Examined relation between individual differences in inhibitory control (IC) and theory-of-mind (ToM) performance in preschoolers. Found that IC was strongly related to ToM, even after controlling for several important factors. Inhibitory tasks requiring a novel response in face of a conflicting prepotent response and those requiring delay of a…

Two studies addressed whether preschoolers consider speakers' knowledge states when establishing initial word-referent links. Children showed better learning from a speaker knowledgeable of novel words' referents than from an ignorant speaker. Four-year-olds, but not 3-year-olds, learned words better when speaker said the object was made by…

Three experiments examined how 4- to 10-year-olds' domain knowledge and observation of exemplars interact during concept acquisition and how exposure to novel exemplars causes knowledge revision. In all experiments, prior knowledge and exemplar observation independently influenced children's categorization judgments. Use of prior knowledge was…

Examined longitudinally committed and situational compliance in "Do" and "Don't" contexts and internalization of standards among 108 young children through age 4. Found that the "Do" context was more challenging than the "Don't" context. Both forms of compliance were longitudinally stable, but only within a given context. Committed compliance was…

Examined relation of different types of negative emotion and regulation and control to 55- to 97-month-olds' internalizing and externalizing problem behaviors. Found that children with externalizing problems, compared to children with internalizing problems and nondisordered children, were more prone to anger, impulsivity, and low regulation.…

Used social network analysis to investigate the peer group as context for socialization of young adolescents' school motivation and achievement. Found that students' Fall peer context predicted changes in liking and enjoyment of school and achievement over the year. Students' peer context was unrelated to changes in their beliefs about the…

Examined whether the presence of implicit links between social groups and high versus low status attributes affected formation of intergroup attitudes among 7- to 12-year-olds. Found that children's intergroup attitudes were affected by a status manipulation when teachers made functional use of the novel groups. Children who were members of…

Examined whether associations between marital discord and trajectories of adolescent depression and delinquency varied as a function of intrapersonal attributes. Found that difficult temperament potentiated effects of marital discord on adjustment trajectories. Heightened perceived family support protected adolescents from adverse marital discord…

This study examined the degree to which members in two-parent two-child families of adolescents influenced one another. Social relations analyses indicated that characteristics of the partner and the unique actor-partner "fit" were systematic sources of interpersonal influence, and that reciprocal influence was present in most family dyads. A…

The Feelings about School (FAS) measure was used to examine factors associated with kindergartners' and first-graders' feelings about school. Findings provided support for the reliability and validity of the FAS for both groups. Students' feelings about school were associated with their academic skills, especially for first-graders. Relation of…

Evaluated effects on children in Bosnia and Herzegovina of a 5-month psychosocial intervention program of weekly group meetings for mothers. Found that although all participants were exposed to severe trauma, their distress varied considerably. The intervention program had a positive effect on mothers' mental health, children's weight gain, and…

Used a hierarchical linear model to examine contributions of neighborhood disadvantage, collective socialization, and parenting to African American 10- to 12-year-olds' affiliation with deviant peers. Found that community disadvantage had a significant positive effect on deviant peer affiliations. Nurturant/involved parenting and collective…

Examined relations among parenting dimensions and adolescents' occupational aspirations related to academics and sports. Found that parents' values predicted youths' values directly in the academic domain. Fathers' behaviors mediated the relation between parents' and youths' sports values. Identification was directly related to adolescents'…

Examined low interrater agreement by decomposing common and unique variance among parent, adolescent, and observer reports of parental warmth and negativity into genetic and environmental factors. Model-fitting analyses findings generally supported predictions for warmth and negativity at Family and Individual levels. At the Social level, genetic…

The objective of this research was learning about the chosen aspects of self-knowledge in 8-year-old children, evoked through self-presentation of the public and private self. The issues considered dealt with particular, significant features of "personal narrative" analysed through both the content and the form of the self-presentation utterance.…