The enormous popular interest in the field of child development makes it incumbent upon developmental scientists to convey with care the complexity of development lest oversimplified popular accounts gain credibility. Recent attempted models of development do include the range of variables and complexities that need to be accommodated in accounting for development. A model is presented here that incorporates many of the elements of recent models but elaborates on the role of experience in relation to the constitutional, cultural, economic, and social factors that contribute to advantages and disadvantages in children's development. The importance of accommodating data from prior theoretical perspectives and the importance of the contributions from neuroimaging studies are discussed as they are critical for successful theory building in the field of child development.

Child↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Design factors in the assessment of intelligence.

The use of intelligence tests to assess the effects of otitis media on the development of children is discussed in this article. An overview of the development of intelligence tests is provided and some of the limitations and central issues of controversy concerning intelligence testing and the IQ are reviewed. Basic intelligence tests are described in terms of their characteristics and uses; the questions which an investigator must ask about any given intelligence test measure are posed and answered. Finally, cautions concerning the applicability of intelligence tests for evaluating the effects of otitis media are offered.

Humans↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Effects of otitis media on cognitive development.

Studies of the effects of otitis media on cognitive development in children have not been extensive. In this paper the nature of the variables thought to influence cognitive development in the first two years of life are described. The relationship between cognitive development and language development is reviewed. The distinction between cognition and intelligence is made. The studies of the behavioral sequelae of otitis media are reviewed and suggestions are made concerning the importance of including behavioral analyses in major projects concerning otitis media in young children.

Child↗