Generalization of learning from picture books to novel test conditions by 18- and 24-month-old children

Researchers know little about whether very young children can recognize objects originally introduced to them in a picture book when they encounter similar looking objects in various real-world contexts. The present studies used an imitation procedure to explore young children's ability to generalize a novel action sequence from a picture book to novel test conditions. The authors found that 18-month-olds imitated the action sequence from a book only when the conditions at testing matched those at encoding; altering the test stimuli or context disrupted imitation (Experiment 1A). In contrast, the 24-month-olds imitated the action sequence with changes to both the test context and stimuli (Experiment 1B). Moreover, although the 24-month-olds exhibited deferred imitation with no changes to the test conditions, they did not defer imitation with changes to the context and stimuli (Experiment 2). Two factors may account for the pattern of results: age-related changes in children's ability to utilize novel retrieval cues as well as their emerging ability to understand the representational nature of pictures.     

Temperament, relationships, and young children's receptive cooperation with their parents

The authors studied receptive cooperation--a willing, eager stance toward parents--in 15-month-old children (N = 101) in broadly ranging contexts. Children's anger proneness and parents' responsiveness (both observed at 7 months) and children's attachment security (assessed in Strange Situation at 15 months) were examined as predictors of children's receptive cooperation at 15 months. In mother-child dyads, secure attachment was strongly associated with children's higher receptive cooperation. Maternal responsiveness in infancy also promoted children's future receptive cooperation, but its impact was moderated by child anger: Responsiveness had a positive effect for children who as infants were highly anger prone. In father-child dyads, the negative effect of anger proneness on receptive cooperation with father was significantly amplified for insecure children. Mother's responsiveness and child's secure attachment to the mother promoted child receptive cooperation with the father, but there were no similar effects for fathers.     

Interparental violence, maternal emotional unavailability and children's cortisol functioning in family contexts

Our goal in the present study was to examine the specificity of pathways among interparental violence, maternal emotional unavailability, and children's cortisol reactivity to emotional stressors within interparental and parent-child relationships. The study also tested whether detrimental family contexts were associated, on average, with hypocortisolism or hypercortisolism responses to stressful family interactions in young children. Participants included 201 toddlers and their mothers who were from impoverished backgrounds and who experienced disproportionate levels of family violence. Assessments of interparental violence were derived from maternal surveys and interviews, whereas maternal emotional unavailability was assessed through maternal reports and observer ratings of caregiving. Salivary cortisol levels were sampled at 3 time points before and after laboratory paradigms designed to elicit children's reactivity to stressful interparental and parent-child contexts. Results indicated that interparental violence and the mother's emotional unavailability were differentially associated with children's adrenocorticol stress reactivity. Furthermore, these family risk contexts predicted lower cortisol change in response to distress. The results are interpreted in the context of risky family and emotional security theory conceptualizations that underscore how family contexts differentially impact children's physiological regulatory capacities.     

Maternal responsiveness to young children at three ages: longitudinal analysis of a multidimensional, modular, and specific parenting construct

Responsiveness defines the prompt, contingent, and appropriate reactions parents display to their children in the context of everyday exchanges. Maternal responsiveness occupies a theoretically central position in developmental science and possesses meaningful predictive validity over diverse domains of children's development, yet basic psychometric features of maternal responsiveness are still poorly understood. In this prospective longitudinal study, the authors examined structure, individual variation, and continuity of multiple dimensions of responsiveness in 40 mothers to their infants' activities at 10, 14, and 21 months during natural home-based play interactions. Both age-general and age-specific patterns emerged in maternal responding. The study's developmental results support the multidimensionality, modularity, and specificity of this central parenting construct.     

The effects of a responsive parenting intervention on parent-child interactions during shared book reading

This study examined mother-child shared book reading behaviors before and after participation in a random-assignment responsive parenting intervention called Play and Learning Strategies (PALS) that occurred during infancy (PALS I), the toddler-preschool (PALS II) period, or both as compared with a developmental assessment (DAS) intervention (DAS I and/or II). The efficacy of PALS was previously demonstrated for improving mother and child behaviors within play contexts, everyday activities, and standardized measures of child language. We hypothesized that PALS effects would generalize to influence maternal and child behaviors during a shared reading task even though this situation was not a specific focus of the intervention and that this would be similar for children who varied in biological risk. Participation in at least PALS II was expected to have a positive effect due to children's increased capacity to engage in book reading at this age. Four groups of randomized mothers and their children (PALS I-II, PALS I-DAS II, DAS I-PALS II, DAS I-II) were observed in shared reading interactions during the toddler-preschool period and coded for (a) mother's affective and cognitive-linguistic supports and (b) child's responses to maternal requests and initiations. Support was found for significant changes in observed maternal and child behaviors, and evidence of mediation was found for the intervention to affect children's behaviors through change in maternal responsiveness behaviors. These results add to other studies supporting the importance of targeting a broad range of responsive behaviors across theoretical frameworks in interventions to facilitate children's development.     

