The present study was conducted to determine whether independence produced by social support provided on one type of item in a group pressure situation would generalize to a different item on which the subject was opposed by a consensual group. Moreover, in one condition the group member providing social support varied over trials. It was…

Attempts to relate psychological reactance and conformity and concludes that the social situation and personality factors necessarily play a part in specifications of the psychological reactance concept. (MB)

Although researchers have been interested in identifying characteristics of students using college counseling centers, research approaches have been varied and unsystematic. To investigate student use of the counseling center using the Clark-Trow subculture model, 582 University of Maryland college freshmen were administered a single item…

Part of the monthly Saturday Review supplement, "Education in America," sponsored by the Charles F. Kettering Foundation.

The rhetoric of American public education abounds with admonitions to adapt instruction to individual differences and to "humanize" the educational process. However, in practice, especially below the collegiate level, students are guided toward conformity with subjective standards, and those who do not fit are perceived as having deficits to…

Work attitudes of voluntarily unemployed males were investigated. Young men from four different alternative life style groups--hippies, bikers, surfers, and criminals--whose lives did not include work, and matched workers were interviewed and briefly tested. Data concerning their activities and attitudes were examined, the 88 variables showing…

New residents in University halls hoped for more help from housing staff than they got and some formed negative impressions of staff before they moved in. Satisfiers stemmed from variables intrinsic to dorm life and dissatisfiers stemmed from extrinsic variables. (Author)

Highlights two studies examining multiple meanings of schooling for 36 adolescent girls in 3 school sites. Focuses on how peer relationships affect the sense of self through hierarchical social groupings, how school tasks either obliterate the self as a participant or provide opportunities for self- discovery, and how teachers can honor…

An investigation of a theory of "idiosyncrasy credit" which was developed by Hollander (1958) as a framework for understanding status and conformity, was undertaken in the community college setting. Idiosyncrasy credit represents status and allows for behavior which may exceed the "limits" set by the common expectancies of a group. The specific…