Five experiments tested the development of conceptual categories by familiarizing infants to objects in a category and presenting them with an object in a different category. Infants' responses indicated that infants at 7 to 11 months categorized animals, vehicles, and furniture; at 11 months, plants and kitchen utensils; and at 9 to 11 months,…

In six experiments, infants were habituated to word-object pairings and then presented with a familiar word and object in a previously seen and a new pairing. Found that 14-month olds formed word-object associations under these conditions when the objects were moving; 8- to 12-month olds did not form associations but appeared to process the word…

Examined infants' categorization using object manipulation tasks that involved objects that were models of animals, vehicles, or furniture. Objects were normal, had anomalous moving parts (such as a dog with wheels), or had different textures. Found that 14- to 22-month olds attended to the parts and structural configuration of objects, but not to…

Tested children at 3 to 4 years of age, and again 13 months later, on false-belief tasks and on four tests of executive function, or processes underlying goal-directed behavior. Results suggest that young children's understanding of mind is grounded in their growing competence in strategic planning and mental flexibility. (Author/BC)

Six- to 14-year olds added "winning" beads to an urn of "losing" beads in order to generate equal probabilities of choosing a winning bead from each of two urns. Found that 13-year olds integrated the two dimensions (winning and losing beads), the youngest children relied on one dimension, and 9- to 10-year olds partly combined the two dimensions.…

First graders, fourth and fifth graders, and college students watched a video and then answered questions about events in the video and about events that never happened. One week later, subjects were again questioned about the video. Participants in all age groups, though children more so than adults, exhibited false memories for the events that…

Tested the hypothesis that individual differences in reading ability increase over time, by assessing children, at seven occasions between kindergarten and third grade, on various measures of reading ability, reading behavior, and attitudes toward reading. Found that individual differences among children in word recognition, but not reading…

Collected data on twins' performance on 13 cognitive variables measured three times at three-year intervals. Twins were monozygotic or dizygotic pairs reared together or apart and were in six cohorts ranging in age from 41 through 84 years. Found stable mean cognitive performance across time on eight measures for the younger cohorts, and…

This commentary details a number of problems with the study design and data analysis reported by Finkel et al. The commentary also provides suggestions for more fruitful approaches for analyzing data from such studies in the future. (Author/BC)

Assessed coping and stress of primiparous mothers between 7 months of pregnancy and 12 months postpartum; maternal behavior between 1 and 12 months postpartum; and infant development at 12 months. Found that measures of mothers' coping and cognitive appraisals of parenting showed systematic variations over time, and individual differences among…

Examined parents' and 4-month-old infants' behavior during face-to-face interactions. Results indicated that mothers and fathers were equally sensitive to their infants, and that infants' affect and regulatory behaviors were stable across mother-infant and father-infant situations in the still-face model. (BC)

Spouses completed measures about self and relationship and were videotaped while interacting at home. Spouses reporting greater marital adjustment exhibited more positive engagement during couple discussion and greater harmony during family play. Older spouses displayed less positive engagement than younger couples. Greater hostility was observed…

Observed parent-child interaction at home and obtained data about children's peer victimization in kindergarten. Parent-child relationships in which parents exhibited high intrusive demandingness and low responsiveness were associated with peer victimization for boys and girls. Parent-child relationships that exhibited intense closeness were…

For 720 same-sex sibling pairs from 10 to 18 years of age, parents and adolescents provided information about family environment and adolescent adjustment. Found that adolescents' perceptions of their parents' conflict-negativity mediated the relationship between parental conflict-negativity and adolescent antisocial behavior. (BC)

Based on data collected over a three-year period, found that, when both parents and adolescents exhibited ineffective, coercive behavior, parent-adolescent interactions grew more negative over time. When parents exhibited nurturant behavior and adolescents belligerent behavior, disruptive adolescent behavior resulted in a decline in nurturant…