Individual differences in inhibitory control and children's theory of mind

This research examined the relation between individual differences in inhibitory control (IC; a central component of executive functioning) and theory-of-mind (ToM) performance in preschool-age children. Across two sessions, 3- and 4-year-old children (N = 107) were given multitask batteries measuring IC and ToM. Inhibitory control was strongly related to ToM, r = .66, p < .001. This relation remained significant controlling for age, gender, verbal ability, motor sequencing, family size, and performance on pretend-action and mental state control tasks. Inhibitory tasks requiring a novel response in the face of a conflicting prepotent response (Conflict scale) and those requiring the delay of a prepotent response (Delay scale) were significantly related to ToM. The Conflict scale, however, significantly predicted ToM performance over and above the Delay scale and control measures, whereas the Delay scale was not significant in a corresponding analysis. These findings suggest that IC may be a crucial enabling factor for ToM development, possibly affecting both the emergence and expression of mental state knowledge. The implications of the findings for a variety of executive accounts of ToM are discussed.     

Effects of parental verbal aggression on children's self-esteem and school marks.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the study was to distinguish the effects of verbal aggression from those of physical aggression and investigate whether parental verbal violence has negative effects on children's self-esteem and academic achievements. METHOD: One hundred and forty-four 10-year-old children completed the Harter Self-perception Profile for Children questionnaire and a questionnaire concerning their mothers' and fathers' verbal aggression towards them and their use of physical punishment. The researchers used school records to obtain the subjects' marks in French (their native language) and Mathematics. RESULTS: Six children had never been the targets of either verbal aggression or physical punishment. Thirty-four children had been subjected to both types of aggression. Verbal aggression alone was found to be in significant negative correlation with three of six components of self-esteem. Verbal aggression alone was also found to be in significant negative correlation with French marks. In addition children who had been subject to greater verbal aggression had lower self-esteem and lower marks in French than children who had been subject to lesser verbal aggression. They were also significantly negatively affected in a fourth component of self-esteem. CONCLUSIONS: Parental verbal aggression alone as separate and distinct from physical punishment contributes to lowering children's self-esteem and school achievements. Given the extent of the use of verbal aggression by ordinary parents the authors suggested a need for parent education on the topic of positive methods of child rearing.     

Sex and age differences in young children's reactions to frustration: a further look at the Goldberg and Lewis subjects.

This study reports 1-year follow-up data on the children originally observed by Goldberg and Lewis in a barrier frustration situation. Changes in reactions to frustration over a 2-year time span were examined for age and sex differences. Regardless of sex, over the first 2 years of life, barrier frustration was responded to with a decrease in stress and an increase in problem-solving behavior. The data suggest that sex differences in success at coping with the frustration may change with age and may be dependent on what behaviors are considered to be more instrumental in solving the frustration. Sex differences related to behavior in the barrier frustration were highly age specific. As previously reported in Goldberg and Lewis, at 1 year of age boys cried less and made more active attempts to get around the barrier than girls. However, at 2 years of age, girls vocalized more for help from the mother and made more attempts at problem solving than boys.     

Sex and aggression: the influence of gender label on the perception of aggression in children

To investigate the influence of gender label on adults' perceptions of aggression in children, a videotape of 2 preschool children playing roughly in the snow was shown to 175 college students (139 females, 36 males) who were asked to judge the degree of aggression displayed by 1 of the children (the target child). In the videotape, the children's snowsuits disguised their actual gender, and 4 experimental conditions were created by varying the gender label of both the target and the other (nonrated) child. Hence, the 4 conditions consisted of all possible combinations of gender; boy-boy, boy-girl, girl-boy, and girl-girl. All subjects viewed the same film; only the gender labels used to describe the children varied. Subjects' aggression ratings of the target child varied significantly as a function of the gender label attributed to both the target and the nonrated child. Specifically, the boy-boy condition was rated as significantly less aggressive than the other 3 conditions, which did not differ in level of perceived aggression. This effect was particularly strong among subjects with more experience with children. The results have interesting implications for understanding the process of social category perception.     

