Ever since its popularisation by Piaget around 60 years ago, transitive reasoning (deductively-inferring A greater than C from premises A greater than B and B greater than C) has been of psychological interest both as a mental phenomenon and as a tool in areas of psychological discourse. However, the focus of interest in it has shifted…

Many current psychological models of reasoning minimize the role of deductive processes in human thought. In the present paper, we argue that deduction is an important part of ordinary cognition and we propose that a dual systems Competence [image omitted] Procedural processing model conceptualized within relational developmental systems theory…

Dual-process theories have gained increasing importance in psychology. The contrast that they describe between an old intuitive and a new deliberative mind seems to make these theories especially suited to account for development. Accordingly, this special issue aims at presenting the latest applications of dual-process theories to cognitive…

Drawing developmental predictions from dual-process theories is more complex than is commonly realized. Overly simplified predictions drawn from such models may lead to premature rejection of the dual process approach as one of many tools for understanding cognitive development. Misleading predictions can be avoided by paying attention to several…

Successful communication requires that individuals attend to the perspective of their conversational partners and use this information to modify their behavior accordingly. This paper presents a framework by which to understand children's communicative perspective-taking skills and, within this framework, outlines three routes by which children's…

Executive function refers to the cognitive processes necessary for goal-directed cognition and behavior, which develop across childhood and adolescence. Recent experimental research indicates that both acute and chronic aerobic exercise promote children's executive function. Furthermore, there is tentative evidence that not all forms of aerobic…

This review briefly summarizes recent empirical research on touch. The research includes the role of touch in early development, touch deprivation, touch aversion, emotions that can be conveyed by touch, the importance of touch for interpersonal relationships and how friendly touch affects compliance in different situations. MRI data are reviewed…

This paper offers an overview of research on infants' early behavior toward televised images, followed by an account of the development of "representational competence" with video. Several aspects of representation are involved in young children's understanding and use of video. From a very young age, children form mental representations of the…

For some time now, questions have been asked about the impact of television and video materials on the cognitive and social development of preschoolers and older children. More recently, these same questions have been asked in relation to the extensive exposure to these media that infants and toddlers are currently experiencing. To answer these…

The ability to transfer learning across contexts is an adaptive skill that develops rapidly during early childhood. Learning from television is a specific instance of transfer of learning between a two-dimensional (2D) representation and a three-dimensional (3D) object. Understanding the conditions under which young children might accomplish this…

Sex segregation (the separation of boys and girls into same-sex groups in their friendships and casual encounters; [Thorne, B., & Luria, Z. (1986). Sexuality and gender in children's daily worlds. "Social Problems, 33", 176-190]), has typically been viewed as a childhood phenomenon. In the present paper, we review research that suggests the…

Hunger, thirst and satiety have an enormous influence on cognition, behavior and development, yet we often take for granted that they are simply inborn or innate. Converging data and theory from both comparative and human domains, however, supports the conclusion that the phenomena hunger, thirst and satiety are not innate but rather emerge…

This paper outlines a way for thinking about continuity and change in childhood anxiety symptoms. Considerations for a model of continuity and change in anxious emotion are discussed first. Then, a perspective which may resolve inconsistencies across studies on the stability of childhood anxiety problems overtime is presented. The perspective…

Disorders of conduct are the most common reason for preschoolers to be referred for psychological services. If these problems are severe enough, these young children will be diagnosed with a "DSM-IV-TR" diagnosis or a diagnosis from another diagnostic systems, such as the "DSM-PC" or "DC: 0-3". Whether or not these young children receive a…

The term "joint attention", which first gained currency in the early 1960s in studies of the development of language and symbolic thought, remains significant in the developmental literature. However, its meaning is unclear. A definitional problem exists similar to what Patterson [Patterson, M. L. (1982). "A sequential functional model of…