Rodney R. Cocking – författare

One of the paradoxes in developmental theory is the child''s simultaneous intrapsychic and interpsychic development. While the child is growing in mental capacity and struggling to define self, behaviors are also being learned whose function is to integrate self into a social network, which often means that egocentric behaviors are in conflict with sociocentric ones. This theory draws upon processes that promote both individual and social growth into a unified theory of development. A construct pertinent to almost all dimensions of psychological research, psychological distance is conceptualized as either the distance between what the learner understands and what still has to be understood (intrapsychic), or ways in which others adjust information for the learner in order to be fully comprehended (interpsychic). Psychological distance appears to serve both organizing and explanatory functions across seemingly diverse sets of theoretical and research questions, such as differentiation of self in personality development; conceptual representation in cognitive development; dialogue in the development of communication skills; information processing in cognitive science; regulatory mechanisms in the growth of control processes; and concept formation in cross-over areas of cognition, learning and thinking skills. This volume is based on papers presented as part of the Invitational Conference honoring Irving E. Sigel, Distinguished Research Scientist, at Educational Testing Service. In each of the chapters different models are utilized to account for the construct of psychological distance, and as such, to suggest extensions of Sigel''s seminal work in this area. Together, these contributions form the basis of a discussion of psychological distance as a developmental construct -- a construct which permits serious consideration of individual differences as a function of both the process and the product of cognition and ecology.

One of the paradoxes in developmental theory is the child''s simultaneous intrapsychic and interpsychic development. While the child is growing in mental capacity and struggling to define self, behaviors are also being learned whose function is to integrate self into a social network, which often means that egocentric behaviors are in conflict with sociocentric ones. This theory draws upon processes that promote both individual and social growth into a unified theory of development. A construct pertinent to almost all dimensions of psychological research, psychological distance is conceptualized as either the distance between what the learner understands and what still has to be understood (intrapsychic), or ways in which others adjust information for the learner in order to be fully comprehended (interpsychic). Psychological distance appears to serve both organizing and explanatory functions across seemingly diverse sets of theoretical and research questions, such as differentiation of self in personality development; conceptual representation in cognitive development; dialogue in the development of communication skills; information processing in cognitive science; regulatory mechanisms in the growth of control processes; and concept formation in cross-over areas of cognition, learning and thinking skills. This volume is based on papers presented as part of the Invitational Conference honoring Irving E. Sigel, Distinguished Research Scientist, at Educational Testing Service. In each of the chapters different models are utilized to account for the construct of psychological distance, and as such, to suggest extensions of Sigel''s seminal work in this area. Together, these contributions form the basis of a discussion of psychological distance as a developmental construct -- a construct which permits serious consideration of individual differences as a function of both the process and the product of cognition and ecology.

The combined impact of linguistic, cultural, educational and cognitive factors on mathematics learning is considered in this unique book. By uniting the diverse research models and perspectives of these fields, the contributors describe how language and cognitive factors can influence mathematical learning, thinking and problem solving. The authors contend that cognitive skills are heavily dependent upon linguistic skills and both are critical to the representational knowledge intimately linked to school achievement in mathematics.

The combined impact of linguistic, cultural, educational and cognitive factors on mathematics learning is considered in this unique book. By uniting the diverse research models and perspectives of these fields, the contributors describe how language and cognitive factors can influence mathematical learning, thinking and problem solving. The authors contend that cognitive skills are heavily dependent upon linguistic skills and both are critical to the representational knowledge intimately linked to school achievement in mathematics.

Cross-Cultural Roots of Minority Child Development was the first volume to analyze minority child development by comparing minority children to children in their ancestral countries, rather than to children in the host culture. It was a ground-breaking volume that not only offered an historical reconstruction of the cross-cultural roots of minority child development, but a new cultural-historical approach to developmental psychology as well. It was also one of the best attempts to develop guidelines for building models of development that are multicultural in perspective, thus challenging scholars across the behavioral sciences to give more credence to the impact of culture on development and socialization in their respective fields of work.

