2014, Vol.27, No.2

THE KOREAN JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 2023 KCI Impact Factor : 1.67

pISSN : 1229-0718 / eISSN : 2671-6542
https://journal.kci.go.kr/baldal

The purpose of this study was to validate the Korean version of the Parenting Sense of Competence Scale (PSOC) and the Parenting Alliance Inventory (PAI). A total of 1051 parents with young children aged 1 to 6 years participated. Exploratory factor analysis confirmed that the PSOC consists of 15 items and two factors, and that the PAI consists of 14 items and two factors. The each factor from the PSOC and PAI demonstrated clear convergent validity, proper internal consistency, and good test-retest reliability. Also confirmatory factor analysis indicated good model fit for both measures supporting their good construct validities. Furthermore, there were significant negative correlations between the Korean versions of PSOC, PAI and K-PSI, suggesting good concurrent validity. In conclusion, the Korean versions of PSOC and PAI appear to be useful tools for assessing parenting efficacy and cooperation among parents with young children.

The present study investigated the relationship between children’s executive function at 4 years old and reading fluency and comprehension at 6 years old. Children’s executive function skills at age 4 were examined by measuring three subcomponents: working memory, behavioral inhibition, and cognitive flexibility. A short-term longitudinal study was conducted with 110 four-year-old children. Children’s executive function and receptive vocabulary were measured at age 4, and their reading fluency and comprehension were then measured 2 years later. Results indicated that executive function, behavioral inhibition, and cognitive flexibility at age 4 were significantly correlated with reading fluency and comprehension at age 6. In addition, a regression analysis was performed to examine the substantive impact of measured variables at age 4 on later reading fluency and comprehension. Results showed that the predictive value of executive function subtypes was evident, even after controlling for language ability at age 4.

Children are naïve scientists with the ability to imitate and learn new skills. Children learn about the world and become efficient problem solvers through observation. Even though children's capacity to be imitative problem solvers is evident, there seems to be a unique aspect that remains overlooked. When children observe an adult’s unfamiliar behavior, children seem to be inclined to produce irrelevant and superfluous actions, and this phenomenon (referred to as “overimitation”), increases with age. However, when given a cue regarding the situational context, young children are able to show selective imitation, or emulation, that results in the same goal without reproducing an identical action performed by the model. These varied understanding of children’s imitative strategies and social learning are crucial issues that should be further addressed. Hence, the present study examines whether 3 to 5-year-old children can learn to use new tools through observation, and whether children's imitational characteristics vary across different observational contexts. The study included 174 children aged 3 to 5. Results indicate that toddlers provided with a relevant solution to the problem showed higher rates of success than did those who were provided an irrelevant solution. Also, toddlers who observed solutions that were first irrelevant, and then relevant, demonstrated higher rates of overimitation. In addition, the present results substantiated the idea that 3 to 5-year-old children show different imitative responses according to the context. In the accidental context, where children observed irrelevant actions while the person was on the phone, toddlers demonstrated selective imitation; or emulation. The results suggest that toddlers have the ability to consider other’s intentions and show rational imitation accordingly. This study not only provides an analysis of children’s imitational characteristics as a social learner (i.e. by showing overimitation), but also shows that children are rational emulators when given a cue based on a situational context.