A study compared 398 children's racial preferences in an imaginary setting with their responses in a more reality-oriented situation. Discrepant responses to the two measurements indicate that racial/ethnic preferences in imagination are neither indicative nor predictive of prejudicial behavior. (Author)

A study examined the differences between elementary school students with learning disabilities and other high- and low-achieving students on three social dimensions: sociometric status, behavior as rated by teachers, and self-ratings of social competence. Results indicated children with learning disabilities may be at higher risk socially than the…

Stories were read to 62 male third grade children from two elementary schools in Urbana, Illinois. They were randomly assigned to one of four story conditions: vicarious role playing, symbolic modeling, a combination of the two, and a control condition. The basis of the present experiment is the assumption that vicarious role playing is similar to…

This study sought to determine if an increased knowledge of the physically disabled would affect the personal-space behavior of sixth-grade children on encountering a person who appeared to be disabled. A significant difference between the mean distances of the experimental and control groups was found. (Author)

The frequencies of consistent, mixed, and inconsistent lateral preference patterns in 648 elementary school age children were examined. No differences were found in IQ, reading, arithmetic, or spelling achievement scores among the three groups of children, at any age or for either sex. (Author)

Identified the relationships of race and socioeconomic status (SES) to observed classroom behavior, academic achievement, and special education referral. Systematically selected and observed 109 fourth-grade Anglo, Black, and Hispanic boys from varying SES backgrounds, for 12 behaviors. Multivariate analyses found no race-related differences in…

Social competence of 239 students with and without learning disabilities (LD) was followed from kindergarten through fifth grade. Students with LD demonstrated the same trends in social competence as non-LD students. Students with LD differed significantly from average-high-achieving non-LD students on social skills and behavior problems, but not…

The established unit for reporting sociolinguistic data has been the sociologically determined group. Characteristically, only the mean rate of nonstandard usage for the group is reported for any linguistic feature. Such reporting obscures the possibility of linguistic heterogeneity within the group. Data from Los Angeles school children show that…

The effects of systematically varied verbal and nonverbal components of teachers' evaluative behavior upon children's perceptions and attitudes were studied within an experimental classroom. Subjects were 126 sixth-grade students. (Author)

Observation of behavior differences between 15 elementary school learning-disabled (LD) and 15 non-disabled girls in the regular classroom showed that LD girls spent less time doing schoolwork, that teachers did not spend more time interacting with LD girls, and that teachers responded less frequently to call-outs from LD girls. (Author/CB)

The performance of learning disabled male elementary students in self-contained classes (N=35) and resource rooms (N=50) was compared on five diagnostic tests and factors of retention, chronological age, and behavior. Results indicated a difference only in the intelligence factor between the groups. (Authors)

This dissertation examined the acquisition and development of children's social/symbolic and strategic communication abilities within a sociolinguistic model of communication competence. The major theoretical perspective was derived from the symbolic interactionism of Mead and the cognitive developmental theories of Piaget and Werner. The sample…

The experiment reported in this dissertation investigated the effect of similarity/dissimilarity of race and personal interests on empathy and altruism in second graders. It was hypothesized that white children would empathize more with other white children than with black children. It was also hypothesized that white children would empathize more…

Observed the decision-reaching and leadership behavior of children in same- amd mixed-age triads by coding their verbalizations in arriving at a consensus for their preference ranking of eight pictures. (HOD)