There is a general and extensive literature in the development of representational thought and symbolic processes because of its centrality in human evolution. However, the umbrella of science and its method does not necessarily lead to a coherent conceptual model, or agreements among scholars. These basic differences among various disciplines have led to the creation of new and exciting realms of research. This book considers how representational or symbolic thought develops for children's use in a wide array of these circumstances.

Research on the topic of parent beliefs, or parent cognition, has increased tremendously since the original publication of this volume in 1985. For this revised second edition, the editors sought to reflect some of the new directions that research on parent cognition has taken. By offering a greater variety of topics, it gives evidence of the intellectual concerns that now engage researchers in the field and testifies to the expanding scope of their interests. Although a unique collection because it reflects the diversity that exists among major researchers in the field, it evinces a common theme -- that the ideas parents have regarding their children and themselves as parents have an impact on their actions. This emphasis on parents' ideas shifts the focus on sources of family influence to ideas or beliefs as determinants of family interactions. The implication of this way of thinking for practitioners is that it suggests the shift to ideas and thoughts from behavior and attitudes.

These companion volumes provide a "behind the scenes" look into the personal experiences of researchers in an effort to eliminate the lack of communication surrounding family research methodology. They show how the researchers achieved their results and why they chose particular methodologies over others. These volumes present more than just findings -- they present the real experiences of the authors in their own styles and personalities, exposing the problems, mistakes, and concerns they experienced during their research projects. Volume I presents the experiences of researchers into typical normative populations. Volume II describes work with clinical, atypical populations.

What methodologies within the behavioral sciences have clinical application for the diagnosis and management of high risk and handicapped infants? Originally published in 1979, this volume not only deals with this issue, but illustrates the contributions that behavioral science may have offered those called upon to evaluate the cognitive consequences of perinatal high risk factors at the time. The inadequacies of some measures used to assess intellectual competence in retardates are juxtaposed with the sophisticated methodologies that may be employed to document early mental abilities. Also included are assessment procedures that bypass reliance on neuromotor performance, imitation, or language production. The authors draw attention to the discontinuous nature of cognitive development, to the possibility that mental and motor development may proceed independently, and to the plasticity of the developing CNS, which may overcome early deficits if underlying competences are recognized and exposed to appropriate stimulation. Here is a volume that does not simply catalog the nature of the child’s accomplishments and deficits, but emphasizes the need to examine his potential for learning, and offers various methodologies that may be of value in documenting the child’s continuing cognitive development. This book is a re-issue originally published in 1979. The language used is a reflection of its era and no offence is meant by the Publishers to any reader by this re-publication.

What methodologies within the behavioral sciences have clinical application for the diagnosis and management of high risk and handicapped infants? Originally published in 1979, this volume not only deals with this issue, but illustrates the contributions that behavioral science may have offered those called upon to evaluate the cognitive consequences of perinatal high risk factors at the time. The inadequacies of some measures used to assess intellectual competence in retardates are juxtaposed with the sophisticated methodologies that may be employed to document early mental abilities. Also included are assessment procedures that bypass reliance on neuromotor performance, imitation, or language production. The authors draw attention to the discontinuous nature of cognitive development, to the possibility that mental and motor development may proceed independently, and to the plasticity of the developing CNS, which may overcome early deficits if underlying competences are recognized and exposed to appropriate stimulation. Here is a volume that does not simply catalog the nature of the child's accomplishments and deficits, but emphasizes the need to examine his potential for learning, and offers various methodologies that may be of value in documenting the child's continuing cognitive development. This book is a re-issue originally published in 1979. The language used is a reflection of its era and no offence is meant by the Publishers to any reader by this re-publication.

There is a general and extensive literature in the development of representational thought and symbolic processes because of its centrality in human evolution. However, the umbrella of science and its method does not necessarily lead to a coherent conceptual model, or agreements among scholars. These basic differences among various disciplines have led to the creation of new and exciting realms of research. This book considers how representational or symbolic thought develops for children's use in a wide array of these circumstances.

