Comments on Belsky, Steinberg, and Draper's article in this issue. Discusses the claim for a connection of stressful childhood environments and early pubertal maturation. Argues that early puberty need not imply a shift from a "quality" toward a "quantity" reproductive strategy and that nonevolutionary factors can account for precocious sexuality…

Responds to Maccoby's and Hinde's commentaries on the Belsky, et al. article in this issue. Highlights several points of concurrence and disagreement. Draws attention to the potential benefits of asking questions about proximal and ultimate causation simultaneously and, thus, the need for child developmentalists to think about both the how and why…

The effects of fetal cocaine exposure on newborn cry characteristics were studied in 80 cocaine-exposed and 80 control infants. Findings were consistent with the notion that two neurobehavioral syndromes, excitable and depressed, can be described in cocaine-exposed infants and that these two syndromes are a result of direct neurotoxic effects and…

Three groups of 12-month-old infants were tested for cross-modal and intramodal transfer of information about shape. Infants were given either visual or tactual familiarization and then tested for visual or tactual recognition. Overall, intramodal transfer was superior to cross-modal transfer. Cross-modal asymmetries were found for which possible…

The ability of 31- to 36-month-old children to act in accordance with rules was assessed in 2 slightly different experiments using sorting tasks and knowledge tasks. Taken together, the results of both experiments imply a relatively rapid, age-related change culminating in the ability to systematically execute rules that require access to extant…

Reports four studies investigating very young children's understanding of two kinds of symbolic stimuli--scale models and pictures. The data indicate that 2.5-year-old children have difficulty understanding scale models as symbols but can understand pictures as symbols. Results suggest that experience with a symbolic medium they understand can…

Two studies tested whether first and second graders can differentiate between the concepts of hypothesis and evidence. Results indicate that young elementary school children distinguish between the two concepts. Most children demonstrated understanding of the goal of testing a hypothesis as opposed to the goal of producing a positive effect. (GLR)

Three investigations and one main experiment examined whether children ages four to seven differentiate between the causal mechanisms appropriate for different conceptual domains. Results suggest that preschoolers prefer natural mechanisms for color inheritance in biological kinds and recognize the importance of human intentions in producing the…

Working class and upper-middle class mothers were videotaped interacting with their toddlers in four settings. Samples of the mothers' adult-directed speech were also collected. Observed were social class differences in the mothers' child-directed speech and some parallel differences in the mothers' adult-directed speech. This may reflect more…

Children's discourse with peers was examined in relation to speaker gender, partner gender, and age level. Girls' and boys' communication patterns were more similar than different, but gender-related differences with medium to large effect sizes were found. Findings are interpreted in terms of developmental and contextual accounts of gender and…

Aggressive data from four experimental play groups of seven- and nine-year-old black males were coded to examine whether qualitative aspects of aggression serve to distinguish among the behavior patterns displayed by the groups. Found that age makes a great deal of difference in these behavior patterns. (Author/GLR)

Children's conceptions of the emotions of guilt versus shame were investigated in 2 studies involving children ages 7 to 9 and 10 to 12. Age-related differences in conceptions of guilt and shame emerged. The older children understood the adaptive implications of both emotions, whereas the younger children perceived them more in terms of the…

Examined differences in moral judgments as they relate to informational assumptions. Sixth graders, high school seniors, and college students evaluated events concerning welfare, justice, and rights and reevaluated them in light of the opposite information. The relation between evaluations and informational assumptions was significant within each…

Elementary school children's evaluations of peer tutoring were compared with their evaluations of the traditional practice of solitary work on tests to determine their conceptions of fair practices in testing and learning situations. Findings support the conclusion that children's understanding of different types of situations is reflected in…

Relations between attendance in stable high quality day care programs and grade school behavior and performance were determined in two studies of elementary school children. Found that time in quality infant care was significantly related to positive social behavior and higher academic achievement. (GLR)