Observational studies of breakfast frequency in children and adults suggest an inverse (protective) association between the frequency of eating breakfast and the risk for obesity and chronic diseases ...such as type 2 diabetes. More prospective studies with stronger designs are needed, as are experimental studies on this topic. In addition, above and beyond breakfast frequency, the roles of dietary quality and composition need to be studied in the context of eating or skipping breakfast. Experimental studies are also necessary to rigorously test causality and biological mechanisms. Therefore, we conducted 2 pilot experimental studies to examine some of the effects of breakfast skipping and breakfast composition on blood glucose and appetite in children and adults. Our results suggest that breakfast frequency and quality may be related in causal ways to appetite controls and blood sugar control, supporting the hypothesis that the breakfast meal and its quality may have important causal implications for the risk of obesity and type 2 diabetes.
The authors suggest that the recess period serves a positive purpose in the primary school curriculum, counter to the current practice of minimizing recess in many schools across North America and ...the United Kingdom. The authors' position is embedded in the larger debate about school accountability; they argue that school policy should be based on the best theory and empirical evidence available. They support their argument for the importance of recess with theory and with experimental and longitudinal data showing how recess breaks maximize children's cognitive performance and adjustment to school.
The role of play in human development has long been the subject of controversy. Despite being championed by many of the foremost scholars of the twentieth century, play has been dogged by ...underrepresentation and marginalization in literature across the scientific disciplines. The Oxford Handbook of the Development of Play attempts to examine the development of children’s play through a rigorous and multidisciplinary approach. This book aims to reset the landscape of developmental science and makes a compelling case for the benefits of play.
Evolutionary developmental psychology involves the expression of evolved, epigenetic programs, as described by the developmental systems approach, over the course of ontogeny. There have been ...different selection pressures on organisms at different times in ontogeny, and some characteristics of infants and children were selected in evolution to serve an adaptive function at that time in their life history rather than to prepare individuals for later adulthood. Examples of such adaptive functions of immaturity are provided from infancy, play, and cognitive development. Most evolved psychological mechanisms are proposed to be domain specific in nature and have been identified for various aspects of children's cognitive and social development, most notably for the acquisition of language and for theory of mind. Differences in the quality and quantity of parental investment affect children's development and influence their subsequent reproductive and childcare strategies. Some sex differences observed in childhood, particularly as expressed during play, are seen as antecedents and preparations for adult sex differences. Because evolved mechanisms were adaptive to ancestral environments, they are not always adaptive for contemporary people, and this mismatch of evolved mechanisms with modern environments is seen in children's maladjustment to some aspects of formal schooling. We argue that an evolutionary perspective can be valuable for developing a better understanding of human ontogeny in contemporary society and that a developmental perspective is important for a better understanding of evolutionary psychology.
The question of the relationship between children's play and more formal, literate uses of language is explored in the 9 studies described in this volume. Chapter titles and authors are as follows: ...(1) "The Influence of Discourse Content and Context on Preschoolers' Use of Language" (Lucia A. French, Joan Lucariello, Susan Seidman, and Katherine Nelson); (2) "Being and Becoming: The Interface of Language and Family Role Knowledge in the Pretend Play of Young African American Girls" (Vonnie C. McLoyd, Shirley Aisha Ray, and Gwendolyn Etter-Lewis); (3) "Narratives in Preschoolers' Sociodramatic Play: The Role of Knowledge and Communicative Competence" (Jacqueline Sachs, Jane Goldman, and Christine Chaille); (4) "The Origins of Autonomous Texts in Play Boundaries" (Dennis P. Wolf and James Pusch); (5) "Relations Between Preschool Children's Symbolic Play and Literate Behavior" (Anthony D. Pellegrini); (6) "Preschool Children's Narratives: Linking Story Comprehension, Production, and Play Discourse" (Marilyn Guttman and Carl H. Frederiksen); (7) "Play Beyond Play: Its Role in Formal Informative Speech" (Mary Ann Evans); (8) "Narrative Play in Second Language Learning" (Shirley Brice Heath with Hey-Kyeong Chin); and (9) "Assessing Children's Knowledge About Book Reading" (Catherine Snow, Debra Nathan, and Rivka Perlman). Author and subject indexes are included. (EL)
This book shows readers how to conduct observational methods, research tools used to describe and explain behaviors as they unfold in everyday settings. The book now uses both an evolutionary and a ...cultural perspective. The methods presented are drawn from psychology, education, family studies, sociology, and anthropology, but the author's primary focus is on children in school, family, and social settings. Readers learn how to make observations in real contexts to help them create a verbal picture of behaviors they see. The importance of considering reliability and validity factors while testing within each environment is emphasized throughout. The author draws from the literature that provides methods for observing animals in their natural habitats, but emphasizes the use of observational methods to solve human problems. The book is organized in the way a researcher conducts observational studies-conceptualizing of the idea, designing and implementing the study, and writing the report. "Things to think about" sections provide an opportunity for students to solidify their understanding of the material and the Glossary defines the key terms introduced in the book.
