Discusses the rationale of studying kinesics of affective instability, describes the phenonmenon of affective instability, examines the role of kinesics in the overall process of communication, and presents three case studies. (Author/AM)

The "Healthy Life-styles" course at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln uses both short-term assignments, designed to reinforce the cognitive principles of physical education, and long-term "contracts," which utilize those health concepts as catalysts toward beneficial behavior modifications. (LH)

Troubled children can greatly influence the behavior of their teachers. Interaction between a teacher and student follows a circular process in which the attitudes, feelings, and behaviors of the teacher are influenced and in turn influence the attitudes, feelings, and behaviors of the student. The five steps in the process are: self-concept,…

This article discusses the way in which children use tense to distinguish between different realities in games of pretend. (CFM)

A description is presented of the aspects and interpretations of the haptics of the English handshake in order to raise consciousness among native English speakers and to provide directions for non-native English speakers who might wish to learn or teach these aspects of the handshake. (SW)

The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on employee absenteeism as a form of withdrawal behavior apart from turnover. Studies examining the psychometric properties of absence measures are reviewed, along with the relationship between absenteeism and personal, attitudinal, and organizational variables. (Author)

A strategy for teachers and consultants which moves from less to more intrusive interventions is described and demonstrated with a case example. Private feedback was ineffective in reducing a child's inappropriate behavior, but introduction of public feedback resulted in a decrease in inappropriate behavior to below the class average. (Author)

Self-control techniques were taught to an obese 27-year-old black male to help modify overeating behavior. Self-reinforcement was utilized in addition to systematic isolation of chained eating behavior from associated stimulus situations. A physical exercise program was employed in conjunction with the self-control techniques. (Author)

Development of the Stereotyped Behavior Scale for adolescents and adults with mental retardation is described. Use with 600 individuals resulted in refinement and a 26-item scale with an internal consistency alpha of 0.88, test-retest reliability of p=0.90, and interrater reliability of p=0.76. (DB)

Medical evaluation of 316 children, mean age 6 years, found 39 perpetrators of sexual abuse were less than 16 years old and 15 were between 16 and 19. Young aggressors were more likely to abuse older female children. Adolescent aggressors appeared to engage in more genital/genital and genital/anal sexual abuse than older aggressors. (Author/DB)

This study of the oral motor behaviors of seven toddlers (age 15 months) may be interpreted to indicate that: (1) mandibular coordination follows a developmental continuum from earlier emerging behaviors, such as chewing and sucking, through babbling, to speech, or (2) unique task demands give rise to distinct mandibular coordinative constraints…

A study investigated the relationship between college first-year students'0 self-reported attitudes and behavior and academic success in the first college year. Three of four subscales used in combination predicted accurately first-year students who ended the year in good academic standing. However, the model was much less precise for predicting…

Research has shown that adolescent tobacco users are much more likely to progress to illicit drugs than are nonusers. This article suggests potential psychosocial reasons for progression based on principles of learning theory, Theory of Reasoned Action, Health Belief Model, and Cognitive Dissonance. Also discusses neuropharmacologic components to…

Traces the interrelations between neighborhood sociocultural factors and adolescents' networks, leisure preferences, and school behavior. The overall conclusion is that both the background variables and most of the network indices correlate with the outcome variables. Results show that time spent with peers indulging in passive leisure consumption…

This study examined children's recognition memory for descriptions of maladjusted behaviors displayed by hypothetical peers. Children were also asked about the desirability of these hypothetical peers as friends. (PCB)