Some collegiate anti-hazing programs are employing anti-hazing messaging that consists of exaggerated, misleading, or dubious claims. These claims are typically phrased in a way that is either a poor representation of the overall state of the research literature on hazing or oversells the findings from a single study. The failure to prioritize…

This article focuses on the link between social norms and behavioral development as presented in research on norms regarding bullying and aggression. The aim is to present a conceptual framework for how classroom norms may explain children's decisions to defend others or refrain from defending. Norms emerge from group consensus about what is…

This ethnographic study relies on a combination of participant observation and 43 in-depth interviews to explore how first-year college women construct identities in cocurricular settings. Findings indicate that students relied primarily on two gendered identity strategies to engage with peers in cocurricular groups. Some women presented as…

A substantial body of research indicates that a teacher's identity is an essential aspect of their professional practice. As this body of research grows, researchers have increasingly sought to investigate the nature of pre-service teacher identities. This paper reports on a study that examined identities in the context of a pre-service cohort's…

Research with adults has demonstrated a "black sheep effect" (BSE) whereby, relative to evaluations of normative group members, ingroup deviants are derogated more than outgroup deviants. The developmental subjective group dynamics (DSGD) model holds that the BSE should develop during middle childhood when children apply wider social…

Ingroup preferences when deciding who to include in 2 distinct intergroup contexts, gender and school affiliation, were investigated. Children and adolescents, in the 4th (9-10 years) and 8th (13-14 years) grades, chose between including someone in their group who shared their group norm (moral or conventional) or who shared their group membership…

The public expression of opinions (and related communicative activities) hinges upon the perception of opinion consensus. Current explanations for opinion consensus perceptions typically focus on egocentric and other biases, rather than functional cognitions. Using self-categorization theory we showed that opinion consensus perceptions flow from…

Children and adolescents evaluated group inclusion and exclusion in the context of generic and group-specific norms involving morality and social conventions. Participants ("N" = 381), aged 9.5 and 13.5 years, judged an in-group member's decision to deviate from the norms of the group, whom to include, and whether their personal…

In this paper we examine the complex relationship between dynamics of group talk and students' ideologies of learning. Through an interactional analysis and thematic coding of group talk, this study details barriers to collaboration in a digital storytelling workshop with primary-aged youth in Singapore. Drawing on 25 h of video-recorded data, we…

Drawing on social identity theory, this study explored the impact of the peer group on childhood bullying. Participants were 351 students, aged 8 to 13 years. Involvement in bullying, friendship group membership, norms of particular groups, and intra-group positions (prototypical vs. peripheral) were determined using peer reports. Results revealed…

Century III, a nonpolitical, nonsectarian research foundation, has found through the workshop process (involving both reflection and interaction) that consensus on moral standards exists. (Author/WD)

Describes working with psychologist Lawrence Kohlberg in developing assessments of a group's sense of community, mutual acceptance of social norms, and the democratic process. Explains how Kohlberg influenced the author's professional work. (Author/NB)

The behavior of 19 decision-making groups provided the basis for a model of the development of norms in newly formed groups. Data from the decision-making groups are used to illustrate the model, and implications for related research domains are discussed. Appended are 39 references. (MLF)

An "applied folklore" study investigated the value of certain aspects of folklore theory in an effort to upgrade teaching effectiveness. A case study approach was used to determine if the concept of labeling perspective, as adapted and advanced by folklorist Patrick B. Mullen (1988), could provide useful insights when applied to local…