摘要:

AbstractThe ability to distinguish people from things sheds light on an important theoretical question: how is the development of social cognition related to the development of physical cognition? According to Piaget (1954), cognition is unitary and the processes used in dealing with the physical world are the same as those employed in the social world. This statement should be questioned. Although people and objects share certain fundamental properties (size, shape, etc.), only people can communicate, act independently and have feelings and intentions. Thus, people seem much more complex to deal with than things. If all cognitive development derives from the growth of a unitary system, then knowledge about animate objects should lag behind that of inanimate objects. The present paper explores this idea by examining what infants know about the attributes that distinguish people from things. It is concluded that the onset of this distinction begins early in life. Even 2‐month‐old infants treat people and objects differently when confounding variables of the stimuli are controlled. Rather than lagging behind, the infants' understanding of people appears precocious. The infants' recognition of the crucial distinction between the two classes suggests that a conceptual system is beginning to be formed soon after birth. This conceptual system appears different for social and non‐social objects and serves as a foundation from which infants might come to understand the distinctive properties of animate and inanimate ob

ISSN:1057-3593    

DOI:10.1002/edp.2430010202

出版商:John Wiley&Sons, Ltd.    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractPrevious research has shown that 3‐month‐old infants, like adults, expect a box to be stable when it is in full contact with a platform, and to fall when it loses all contact with the platform. Do young infants also have expectations about what should happen when the box is only in partial contact with the platform? The present research was designed to address this question. In Experiment 1, 6.5‐month‐old infants saw two test events: a full‐contact and a partial‐contact test event. In both events, the infants watched the extended finger of a gloved hand push a box along the top of a platform. In the full‐contact event, the box was pushed until its leading edge reached the end of the platform. In the partial‐contact event, the box was pushed until only 15% or 70% of its bottom surface remained on the platform. The infants looked reliably longer at the partial‐than at the full‐contact event when 15%, but not 70%, of the box rested on the platform. These results suggested that the infants were able to judge how much contact was needed between the box and the platform for the box to be stable. A control condition provided evidence for this interpretation. In Experiment 2, 5.5‐ to 6‐month‐old infants were found to look equally at the full‐ and the partial‐contact events, even when only 15% of the box's bottom surface remained on the platform. This result suggested that prior to 6.5 months of age infants perceiveanyamount of contact between the box and the platform to be sufficient to ensure the box's stability. Interpretations of this developmental sequence are

ISSN:1057-3593    

DOI:10.1002/edp.2430010203

出版商:John Wiley&Sons, Ltd.    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractHeart rates and behavioural states of 14 breast‐fed and 14 bottlefed newborn infants were assessed every 30 seconds for 2 continuous hours. The 240 observations of heart rate were treated as time‐series data and spectrum‐analysed for behavioural rhythmicities. Of the 28 infants, 25 showed reliable cycles in heart rate; 22 of the 25 infants showed a dominant frequency with a 30–60 min periodicity, one that approximates the basic‐rest activity cycle (BRAC). In addition to this basic cycle, additional higher frequency cycles in long‐term heart rate variability were evident in the spectra of many infants. Breast‐fed newborns had greater numbers of reliable cycles in heart rate than bottle‐fed newborns. Further, breast‐fed newborns had lower overall mean heart rates and lower mean heart rates in Quiet and Active Sleep states than bottle‐fed newborns. Bottle‐fed newborns were observed more often in Quiet Sleep than breast‐fed newborns. Without knowledge of the specific mechanisms causing these behavioural differences, the results of this study suggest that thecontextin which breast‐feeding occurs results in a more complex and energy‐efficient pattern of behavioural organization than

ISSN:1057-3593    

DOI:10.1002/edp.2430010204

出版商:John Wiley&Sons, Ltd.    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractAlthough many follow‐up studies have been performed on preterm infants, little attention has been devoted to prediction of motor skills in the preschool or school years. We studied the relationship of performance on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development at a mean corrected age of 21 months to performance on the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities at a mean corrected age of 44.7 months for 43 appropriate‐for‐gestational‐age (AGA) children born at ≤ 32 weeks gestation. Motor scores were stable over time with a significant correlation between the Bayley Psychomotor Developmental Index (PDI) and the McCarthy Motor subscale (r= 0.60;p= 0.0001). Scores of cognitive abilities also showed a significant correlation between the Bayley Mental Developmental Index (MDI) and the McCarthy General Cognitive Index (r= 0.42;p= 0.009). Small‐for‐gestational‐age (SGA), very low‐birthweight (≤ 1500 grams) children scored lower on the McCarthy General Cognitive Index (p= 0.01) and on the Motor subscale (p= 0.047) than the AGA children. We concluded that motor performance of AGA children born at ≤ 32 weeks gestation is stable from toddlerhood to preschool age. We suggest that SGA children be excluded from studies of motor performance of prem

ISSN:1057-3593    

DOI:10.1002/edp.2430010205

出版商:John Wiley&Sons, Ltd.    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractThis paper is concerned with the relations between the individual characteristics (Temperament, Locus of Control, Self‐concept) of 4‐year‐olds, child‐mother and child‐sibling interactions. The temperamental characteristics Active and Moody, and the Self‐concept categories Worrying/Cross and Likes to be Alone, had generally similar relations to child‐mother and child‐sibling interactions, but the other characteristics did not. The relations between child‐mother and child‐sibling interactions did not support either the hypothesis that a ‘good ’ child‐mother relationship leads to ‘good ’ interactions with a sibling, or that firstborns compensate for a ‘poor ’ child‐mother relationship with a ‘good ’ sibling one. The relations were more complex than either of these hypotheses

ISSN:1057-3593    

DOI:10.1002/edp.2430010206

出版商:John Wiley&Sons, Ltd.    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractThe validity of maternal self‐reports about their parenting behaviour is evaluated with two studies. In both studies, the mothers were observed shopping in the supermarket with their 2‐year‐old children. One week later they responded to multiple choice questions on a computer that simulated the experience of shopping with their children. The exact agreement between the two types of data was then assessed. The results from the first study involving 28 mothers revealed some agreement, although it was generally low. In an effort to increase the level of agreement, the computer simulation was revised to allow multiple responses and to clarify some of the simulation vigenettes. A replication study resulted in a considerably higher level of agreement for 22 mothers. Implications of this method for researchers and practitioners are disc

ISSN:1057-3593    

DOI:10.1002/edp.2430010207

出版商:John Wiley&Sons, Ltd.    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY

摘要:

AbstractParental attitude questionnaires such as the Parental Attitude Research Instrument (PARI) are still in use despite their inherent difficulties. In light of the need to test theoretical models by measuring a range of parental characteristics, the properties of the PARI were re‐examined and, on the basis of a factor analysis of the 23 subtests of the PARI, a shortened version was constructed. A measure of maternal Authoritarian Control, which was found to be associated with measures of maternal mental ability, personality, level of education, reading age, number of adverse family conditions and child‐rearing practices, has proved useful for other projects related to this ongoing study. It is recommended that such instruments be used only in conjunction with other measures which examine the family environment, for example in an index of child‐rearing prac

ISSN:1057-3593    

DOI:10.1002/edp.2430010208

出版商:John Wiley&Sons, Ltd.    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY

ISSN:1057-3593    

DOI:10.1002/edp.2430010201

出版商:John Wiley&Sons, Ltd.    

年代:1992

数据来源: WILEY