Paper presented at the Merrill-Palmer Conference on Research and Teaching of Infant Development, February 13-15, 1970. (JE)

Present research explored whether crowding effects are caused by subjects or by those with whom they are crowded. In one experiment, 45 male, female, or mixed-sex pairs of subjects discussed a legal case, each pair seated first five feet apart and then almost touching. All subjects reacted more negatively when crowded with males than with females.…

Narrative observations were made of kindergarten through fourth grade students' challenges of their peers' inappropriate behavior and of the responses made to the challenges. Approximately 90 hours of observation in 10 classrooms yielded 728 occasions in which an interchange began with one child challenging another. Three types of responses to…

This study sought to describe the norms of reciprocity in social interaction from the viewpoint of immediate behavioral exchanges by examining the social interaction of preschool peers in a free-play situation. Seventeen 4-year-old children, eight girls and nine boys, were observed during free play activity periods after a picture sociometric test…

Examines differential preferences in use of and expectations of use of affinity-seeking strategies as a function of participant's sex. Indicates distinct differences between male and female strategies and expectations that an individual of the opposite sex would mirror their own preferences when seeking affinity. Offers two alternative…

Research was conducted to study environmental factors associated with the development of cognitive style in children. The hypothesis was that the parents of field-independent children grant them more autonomy and power than do parents of field-dependent children. The sample consisted of 38 white, middle-class kindergartners, 19 boys and 19 girls,…

Observations indicate Black and White sixth-grade students interacted primarily with others of their own sex and race. Boys interacted more across racial lines than did girls, and Blacks were almost twice as likely as Whites to be the source of cross-race interactions. Peer behaviors were more likely to be task-related when directed toward White…

This study was designed to determine if the sociodramatic play behavior of two groups of children would be similar when socioeconomic status was held constant. Subjects were 54 black and 54 white kindergartens of high socioeconomic status. Sociodramatic play is defined as play in which a child takes on a role, elaborates a theme in cooperation…

Uses an 8-item Social Responsibility Scale to investigate social responsibility in a study involving 149 U.S. undergraduate students. Observes that satisfaction with the university and gratification delay are more powerful predictors of social responsibility among males. Identifies the socially responsible as those satisfied with an organization…

This study examined peer interaction in four racially mixed eighth grade classrooms. Observational data were gathered on the interactions of 69 white children and 32 black children during the course of one semester. The study found considerably more cross-race peer interaction than have previous studies conducted in non-academic settings in…

Emanuel M. Berger's scale for testing the expressed acceptance of others is based on statements describing behavior, particularly verbal communicative behavior, of others, in a study of 561 subjects, Berger's scale evidenced need of modification in explaining small group interaction and especially the differing attitudinal responses of males' and…

To determine the specific nature of the environmental "press" derived from paternal occupation on the social interaction of children in the classroom, 1,386 elementary children were administered the Barclay Classroom Climate Inventory. Results are presented according to the fathers' occupations. (MS)

The purpose of this study is to report a behavioral observation validation of a multiple social interaction measurement instrument entitled the "Barclay Classroom Climate Inventory." This instrument measures social interaction in the elementary classroom as derived from self-report, peer judgments and teacher expectations. It provides an…

This study deals with attributional theory, a factor of special concern in achievement theory, which focuses on specific behavior as caused by the subject's attributions to the perceived causes of such behavior. This study investigated whether an individual's attributional biases were predictive of task selections he or she made. Furthermore, it…