Paternal and maternal psychological and physical aggression and children's anxiety in China

The goal of this research was to examine the unique relationships between paternal and maternal psychological aggression (PA) and physical aggression (corporal punishment [CP] and severe physical abuse [SPA]) and children's anxiety in China. A total of 1,971 father–mother dyads completed the Chinese version of Parent–Child Conflict Tactics Scales (CTSPC) and the Chinese version of Spence Children's Anxiety Scale for Parents (SCAS-P). Results indicated that when paternal and maternal PA, CP, and SPA were considered simultaneously, parental PA and maternal CP were both significantly predictive of children's anxiety, whereas SPA had no significant effects on children's anxiety. Specifically, both paternal and maternal PA were the most unique predictors of children's anxiety among parental psychological and physical aggression, whereas the effects of maternal CP and paternal CP were different, with maternal CP having a stronger effect on children's anxiety compared with paternal CP. The findings indicated that appropriate prevention and intervention efforts are needed to target parental PA and maternal CP.     

Sex differences in history ability

Education as the Psychologist Sees It. By W. B. Pillsbury (University of Michigan). New York: The Macmillan Co., 1925. Pp. ix + 342.

New Practical English for High Schools. By W. D. Lewis and J. F. Hosic. American Book Co., 1925. Pp. 448.

Experiments and Exercises in Educational Psychology. By Harvey A. Peterson (Illinois State Normal University). Bloomington, Ill.: Public School Publishing Co., 1925. Pp. 256.

Century Readings in Ancient Classical and Medieval and Modern European Literature. Edited by John W. Cunliffe and Grant Showerman. New York: Century Co., 1925. Part I: Pp. xx + 614. Part II: vi + 543. Price, two vols, in one, $5 ; each, separately bound, $3.50.

Psychology: A Study of Mental Activity. By Harvey A. Cars (University of Chicago). New York: Longmans, Green &; Co., 1925. Pp. v + 432.

Prose and Poetry of the Revolution. Edited by Frederick C. Prescott and John H. Nelson. New York: T. Y. Crowell Co., 1925. Pp. xxiv + 266. Price, $1.50 net.

Training in Literary Appreciation. By F. H. Pritchard. New York: T. Y. Crowell Co., 1924. Pp. x + 237.

The Hale Literary Readers (Books One, Two, and Three). By Edward Everett Hale (Union College). Yonkers: Word Book Co., 1925. Pp., Book One, ix + 244; Book Two, xi + 243; Book Three, xii + 244. Price, 60 cents each.

Civic Sociology. By Edward Alsworth Eoss (University of Wisconsin). Yonkers: World Book Co., 1925. Pp. viii + 365. Price, $1.80.

Child‐Library Readers. Book Two—By W. H. Elson and Lura E. Runkel. Pp. 240. Price, $0.68. Book Eight—By W. H. Elson and Mary H. Burris. Pp. 560. Chicago: Scott, Foresman &; Co., 1925.

How to Know Textiles. By Cassie Paine Small (University of Washington). Boston: Ginn &; Co., 1925. Pp. xxiii + 374. Price, $1.56.

Memory Selections. By Edward W. Stitt (Associate Superintendent of Schools, New York City). New York: Hinds, Hayden &; Eldredge, 1925. Pp. xvi + 295. Price, $1.60.

The Jones Spelling Book. By W. Franklin Jones. Chicago: Hall &; McCreary Co., 1925. Pp. xxiv + 227.

Business Letter Writing. By Roy Davis (Boston University) and Clarence H. Lingham. Boston: Ginn &; Co., 1925. Pp. v + 317. Price, $1.40.

Teaching English in High Schools. By Russell A. Sharp. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1924. (Riverside Educational Monographs.) Pp. 175. Price, $1.20. Sensible; wholesome in attitude; conservative, yet modern; full of good suggestions. The author has read and thought much about teaching English. Perhaps too inclusive for its size.

Summary of Investigations Relating to Reading. By William Scott Gray. Chicago: The University of Chicago, 1925. (Supplementary Educational Monographs.) Pp. viii + 276. Price, $2. Paper‐bound.

