Children's naturalistic entry behavior and sociometric status: A developmental perspective.

Extended previous research by examining the relation between children's entry behavior and sociometric status under more naturalistic conditions. First, 3rd, and 5th graders (N?=?72) of high, low, and average status were observed during recess. Observers coded Ss' entry and noninteractive behaviors, peers' responses, and the size of groups with whom Ss interacted. Low-status Ss engaged in more passive entry attempts and less sustained group interaction than high-status Ss, and were accepted less and ignored more. Compared with 5th graders, 1st graders attempted entry proportionately more, were alone more, joined smaller groups, and sustained interaction with groups a smaller proportion of time. Group size influenced both the choice of entry bids and the group's response to an entering peer. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's emotions as organizers of their reactions to interadult anger: A functionalist perspective.

Children's emotions have been implicated as mediating their responses to interadult anger, but this proposition has not been directly tested. Sixty-four 4–8 year olds (32 boys and 32 girls) were induced to feel angry, sad, happy, or "just okay" before their exposure to interadult anger. Data were analyzed by means of (a) analyses of variance testing differences across conditions and (b) correlations between children's emotions during affect induction procedures and their reactions to interadult anger. Findings indicated that negative emotions increased children's distress and negative appraisals and expectations in reaction to interadult anger, whereas positive emotions reduced distress reactions and increased children's positive expectations about future interadult interactions. The results support a functionalist view that emotions can play a causal role in organizing and directing children's reactions to events and are consistent with research and theory highlighting the role of emotionality in children's coping with marital conflict. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's conceptions of friendship: A multimethod study of developmental changes.

84 2nd, 4th, and 6th graders were administered 3 measures: (a) an open-ended interview, (b) a story-recognition task, and (c) a questionnaire about the importance of different characteristics to friendships and acquaintances. In general, friendship expectations based on dispositional characteristics (e.g., being considerate of others' feelings) increased in saliency with age, whereas characteristics referring to overt behaviors (e.g., sharing secrets) remained constant. Several substantive differences were found among the 3 measures. Ss recognized the importance of different friendship expectations before spontaneously reporting them in the interview. The recognition tasks yielded a more complete set of friendship expectations than the interview did. Ss of all ages differentiated between expectations for friends and acquaintances, but the degree of differentiation increased with age. Results support J. J. LaGaipa's (1979) hypothesis that children begin to differentiate among relationships prior to adolescence. (14 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Minors' consent to treatment: A developmental perspective.

Discusses the cognitive and behavioral characteristics of minors in relation to the question of competence to consent to treatment. The legal standard (knowing, intelligent, and voluntary) used to judge the effectiveness of consent is translated into psychological concepts, especially cognitive abilities. A review of developmental psychological research is presented, which examines these concepts as they relate to minors' abilities to satisfy the legal standard. It is suggested that cognitive developmental stages associated with ages below 11–23 yrs might exclude such minors from meaningful consent. In addition to cognitive considerations, certain results suggest that the tendency toward deference in early adolescence is so normative that capacity for voluntary consent is questionable through age 14, but existing evidence provides no psychological grounds for maintaining the general legal assumption that minors at age 15 and above cannot provide competent consent. (63 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's reactions to apologies.

In 2 experiments, 221 kindergartners and 1st, 4th, and 7th graders judged actors who committed a transgression under conditions of low or high responsibility and low or high consequences. The actor's motives were good or bad and the act was intended or accidental. The actor then either did nothing or employed 1 of 3 increasingly elaborate apologies. As hypothesized, the actor's predicament was most severe, producing the harshest judgments when (a) the actor had high responsibility for committing an inadvertent act that produced high consequences, and (b) the act was the result of a bad rather than good motive or was intended rather than accidental. More elaborate apologies produced less blame and punishment and more forgiveness, liking, positive evaluations, and attributions of greater remorse. The judgments of the 7th graders were more affected by the actor's apology than those of the younger Ss. These age differences reflect the younger Ss' poorer ability to integrate social information and appreciate the implications of social conventions. However, the younger Ss' judgments were similar to those of older Ss. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Antecedents of self-regulation: A developmental perspective.

The emerging ability to comply with caregivers' dictates and to monitor one's own behavior accordingly signifies a major growth of early childhood. However, scant attention has been paid to the developmental course of self-initiated regulation of behavior. The literature devoted to early forms of control is summarized, highlighting the different philosophical orientations. Focusing on the period from early infancy to the beginning of the preschool years, an ontogenetic perspective is proposed that traces the kinds of modulation or control of which the child is capable. The developmental sequence of monitoring behaviors that is proposed calls attention to contributions made by the growth of cognitive skills. The role of mediators (e.g., caregivers) is also discussed. (3 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's and adolescents' reactions to the assassination of Martin Luther King: A study of political socialization.