A true classic, Cross-Cultural Roots of Minority Child Development will remain an essential resource for any scholar who is interested in minority child development and engages in cross-cultural research and multidisciplinary methodologies.

Cross-Cultural Roots of Minority Child Development was the first volume to analyze minority child development by comparing minority children to children in their ancestral countries, rather than to children in the host culture. It was a ground-breaking volume that not only offered an historical reconstruction of the cross-cultural roots of minority child development, but a new cultural-historical approach to developmental psychology as well. It was also one of the best attempts to develop guidelines for building models of development that are multicultural in perspective, thus challenging scholars across the behavioral sciences to give more credence to the impact of culture on development and socialization in their respective fields of work.

A true classic, Cross-Cultural Roots of Minority Child Development will remain an essential resource for any scholar who is interested in minority child development and engages in cross-cultural research and multidisciplinary methodologies.

This book constitutes the first time in the field of developmental psychology that cross-cultural roots of minority child development have been studied in their ancestral societies in a systematic way--and by an international group of researchers. Most child development and child psychology texts take cultural diversity in development into account only as an addendum or as a special case--it is not integrated into a comprehensive theory or model of development. The purpose of this text is to redress this situation by enlisting insiders'' and outsiders'' perspectives on socialization and development in a diverse sampling of the world''s cultures, including developing regions that often lack the means to speak for themselves in the arena of international social science. The unique feature of this text is the paradigm. For the minority groups represented, the questions focused on how development was behaviorally expressed within the culture of origin and in new societal contexts. Thus, developmental issues--such as language and mother-child interactions--for African-American children are considered in the United States as well as in the African culture of origin and in France as a country of immigration. This paradigm is considered for African and Asian cultures and the Americas, including Hispanics from Mexico as well as Native Americans. Specific questions posed consider the extent to which: * the development and socialization of minority children can be seen as continuous with their ancestral cultures; * the cultural and political conditions in the United States, Canada, and France have modified developmental and socialization processes, yielding discontinuities with ancestral cultures; * the ancestral cultures have changed, yielding cross-generational discontinuities in the development and socialization of immigrants from the very same countries. * the role of interdependence and independence in developmental scripts can account for historical continuities and discontinuities in development and socialization, both across and within cultures. These questions not only provide the unifying theme of this unique book but also a model for conceptualizing multi-culturalism within a unified framework for developmental psychology.

This book constitutes the first time in the field of developmental psychology that cross-cultural roots of minority child development have been studied in their ancestral societies in a systematic way--and by an international group of researchers. Most child development and child psychology texts take cultural diversity in development into account only as an addendum or as a special case--it is not integrated into a comprehensive theory or model of development. The purpose of this text is to redress this situation by enlisting insiders'' and outsiders'' perspectives on socialization and development in a diverse sampling of the world''s cultures, including developing regions that often lack the means to speak for themselves in the arena of international social science. The unique feature of this text is the paradigm. For the minority groups represented, the questions focused on how development was behaviorally expressed within the culture of origin and in new societal contexts. Thus, developmental issues--such as language and mother-child interactions--for African-American children are considered in the United States as well as in the African culture of origin and in France as a country of immigration. This paradigm is considered for African and Asian cultures and the Americas, including Hispanics from Mexico as well as Native Americans. Specific questions posed consider the extent to which: * the development and socialization of minority children can be seen as continuous with their ancestral cultures; * the cultural and political conditions in the United States, Canada, and France have modified developmental and socialization processes, yielding discontinuities with ancestral cultures; * the ancestral cultures have changed, yielding cross-generational discontinuities in the development and socialization of immigrants from the very same countries. * the role of interdependence and independence in developmental scripts can account for historical continuities and discontinuities in development and socialization, both across and within cultures. These questions not only provide the unifying theme of this unique book but also a model for conceptualizing multi-culturalism within a unified framework for developmental psychology.