Summary of Educational Investigations Relating to Arithmetic. By Guy Thomas Buswell and Charles Hubbard Judd. Chicago: The University of Chicago, 1925. (Supplementary Educational Monographs.) Pp. viii + 212. Price, $1.50. Paper‐bound.

Educational Cross‐Word Puzzle Book. By Robert K. Speer (Teachers College) and J. Ralph McGaughy (Teachers College). Yonkers: World Book Co., 1925. Pp. 53. Price, $0.52. Paper‐bound.

College English Grammar. By George 0. Curme (Northwestern University). Richmond, Va.: Johnson Publishing Co., 1925. Pp. xxii + 414.

Paper Cutting. By Annye Allison (Public Schools, Richmond, Va.). Milwaukee: Bruce Publishing Co., 1924. Pp. 159. Price, $2.25.

Applied English Grammar. By D. S. Burleson (East Tennessee State Normal School). Boston: Allyn &; Bacon, 1925. Pp. xii + 381.

Stories About Bears. By Lilian Gask. New York: T. Y. Crowell Co., 1925. Pp. 167. Price, $1.50 net.

Learning to Typewrite, with a Discussion of the Psychology and Pedagogy of Skill. By William F. Book (Indiana University). New York: The Gregg Publishing Co., 1925. Pp. xix + 463. Price, $2.80.

The Boys' Book of Pirates. By Henry Gilbert. New York: T. Y. Crowell Co. Pp. 319. Price, $2.75 net.

Treasure Island. By Robert Louis Stevenson. Illustrated by Stephen Reid. New York: T. Y. Crowell Co., 1925. Pp. 318. Price, $1.50 net.

Famous American Statesmen. By Sarah K. Bolton. New York: T. Y. Crowell Co., 1925. Pp. 381. Price, $2 net.

The Psychology of Skill. By William F. Book (Indiana University). New York: The Gregg Publishing Co., 1925. Pp. ix + 257. Price, $2.

The Book of Plants. By Bertha Morris Parker (University of Chicago) and Henry Chandler Cowles (University of Chicago). Cambridge: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1925. Pp. vi + 252. Price, $0.88.

The Poems of Robert Louis Stevenson. Introduction by William P. Trent. New York: T. Y. Crowell Co., 1925. Pp. xxiv + 358. Price, $1.75 net.

The Poetical Works of Alexander Pope. Edited by A. W. Ward. New York: T. Y. Crowell Co., 1925. Pp. lii + 569. Price, $1.75 net.

Elementary Psychology. By Arthur I. Gates (Teachers College). New York: The Macmillan Co., 1925. Pp. xv + 594.

Physiological Chemistry. By C. J. V. Pettibone (University of Minnesota). St. Louis: C. V. Mosby Co., 1923. Pp. 376.

What Evolution Is. By George Howard Parker (Harvard University). Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1925. Pp. vii + 173. Price, $1.50.

Common Science. By Carleton W. Washburne. Yonkers: World Book Co., 1925. Pp. xv + 390.

How to Teach General Science. By J. O. Frank. Oshkosh, Wis.: The Author, 1925. Pp. xvi + 194. Price, $2.

Workaday Arithmetic. By Margaret M. Campbell. New York: The Century Co., 1924. Pp. xxv + 179.

Teaching Agriculture. By James B. Berry (Vocational Supervisor, Pennsylvania). Yonkers: World Book Co., 1924. Pp. xiv + 230. Price, $2.

Modern Algebras‐Ninth School Year. By Raleigh Schobung (University of Michigan) and John R. Clark (Teachers College). Yonkers: World Book Co., 1924. Pp. xiii + 382.

The Teaching of Science and the Science Teacher. By Hebert Brownell (University of Nebraska) and Frank B. Wade (Shortridge High School, Indianapolis). New York: The Century Co. Pp. xi + 322. Price, $2.