Mothers' personality and its interaction with child temperament as predictors of parenting behavior

In this longitudinal, multimethod investigation, the authors examined mothers' personality and its interaction with infants' negative emotionality as predictors of parenting behavior. When infants were 8-10 months old (N = 112), mothers completed personality self-reports, and the authors observed infants' negative emotionality in both standard procedures and naturalistic daily contexts. When infants were 13-15 months old (N = 108), the authors observed two aspects of parenting, power assertion and maternal responsiveness, in mother-child interactive contexts. Maternal personality alone and also in interaction with child emotionality predicted future parenting behaviors. The longitudinal links established between personality and parenting behaviors indicate the predictive utility of personality. Findings also highlight the bidirectionality of the early parent-child relationship.     

Mother, child, and situational correlates of toddlers' social competence

Mother, child, and situational correlates of toddlers' social competence in the second year were investigated in a sample of 24 children (11 girls, 13 boys). At 12 months, children's temperament (perceived difficulty) was assessed by questionnaire. Between 14 and 17 months, the children's everyday interaction experiences (maternal responsiveness and involvement) were observed at home. At 24 months, the children's social competence (responsiveness, use of social resources) and the quality of maternal behavior (responsiveness, availability) were assessed in a laboratory play room. The children's social competence was positively related to the contemporary (24 months) as well as the preceding (during the second year) maternal behavior. High-quality maternal behavior during the second year was associated with the child's low perceived difficulty at 12 months. Relationships between child and mother behavior particularly occurred in situations providing some challenge to the child.     

Emotional exchange in mother-child dyads: stability, mutual influence, and associations with maternal depression and child problem behavior.

This study examined the stability of the child and maternal affective expression and maternal responsiveness and the mutual influence of child and maternal expression of emotion. The authors tested whether maternal depression and child problem behavior were associated with the pattern of emotional exchange within the mother-child dyads. The sample consisted of 69 mother-child dyads (children aged 2-5 years), with 32 of the mothers having childhood-onset depression. Mothers were mostly stable in their affective expression (positive and negative) and responsiveness, whereas children were only stable in positive expression. Within the dyads, mothers seemed to play a more important role in regulating children's later emotional expression. Maternal depression was associated with concurrent maternal responsiveness and their reduced positive expression over time. Results are discussed in relation to the differential function of parental general positivity and responsiveness and the interpersonal transmission of emotional problems.     

Mothers' negative evaluations of their children's performances enhance boys' memories for crafts

The authors predicted that mothers' evaluative comments would affect their preschool-aged children's learning during a craft-making activity. Each mother (N = 67) taught her child 6 crafts in a playroom in a university setting. Three weeks later, the child returned to the playroom to redo the crafts. Evaluators tested the children's memories of the procedures for completing the crafts. The authors used videotapes of the mothers' teaching to code for statements that positively evaluated their children's performances (praise) or that negatively evaluated their children's performances (criticism). Maternal praise did not affect children's memories. Maternal criticism did not affect their daughters' memories. However, sons were more likely to more accurately redo craft steps for which their mothers had made at least 1 comment criticizing their performances. The authors proposed that emotional arousal was a reason for girls' and boys' differential responses to maternal criticism.     

Communal versus individual learning of a math-estimation task: African American children and the culture of learning contexts

The authors compared the performance of 78 African American 5th-grade students who studied a math-estimation task in one of two learning contexts. Learning contexts differed in the degree to which they afforded the expression of communalism. ANCOVA confirmed that posttest performance was best for students who studied in the high communal-learning context. The findings support A. W. Boykin's (1994) contention that the cultural context of learning can be a critical mediator of children's performance.     

