TRANSITIONS IN CHILDREN'S ROLES AND CAPABILITIES*

Stage theories and empirical studies have concentrated on a few periods of childhood (e.g., age 5 to 7 years) as important times of transition. On the basis of ethnographic suggestions that the age period 8 to 10 years also involves interesting changes, the authors carried out a search of published empirical studies for findings of transitions in capabilities at 8 to 10 years. An annotated bibliography is provided summarizing the studies found in a 5-year period in three journals. The authors discuss possibilities for characterizing the transition at age 8 to 10, as well as how such a transition meshes with the concept of stage.     

On knowing how well one is remembering: The persistence of strategy use during transfer

A potential cause for children's failure to transfer learning strategies was explored in the present study. A self-monitoring process was suggested to be essential for evaluating one's own level of performance and the effectiveness of various mnemonic strategies. Matched on free recall scores in this study's first sort-and-recall phase, first, third, and fifth graders (ages 7, 9, and 11 years, respectively) were assigned to one of three treatment groups or a control group. During Phase II, the treatment groups received instruction in sorting pictures according to semantic similarities in preparation for future recall. In addition, Groups 3 and 4 later received feedback indicating their Phase II improvement in performance. A cause-and-effect relationship between strategy use and enhanced recall was further suggested to Group 4. Among third graders, only those provided with feedback and strategy instruction continued to rely upon the input organization strategy when faced with transfer tasks in Phase III. Both enhanced recall and improved sorting styles were observed for these subjects in Phase III. Some first graders also showed improved sorting styles and improved recall following feedback, while fifth graders showed enhanced recall even without experimenter-provided feedback. Subject's responses to a metamemory interview provided additional support for the hypothesis that the self-monitoring of memory performance is more likely to be part of fifth graders' (than first graders') memory abilities.     

Feminist orientation and job-seeking behavior among dual-career couples

This study examined the relationship between feminist orientation and job-seeking behavior in dual-career couples. Initial and final job-seeking decision rules were assessed, as well as choices to simulated incidents about joint job seeking. Feminist orientation was more pronounced in influencing simulated than actual job-seeking behavior. As employment possibilities in the simulations became increasingly constrained, the relationship between feminism and non-traditional behavior attenuated first among men, then among both sexes. In terms of actual behavior, feminist orientation in men, but not in women, was significantly related to the type of job-seeking strategy initially chosen. However, there was no significant relationship between feminist orientation and final job decision for either sex, probably because of situational constraints affecting the final decision.     

Modified group psychotherapy with chronic renal dialysis patients

Renal dialysis is a life saving, chronic medical procedure for those patients whose kidneys no longer function. However, the psychological reactions to this procedure, which necessitates a state of passivity for several hours, often overshadow the medical implications, and, in some instances, are decisive in terms of the patient's adjustment to treatment. Frequently, patients are unable to utilize individual psychotherapy to its maximum because of their need to perceive their illness as only medical. Group therapy however provides a less threatening psychological milieu and tends to give rise to peer support and mutual interaction.Barbara Halin Willinger, M.S.W., A.C.S.W., was the social work supervisor of the Renal Dialysis Unit at Metropolitan Hospital at the writing of this paper. She is a private psychotherapist and is affiliated with a mental health clinic where she also practices individual and group psychotherapy.The author wishes to thank Martin Saltzman, M.D. and Haley Glazer, M.S.W. for their suggestions.     

Validity of teacher nominations of child behavior problems

The purpose of this study was to examine the validity of teachers' identification of problem children. Ninety-five third-grade children served as subjects. Teachers nominated children as a conduct problem, withdrawal problem, or normal, resulting in 16, 14, and 65 children being assigned to the three groups. Behavioral observations, peer sociometric ratings, and academic achievement scores were collected. The results indicated that conduct problem children differed from normal children on behavioral, sociometric, and academic measures, whereas withdrawn children differed from normals on the latter two measures. Conduct problem and withdrawal problem children did not differ on any of the dependent measures. The results suggest that teachers can identify children who are having difficulties in class but may be less accurate in differentiating between different types of problem children.This research was supported in part by NIMH grant MH-28859-01. Data reported in this article are part of a larger project assessing the social skills of children.     

Sex-role self-concept and attitudes related to occupational daydreams and future fantasies of college women

This study explored the relationship of sex-role self-concept and general attitudes toward women's roles to patterns of career preferences and to career salience among 50 undergraduate women. Sex-role self-concept was measured by the Bem Sex-Role Inventory, and attitudes by the Attitudes Toward Women Scale. Patterns in career preferences were determined by studying the degree of gender dominance in past occupational daydreams as well as in present college major and intended future occupation. Career salience was measured using a content analysis of written future fantasies. Sex-role self-concept was related to past occupational preferences, with masculine-typed women showing a pattern of nontraditional daydreams compared to those of feminine-typed women. Attitude variables were related to present career choices, with liberal women in more male-dominant fields than conservative women. Both self-concept and attitude variables were related to career salience, measured by the proportion of fantasies about the future devoted to work themes. Masculine women showed evidence of more career salience than androgynous or undifferentiated women, and liberal women more than conservative women.     

Crawling-onset age predicts visual cliff avoidance in infants

Two experiments are reported that tested the effects of crawling-onset age, the amount of crawling experience, and testing age on avoidance of the deep side of a visual cliff apparatus by human infants. In Experiment 1, 49 infants ranging in age from 7 to 13 mo. were tested on the visual cliff after 1 or 2 mo. of crawling experience. Discriminant analysis revealed that crawling-onset age, and not crawling experience, discriminated between those infants who crossed and those infants who avoided the apparent drop-off. Infants who crossed the deep side were infants with an early crawling-onset age. In Experiment 2, 40 infants were tested on a visual cliff apparatus, half at 9 and half at 12 mo. of age. Discriminant analysis again found that crawling-onset age discriminated between infants who crossed the infants who would not cross the deep side, whereas testing age alone did not. These results call into question the idea that experience crawling is critical in inducing visually guided avoidance behavior in infants. It is argued that the crawling-onset age effect occurs because crawling during the tactile phase of infancy interferes with later visual control of locomotion.     

Piaget's data and spearman's theory—An empirical reconciliation and its implications for academic achievement

A hierarchical simple structure factor solution was obtained for item scores from a psychometrized battery of Piagetian-type tasks individually administered to 660 kindergarten children. At the first level of factors were the Piagetian theoretical entities of seriation, classification, conservation of number, and temporal and spatial reasoning, with numeration loading on seriation and classification as indicated by the theory. At the second level were two factors identified as Piaget's logicomathematical and infralogical operations. A third-level factor was identified as a g factor. The association of the Piagetian-type tasks with kindergarden and first grade academic achievement was through the third-level g factor. The second-level factors appeared to be similar to Vernon's k:m and v:ed but, like the first level factors, made no important contribution to predicted achievement above that contributed by the g factor. A socioeconomic factor made no unique contribution to predicted first grade achievement. It was concluded that the Piagetian concrete operations variables have no unique role in the prediction of kindergarten or first grade academic achievement.