An open-ended interview, a picture-recognition task, and a forced-choice rating task were administered to 64 four- to seven-year-old boys and girls to assess development of conceptions of friendship. Findings suggested that as children grow older they place increasing emphasis on affectively based friendship characteristics. (Author/MP)

Twelve pairs of previously unacquainted 6-month-old infants were observed in the presence and absence of toys; interactive episodes beginning when an infant touched the peer or a toy held by the peer were examined. Results suggested that young peers influence each other's behavior, but the extent to which they do so depends on situational…

A total of 48 children from five to six years of age were shown pictures of males and females performing sex-consistent and sex-inconsistent activities. Children were tested a week later for recall of these activities and the sex of the actor performing them. Sex-consistent activities were found to be more memorable than sex-inconsistent…

Explores situational and cognitive-developmental factors affecting 223 high-school and college students' moral thinking and moral decision-making about a hypothetical dilemma. (MP)

Reports two studies examining the age/generosity relationship in children five to ten years old. With data gathered both cross-sectionally and longitudinally, studies demonstrated the existence of a nonlinear as well as a linear trend. (Author/MP)

A group of 125 elementary and high-school students were interviewed to assess their levels of moral judgment regarding prosocial behavior and the discriminations they make when thinking about helping various individuals (e.g., family and friends, disliked others, someone from a different country). (Author/MP)

Two studies traced the development of metacognitions about self-control in children from preschool through grade 6. Results indicated that children begin to understand two basic rules for effective delay of gratification by about the end of their fifth year. (Author/MP)

Choices between an immediate reward and a delayed reward of higher value were presented to 66 children three, four, and five years of age who had been randomly assigned to short or long conditions of delay. Regardless of age, children did not choose the delayed reward. (Author/MP)

The effects of high-structure versus low-structure objects on various types and components of pretend play were examined in a sample of 36 low-income, predominantly Afro-American preschoolers. High-structure objects increased the frequency of noninteractive pretend play in three and one-half-year-old triads, but not in five-year-old triads.…

Two studies examined the extent to which overjustification effects in five- and ten-year-old subjects can be explained in terms of expectations deriving from the offer of a reward by the experimenter. (Author/MP)

Examines whether parents of children ages 5 through 13 are able to recognize the impact various socialization techniques have on their own child's interpretations of prosocial behavior. Additionally investigates parents' beliefs about causal attributions made by their children. (MP)

Results obtained from observations of the interactions of 20 mother/infant pairs supported the hypothesis that high interactional stability would be strongly linked to low levels of crying during social attention. (MP)

A total of 120 children between four to eight years of age were administered four sets of visual perspective-taking tasks. Results supported the hypothesis that children's task competence would be a fraction of the number and type of spatial relationships embedded in the stimulus displays. (Author/MP)

Examines the effect of nutritional supplementation provided to mothers during pregnancy and lactation on the mental and motor development of their infants. While neither sex nor mental differences could be attributed to supplementation, motor development in infants was affected. (Author/MP)

Data obtained from a group of infants ranging in age from four to seven months did not support the existence of attentional inertia in this age range. (MP)