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Race has powerful effects on children’s perceptions of occupations

Children’s perceptions of occupational status and their own vocational interests are affected by the racial make-up of the workforce, according to a new study involving first and six grade African American children. For both real and made-up jobs, children ascribed higher status to those occupations that are or were depicted as having all or mostly European American workers (and no or low numbers of African Americans workers) than to those jobs with no or low numbers of European American workers (and all or high numbers of African Americans workers). The findings appear in the May issue of Developmental Psychology, a journal published by the American Psychological Association (APA).

Pre-term infants slower at processing information

Although individuals vary widely, on average, pre-term infants are markedly slower at processing information — including understanding what they see — than full-term infants. New research shows this deficit in processing speed is already present in the first year of life and the gap in performance does not narrow with age. The research is published in the November issue of Developmental Psychology, a journal of the American Psychological Association (APA).