A Treasury of Verse for Little Children. Selected by M. G. Edgar. Color frontispiece and sixteen drawings by Willy Pogany. New York: T. Y. Crowell Co. Pp. 152. Price, $1.50 net.

Folk Tales from Many Lands. Retold by Lilian Gask. Illustrated by Willy Pogany. New York: T. Y. Crowell Co., Pp. 301. Price, $2.50 net.

Plant and Animal Improvement. By Elmer Roberts (University of Illinois) and Eugene Davenport (University of Illinois). Boston: Ginn &; Co., 1925. Pp. xii + 174. Price, $1.32.

The Teaching of Elementary Algebra. By Paul Ligda (McClymonds High School, Oakland). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1925. Pp. xvii + 256. Price, $1.90.     

Developmental change and individual differences in children's multiplication

Age-related change and patterns of individual differences in children's knowledge and skill in multiplication were investigated for students in Grades 4 and 6 (approximately ages 9 and 11, respectively) by examining multiple measures of computational skill, conceptual knowledge, and working memory. Regression analyses revealed that indexes reflecting probability of retrieval and special problem characteristics overshadow other, more general indexes (problem size and frequency of presentation) in predicting solution latencies. Some improvement in the use of conceptual knowledge was evident between Grades 4 and 6, but this change was neither strong nor uniform across tasks. Finally, patterns of individual differences across tasks differed as a function of grade level. The findings have implications for understanding developmental change and individual differences in mathematical cognition.     

Sex differences in learning abilities and disabilities

Boys more often than girls are affected by all the cognitive developmental disorders of childhood. Differences in the etiology of learning disabilities as well as general sex differences in learning styles in boys versus girls may explain the male preponderance in the prevalence of learning disabilities. The effects on learning of hormonal sex differences, maturation rate differences, and differences in frequency of perinatal brain injury will be discussed.     

Developmental differences in children's preferences for high- and low-arousing forms of contact stimulation.

In a 2-choice preference situation involving the availability of adult-administered cuddling versus tickling stimulation, overall preferences for cuddling steadily decreased across 4 groups of children from 3 to 7 years of age. This developmental decrease was most prevalent, for both boys and girls, when the contact agents were a female cuddler versus a male tickler. The reversal of these contact-sex roles (female tickler vs. male cuddler) did not affect the developmental preference for less cuddling stimulation of the 3 oldest groups of girls; however, the youngest girls now avoided male cuddlers, while the boys were found to prefer male cuddlers at all 4 age levels.     

The relation of conceptual tempo to aggression and its control.

The relationship of conceptual tempo to fantasy and overt aggression and its control was examined in order to test the generalizability of this cognitive style to domains of social and personality functioning. Fifth-grade boys and girls were administered the Matching Familiar Figures Test and a projective measure of fantasy aggression and its control and were rated sociometrically by peers and teachers on physical, verbal, and indirect forms of overt aggression. While reflective and impulsive children did not differ in degree of fantasy aggression expressed, impulsive children, especially boys, were found to exercise less control over their aggressive thoughts than the other 3 conceptual tempo groups. Impulsive and slow-inaccurate children were also more overtly aggressive, especially in comparison with fast-accurates. In addition, fantasy aggression predicted overt aggression in impulsives but not in reflectives. This study presents new evidence that conceptual tempo relates to areas beyond problem solving involving the child's social-emotional makeup.     

A monozygotic twin difference study of friends' aggression and children's adjustment problems

This study used the monozygotic (MZ) twin difference method to examine whether differences in friends' aggression increased the differences in MZ twins' aggression and depressive symptoms from kindergarten to Grade 1 and whether perceived victimization by the friend played a mediating role in this context. Participants were 223 MZ twin pairs. Results showed that differences in kindergarten friends' aggression significantly predicted an increased difference in MZ twins' aggression from kindergarten (mean age = 6.7 years) to Grade 1 (mean age = 7.5 years) for both boys and girls. Differences in perceived victimization by the friend mediated this association, albeit only in boys. Differences in perceived victimization by the friend also predicted an increase in MZ twins' differences in depressive symptoms. These results support the importance of friendship experiences during early childhood.