Developmental change in self-esteem was assessed from early adolescence through early adulthood. Found that males tended to increase and females to decrease in self-esteem over time and that there was rank order consistency in self-esteem over time. Within each gender, individuals' differences in developmental trajectories were related to…

Sixth and tenth graders and college students were asked to apply moral judgments which they had made about a familiar context to contexts in cultures different from their own. Most subjects contextualized their judgments with respect to cultures with different informational beliefs but made nonrelativistic judgments with respect to cultures with…

Parents, social service workers, and medical personnel did not generally differ in their judgments of supervision required for children of 11 ages in 5 supervision domains. For most domains, constant supervision of preschool children was recommended. For elementary school children, nearly constant supervision in typical situations, close…

Argues that, although research on conscience development in children has emphasized the contribution of parental socialization, the influence of children's temperament has been largely neglected. Proposes a new framework for the study of conscience development through a synthesis of the two approaches. (MDM)

Investigates whether pretend play is an area of advanced understanding with reference to certain skills that are implicated in both pretend play and a theory of mind, including the ability to (1) represent one object as two things at once; (2) see one object as representing another; and (3) represent mental representations. (MDM)

Four experiments confirmed the widely accepted hypothesis that, although children as young as two engage in pretend play, even four and five year olds do not understand that pretending requires mental representation. Children appear to misconstrue pretense as its common external manifestations, such as actions, until at least age six. (MDM)

Three studies found that there was a marked increase with age from preschool to adulthood in individuals' tendency to say that persons always have some thoughts and ideas flowing through their minds. Four year olds tended to say that persons could keep their minds completely empty of ideas. (MDM)

Investigated 4-6 year olds' ability to compare the distances covered by a direct and an indirect route to a location. Although many children believed that both routes covered the same distance, about 40% of the four year olds could explain why the direct route was shorter. (MDM)

Two experiments found that (1) by age 8 months infants perceived that leaning extends their effective reaching space to grasp objects; (2) by 10 months they perceived the effective limits of leaning and reaching; and (3) by 12 months they began to perceive how this space may be extended by a mechanical aid. (MDM)

Found that, in unstructured building sessions, kindergartners were more likely to observe, imitate, and consult their second- or third-grade siblings than their older peers. Older siblings were also more likely to provide additional explanations and positive feedback than older peers when instructing younger children. (MDM)

Examined disagreements between 9 and 10 year olds as a function of friendship status. While children played a board game, conflicts occurred more frequently among friends than among nonfriends. During conflicts with friends, girls tended to use assertions accompanied by rationales, whereas boys tended to use assertions without rationales. (MDM)

Rated gender boundary violation and maintenance of 47 preadolescents participating in a summer day camp. Found that children who violated gender boundaries tended to be unpopular with peers; and children who maintained boundaries were judged by camp counselors to be more competent socially than children who violated boundaries. (MDM)

Found that, contrary to prevailing assumptions, parents retain a notable but indirect influence over their child's peer associates during adolescence. Specific parenting practices, such as monitoring, encouragement of achievement, and joint decision making, were significantly associated with specific adolescent behaviors, such as academic…

Compared adjustment scores among adolescents who differ in both emotional autonomy and perceptions of parental support. Found that, although adolescents who scored high in both emotional autonomy and relationship support reported more internal distress and behavior problems than less autonomous adolescents, they had higher levels of psychological…

Found that, although 10- to 14-year-old sons of hypertensive parents showed greater systolic blood pressure reactivity to interadult anger and to a challenging task than sons of normotensive parents, there was no consistent pattern in the response of girls. (MDM)