The goal of this study was to explore how young students' use of language to talk about their abilities affects their perceptions of self in the elementary art classroom. After observing reticence and low self-esteem reported among elementary-aged students while in the process of creating works of art, the exploration, discovery, and…

Recent research has shown that a group-level analysis can inform our understanding of school bullying. The present research drew on social identity theory and intergroup emotion theory. Nine- to eleven-year olds were randomly assigned to the same group as story characters who were described as engaging in bullying, as being bullied, or as neither…

Uses an analysis of children's interpretations of a complex episode of social interaction to illustrate three features that distinguish them from robot plans and that form a basis for a theory of the development of social action: human plans (1) are social, (2) operate on interpretations, and (3) are used, not just executed. (FL)

Results indicated that, despite SES group variation in level of performance, improvement (when it occurred) was evident for both high and low SES groups of children referred for classroom problems. (Author/SW)

Examines effects of self-fulfilling prophecies of students and proposes reframing to solve these difficulties. Reframing proper self-description is a way of thinking that facilitates learning and reduces classroom tensions. Giving children support and the opportunity to reframe their ideas to more closely approximate reality leads to substantial…

Highlights practical ways to apply metaphysical principles and tools to change one's personal reality and to assist others in doing the same. Permissions and forgiveness, tools for clearing up negative thoughts, beliefs, and ideas, are described. Suggested activities for applying them are included. Metaphysical definitions and concepts conclude…

Compared the performance of learning disabled and normal-achieving third- and fourth-grade children on Kagan's Matching Familiar Figures Test to determine group differences along the impulsivity-reflection dimension. Overall results suggest that learning disabled children are not more impulsive but rather use poor strategic behavior in processing…

The Matching Family Figures Test (MFF) is examined in order to show that a wide variety of rational speed-accuracy trade-offs ranging from impulsive to reflective are quite plausible. Ten children (mean age, eight years) took part in the experiment. Five had previously been classified on the basis of the MFF as impulsive, five as reflective. On…

Presents a case for group counseling, a curricular intervention that aids young people in learning how to make decisions, take charge of their emotions and reorder their thinking, and focus on themselves as human beings. They learn to shed their erroneous zones and to opt for a neurosis-free, self-actualized life. (Author/BEF)

A study of 62 children (ages 7 to 12) with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and 62 controls found that behavioral variables established robust, statistically significant differences between groups. Children with ADHD also scored worse on 31 out of 61 neuropsychological variables, but obtained better scores on WISC-R Comprehension…

The literature on performance differences in various tasks as a function of reflection-impulsivity (R-I) is reviewed in this publication. A series of four experiments is then described which involve the cognitive-perceptual basis of R-I of children on a picture recognition memory task. Results from these studies indicated the following important,…

Four experiments were conducted to assess the effects of certain stimulus variables on children's discrimination learning. In general, it was found that word frequency was negatively related to discrimination learning as long as the words were meaningful to the subjects. Moreover, the relationship between word and performance reversed in…

Consistent learning gains are associated with the use of pictures when experiments adhere to five ground rules: (1) prose passages are presented orally; (2) the subjects are children; (3) the passages are fictional narratives; (4) the pictures overlap the story content; and (5) learning is demonstrated by factual recall. (Author)

This study of elementary-level students compared behavioral patterns of 27 children showing a low nonverbal/high verbal (LNV) intelligence test profile and 38 children with a low verbal/high nonverbal (LV) profile. Results confirmed earlier findings that LNV children are perceived by teachers as significantly poorer than LV children in many…

Presents a case study of an elementary school child with a learning disability to illustrate that both performance and disability have to be understood in terms of the social environments with which they are linked. (FL)