Online discussions tend to be more effective when they are purposefully structured. In this article, we describe how the design of a photo-based protocol influenced community interactions within an online discussion in an undergraduate course. Students were asked to take and share a photo related to a course concept, respond to a peer's photo, and…

Although most people acknowledge the importance of interactions in class, it is commonly seen some students still rarely actively participate in face-to-face interactions, especially those from a Confucian cultural background. Previous research focused on many factors to understand this phenomenon, yet social anxiousness has not been given enough…

An attempt was made in the present study to identify mothers' and caregivers' teaching (mediation) behaviour in relation to toddlers' social behaviour. Participants were 103 toddlers, two- to four-year olds, their mothers, and 28 caregivers at 16 public daycare centres in Israel. Two observations were carried out, one in toddlers' homes and the…

Provides examples of observed behavior to support the claim that television viewing is an interactive phenomenon, a social experience in which young children actively participate with parents, siblings, and others. Contends that the view of a passive receiver underestimates the abilities of the child to understand and shape experiences. (PD)

This study investigated the effects of teaching sociodramatic scripts on interactions among three triads, each containing two typical preschool children and one child with autistic characteristics. Results supported the inclusion of systematic training of scripts to enhance interaction among children with and without disabilities during…

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…

In everyday conversation, people sometimes laugh as they speak. A study was conducted to determine whether the content of statements occurring with laughter differed systematically from that of statements occurring without laughter. Tape recordings of 20 utterances taken from a conversation among a small group of college students were categorized…

Provides evidence that high and low self-monitors are distinguishable not only by their initial interactions but also by their cognitive summaries of these sequences. Found that students who are high self-monitors appear to be more linguistically competent, in part because their scripted understanding of appropriate conversation is more extensive.…

Reviewed literature on the influence of a speaker's expressive behavior on the behavioral response of another person in adult-adult and infant-adult dyads. Mutual influence in expressive behaviors was demonstrated to be a pervasive feature of social interaction found across a variety of behaviors and across developmental time. (Author/DB)

The study examined social behaviors of 19 gifted and 19 nongifted preschool children. A social behavioral inventory was developed from repeated observations of interactions collected during an 8 week pilot study. Four general categories of behavior were observed and analyzed: verbal positive (greeting, conversation, compliment, concern, laughing,…

Reported are the results of a study testing dominance and subordination among the spatially central and peripheral in 14 college classrooms. Differences in the defense of territory, upon invasion, between spatially central and spatially peripheral humans were investigated. (BT)

Offers a theoretical and methodological approach to study of children's socio-cognitive interaction. Observation of object-centered activities among three age groups of children showed different modes of collaboration. Processes were similar across age groups; roots of basic peer interaction patterns reach back into infancy. Similarities across…

Comments on Verba's ideas about collaboration in peer interaction in this issue. Praises Verba for setting new direction in the study and understanding of social processes in cognitive development and for establishing important continuities in how children communicate with peers. Notes that Verba's analyses suggest natural categories of…

A need exists for focusing on the development of social interaction skills across the college curriculum. Eight basic assumptions should be followed when attempting to develop students' skills: social interaction (1) is a major vehicle for learning; (2) assists students in developing a flexible range of effective behavior; (3) requires abilities…

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…