Mother-child play and maltreatment: a longitudinal analysis of emerging social behavior from infancy to toddlerhood

Mother-child play of maltreating and nonmaltreating families was analyzed when infants were 12 months old (Time 1), and 2 years old (Time 2), as a context to examine children's developing cognitive and social skills. At Time 1, infants from abusing families demonstrated less independent and more imitative behavior during play than did infants from neglecting and nonmaltreating families, suggesting a delay in emerging social behaviors. In this longitudinal follow-up, mother-child play was reassessed 1 year later (N = 78), with a focus on children's engagement in nonplay and pretend play and on children's abilities to initiate social exchanges and respond to parental requests. Play and social behavior were coded from semistructured and unstructured play paradigms at both time points. Maternal attention-directing behavior and limit setting also was assessed. At Time 2, children from abusing, neglecting, and nonmaltreating families did not differ in cognitive play complexity. However, children from abusing families engaged in less child-initiated play than did children from neglecting and nonmaltreating families, demonstrating less socially competent behavior. Longitudinal analyses revealed child initiated play at Time 2 was negatively associated with abuse and with maternal physical attention directing behavior at Time 1. Child negative reactivity at Time 2 was positively associated with Time 1 maternal physical behavior and child imitation and with Time 2 maternal controlling behavior. Implications for early intervention efforts are emphasized.     

The Role of Maternal Verbal, Affective, and Behavioral Support in Preschool Children's Independent and Collaborative Autobiographical Memory Reports

The authors investigated the individual and relative contributions of different aspects of maternal support (i.e., verbal, affective, and behavioral) in relation to children's collaborative and independent reminiscing. Four-year-old children discussed personal past experiences with their mothers and with a researcher. In collaborative recall with their mothers, children's narrative behavior was regulated best by maternal use of specific elaborative components, such as affirmations. In contrast, in children's independent recall, affective and behavioral qualities of maternal support were related to children's memory performance. Specifically, during free-recall, the dimensions of quality of instruction and respect for autonomy were significant predictors of children's narratives. In the context of prompted recall (supported by wh-questions), respect for autonomy was the only significant predictor of children's involvement in the conversations and of the amount of unique content they provided. The findings suggest that different aspects of maternal behavior facilitate different components of children's reminiscing skills, which children might apply depending on demands of the autobiographical memory conversation.     

11—14个月儿童的语言获得——成人的言语教授和儿童的模仿学习

对儿童言语记录个案的分析表明:儿童在11—14个月期间开始获得词。此时儿童所获得的词,主要是与儿童日常生活或动作相联系的名词和动词,其次是象声词。这些词语87.5％来源于成人的言语教授和儿童相应的模仿学习。 成人的言语教授和儿童相应的模仿学习总是由成人结合情景进行的,具有很高的选择性。儿童对成人言语的学习并不是简单地模仿,而是有一定的主动性和创造性,这在一定程度上规定着成人言语教授的作用。由此可见,儿童言语的获得是在人类特有的大脑以及言语器官发育的基础上,在与人们交际过程中,经过成人的言语教授,并经儿童有选择的模仿学习和概括而成的。     

Sex-role imitation in children: Effects of sex of child,sex of model,and sex-role appropriateness of modeled behavior

The qualifying influence of the sex-role appropriateness of observed behavior on children's same-sex imitation was investigated. In each of two studies employing a 2×2×2 design, girls and boys observed a live male or female model display appropriate (to the child's sex) or inappropriate behavior. Results that were consistent in both studies indicated an interaction between sex of child and appropriateness. Boys imitated less when exposed to the inappropriate than to the appropriate sequence. An interaction between sex of child and sex of observer was obtained on only one measure in Experiment I (girls responded more quickly to a female than to a male model). In this study, girls also displayed greater opposite-sex imitation than boys; in Experiment II, there were no differences between boys and girls in either same- or opposite-sex imitation. The results are discussed with regard to the same-sex hypothesis and the differential impact of sex-role factors on boys and girls.The authors wish to thank the children, parents, and staff of Forest Park Elementary School for their participation and cooperation in the conduct of this study. Special thanks are extended to Mr. Paul H. Daby, Principal. The contribution of the undergraduate models and experimenters is also acknowledged.     

Committed compliance,moral self,and internalization: a mediational model

Previous research has established that children's committed, eager, willing compliance with maternal control promotes moral internalization, whereas their opposition interferes with internalization; but the causal mechanism responsible for those links is unknown. A mediational model is tested in which committed compliance and opposition are seen as influencing the child's emerging view of self on moral dimensions, and this "moral self," in turn, regulates moral conduct. Committed compliance and opposition were observed in naturalistic mother-child discipline contexts involving "do" and "don't" demands at 14, 22, 33, and 45 months. An interactive interview and observations were used to measure the moral self and internalization at 56 months (N = 74). The mediational model, involving committed compliance and opposition in the "don't" demand context, was supported, but only for boys.     

