In this commentary, I delineate several questions raised by the Hammond and Drummond (2019) paper: (a) to why there seems to be an association between state positive emotion and prosocial behavior in young children, and if and how early positively tinged prosocial behavior provides a pathway to (b) later prosocial behavior more generally…

Developmental studies have primarily focused on what takes place within the confines of a given interpersonal system (first order development). What has been neglected is second order development, the interpersonal communication that alters the system itself. From this particular developmental perspective, a model can be used that illustrates and…

Used a standard picture-ranking task to assess preschooler's attitudes about orthopedically handicapped individuals. Found that children as young as preschool age can hold a functionally related preference for a normal over a physically handicapped person. Children who held this preference interacted differently in social situations than children…

Recommends that teachers nurture students' emotional intelligence by teaching coping skills, how to acquire and use information, how to work with others, and how to manage personal growth. Discusses usefulness of emotional intelligence during transition to middle school, and suggests educators involve students in common activities that foster…

To understand and deal with student behavior, we must understand that most behavior is caused by objects and events in the world around the student; that students have learned personal ways of relating to those objects and events; and that in a setting like a school it is easier and more productive to alter those objects and events than to change…