This study investigated whether parents and kindergarten children show concurrent and time-lagged physiological synchrony during dyadic interaction. Further, we tested whether parent-child behavioral co-regulation was associated with concurrent and time-lagged synchrony, and whether synchrony varied by the type of interaction task. Participants…

Examined the effects of labeling an infant as a boy or girl on adult-infant interactions. Subjects for the study were 24 fourteen-month-old infants and 24 adult strangers. (JMB)

The hearing impaired children demonstrated significantly more noninteractive constructive activities and less cooperative and dramatic activities than their normally hearing peers. (Author)

This conference paper attempts to describe some of the ecological conditions under which children's social behavior can be, and perhaps is, organized. Thirteen preschool children between 2-1/2 and 5-1/2 years of age, participated in several experiments with confederates acting as peers and with novel as well as familiar toys. Four behavior…

An experimental preschool was set up to study the effect of mixing children differing in SES and race on racial awareness and interaction. It was hypothesized that racial self-selection could be explained in terms of SES level and that interracial contact when different SES children were included would serve to counteract racial stereotypes and…

This study, involving 40 young siblings of either handicapped or nonhandicapped children, found that siblings of handicapped children engaged in more parallel and social play and were more nurturing with their siblings than were control children. Mothers were more likely to deliver commands, directives, and reprimands to siblings of handicapped…

The purpose of this study was to summarize an examination of the social interactions of a sample of 370 preschool children and to demonstrate from the summary that social settings within the preschool environment differentially affect both the quality and quantity of social interaction. The Social Interaction Observation Procedure was used to…

Categories such as commanding, requesting, and explaining were used to analyze communicative intentions in conversations of 108 children, aged five through nine, during three sets of play activities varying in task specification and leadership role assignment. Results showed that the frequency and variety of communicative intention categories…

This longitudinal study of changes in play behavior in preschool children reports decreases in less mature forms of play and increases in more mature forms of play over time. The study was designed to test the assumption that the play of young children develops in a progressive manner. Ten 3-year-olds and ten 4-year-olds were observed during free…

Drawing on case study data from an urban school, examines the elementary school classroom as a setting for children's learning of culturally appropriate modes of informal work group behavior. Concludes that schools temper the spontaneity, solidarity, and autonomy that pupils can enjoy in their informal relations with one another. (Author/GC)

Siblings, mothers, and fathers in nine families of a child with autism were observed in dyadic play interactions with the autistic child. Parents exhibited more play behaviors toward children than siblings, but the autistic children initiated more interactions toward siblings than toward parents. Vineland Adaptive Behavior scale scores correlated…

This study examines age and sex differences in nurturant behaviors displayed toward a male infant by 60 subjects, both male and female, from three age groups: preschoolers, preadolescents, and young adults. The infant was 12 months old at the onset of the study and 16 months when the testing was completed. Each subject was videotaped for seven…

Two curricula, Englemann-Becker and New Nursery School, were analyzed for effectiveness with Head Start children over a period of eight months, using the Slosson and Merrill-Palmer tests, a socialization scale and classroom observations. In congnitive development, there are no significant differences between the two curricula as used by teachers…

This book, the first in a series on development and behavior of human infants and animals, contains a collection of articles dealing with the significance of the interaction between mother and infant and the subtle contributions that each makes to the other in shaping their ongoing dyadic behavior. It emphasizes that the infant is no mere passive…