Direct defiance and passive noncompliance decreased with age, while simple refusal and negotiation increased with age. Five year olds who used skillful forms of resistance were more skillful when directing requests to mothers. Only unskillful noncompliance predicted later ratings of behavior problems. Sex differences and associations between…

A total of 113 adults from 26 to 31 years of age who had participated in previous social interaction studies while in college kept detailed records of social activity for 2 weeks. Found that from college to adulthood opposite-sex socializing increased, whereas same-sex, mixed-sex, and group interactions decreased. (MDM)

Children between 5 and 10 years of age watched boys and girls endorse toys of varying attractiveness and then play with the toys. Boys with gender constancy spent more time than other boys in playing with unattractive sex-typed toys. Among girls, toy play was related to the toy's attractiveness. (BC)

Reports study of possible determinants of sibling deidentification, or judgments of being different from one's sibling. Subjects were 383 university students from two-, and three-child families. (MS)

Observed play of 52 toddlers with a set of socially stereotyped masculine, feminine, and neutral toys in a day care setting over 14 months to (1) determine the age at which toddlers consistently exhibit sex-stereotyped toy choices in a natural setting and (2) investigate relation of parents' expectations and the children's own knowledge of gender…

Tabulated the frequencies of dyadic and group interactions in single-sex playgroups of 4- and 6-year-olds. Found that boys and girls at both ages engaged in similar frequencies but in different patterns of dyadic interactions. Only 6-year-old boys interacted in groups. (BC)

Two steps in the social information process model were assessed for socially accepted and rejected children by verbal responses to stories embedded in computer games. Attributions of intent and aggressive problem solutions were correlated with contextual factors (interpersonal context, outcome of game, and story type) and with sex and social…

Over one year, mothers observed the responses of their one-year-old children to distresses the children caused and witnessed in others. Children's prosocial behaviors, and reparative behaviors after they had caused distress, increased in frequency over the year. These behaviors were accompanied by changes in self-recognition. (BC)

Grandparents' and mothers' drug use predicted hyperactivity, psychosomatic complaints, and social problems for boys, and acting-out behaviors for boys and girls. Maternal drug use predicted fearfulness, hyperactivity, and social problems for boys, and developmental problems for boys and girls. (BC)

Study suggests that an important social stimulus is the sex of the child's peers. Peer sex and changes in the sex composition of dyads affect the frequency of occurrence in several categories of social behavior. (Authors/CB)

Mothers used unconstrained or trained facial expressions to convey to their infants messages about happiness or fear concerning a novel object. Results indicated that infants sought and used maternal appraisals; maternal messages of fear lacked clarity; and maternal messages regulated daughters' distance from objects. (BC)

Observed functioning of same-sex triads of middle grade children during an intimate discussion, a cooperative puzzle task, a competitive game, and free play. Found that triads of girls were more intimate, exchanged more information, and were less aggressive than triads of boys. Girls and boys expressed similar attitudes toward triadic interaction,…

Compares the frequency of peer and adult interactions, mean duration of social interactions, and amount of misbehavior in children attending Montessori, university laboratory and parent cooperative preschools. (DP)

The interpersonal visual behavior of subjects of various ages was studied as they (1) conversed, and (2) participated in a block construction task with a partner of the same sex and same age. (DP)