It is well known that human development is influenced by social change. In particular, as evidenced by research on German unification, the rapid change of social institutions can impact on various aspects of behaviour and development. Based on my own research experience in this field, I want to show the necessity for a better interdisciplinary…

Extends the available information base on intellectural aging by collecting self-report data from 100 psychologists between 45 and 64 years of age. Subjects rated changes in intellectual functions, related present changes with past expectations, and answered questions about health problems affecting intellectual functioning. The importance of…

Considers possible contributions of developmental psychology to analysis and solution of practical problems by proposing a practical action model comprising the following: nature of the phenomenon or problem; existence of the phenomenon or problem; outcome in case of no intervention; goals for intervention; achievement of goals; and assessing…

Examines professional education and current research trends in developmental psychology in Italy. Current trends have been investigated by a multi-dimensional content analysis of the studies published or accepted for publication in qualified journals between 1978-May 1983. (Author/AS)

Continues a previous five-year follow-up of preterm and full-term children by studying the continuity in their intellectual and emotional development. Prematurity was predictive for school adjustment at ages six and seven only when regression was performed on the preterm group, but failed to be predictive when mixed groups of preterm and full-term…

Explores the extent to which social cognitive aspects of preschool children's free play behaviors varied according to two classroom contextual variables: (1) presence in different learning centers and (2) number of children and adults in those centers. Results incdicated that children behaved differently according to these variables. (Author/AS)

Investigates the influence on Scottish preschool children's self-control of labels regarding patience given directly to the children themselves, and of the expectations regarding the children's patience provided to adult testers. Childrens self-control was assessed in a task in which each child's possession of accumulating candy rewards was made…

Explores, in two independent replications one year apart, the possiblility that (a) the actions of three-year-old children are guided and accompanied by self-evaluations and withdrawal, (b) that self-evaluations and withdrawal have a motivational function for persistence, and (c) that they are influenced by the mother's behavior when interacting…

Examines the notion that words are sometimes perceived with greater ease than letters and that word shape sometimes plays a role in the perception of words. The data collected from 40 Israeli kindergarteners revealed that beginning readers found it easier to identify single letters than whole words, thus refuting the above notion. (Author/AS)

Discusses research on human development from an interactional perspective; methodological problems connected with interindividual differences in biological maturation (using empirical studies from a longitudinal program); and major implications for further development research in an interactional perspective. (Author/BE)

Discusses present trends in research, teaching, and practice in the field of behavioral development. Describes behaviorism and cognitivism as two basic theoretical influences on research in Brazil. An action-oriented approach prevails, including work with underprivileged and mentally retarded children. However, the number of published scientific…

Investigates the relationship between locus of control and anxiety in two studies. Hypothesized that internal subjects show more state-anxiety than external subjects in luck situations, whereas externals show more state-anxiety under ability situations. Results confirm findings from other cultures and indicate differences between adults and…

Examines memory for room-sized spatial arrangement in relation to spatial and classification operations. Sixty first-grade children were given two Piagetian spatial tasks and a two-dimensional point duplication problem. Results of multiple regression showed that Euclidean knowledge (measured by verticality) and age in months predicted memory for…

Children and adults normally interpret the spatial expressions "in front of" and "behind" in a nondeictic way when fronted objects are used. Two experiments involving a treasure hunt game investigated subjects' (6 to 10 years and adults) awareness of an alternative, deictic interpretation. (Author/BE)

Finds a significant relationship between characteristics of mothers' social networks and those of their children in a sample of 72 Swedish mothers and children. Nature and strength of relationships varied with mothers' marital status and children's gender. Networks of married mothers and daughters were most similar; networks of single mothers and…