Assessed children"s understanding of political and legal processes. 450 children and adolescents (Grades 4–12) in a small midwestern city were administered a questionnaire which elicited their reactions to the assassination of Martin Luther King. With development, there was an increase in the ability to recognize that law exists to serve society and is not an instrument of personal revenge. There was also an increase in the ability to understand individual motivation in terms of ideology rather than the satisfaction of personal needs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A developmental perspective on antisocial behavior.

A developmental model of antisocial behavior is outlined. Recent findings are reviewed that concern the etiology and course of antisocial behavior from early childhood through adolescence. Evidence is presented in support of the hypothesis that the route to chronic delinquency is marked by a reliable developmental sequence of experiences. As a first step, ineffective parenting practices are viewed as determinants for childhood conduct disorders. The general model also takes into account the contextual variables that influence the family interaction process. As a second step, the conduct-disordered behaviors lead to academic failure and peer rejection. These dual failures lead, in turn, to increased risk for depressed mood and involvement in a deviant peer group. This third step usually occurs during later childhood and early adolescence. It is assumed that children following this developmental sequence are at high risk for engaging in chronic delinquent behavior. Finally, implications for prevention and intervention are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A developmental psychopathology perspective on adolescence.

Developmental psychopathology offers an integrative framework for conceptualizing the course of development during adolescence, with particular relevance for understanding continuity and the emergence of psychopathology during this and subsequent developmental periods. In this article, the utility of a developmental psychopathology perspective for informing the design of research, prevention, and intervention is highlighted. Interdisciplinary, organizational models of development, emphasizing the dynamic relations between the developing individual and internal and external contexts, are discussed. Examination of boundaries between abnormal and normal development during adolescence offers important vantage points for articulating diversity in the developmental course during this period. Conceptualizing divergence and convergence in developmental pathways, continuity and discontinuity in development, and the transactions of risk and protective processes leading to maladaptation, psychopathology, and resilience are highlighted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Keeping one's distance from sadness: Children's self-reports of emotional experience.

Examined age-related differences in children's admission to sad experiences and their ability to incorporate sadness as a part of their self-identity. 50 kindergartners and 53 2nd graders were questioned regarding the frequency and quality of their feelings of sadness. Younger Ss were found to deny sad experiences more than older Ss did and were less likely to see sadness as part of their emotional disposition. Results are discussed in terms of emotional development. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's interpretations of homonyms: a developmental study

The effect of homonymity on children's use of semantic context to derive word meaning was examined in two studies. Participants were presented with stories that included three types of key words: nonsense words, familiar words used accurately, and homonymous words. Thirty-two preschoolers aged 3;7 to 5;4, 32 second graders aged 7;1 to 8;8, and 16 college students in Study 1 indicated the keys words' meaning by selecting one of six possible illustrations per key word. In Study 2, 16 toddlers aged 2;9 to 3;3, 32 preschoolers aged 4;0 to 4;11, 32 second graders aged 7;0 to 8;11, and 32 fifth graders aged 10;1 to 11;8 indicated key word meanings either by enacting each story with paper dolls or by selecting one of six possible illustrations. Word type and age, but not response mode, affected children's interpretations. Children from all four age groups made fewer contextually based interpretations of homonymous words than of nonsense words. Fifth graders and adults made more contextually based (rather than literal) interpretations of homonymous words than did younger children. The results suggest that homonymity is a powerful inhibitor of children's tendency to derive a meaning for a new word from context.     

A developmental model of recipients' reactions to aid.

A developmental model of recipients' reactions to aid, which is based on the threat-to-self-esteem model (the dominant theoretical framework in the field), is presented. Various refinements of the threat-to-self-esteem model are proposed to extend its range of applicability and heuristic value to encompass the study of children's reactions to aid. The moderating influences of developmental changes in cognitions regarding self and others, as well as in children's social environment, are examined. Literature from a variety of sources that is relevant to children's reactions to aid, or to processes that may be involved, is reviewed and discussed in light of the model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology postdoctoral training: A developmental perspective.

