Exploration and play behaviour form the subject of thisbook, in which a wide range of research activities, boththeoretical and practical, are presented from variousfields. In particular, the emphasis on applications (forexample, in the development of software) demonstrates theintegrated approach to basic and applied research. Theauthors come from many different countries and representvarious theoretical approaches, enabling the reader toacquire an up-to-date overview of the field and thus form anopinion of his/her own regarding this field of research. I: Introduction.- I.0 Preface: The Study of Exploration.- I.1 Fairy Tales and Curiosity. Exploratory Behavior in Literature for Children or the Futile Attempt to Keep Girls from the Spindle.- II: Function and Motivational Mechanics of Exploration.- II.2 An Ethological Conception of Exploratory Behavior.- II.3 The Neurobiological Foundation of Exploration.- II.4 Two Characteristics of Surprise: Action Delay and Attentional Focus.- II.5 Interest and Curiosity. The Role of Interest in a Theory of Exploratory Action.- II.6 Interest and Exploration: Exploratory Action in the Context of Interest Genesis.- III: Development and Interindividual Differences.- III.7 The Relationship Between Attachment, Temperament, and Exploration.- III.8 Interindividual Differences in the Development of Exploratory Behavior: Methodological Considerations.- III. 9 Preschoolers' Exploratory Behavior: The Influence of the Social and Physical Context.- III. 10 A Developmental Analysis of Exploration Styles.- III.11 Individual Differences in Experience-Producing Tendencies.- IV: The Interconnections of Exploratory Behavior and other Behavioral Systems.- IV. 12 The Active Exploratory Nature of Perceiving: Some Developmental Implications.- IV. 13 The Process and Consequences of Manipulative Exploration.- IV. 14 Motivational and Cognitive Determants of Exploration.- V: Applied Perspectives.- V. 15 Computer Systems as Exploratory Environments.- V. 16 Urban Development for Children Reexploring a New Research Area.- VI: Epilogue.- VI. 17 Applause for Aurora: Sociobiological Considerations on Exploration and Play.- Author Index. Prof. Dr. Heidi Keller leitet die Abteilung Entwicklungspsychologie der Universität Osnabrück. Ihre Arbeitsschwerpunkte liegen in der Säuglingsforschung und der frühen Mutter-Kind-Beziehung.