Research on the topic of parent beliefs, or parent cognition, has increased tremendously since the original publication of this volume in 1985. For this revised second edition, the editors sought to reflect some of the new directions that research on parent cognition has taken. By offering a greater variety of topics, it gives evidence of the intellectual concerns that now engage researchers in the field and testifies to the expanding scope of their interests. Although a unique collection because it reflects the diversity that exists among major researchers in the field, it evinces a common theme -- that the ideas parents have regarding their children and themselves as parents have an impact on their actions. This emphasis on parents' ideas shifts the focus on sources of family influence to ideas or beliefs as determinants of family interactions. The implication of this way of thinking for practitioners is that it suggests the shift to ideas and thoughts from behavior and attitudes.

In a previous volume, Families as Learning Environments for Children, we presented a series of chapters that dealt with research programs on the role of families as learning environments for children. Those studies were based on empirical data and sought answers to basic research questions, with no explicit concern for the application of the results to practical problems. Rather, their purpose was to contribute primarily to conceptualization, research methodology, and psychological theory. Now, in this volume, we turn our attention to intervention-efforts to modify the way a family develops. As in our previous conference, the participants of the working conference on which the present volume is based are research scientists and scholars interested in application. This group is distinct from practitioners, however, whose primary focus is service; participants in this conference have as their primary interest research into the problems of processes of application. Applied professional issues concerning the lives of families come from many varied sources, from some that are distant and impersonal (e. g. , the law) to direct face-to-face efforts (educators, therapists). The variety of sources and types of applications are eloquent testimony to the degree to which families are subject to a host of societal forces whose implicit or explicit aim is to modify family functioning. For example, some educators may wish to alter family child-rearing patterns to enhance child development; the clinician seeks to help families come to terms and to cope with a schizophrenic child. The list can be extended.

The twentieth century will surely be remembered as a period of remarkable calamity, vigorous intellectual activity, and striking technological progress. For the first time in history, the development of rapid forms of communication and transportation shrunk the effective size of the world so that many of its citizens were made aware of events occurring in far-distant locations and came to appreciate cultural differences more directly than was previously possible. Among the many trends and events for which the century may be remembered, however, one will surely be the ascendancy of science and scientific thinking. Given adequate resources and ample time, scientists have argued they will be able to reduce the mysteries of the universe, as well as the mysteries of life and death, to objectifiable processes and events.
The editors of this book draw attention to the implicit and explicit images of childhood that various disciplines -- especially development psychology -- have constructed. These sometimes unspoken metaphors have enduring value in that they provide a means of drawing together, integrating, and interpreting otherwise disparate findings or conclusions. They also provide a ready means of conveying the fruits of scientific research to the people who constitute its primary consumers. The contributors strive to show that the images of childhood that each professional implicitly carries in her or his head vary across historical epochs, just as they vary across cultures and subcultures. Perhaps even more alarmingly, some of these images seem to reflect the politically correct ideology of particular times and places, at least as much as they represent the objective findings they purport to summarize.
This volume's main objective is to unpackage cultural and historical variations in the conception of childhood in order to make clearer those which might be considered universal aspects of behavioral and psychological development and those which must be seen as temporary cultural constructions or images.
The specific aims of this volume are to:
* delineate images of childhood in diverse cultural, subcultural, and historical contexts;
* illustrate how these images of childhood are manifested in popular proverbs as well as in distinct patterns of childrearing, broadly conceived to include aspects of parental behavior, childcare arrangements, education, indoctrination, and the assignment of responsibilities;
* indicate how these images of childhood are manifest in the development and implementation of educational and social policies as well as in the legal status of children;
* consider whether children are believed to have a privileged place in society and whether age-graded constraints limit their roles and participation in society; and
* evaluate the extent to which cultural images affect the ways in which developmental processes are viewed or understood.