emotionality thresholds, arousal modulation, mother-infant shared attention, and infant sustained…

This literature review was conducted to evaluate the developmental perspective on neurocognitive recovery/development following a child's traumatic brain injury. Overall, the described findings support a developmental view and suggest that predictions of prognosis should be based on the child's remaining ability to learn. (Contains 50 references.)…