KJC Korea
Journal Central

This study aimed at examining children's ability to understand gaze-direction and its relation with theory of mind. Specifically, we investigated the ability to understand gaze-direction as a mental state represented by the external world. Eighty 3-, 4-, 5-, 7-year old children participated in this study. Children were presented with five different kinds of gaze-direction tasks, along with appearance-reality and false-belief to see whether the gaze-direction would relate to those tasks, which have been used to assess the child’s theory of mind and his representational understanding. The result showed that the child’s ability to represent gaze-direction increased with age and the performance on the gaze-direction task (looking-at-you) were significantly correlated with that of appearance-reality and false-belief. The result suggests that children develop representational understanding of gaze-direction between 3 and 4 years old. The significant correlation between gaze-direction task (looking-at-you) and false-belief task implies that representational understanding of gaze-direction would develop as a part of theory of mind.

This study examined the characteristics of self-descriptions and earliest childhood recollection of Korean Adults in terms of gender and age, in order to understand the interactive relation between the self-construal and autobiographical memory from life-span and socio-constructive developmental perspective. Korean Adults aged from 20' to 50' (N=352) were asked to make self-description on a shortened 20 Statements Test and to report their earliest memories by filling out questionnaires on memory. As the result of analyzing the earliest memory, the average age at earliest memory of Korean adults was 4.8 years. They reported more positive and mild emotion in their memories. The younger reported earlier memories. Males and the younger reported more shortened and less other-related memories. The analysis for self-description of Korean adults, showed that both males and females placed more emphasis on individual attributes in describing themselves and that males and the younger reported more individual attributes and less other-related attributes. Finally, the results showed that the more relational self-construal they have, the more other-related and less emotional memories they provided and that the more positive self-evaluation they provided, the less emotional memories they reported.

Understanding of symbolic function of replica objects was examined with 24- and 30-month-old children. In Experiment 1, understanding of objects was compared with understanding of words, photographs, and gestures. 24- and 30-month-old children understand objects as well as words, photographs, and gestures. However, they understand objects worse than words and photographs. Understandings of photographs, gestures, and objects were related to each other significantly, especially at 30 month. In Experiment 1a, understanding of objects was compared again with understanding of words, pictures, and gestures in a sample of children from similar socio-economic and educational backgrounds. Unlike in Experiment 1, 30-month-old children understand all symbols whereas 24-month-old children understand only words and gestures. 24-month-old children understand objects worse than words and gestures whereas 30-month-old children understand objects worse than other symbols. Understanding of gestures and objects showed significant positive correlations at both 24- and 30-months. In addition, understanding of words and pictures showed a significant positive correlation at 30-month. These results from experiment 1 and 1a showed that DeLoache's dual representation hypothesis can explain early understanding of symbolic function of replica objects. In Experiment 3, the effect of iconicity of replica objects was examined. 24- and 30-month-old children understand objects better when an object and a referent are physically similar to each other than when they are not.

This study examined developmental changes in children's use of memory strategies. The subjects were 120 5-, 7-, and 9-year old children. All children performed sort-recall task. Children were classified as spontaneous production deficiency if they didn't use any strategy. Children were classified as utilization deficiency if they use strategies but their recall was lower than or not different from recall of those who were classified as spontaneous production deficiency. And children were classified as efficient user if they use strategies and their recall was higher than recall of those who were classified as spontaneous production deficiency. Both rehearsal and organization, utilization deficiency and spontaneous production deficiency were more common for 5-year-old than 7- or 9-year-old, whereas 7- or 9-year-old showed a tendency to belong to efficient user. With increase in age, children used multiple strategies. And those who used multiple strategies showed higher level of recall than those who used a single strategy.

This study examines whether preschoolers use trait label information to make inferences about people, even when it conflicts with highly salient perceptual information and investigates preschoolers' use of trait label information according to their age and task variables(the level of perceptual similarity and the familiarity of trait labels). 32 three-year-olds, 32 4-year-olds and 32 5-year-olds saw photographs of three different children and were asked to predict whether one of the children would share properties with a child who has the same trait label but is dissimilar in appearance, or with a child who has a different trait label but is similar in appearance. The result shows that preschoolers view trait label information as an important source of information about people. Children as young as 4 years of age treat the trait labels as more informative than appearance information when making inferences about people's psychological properties. Furthermore, results suggest that the level of perceptual similarity in task affects preschoolers' use of trait label vs appearance information.

