Piaget's theory of moral development claims that children under ten years old tend to make moral judgements based on the outcome of an action rather than intention, whereas children over 10 years are able to make moral judgements based on intent. Nevertheless, a new study from Harvard University has found that even in adults punishments tend to reflect the outcome and not the intention.

Research has consistently shown that low socioeconomic status leads to lower IQ (e.g., Turkheimer et al., 2003). However is this because richer families can afford more expensive toys that boost intelligence? The good news for parents worried that the credit crunch will affect their children's development because they can no longer afford fancy electronic toys is that less expensive toys may well be better, according to Temple University developmental psychologist Kathy Hirsh-Pasek

Piaget's famous 3 mountains task apparently showed that children under the age of 8 are egocentric, that is they do not realise that other people see things differently to themselves. In the three mountains task a child is seated in front of a papier mache model of 3 mountains and a doll is seated on one of the other 3 sides of the model. The child then has to choose from a series of photographs, the one that shows the dolls view - children under 8 usually choose the photograph that shows their own perspective. Other examples of egocentrism include children hiding by burying their heads in the sofa - if they can't see you then you can't see them. However, new research by psychologists at the University of Washington's Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences indicates that even 12- and 18-month-old babies not only are observing what is going on around them but also are using their own visual self-experience to judge what other people can and cannot see.