Background: Historically, significant advances in scientific understanding have followed advances in measurement and observation. As the resolving power of an instrument increased, so have gains in the understanding of the phenomena being observed. Modern interactive systems are potentially the new "microscopes" when they are…

Naturalistic observation of seven autistic students (2-16 years old) and their families revealed unexpectedly frequent social interaction and low levels of ritualistic/stereotypic behavior. (CL)

The authors discuss how learning disabled (LD) children's beliefs about themselves may be affected by mainstreaming and how those beliefs may influence their social and achievement related behaviors. Using LD and nonLD elementary and junior high school students, a series of studies examined group differences on a variety of self report and…

Describes the compliance-resisting behaviors in selected communication by first-, fourth-, and tenth-grade students. Seeks to assess the development of ability to construct compliance-resisting strategies. (MS)

A study was conducted to examine how different kinds of children's nonverbal behavior developed across grade levels. The six kinds of behavior studied were (1) proxemic, or observance of personal space; (2) haptic, or touching behavior; (3) oculesic, or gazing; (4) kinesic, or interpreting emotions from facial expressions; (5) vocalic, or…

Analysis of the stories told by 19 teachers from New Brunswick (Canada) produced themes that illustrate the significance of simultaneous strategies to influence students' behaviors, the relevance of the interaction of individuals with situations, and the congruence of teachers' commonplace theories with formal theories. (SLD)

Current research continues to attempt to determine factors, or combinations of factors, which influence efficacy in problem solving behaviors. This presentation combines several viewpoints regarding the most important component, or combination of components, needed for the most successful problem solving behaviors to occur. Quantitative literature…

Questionnaires completed by 301 junior and senior high school students provided data for a study of family influences on the development of various consumer competencies, materialistic values, communication behaviors, and attitudes toward marketing stimuli. Family influences were studied in the context of two dimensions of communication…

"Instructional Patterns: Strategies for Maximizing Student Learning" examines instruction from the learners' point of view by showing how instructional patterns can be used to maximize the potential for students to learn. This book explores the interactive patterns that exist in today's classroom and demonstrates how teachers can…

The objectives of this workshop module are to help teachers recognize the power of their expectations to influence the behavior and perception of students, to identify commonly held expectations for the sexes and the self-fulfilling consequences of these expectations, and to examine the inappropriateness of differential expectations based on sex.…

Peer associations within schools are important influences on educational orientations and aspirations. The many studies in this area, however, have not produced a comprehensive and detailed theoretical account of peer socialization effects, thereby impeding the design and implementation of more effective school organizations. Although schools…

Questionnaires completed by 607 middle school and high school students provided data about the learning of selected advertising-related cognitions among adolescents and on the short-term effect of these cognitions and other communication variables on adolescent consumption behavior. Among the findings were the following: susceptibility to…

An interactional model explaining predisposition to hyperactivity asserts that being identified, diagnosed, and treated as hyperactive is a function of biological factors, early health and temperament, family characteristics, and the quality of the home environment. A longitudinal study involving 367 subjects, aged 17-18, tested the interactional…