The influence of ethnicity,social class,and context on judgments about U.S. women

In 2 studies, the authors investigated impression formation as influenced by category-based stereotypes associated with ethnicity and social class. The participants in Study I made judgments about 1 target woman, described as interested in running for office in the Parent Teacher Organization (PTO) of her children's school. The hypothetical woman was presented to the respondents along with her photograph and information about her ethnic background (Anglo-Saxon, Latina, or Jewish) and occupation (middle class or working class). In Study 2, the authors changed the context and presented a younger target woman (also varied by ethnicity and social class) to the respondents as the new girlfriend of their older brother or cousin. In both studies, judgments were assessed by the participants' responses to 45 bipolar adjectives that, in each case, yielded 8 component factors. In both hypothetical contexts, social class was a powerful trigger for a variety of negative expectations: With respect to ethnicity, the Latina women were judged to be more unsuitable for the job of PTO vice president than were the Anglo-Saxon or Jewish women. The authors discussed potential psychological and social consequences of such category-based judgments.     

From statistical associations to causation: what developmentalists can learn from instrumental variables techniques coupled with experimental data

In this article, the authors aim to make accessible the careful application of a method called instrumental variables (IV). Under the right analytic conditions, IV is one promising strategy for answering questions about the causal nature of associations and, in so doing, can advance developmental theory. The authors build on prior work combining the analytic approach of IV with the strengths of random assignment design, whether the experiment is conducted in the lab setting or in the "real world." The approach is detailed through an empirical example about the effects of maternal education on children's cognitive and school outcomes. With IV techniques, the authors address whether maternal education is causally related to children's cognitive development or whether the observed associations reflect some other characteristic related to parenting, income, or personality. The IV estimates show that maternal education has a positive effect on the cognitive test scores of children entering school. The authors conclude by discussing opportunities for applying these same techniques to address other questions of critical relevance to developmental science.     

Positive and Negative Peer Interaction in 3- and 4-Year-Olds in Relation to Regulation and Dysregulation

Using a sample from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care (N = 435; 219 girls), the authors derived several measures of regulation and dysregulation that predicted, both concurrently and longitudinally, children's positive and negative peer interactions in multiple contexts. Observers rated peer interactions in child care and during dyadic play with a friend, and mothers rated peer behavior. The authors based the derived measures on resistance to temptation (36 months) and delay of gratification (54 months) tasks, as well as observations in child care of children's compliance and defiance with adults at both ages and maternal reports. Preschoolers who had better impulse control and who were more compliant and less defiant with adults engaged more often in friendly, positive, peer play and were less negative in their peer play across contexts. Associations between regulation and dysregulation and peer interaction were broader and more consistent at 54 months than at 36 months. Longitudinally, regulation at 36 months was only modestly associated with more positive and less negative peer play at 54 months. The authors discuss findings in the context of developing self-regulation and its importance for early peer relationships.     

Trajectories of maternal depressive symptoms, maternal sensitivity, and children's functioning at school entry

Using data from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development, the authors modeled trajectories of maternal depressive symptoms from infant age 1 month to 7 years. The authors identified 6 trajectories of maternal depressive symptoms: high-chronic, moderate-increasing, high-decreasing, intermittent, moderate-stable, and low-stable. Women on these depression trajectories varied in sociodemographic risk and in changes in observed maternal sensitivity over time. Maternal sensitivity was generally higher and increased when depressive symptoms were low; sensitivity was lower and decreased when depressive symptoms were either high or increasing. Child outcomes at 1st grade were examined by trajectory group. The authors discuss the complexity of disentangling maternal symptoms from maternal sensitivity and sociodemographic risk when predicting children's functioning.     

The social context of imitation in infancy

Infants increasingly generalize deferred imitation across environmental contexts between 6 and 18 months of age. In three experiments with 126 6-, 9-, 12-, 15-, and 18-month-olds, we examined the role of the social context in deferred imitation. One experimenter demonstrated target actions on a hand puppet, and a second experimenter tested imitation 24h later. When the second experimenter was novel, infants did not exhibit deferred imitation at any age; when infants were preexposed to the second experimenter, all of them did. Imitating immediately after the demonstration also facilitated deferred imitation in a novel social context at all ages but 6 months. Infants' pervasive failure to exhibit deferred imitation in a novel social context may reflect evolutionary selection pressures that favored conservative behavior in social animals.