This paper focuses on the relationships which exist between the looking-glass-self theory of human behavior of Charles Horton Cooley (published in 1902) and the idea of social penetration of I. Altman and D. Taylor (published in 1973). The paper discusses Cooley's classic metaphor of the looking-glass-self: humans use the verbal and nonverbal…

Constructed a theoretical model, based upon social functioning components and types of legitimacy characterizing behavior of persons of advanced years. These criteria define behavior as actually or potentially deviant. The resulting classification identifies 18 distinct varieties of social deviance associated with the behavior of elderly persons.…

Discusses the significance of sociobiology in seeking biological explanations for animal and human social behavior through fresh application of Darwin's theories of evolution and natural selection. A glossary of sociobiology terms is included. For journal availability, see SO 505 653. (Author/DB)

Sociobiology, although in its formative stage, is the most promising paradigm for bridging the gap between biology and the social sciences. (Author/AM)

This fourth and final of a series of papers on communication in the Spanish-speaking world deals with body language and other nonverbal communication. The use of nonverbal sounds, the visual and olfactory senses, and behavior patterns are noted. (Text is in Spanish.) (CK)

This paper discusses some expressive units of behavior which appear to have a widespread geographical distribution (in both morphology and significance); have a precocious ontogeny in infancy and childhood; and are used in appropriate social psychological settings even by congenitally blind, deaf-blind, and multiply handicapped youngsters.…

Diverse data challenge and undermine the central assumptions of the traditional trait approach to personality. The implications for conceptions of individual differences and situations in the study of personality are examined. (Author)

Discusses behavioral momentum and the general behavioral relation between the persistence of behavior and the rate of reinforcement obtained in a given situation. Strategies for establishing the generality of behavioral relations are reviewed, followed by a brief summary of evidence for the generality of behavioral momentum. (Author/CR)

Objective self-awareness theory and stimulus incongruity theory suggest that focusing one's attention on one's behavior in an unfamiliar situation will increase the drive to evaluate oneself, which may be manifested in social comparison. Videotapes of male undergraduates conversing with hand-held puppets were used to study direction of attention…

This paper is an abstract of the original manuscript, by Nancy Boulton, which examines the area of intersection between purely linguistic and social behavior to see if the latter is amenable to formal description. The paper examines psychoanalytic discourse and presents evidence for the following hypotheses: (1) since participants can recognize…

Language has the power to structure and change thought and behavior, where there exists a belief in this positive power of language. Magic is curative because the language of magic has a powerful suggestive effect on the human mind familiar with the context in which this language is used. In psychotherapy, the special terminology is a vital part…

This speech contains an analysis of school personnel absence, that seeks to develop a formula useful for understanding more clearly the nature of absence behavior. Since absence is an important aspect of productivity, it is important to understand better the dynamics of absence. Absence could be conceptualized as contractual relationships within a…

Reviews laboratory research on behavioral momentum conducted with pigeons and summarizes its findings and their generality to people, including those with mental retardation. Discusses the high-probability procedure used to establish compliance in clinical settings and based in part on an extension of the momentum metaphor. (CR)

This commentary discusses John Nevin's article on establishing compliance via behavioral momentum involving high-probability procedures, and questions whether applications of behavioral momentum can be derived from the theory, whether applications could have been developed if the theory not been formulated, and whether the theory will add…