Though often discussed as a discrete event, puberty comprises one segment of a larger developmental continuum and is notable for rapid transformation across a multitude of domains. While an earlier timing of puberty relative to peers stands as one of the most well-replicated antecedents of adolescent difficulties for girls, findings have been less…

A hoary assumption of the law is that children are more prone to false-memory reports than adults, and hence, their testimony is less reliable than adults'. Since the 1980s, that assumption has been buttressed by numerous studies that detected declines in false memory between early childhood and young adulthood under controlled conditions.…

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 reviews the use of eye tracking measures (saccades, smooth-pursuit eye movements, fixations during scene and face perception, and pupillary dilation) to study typical and clinical populations of children and adolescents and evaluates the use of these measures. The studies are evaluated with a focus on points that may be of general…

Although thermal conditions influence the development of living organisms in a wide variety of ways, this topic has been recently ignored in humans. This paper reintroduces thermal conditions as a topic of importance for developmentalists by presenting an example of how thermal conditions are hypothesized to influence a particular developmental…

We outline the nature of dynamic systems, both linear and nonlinear, and we review dynamic systems principles that apply well to various aspects of human development, including the emergence of new forms, phases of stability and instability, continuous and discontinuous change, and differentiation among individual trajectories. We then document…

Cholesterol has numerous quintessential functions in normal cell physiology, as well as in embryonic and postnatal development. It is a major component of cell membranes and myelin, and is a precursor of steroid hormones and bile acids. The development of the blood brain barrier likely around 12-18 weeks of human gestation makes the developing…

Based on Schaie's (1965) general developmental model, various data-driven and theory-based approaches to the exploration and disentangling of age, cohort, and time effects on human behavior have emerged. This paper presents and discusses an advancement of data-driven interpretations that stresses parsimony when interpreting the results of…

Offers psychologist Baldwin's theory as an approach to the development of social understanding emphasizing gradual differentiation of self and other and rooting this process in embodied activity within a social context. Argues that Baldwin's account provides a stronger starting point for conceptualizing the infant's discovery of other, self, and…

Describes a theory of the understanding and use of representations, drawing heavily on Paul Ricoeur's and James Mark Baldwin's theories. Presents this theory as construing representation as intrinsically mimetic, characterizing the development of representational understanding as internalization, and emphasizing the importance of self-reflection…

Searches for an understanding of developmental scholar William Kessen, and of what he was trying to teach in his later years. Discusses possible sources of Kessen's dissatisfaction with the field of child development, and whether any of these issues can be resolved in ways that Kessen might not have fully anticipated. Summarizes the main lessons…

Reviews research on development of children's beliefs about intelligence; proposes that this development represents simultaneous processes of concept acquisition and theory building. Discusses research foci on children's definitions of intelligence, beliefs about the component structure of intelligence, criteria children use to evaluate ability,…

Compares concepts defining Kohlbergian stages of moral development with those associated with orders of hierarchical complexity determined with a generalized content-independent stage-scoring system. Finds that Kohlberg's sequence generally matches that identified with the scoring system and that contract and authority concepts match the concepts…

Proposes a variant of mental model theory which suggests that the development of conditional reasoning (if--then) can be explained by such factors as the capacity of working memory, range of knowledge available to a reasoner, and his/her ability to access this knowledge "on-line." Finds much empirical data explained by this model. (Author/SD)

Presents a model of developmental adaptation that explains the process of adaptation to life stress on the basis of adverse childhood events and paternal care, and internal and external resources available for adaptation to current life events. The appraisal of past and current events, as well as coping behaviors, are hypothesized to influence the…