Relationship between maternal ratings of temperament and operant learning was examined in 18 2- to 3-month-old infants. Subjects participated in a conjugate reinforcement experiment; mothers of subjects completed the Carey and McDevitt Revised Infant Temperament Questionnaire 2 to 3 days before the learning study. Two temperament dimensions,…

Examines the hypothesis that degree of match or congruence between behavioral characteristics of infants and their families may significantly influence the nature of their interactions and the success of their mutual adaptation. Conducted a cross-sectional study on infant-family congruence on the degree of rhythmicity (predictable regularity in…

Analyzes the exploratory behaviors of 11 infants with Down Syndrome and 11 nondelayed infants, matched on Bayley mental raw scores and gender. Although both groups of infants organized their exploratory activities in similar manners, they showed significant differences in how they distribute these activities. (Author/BE)

Documents rate, mean duration, and mode of infants' affective displays. Using cross-sequential design, observes infants in their homes from 6 to 18 months playing with their mothers, with peers, and alone. With increasing age, affect rates and vocal modes increased, and mean durations and facial and motoric modes decreased. (Author/BE)

Using a version of the "learned helplessness" paradigm, assesses mothers' performance on a solvable task following pretreatments that involved exposure to an infant cry but that differed in the mothers' ability to exert control over termination of the cry. Proposes that learned helplessness models are relevant to the study of caregiver-infant…

To test their skill with spatial relationships, 4- to 6-year-olds were given problems in which they had to decide which one of an array of points was in line with two coordinate markers. Results establish that young children's grasp of Euclidean spatial relationships is more adequate than has been suggested. (Author/BE)

Studies development of auditory temporal acuity in 56 children aged 6 to 12 years and in 8 adults. Improvement in temporal acuity with age was attributed to development of sensory processes and not to age-related changes in nonsensory factors. (Author/BE)

In a study of the effect of task demands on attention allocation, 20 9-year-olds and 20 13-year-olds were presented with a primary and a secondary task. Subjects were instructed either to respond to the primary task or to respond to both tasks. Overall, findings indicate that ability to allocate attention in accordance with task demands improves…

Assesses, in two studies, children's ability to evaluate the informativeness of retrieval cues (used to remember to do something in the future). In Study 1, 5- to 9-year-old children and adults evaluated potential effectiveness of cues. In Study 2, 4- to 9-year-olds evaluated potential effectiveness of cues for relocating hidden objects.…

Third-grade children were taught efficient use of a self-monitoring strategy in preparing for recall. One group was trained on both free and serial recall; others on only one of the two tasks. A posttest was given one week after training, and a follow-up test of some children was given nine months later. (Author/BE)

Examined the ability of 2 1/2- to 4 1/2-year-olds to recognize and implement strategies for resolving comprehension difficulties. In contrast to previous experimental findings, results indicate that young children are capable of detecting a variety of comprehension problems and possess appropriate strategies for resolving these difficulties with a…

Tested and confirmed, in three experiments, the hypothesis that children's interpretation of pictorial conventions and of the expression "look like" may increase their tendency toward intellectual realism. That is, a tendency to respond to requests for perceptual reports by indicating what is known about an object or array, rather than what is…

Examines extent to which knowing that certain things go together and knowing how they do are independent aspects of developing cognitive systems. Indicates that children use temporal order as organizing principle by three years of age. Suggests an earlier developmental horizon as the origin of ordering abilities. (Author/BE)

Examines extent to which second- and fifth-graders use social comparison information to evaluate themselves. Results indicate that fifth-, but not second-graders, made appropriate evaluations of their abilities on the basis of variations in relative performance and compensated for time differences. (Author/BE)

Fifty-nine children with varying amounts and types of day-care experience were followed over their first 2 or 3 years of public schooling. Schoolteachers rated aggressiveness of several types and in several situations and supplied information about managing the children, their use of conflict-avoiding strategies, and other associated skills and…