Narrative theories of personality help elucidate the complexity of success. (Contains 1 figure.)

Proposes a conceptual model for the study of child development in minority populations in the United States that is anchored within social stratification theory and emphasizes the importance of racism, prejudice, discrimination, oppression, and segregation in the development of minority children and families. (MDM)

Argues for a developmental account of social information-gathering ability, one that is consistent with the larger body of evidence concerning sociocognitive abilities in infants and young children. Notes that little is known concerning when and how young children acquire this important skill. (MDM)

Two experiments examined the effects of changes in adult eye direction during both televised and live contingent interaction with infants 3 to 6 months of age. Infants' smiling declined whenever adults looked away, supporting the hypothesis that infants express their cognitive appreciation of the adults' eye direction by their affective behavior.…

Three studies examined the tongue protrusion (TP) behaviors of young infants in response to visual stimuli. Infants produced TPs in response to objects within reach before but not after the onset of reaching behavior. The results suggest that infants' TPs in response to a tongue-protruding adult reflect very early attempts at oral exploration of…

Three studies examined whether and when preschool children are willing to attribute internal and immanent causes to motion. Found that preschool children were more likely to attribute immanent cause to motion in animals than in artifacts and more likely to attribute human cause to motion in artifacts than in animals. (MDM)

Examined the effects of age, repetition, and retention interval on children's memory of the final occurrence of a repeated event. Found that repetition increased the number of items recalled, and that younger children showed a poorer ability to discriminate between the occurrences than the older children, though age differences were less evident…

Examined the effects of premature birth on ninety 11-year-olds' memory and processing speed, using the new Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT). Found that preterm subjects performed more poorly than their full-term counterparts on all CAT memory tasks, and that preterms were also slower on selected aspects of processing speed but not on motor speed.…

Assessed the arithmetical competencies of 105 American and 104 Chinese elementary school students at the beginning and end of the U.S. school year. Results suggest the Chinese advantage in early mathematical development is related to a combination of language- and school-related factors. (MDM)

Examined seriation, conservation, and theory of mind abilities in 16 adolescents and adults with autism, in 16 adolescents and adults with mental retardation, and in 16 normally developing children. Found that participants with autism performed better than participants with mental retardation on seriation, while no differences emerged between…

Examined imitation and pantomime abilities in 17 high-functioning adolescents with autism and in 15 comparison subjects with dyslexia or other learning disorders, matched on chronological age and verbal IQ. Found no support for the symbolic deficit hypothesis; meaning aided, rather than hindered, the performance of the group with autism. (MDM)

Examined the ability of adults to judge social signals (glances or looks at their social partners) in children with and without developmental delays. Found that participants were more confident of their judgments of looks for non-delayed toddlers than for those with delays. Signal detection statistics indicated that looks of delayed toddlers were…

Examined how 147 urban youth evaluated three reporting options available to investigators when a research participant tells them that they are involved in or the victims of behaviors that present different developmental risks. Confidentiality was viewed favorably for risk behaviors of low perceived severity or for which the consequences of adult…

Examined the relations between parents' child-rearing style and their older adolescent children's behavior with a sample of 178 college students and their families. Found that students from Nondirective homes had significantly higher SAT scores than students from Authoritarian-Directive and Democratic homes. Students from Unengaged homes had the…

Examined whether maternal control protected African American adolescents from the negative influence of problem peers in a sample of 95 seventh- and eighth-graders. Found support for the hypothesis of a curvilinear relation between control and adolescent problem behavior, and suggested that high-quality parenting can play a modest but critical…