Postdoctoral training for psychologists has increased. This article provides an overview of postdoctoral fellowships, including information regarding training opportunities and requirements for licensure and employment. A developmental perspective on the postdoctoral training experience is offered, focusing on negotiating the tasks of individuation and self-definition. Special attention is paid to personal issues. As the postdoctoral fellow's professional identity solidifies, he/she develops expertise in focused areas of interest, experiences a deepening commitment to the work, develops an increasing sense of self-efficacy and self-acceptance as a psychologist, and gains respect from others as a competent professional. This enables the postdoctoral fellow to develop more collegial relationships with former mentors, teachers, and supervisors and shift toward the practice of professional psychology and the teaching of more junior professionals. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Voices of fear and anxiety and sadness and depression: The effects of speech rate and loudness on fear and anxiety and sadness and depression.

Two studies investigated the role of expressive vocal behavior (specifically, speech rate and loudness) in fear and anxiety and in sadness and depression. In the 1st study, participants spoke about personally experienced fear and anxiety-arousing and neutral events using 3 different voice styles: fast and loud, normal, and slow and soft. In the 2nd study, participants spoke about personally experienced sad or depressing and neutral events using the same 3 voice styles. In both studies, the participants' highest levels of subjective affective and cardiovascular (CV) arousal occurred when they spoke about the emotional events in a mood-congruent voice style: fast and loud in the case of fear and anxiety, and slow and soft in the case of sadness or depression. Mood-incongruent voice styles canceled the heightened levels of CV arousal normally associated with these negative emotions. The voice-style manipulation had no significant effect on the participants' levels of CV arousal during the neutral discussions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A concept of the primary fantasy bond: A developmental perspective.

Hypothesizes that deprived infants form a primary fantasy bond (a delusion of being connected to the mother) that persists as a defense through childhood and into adult life and that deprivation variables are conducive to the formation of subsequent damage, ranging from mildly neurotic behavior to schizophrenic regression. The primary fantasy leads to a posture of pseudo-independence, relieves fears, and allays the anxiety of feeling separate and alone. In adult life, individuals who defend with the primary fantasy cannot tolerate moving in and out of closeness; they avoid real sexuality, physical intimacy, and honest communication. A letter written to her therapy group by a woman who idealized her family and built a defense of self-hatred illustrates the concept. It is suggested that the hypothesis of a primary fantasy bond explains the underlying dynamics of resistance to change. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adult romantic attachments: A developmental perspective on individual differences.

Attachment theory has, since its inception, contained the proposition that long-term adult romantic relationships (i.e., relationships described by ethologists as "pair bond") are generally attachments. In this article, the possibility that individual differences in adult romantic attachments may emerge, in part, from individual differences in childhood attachments is discussed. The article begins with an examination of the developmental precursors of individual differences in two of the behavioral systems prominent in adult romantic relationships: the attachment system and the caregiving system. For each of these behavioral systems, theory is discussed and the empirical literature is reviewed. The remainder of the article addresses the mechanisms of both continuity across development (i.e., factors that may account for the influences of early attachments on later romantic relationships) and discontinuity (i.e., factors that may account for change in the quality of attachments from childhood to adulthood). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Confidence in protection: A developmental psychopathology perspective.

S. Goldberg, J. Grusec, and J. M. Jenkins (see record 1999-15264-001) provided a thorough review of J. Bowlby's (1982) work and offered a persuasive argument to consider confidence in protection as the roots of the parent-child attachment system. In an attempt to explore implications of their work, confidence in protection is examined from a developmental psychopathology perspective, with issues highlighted specifically about the role of family functioning, as well as the notion of risk and protection mechanisms. Questions are raised in the spirit of responding to and extending S. Goldberg et al.'s (1999) thought-provoking analysis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reading skills in hyperlexia: A developmental perspective.

Hyperlexia is characterized by advanced word-recognition skills in individuals who otherwise have pronounced cognitive, social, and linguistic handicaps. Language, word recognition, and reading-comprehension skills are reviewed to clarify the nature and core deficits associated with the disorder. It is concluded that hyperlexia should be viewed as part of the normal variation in reading skills, which are themselves associated with individual differences in phonological, orthographic, and semantic processing, short-term memory, and print exposure. A compulsive preoccupation with reading may also be crucial to the development of a hyperlexic reading profile. A theoretical framework, based on recent connectionist models of reading development, is described. This perspective provides a satisfactory account for how individual differences in a number of different skills can lead to a variety of manifestations of reading behavior, including hyperlexia. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's reactions to second-hand tobacco smoke.

Interviews with 2,365 7-15 yr. olds reveal that the majority (a) disliked being exposed to tobacco smoke; (b) experienced 1 or more symptoms upon exposure, e.g., eye irritation; (c) disapproved of parental smoking; and (d) indicated that parental smoking reduced the love and respect accorded the parent by the child. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)