Evaluated the relation between fetal activity and postnatal behavior and development by measuring the amount of fetal movement occurring in response to stimulation and the number of stimulus applications necessary for habituation. Preliminary evidence suggests that fetal rate of habituation predicts some aspects of infant behavior and development…

When six-month-old infants are preexposed to one stimulus, they are later able to remember that stimulus and distinguish it from a previously unseen, novel stimulus; degree of experience with one stimulus and the magnitude of novelty effect positively covary. Neurological substrates of infants' memory skills are described. (RH)

Videotape recordings were made of the kick and step movements of six infants seven months of age, while they were in supine and upright positions on a stationary and moving treadmill. When placed on a moving treadmill, infants performed alternating stepping movements with many characteristics of mature walking. Implications are discussed. (RH)

Infant temperamental difficulty was strongly related to mothers' level of postpartum depression, both directly and through the mediation of parenting self-efficacy. Social support appeared to function protectively against depression, primarily through self-efficacy. Practical and theoretical implications are discussed. (Author/RH)

Examines effects of age, sex, and sibling status on children's ideas about infants and infant care. The sample consisted of 43 preschoolers and 42 second graders, half of whom were boys, half were girls, and half were singletons. Older children with siblings were more knowledgeable than either their singleton peers or younger children.…

Results provide support for the existence of a relation between school behavior and the home environment of young adolescents, since both academic performance and externalizing problem behaviors in school were related to and predicted by the parent-adolescent relationship and/or maternal depression in the home setting. Data from mothers and,…

If human cognitive development advances through a series of broad and general stages, then the child's mind at any developmental point should seem consistent and similar across situations in its maturity level and general style. However, there appear to be factors and conditions that promote homogeneity and heterogeneity in the child's cognitive…

This paper provides a critical examination of the current status of metamemory. First, review of background influences and a critique of conceptualizations of metamemory are presented. Next, research methods are examined, and empirical results concerning the relationship between metamemory and memory are reviewed. Finally, several suggestions are…

Argues that, although Piaget's seminal work on children's use of intention and consequence information to make moral evaluations has spawned a substantial amount of research, progress in this area has been hampered by serious conceptual and methodological problems. Offers some methodological guidelines for conducting research in this area.…

Using extensive, multifaceted observational and interview data from the Family Socialization and Developmental Competence Project (FSP), this paper examines the claims that androgynes, by comparison with sex-typed individuals, are more effective persons and parents. (Author/RH)

Argues that Baumrind (1982), in her discussion of studies employing Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) and Personal Attitudes Questionnaire, confuses theories proposed by Bem (1974) and by Spence and Helmreich (1978, 1979), which are based on different assumptions and have different implications. Outlines differences between the two and points out…

The purposes of this study were (1) to explore the meaning of children's choices in toy preference tasks, and (2) to determine if children's understanding of sex appropriateness of toys is an important conscious determinant of sex-typed object choices. (Author/RH)

A new self-report instrument, the Perceived Competence Scale for Children, is described. Emphasis is placed on the assessment of a child's sense of competence across different domains, instead of on viewing perceived competence as a unitary construct. (Author/RH)

Examines the relationship between self-evaluation and social comparison in adolescent males during their last two years of high school. The question is empirically examined in two realms that capture primary features of the adolescent transition: physical transformation and social role reorganization. (Author/RH)

Investigates whether disputes arising between 21-month-old children, meeting for the first time in a laboratory playroom, showed one or more of the following social hallmarks: (1) a patterned interactive structure, (2) explicitly communicative content, including conventional gestures and intelligible speech, and (3) antecedent and consequent…