From a perceptual learning perspective, infants use social information (like gaze direction) in a similar way as other information in our physical environment (like object movements) to specify action possibilities. In the current study, we assumed that infants are able to learn an affordance upon observing an adult failing to act out that…

This study examined the similarities and differences between adolescents' interactions with romantic partners and those with friends and mothers. Thirty-two adolescents were observed interacting with a romantic partner, a close friend, and their mother. Adolescents and romantic partners engaged in more conflict than adolescents and friends.…

The study of social dominance has a long tradition within the peer relationships literature, but rarely has the topic been investigated observationally and longitudinally within other salient close relationships. The present study investigated the role of experiences in social relationships and adjustment indices in childhood in predicting later…

The behavior of an autistic child (5 years old) was observed in three settings, over approximately 6 months. (Author/SBH)

Report summarizes research conducted in the Child Development and Mental Retardation Center and the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Washington, based on five to six years of preliminary study in analyzing styles of social interaction between young children and their mothers. (Authors)

To assess relations between behaviors in a particular circumscribed caretaker-child interaction setting and child behavioral dispositions assessed by more extensive observation, caretaker-child interaction data was collected for 40 children across several days in a nursery school free-play setting. These data were related to child behavioral…

Examined the reliability of spouses as observers of the behaviors that occur in their own marital relationships. Distressed and nondistressed couples collected data in the home. Across the entire checklist, nondistressed couples exhibited significantly greater consensus than did distressed couples, based on both percentage agreement and kappa.…

Investigates the relationship between an observer's familiarity with the normal, truthful communicative behavior of an individual, and the observer's ability to detect deception on the part of that individual. Provides an experimental test of the degree of linearity between familiarity and judgmental accuracy in detecting deception. (JMF)

Two studies, labeled A and B, were conducted (1) to investigate relationships between early infant and mother behaviors over situations and over time, (2) to explore relationships between maternal experiences and behavior, (3) to compare infant-mother pairs with and without interaction problems, and (4) to compare infant-mother pairs in which…

An observational study explored whether characteristic behavioral patterns of an educable mentally retarded (EMR) population were unique and served as a label for identification in the social milieu. Of particular interest were differences between EMR children who were integrated into the regular classroom and their non-retarded peers. A…

Women and men characters on primetime TV were observed to determine the amount of distancing behavior enacted by them. Distancing behavior, which indicates discrimination, was demonstrated more frequently by men TV characters toward women than toward men. Women demonstrated equal behavior towards both sexes. Implications are discussed. (JS)

In a longitudinal study of sibling interaction, same-sex and mixed-sex pairs of siblings were observed twice in their homes. Interaction patterns remained stable over the 18 months separating the two observations. Older children initiated prosocial and combative behavior more often than younger children and submitted less often to dominant…

This study assesses the effect of visual versus audio observation/recording on both client and therapist verbal and non-verbal behavior in ongoing therapy. Three co-led, therapy groups were studied over six weekly sessions under counterbalanced observation conditions. Measures of verbal behavior, verbal productivity, and non-verbal behavior were…

Nine papers by Albert E. Trieschman, Larry K. Brendtro, and James K. Whittaker consider management of emotionally disturbed children in residential centers. Topics treated include understanding the nature of a therapeutic milieu, establishing relationship beachheads, understanding the stages of a typical temper tantrum, observing and recording…