We extend an evolutionary perspective of development to the lifespan, proposing that human longevity may be related to the experience, knowledge, and wisdom provided by older members of human groups. In addition to the assistance in childcare provided by grandmothers to their daughters, the experience of wise elders could have served to benefit…

Adolescent risk-taking can be illuminated through an understanding of the development of the brain, of dual-processing theories, and of social norms and meanings. When adolescents take unjustified risks, it is often because of the weakness of their analytic systems, which provide an inadequate check on impulsive or ill-considered decisions. Social…

This commentary explains how the field of developmental cognitive neuroscience (DCN) holds the promise of a much wider interdisciplinary integration across sciences concerned with development: psychology, molecular genetics, neurobiology, and evolutionary developmental biology. First we present a brief history of DCN, including the key theoretical…

Brain development is self-organizing in that the unique structure of each brain evolves in unpredictable ways through recursive modifications of synaptic networks. In this article, I review mechanisms of neural change in real time and over development, and I argue that change at each of these time scales embodies principles of self-organizing…

Asserts that dichotomous cultural templates such as independence and interdependence do not accurately reflect the complexity of social life and often result in stereotypic characterizations of social orientations of individuals and cultures. Discusses viewpoints that promote use of dichotomous labels, espouse dualities for some cultural aspects,…

Clarifies a reconceptualization of constructs of individualism, collectivism, independence, and interdependence which represents a departure from traditional conceptualization and a move away from understanding these constructs in dichotomous, stereotypical, and unidimensional terms. Discusses implications of this perspective for stereotyping…

Reviews theoretical and empirical developments in Erik Erikson's construct of generativity-stagnation. Presents a five-category model describing styles of resolving the issue using combinations of level of involvement or active concern for the growth of self and others; and level of inclusivity or scope of caregiving concern. Discusses model in…

Used latent class analysis to test statistically Siegler's rule assessment methodology, the number of rules needed to fit a set of data. Found that rules can be identified, that some are different from those proposed by Siegler, the correct rule is not acquired by subjects, and that the rules in the transitional period are difficult to identify.…

Discusses limitations of using behavioral genetic methods for understanding the environmental effects of poverty. Multiple methods provide strong evidence that poverty and related experiences influence children's development through environmental processes that go beyond genetically transmitted attributes. Socioeconomic status is a function of…

Responds to Huston, McLoyd, and Coll's critique by indicating agreement with many observations about the complexity of poverty and the need for research designs providing stronger causal inferences. Maintains that the authors underestimate contributions that behavior genetic research designs can make toward understanding poverty and that they…

Argues that causal understanding is a developmental primitive: children develop core concepts of causality at a very early age, causality plays a necessary role in subsequent development across many domains, and basic causal processes can be activated automatically or implicitly. (HTH)

Notes that observational learning of a motor skill involves both observation of the model and self-observation. Examines observation of the modeled performance, including three moderators of observational learning: the properties of the model, the nature of the task, and observer determinants. Observer determinants are examined at length,…

Discusses the stage theory of early child development of French theorist Henri Wallon. Describes Wallon's efforts (in contrast to contemporary Piaget) to describe emotional development and the role emotions play in establishing the child-caregiver bond. Argues that Wallon's theory is unique in its focus, influenced theorists such as Vygotsky, and…

Evaluates dominant theoretical positions on the development of intentionality, including goal-directedness, the role of parental scaffolding, an innate capacity for intersubjectivity, and behavioral object-directedness. Argues that this theoretical diversity is undermining the construction of a coherent developmental account, and explores the…

Identifies three main strengths of Casey's spatial ability model, but notes that a study by McKeever found different results concerning the relationship between familial handedness and females' mental rotation ability. Considers the use of a familial handedness measure to be a weakness of the model because handedness might not be an inherited…