Psychological and biological reasoning are intertwined yet differentiated in preschoolers' understandings of bodily processes and events. Three studies suggest that preschoolers distinguish biological phenomena from psychological ones in their causal reasoning, although their reasoning about biological phenomena is sometimes influenced by…

Uses clinical case studies showing autistic children's fascination with and understanding of machines, family studies focusing on occupations of fathers and grandfathers of children with autism or Asperger Syndrome, and experimental evidence using picture-sequencing methods to identify physical or intentional causality to show that children with…

Examined reasoning in normal, autistic, and deaf individuals. Found that deaf individuals who grow up in hearing homes without fluent signers show selective impairments in theory of mind similar to those of autistic individuals. Results suggest that conversational differences in the language children hear accounts for distinctive patterns of…

Focuses on three main issues emerging from studies of conceptual development: (1) young children's naive theories of the world; (2) how innate constraints in conceptual development work; and (3) how innate and sociocultural constraints are integrated. Maintains that early development of core domains of thought (naive psychology, physics, and…

A personal area of behavior comprising matters of choice and privacy, and differentiated from convention and moral obligation, is a psychological requirement for the construction of a distinct and bounded self. Accurate investigations of this dynamic require differentiation between cultural ideology and conceptual frames of individuals. (Author)

Examines environmental moral reasoning and values in African American children and their parents in Houston and Brazilian children in a large city and in a river village along the Amazon. Finds similarities of moral concerns and obligations to the environment in all three communities, structured by concerns for human welfare, fairness, and rights.…

Notes study of interviewer influence on the moral judgment of children from New York City and Recife, Brazil, which found that heteronomy was influenced by the social interaction context. Discusses this influence in terms of the concept of heteronomy, adult-child relations and interaction, and cognitive uncertainty. (KB)

Uses data from studies comparing Western and Non-Western societies to support the argument that study of intracultural diversity in concepts of rights and duties will contribute to the study of diversity between cultures. Notes that individuals participate in multifaceted social experiences, developing distinct goals, interests, and perspectives;…

Critiques studies of moral development and culture in light of key assumptions of cultural psychology with regard to culturally mediated contexts, the coherence and complexity of cultures, and agency in a culturally grounded self. Argues that the challenge remains to retain concern with agency and context sensitivity, while giving weight to the…

Critiques four studies of morality and culture from the point of view of domain theory, based on distinctions between morality and social construal, domains of judgment (moral, social conventional, and personal), and perspectives within the social and power structure. (Author)

Examined differences in reactions to children's aggressive play of mothers with aggressive or nonaggressive preschoolers. Found that mothers of aggressive preschoolers were more likely than other mothers to stop aggressive play, make value judgments, withdraw when aggressive play occurred, and make no effort to join or modulate the play. Findings…

Discusses the educational theory underlying Steiner's Waldorf Kindergartens. Examines the influence of other theorists such as Montessori, Piaget, Buber, Hahn and Dewey on Steiner's educational ideas. Explores the need for kindergartens to nurture children's Emotional Intelligence and Motional Intelligence in addition to their Intelligence…

Discusses the major components of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 applicable to day care facilities. Offers guidelines for admitting disabled children, and for determining whether an accommodation is reasonable or an unreasonable burden. Considers an ADA case involving discrimination against a diabetic child for insights into the…

Examined Chinese kindergartners' play skills and, three years later, subjects' abilities to cooperate in competitive games. Found that although Chinese children conversed more than their American counterparts, who spent more time in social play, social contact scores were nearly identical across groups. Although social play strongly influenced…

Presents a case study of the process of change as two university-based child care programs move toward full inclusion of special needs children. Describes the critical patterns of change that emerged, focusing on the impact of change on staff and program. Highlights themes of change that indicate there are some conditions necessary for change to…