Infant Cognition: Predicting Later Intellectual Functioning

Following a careful study of the recent research literature on individual differences in the preverbal infant, this book presents the historical and procedural contexts of four measures of infant attention and learning that have proved the most promising in predicting later childhood intellectual performance. The author examines the psychometric properties for each measure (within-age and cross-age test-retest coefficients), the concurrent relations of the measures with other measures of early cognition and development, and the available evidence on how well the measures predict cognitive and intellectual development in later childhood. “… this is an excellent introduction to an important and obviously thriving field.” –LTD Review “This book and the research it presents provide a powerful challenge to current theories of intelligence and to current philosophies and practices in gifted education.…important to the study of intelligence and vital to understanding and serving the needs of children at both ends of the intellectual spectrum.” –Roeper Review “I found the book thought provoking and extraordinarily thorough in its coverage. As someone who works in the area, I am delighted that finally a text will be available describing the state-of-the-art in infant information processing research. Dr. Colombo did an excellent job pulling together what can sometimes appear to be a ‘messy’ field.” –Lee Anne Thompson, Case Western Reserve University