This paper describes the Self-Evaluation Maintenance (SEM) model of social behavior which consists of three variables: the psychological closeness of another, the relative performance of that other, and the relevance of the performance dimension to one's self-definition. The SEM model is described as involving two processes, the reflection process…

The affective relationship between six male and one female preschool-aged autistic children and their parents was studied by employing a method enabling systematic analysis of parent/child interaction. Children ranged in age from 3 years, 7 months to 6 years, 4 months. Through use of the Bank Interaction Coding System (BICS), behaviorial sequences…

Findings indicated that (1) when siblings were 24-months-old, their social-emotional behavior displayed some concordance, and maternal behavior was stable with all siblings; (2) significant concordance in siblings' social-emotional behavior was conditioned by stability of maternal behavior; and (3) quality of infant-mother attachment at 12 months…

Affective and physiological responses, interpersonal interaction, and alcohol consumption have been significantly correlated with cognitive factors in defining the behavioral effects of alcohol. To investigate alcohol reinforcement expectancies at the abusive end of the drinking continuum, 305 male and female adult alcoholics enrolled in alcohol…

Although role or perspective taking has been considered important for the development of mature social thought and behavior, and training for perspective taking has been used to remediate deficient behavior, few studies with either normal or disturbed populations have examined naturally occurring behaviors expected to correlate with…

Comparison of the effects of pretest anxiety on the social and nonsocial problem solving of 45 boys (ages 9 to 11) with learning disabilities (LD) and 45 nondisabled boys found the LD group reported significantly higher pretest anxiety which escalated over the course of the problem-solving session. However, boys with or without LD were equally…

Studied children's use of justification in disputes with their mothers and siblings and its relation to the social and emotional context of family disputes. Found children used justification in one third of their disputes by 36 months, and children's use of justification differed according to the topic of the dispute. (SKC)

Investigated the content and development of children's imitative behavior in the home. The data consisted of incidents of naturally occurring imitations of 24 children 16 and 29 months of age collected over a four-month period by mothers trained in observational recording. Immediate imitations decreased with age; deferred imitations increased with…

Investigates children's person-by-situation knowledge of probable causes of emotion in self and in others, and compares this to adults' construals. Shows that children can generate contextual explanations for affective states in self and others that are both shared by other children and adults and selectively related to different kinds of…

The emergence of sex-role stereotypes in dependency behaviors exhibited toward day care teachers by male and female toddlers was explored. Communication and interaction attempts, or bids, that 25 male and 25 female toddlers from low income families in day care made toward their teachers were analyzed. Instrumental bids requesting help were…

Traditionally, members of couples are similar in age, race, class, appearance and education. But within that common background, men tend to marry women slightly below themselves, a phenomenon known in sociology as the marriage gradient. To determine the extent to which students are comfortable with unequal relationships and traditional and…

An investigation was conducted to assess parental and family characteristics of boys who displayed competence when exposed to a set of stressful circumstances expected to impair and/or retard their development. Participating children and families were involved in the University of Rochester Child and Family Study, a prospective developmental…

Investigates whether children with poor peer relations display developmental lag in their conceptions of friendship. Compares social-cognitive level of understanding, using the Selman theory of interpersonal understanding, in sample of grade 2 versus grade 7 students identified as socially accepted, rejected, or neglected. The latter did not show…