There may be many social psychological variables that influence or are influenced by children's behavior in organized sports. The major variable discussed in this paper is the child's motivation to participate. One cognitive theory--the attribution theory-- offers insights into the child's view of his motivation, and the effects upon this…

A model of social skills in childhood and adolescence using the concepts and literature on symbolic interactionism is proposed. Its components (role-taking, role-making, definition of situation, and self) and their potential contributions to social skills analysis are discussed. An application to friendship making and possible model limitations…

This paper discusses various theories of developmental psychology, and presents a developmental theory of socialization founded upon the following premises: (1) that a materialistic theory of development and socialization must incorporate not only ecological aspects but also underlying political/economic dynamics of the society in which and for…

Despite the conceptual importance of impression motivation in predicting social anxiety (Leary & Kowalski, 1995; Schlenker & Leary, 1982), no research has tested the link between impression motivation specifically regarding one's physical appearance (appearance impression motivation, or AIM) and social physique anxiety (SPA). The purpose of this…

Recounts an experiment where two groups of college students composed questions for a simulated quiz show and then answered each other's questions. They then answered questions comparing their performance with other groups. Proposes a social norm rather than attribution error explanation for the fact that groups consistently will underestimate…