Examined characteristics of 175 victimized fourth through seventh graders. It was expected that children would be more likely to anticipate tangible rewards, more likely to expect victim suffering, and less likely to expect retaliation when using aggression against victimized targets than when attacking nonvictimized targets. (RH)

In two studies, second and sixth graders heard descriptions of hypothetical boys and girls who were either aggressive, socially withdrawn, or prosociable. Subjects' memories of items in the descriptions were assessed. Results indicated that school-age and early adolescent children's recall of information about a peer is affected by the peer's…

Studied rejected children by assessing aspects of their self-concepts and their perceptions of relationships with significant others. Assessed possible biases in the processing of information about the self across status groups. Explored potential differences among subgroups of children who had been classified as sociometrically rejected. (RH)

Considered (1) the relation between peer socioeconomic status and specific negative outcomes; (2) the possibility that sociometric status serves as a marker variable for negative outcomes; (3) the possibility that rejected children experience more types of problems during adolescence than other children; and (4) which of six predictor variables…

Examined Bowlby's proposition that early experiences and the adaptations to which they give rise influence later development, even beyond the influence of current circumstances or very recent adaptation. Groups whose adaptation were similar during preschool years but consistently different earlier were defined and compared. Results supported…

A study of sixth grade boys and their families hypothesized that boys who were prone to high levels of distress but low or moderate levels of self-restraint would be particularly unlikely to agree to make considerable efforts to complete tasks that were not especially enjoyable. Results supported the hypothesis. (RH)

When children in grades 3, 6, 9, and 12 were administered the Sibling Relationship Questionnaire, data suggested that sibling relationships become more egalitarian and less asymmetrical with age; become less intense with age; and encompass experiences that are partially determined by the child's standing in the family constellation. (RH)

This study of the nature of the representations underlying children's knowledge of the pattern of daily activities tested the plausibility of three models that have been proposed to explain adults' representations of temporal patterns. The models could also account for previous demonstrations of young children's knowledge of the temporal order of…

Examined the implications of sex-typed housework of children from dual- and single-earner families for children's adjustment as a function of congruencies between children's work and parents' sex-role behaviors and attitudes. Analyses revealed differences in sex and earner status in children's and parents' involvement in traditionally feminine and…

Ability to identify the sexes, understanding of gender group membership, temporal stability of gender, and gender consistency over situational changes were assessed in a sample of 61 boys and girls of 3-5 years of age. Findings suggested that only a rudimentary understanding of gender is acquired by children before the sex-typing process begins.…

Hypothesized that reduction of schematic processing distortions would lead to increased flexibility in children's beliefs about what men and women can do. Subjects were 76 children between 6 and 11 years of age. The intervention led to a reduction in children's occupational stereotyping. (RH)

Four studies addressed the possibilities that young children use color when attempting to identify another's sex and that children's impressions of people whose sex is known are influenced by clothing color. Findings demonstrated that young children share prevailing societal stereotypes linking colors and sex and that color of clothing influences…

A series of experiments revealed that noun-category bias in children's word learning is present as early as two years of age. Findings indicate that, when children interpret the meaning of novel nouns, they do not sample randomly from the range of possible meanings but focus instead on category relations. (RH)

Examined the possibility that knowledge about hierarchical organization of categories and cross-language equivalents for object labels can help children limit use of the assumption that nouns pick out mutually exclusive object categories. Findings suggest that even preschoolers use knowledge about language and categorization to fine tune the…

In three experiments, children of three through six years of age were generally better able to reproduce a perceiver's perspective if a visual cue in the perceiver's line of sight was salient. Children had greater difficulty when the task hinged on attending to configural cues. Availability of distinctive cues affixed to objects facilitated…