Vrednotne orientacije skozi življenje

V psihologiji je še vedno dokaj pomanjkljivo raziskano vprašanje, kako se oblikujejo vrednotne usmeritve v odvisnosti od starosti in razvojne dobe. V raziskavi smo skušali ugotoviti, kako ocenjujejo pomembnost glavnih osebnih vrednot in vrednotnih kategorij osebe v različnih starostnih obdobjih odraslosti. Pri tem smo izhajali iz hipoteze, da obstajajo tudi na področju vrednot razvojne težnje in hierarhije, ki zajemajo glavne kategorije vrednot. Rezultati raziskave so pokazali, da v odrasli dobi s starostjo relativno upadapomen hedonskih in potenčnih vrednot, ne upada pa pomen moralnih vrednot in narašča pomen izpolnitvenih vrednot. Na ravni vrednotnih makrousmeritev lahko ugotovimo upadanje pomena dionizičnih in naraščanje pomena apoloničnih vrednot. Ti rezultati v grobem potrjujejo obstoj razvojne hierarhije vrednot, ki vodi od hedonskih in potenčnih (dionizičnih) vrednot k moralnim in izpolnitvenim (apolonskim) vrednotam.The relationskip between value orientations and the developmental stages ofadult individuals are still unsatisfactirily investigated. In our study an attempt was made to establish, how the persons of different ages rate the importance of cardinal values, value types and value orientations. It was hypothesized that in the field of values a developmental hierarchy could existextending from hedonistic and potency values to the moral and fulfilment values. The overall results obtained by this study show the general decrease of the importance of dionysian values (hedonistic and potency values) and a relative increase of apolonian values (moral and especially fulfilment values). Consequently we could confirm the conception of the developmental hierarchy of individual values

Otrokov razvoj in učenje v simbolni igri

V raziskavi prikazujemo simbolno igro kot način otrokovega razvoja in učenja v predšolskem obdobju. Rezultai raziskave kažejo, da se simbolna igra s starostjo spreminja. Predšolski otroci v starostno heterogenih skupinah v vrtcu ( stari od 3-6 let) dosegajo višjo stopnjo simbolne igre kot njihovi vrstniki v starostno homogenih skupinah

The impact of reading on language development in the preschool children

The importance of the role played by children's literature in the child's mental, social and linguistic development and in the development of his or her basic academic skills, such as reading andwriting, has been confirmed by numerous studies. A central issue in developmental psychology is what activities related to children's books exert an influence on the child's development and in what ways. Thisinterest in children's books and in child language development places our research into two scientific disciplines, viz. psychology and linguistics. The study explores the impact of systematic and regular readingof selected children's books in preschool institutions on the development of language competences in children aged four to six years, boys and girls. Other contributing factors whose relevance for languagedevelopment has been either postulated by theories or highlighted by empirical studies, are also observed - e.g. parents' education, number of books in the family, quality of education in the family (frequencyof conversations, visits to cultural events, reading books together, etc.). The children included in the study all attend a preschool institution with an educational program which is based on the national curriculumand which targets also the language area. The children in the experimental group are submitted to additional reading of selected children's literature. The development of children's linguistic competences isfollowed using two methods: analysis of answers on The Vane evaluation of language scale (The Vane-L) and analysis of transcripts of story retelling after the child has been read H. Ch. Andersen's fairy taleThe Princess and the Pea. The results show, that the children who were systematically read selected children's books in their preschool groups, achieved significantly higher scores on the standardized Vanelanguage development scale and on the unstandardized test of retelling a story. Correlations between some of the children's results achieved on both tests and the quality of language education in the family(mother's education, family environment and family activities) were low but statistically significant. The results of the study may also serve as an expert platform underlying introduction of various curricularcomponents and methods specifically targeting language development

Prenatal mercury exposure, neurodevelopment and apolipoprotein E genetic polymorphism

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the association between prenatal exposure to mercury (Hg) and neurodevelopment of the child, taking into account genetic polymorphism of apolipoprotein E (Apoe) and other relevant confounders. Six hundred and one mother-child pairs were recruited from the central Slovenia region and 243 from Rijeka, on the Croatian coast of the northern Adriatic. The total Hg in cord blood, Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition (Bayley-III) assessment at 18 months of age and Apoe genotyping was performed on 361 children ; 237 of them were from Slovenia and 124 from Croatia. The results showed negative association between low- to-moderate Hg exposure in children with normal neurodevelopmental outcome and cognitive and fine motor scores at 18 months of age as assessed by BayleyIII. The Hg-related decrease in cognitive score was observed only in children carrying atleastone Apoe ε4 allele, while the decrease in fine motor scores was independent of the Apoe genotype. Adjusting for selenium (Se) and lead (Pb) levels, a positive association between Se and the language score and a negative association between Pb and the motor score was observed, but not in the subgroup of children carrying the ε4 allele