In this study I investigate the relationship children's attachment to their free recall and suggestibility. Fifty five 5-years-old were assessed their attachment by the Attachment Story Completion Task. All participants were experienced 3 plays in their classroom by the stranger and one week later they were interviewed regarding the event by a previously unknown investigator to assess their free recall and suggestibility. Short form of K-WPPI was also administered. There were significant differences in the free recall and both(yield and shift) suggestibility between the secure attachment group and the anxious attachment group. The results have implications for an understanding of children's memory of events and their ability to provide testimony in legal settings.

This study attempted to explore whether Korean children could understand the ontological distinction between the mental entities and physical entities through two studies. We used eighty 3-, 5-, 7-, 9-, and 11-year-old children(16 for each age group). In the first study, children were asked to judge the properties about the mental entities as well as the physical entities according to four different kinds of criteria such as behavioral-sensory contact, public existence, consistent existence, and having a weight. The results showed that the children older than 5-years could successfully understand the ontological distinction between the mental and physical entities, even though 3-year-olds performed around the chance level. This implied a developmental change between 3- and 5-year-olds. In the second study, children were asked to classify two stimuli according to 5 different kinds of criteria such as behavioral-sensory contact, consistent existence, occupying physical spaces, having a weight, and having an effect on other materials. Unlike study 1, we found out the developmental change between 5- and 7-year-olds: the children older than 7-years could successfully classify the stimuli, while the children younger than 5-year-olds performed below chance. As for the development of knowledge, children had more sophisticated knowledge about physical entities by the formal education, whereas intuitively understanding the mental entities.

This study examined the relation between SOC strategy and life-satisfaction. From 40years to 70 years middle and older adults(N=329) completed questionnaires measuring SOC strategies containing elective selection and loss-based selection, optimization and compensation, the level of life-satisfaction, and demographic characteristics. Except elective selection and loss-based selection, there are significant difference in optimization and compensation according to sex and age. That is, Males had more effective optimization strategies than females and 40years adults had more effective optimization strategies than 70years. In the compensation strategies 40years adults were more competent than 70years older adults and 60years than 70 years older adults. However, optimization strategies among SOC strategies explained significantly general life-satisfaction. But there were no significant difference in general life-satisfaction level according to sex and age. Interestingly economic state, satisfaction to children, and health state were related to general life-satisfaction positively and care giving for grandchildren negatively.

This study was conducted to investigate quality of life in the elderly residing in the community and those residing in institutions. It aimed at examining 1) the extent to which the two groups of old people were satisfied with their lives, 2) the domains of life which should be reorganized to elevate overall life satisfaction for the two groups of people, and 3) the effects of extraversion and optimistic personality on their satisfaction with life. The findings were as follows. First, the elderly residing in the community were not satisfied with their lives more than those in institutions. Secondly, satisfaction in the domain of production was found to be the most influential element comprising overall satisfaction with life for the elderly residing in institutions, whereas satisfaction in material, emotional and physical domains disproportionately affected overall life satisfaction for the elderly residing in the community. Finally, irrespective of the groups, the more optimistic and the more extroverted the old people were, the more satisfied they were with their lives. The implications of these results were discussed.

To compare the perceived image of the aged, children, adolescent, and the aged were asked to rate their perception of the aged in seven dimensions. 103 of the aged and 291 students of elementary, middle, and high schools located in Ulsan city participated this study. They also except the aged group rated their future image of the aged. The results revealed that the older the subjects are, the less positive the total perceived image of the aged was. Of the seven dimensions, the perception of physical dimension of the aged was the least positive from earlier. Perceived general image of the aged was the most positive till later. It was found that 291 students' perception of themselves as the aged in the future was much more positive than perceived image of the aged.

The present study is designed to investigate Korean children’s goal orientation (performance vs. learning) and its effect on their reaction to failure and to examine whether externally manipulated goal has any effect on children’s goal orientation. For these ends, two studies were designed. Study1 investigated thirty six 5th graders’ goal orientation and its effect on their attribution, task enjoyment, and task persistence after facing failure. Study2 experimentally manipulated different goals and examined children’s responses to failure depending on goal situation. The results of this study revealed that Korean 5th graders are more oriented to performance goal than to learning goal and that children’s attribution, task enjoyment and task persistence after facing failure differed depending on their goal orientation. Most importantly, experimentally manipulated goal has a significant effect on their goal orientation and their response to failure, suggesting a possibility for training children’s achievement motivation through intervening their goal orientation.