Highlights of changes in the new edition include:
The introduction of the cultural perspective in chapter 4 along with the evolutionary (epigenetic theory) perspective and the integration of cultural examples throughout the book.
More varied examples from developmental psychology, family studies, and education.
Extensively revised chapter (3) on ethics reflects the current revelations of scientific fraud and the push for researchers to maximize scientific integrity in their community.
Updated chapter (12) reflects the latest computer technologies used in observational methods including iPhones and Blackberrys for conducting observation, ABC Data Pro and Behavior Tracker for evaluations, and Excel for constructing observational templates.
Recess Pellegrini, Anthony D
2005, 20060421
eBook, Book
Writing a book about recess could be a very questionable endeavor for a serious academic psychologist. At first blush it seems to be a pretty trivial topic. It's the time during the school day where ...there's a break from what's typically considered the most serious work of the day--reading, writing, and arithmetic. Reflecting this trivial tenor, it's also that time of the school day that kids--perhaps only half jokingly--say is their favorite part of school. This perception has lead many schools to question the role of recess in the school day. This book is an attempt to broach two views of recess--the perceived value of recess and the movement to eliminate or reduce the school recess period from the primary school day.
Due to tightened school budgets and the emphasis on testing, many elementary schools eliminate recess, gym classes, and play periods to the developmental detriment of the very children the schools are supposed to serve. Author Anthony Pellegrini has conducted a number of careful studies regarding student attentiveness and performance within programs that have recess periods, and those that don't. The data show that students need recess in order to blow off energy and interact with each other in the unstructured recess environment in order to grow socially. The goal of Recess is to help readers realize the importance of recess and counter the trend to eliminate it from schools.
This book appeals to academics, teachers, administrators, and parents.
Contents: Preface. The Debate Over Recess: A Sad Tale of the Disjuncture Between Educational Policy and Scientific Research. A Brief History of the Place of Play and Recess in American Schools. The School Playground as a Venue for Children's Social Development. The Two Worlds of the Playground: Gender Segregation at Recess. Gender Differences in Preference for Outdoor Recess. Children's Play and Rough-and-Tumble Play on the Playground. Children's Games on the Playground at Recess. The Role of Recess in Children's Cognitive Performance in Classrooms. Summing Up: What Are the Implications of Recess for Children in School?
This book shows readers how to conduct observational methods, research tools used to describe and explain behaviors as they unfold in everyday settings. The book now uses both an evolutionary and a ...cultural perspective. The methods presented are drawn from psychology, education, family studies, sociology, and anthropology, but the author's primary focus is on children in school, family, and social settings. Readers learn how to make observations in real contexts to help them create a verbal picture of behaviors they see. The importance of considering reliability and validity factors while testing within each environment is emphasized throughout. The author draws from the literature that provides methods for observing animals in their natural habitats, but emphasizes the use of observational methods to solve human problems. The book is organized in the way a researcher conducts observational studies-conceptualizing of the idea, designing and implementing the study, and writing the report. "Things to think about" sections provide an opportunity for students to solidify their understanding of the material and the Glossary defines the key terms introduced in the book.
Highlights of changes in the new edition include:
The introduction of the cultural perspective in chapter 4 along with the evolutionary (epigenetic theory) perspective and the integration of cultural examples throughout the book. More varied examples from developmental psychology, family studies, and education. Extensively revised chapter (3) on ethics reflects the current revelations of scientific fraud and the push for researchers to maximize scientific integrity in their community. Updated chapter (12) reflects the latest computer technologies used in observational methods including iPhones and Blackberrys for conducting observation, ABC Data Pro and Behavior Tracker for evaluations, and Excel for constructing observational templates. Expanded chapter (13) on writing the research report and more on issues of plagiarism (ch. 3). The latest on minimizing observer effects on participants and testing their effectiveness. New environmentally friendly design, the Things to Think About sections were retained, but the blank pages for answers were eliminated.
Intended as a supplementary text for advanced undergraduate and/or graduate courses in research methods and/or developmental research or developmental/child psychology taught in psychology, education, human development, and nursing, educators and researchers concerned with assessing children will also appreciate this book's introduction to observational methods.
— The role of play in human development is a source of controversy. Some view it as indispensable to children’s healthy development and education, whereas others marginalize it as a topic unworthy of ...study and of questionable functional significance. This article suggests that differences in how researchers define play and conceptualize function have led to this disagreement. It also makes educational policy and research recommendations about the role of play in children’s lives.
Extant literature in developmental psychology has documented the co-occurrence of aggressive and affiliative behaviors with various measures of social dominance. While these findings have been taken ...as evidence for the functional value of aggression, they have not been integrated into a more general theoretical frame accounting for contextual variation. In this paper the literature on aggression, agonism, affiliation, and social dominance is reviewed in light of behavioral ecological theory suggesting that different forms of competition (scramble and contest) determine, respectively, the use of affiliative and aggressive strategies. Results generally support the hypotheses advanced by this theory. In order to further integrate these findings suggestions for the study sequences of behavior, where reconciliations follow aggression, are made.
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