Newcomer adjustment, the process an individual goes through within the first year at a new organization, can be a challenging transition for traditionally aged recent college graduates. Unsuccessful adjustment can have profound negative consequences for young adults, organizations, and undergraduate institutions. Gaps exist in the human resource…

This article had four goals. First, the authors identified a set of general challenges and questions that a life-span theory of development should address. Second, they presented a comprehensive account of their Motivational Theory of Life-Span Development. They integrated the model of optimization in primary and secondary control and the…

A condensed review of the concepts of exploration and play is presented, followed by an outline of the major research findings. From this basis, gaps in the literature and new research directions are discussed. (Author/AM)

K. Burke's (1945) pentad identifies five contributing factors in any communication event: agent, purpose, act, scene, and agency. Using the pentad as an organizational schema, this paper summarizes problems in methods used by behavioral researchers to study the deceptive communication event. The paper argues that fragmenting the communication act…

Studies based on models of interpersonal coorientation have discovered regularities in communication behavior that coorientation theory cannot explain. On the other hand, rules-based theories of communication contain explanatory concepts seemingly applicable to these phenomena, but have not been articulated sufficiently to be applied to the…

Highlights usefulness of the categorical approach to measuring infant attachment by reviewing some major advances in the field that have been fostered by that approach. Advances include identification of the disorganized attachment group, development of the concept of conditional behavior strategies, creation of systems for coding attachment…

Focuses on three questions related to attachment theory: whether it requires distinct patterns of attachment, how taxonomic analysis contributes to understanding individual differences in attachment security, and whether attachment theorists are asking the right questions. Asserts that attachment theory is indifferent to the structure of…

Discusses four questions concerning commentaries on the taxometric analysis of Strange Situation behavior related to: (1) whether the categorical model of attachment facilitates theoretical and empirical innovations; (2) whether and how a continuum of security fits into the two-dimensional model; (3) the role of types and dimensions in…

Discusses the design and development of the user-computer interface in terms of the personal computer user's psychological needs and physical, perceptual, and conceptual contact with the system. Principles for the development of a user-system dialog that meets the requirements of transparency and visibility are suggested. Twenty-six references are…

Suggests the need for detailed study of (1) behavior-environment interactions and (2) interdependencies within behavioral repertoires. Examines systems theory as a paradigm for both interpreting dynamic interrelationships and examining the complexities of learning and adaption. Argues for noninterventive studies of individual children's…

Comments on problems raised in this special issue, focusing on the distinctive aspects of the risk research reported. Highlights issues like sample characteristics, measurement strategies, specificity of risk factors, and risk mechanisms. Discusses the challenges of integrating alternative models of risk, with special references to research into…

Comments on research problems raised in this special issue. Suggests that recent research highlights the nature of the multiple processes underlying variability in child and adolescent adjustment. Views variability as a function of covarying influences from multiple domains, operating on specific developmental outcomes across a background of time…

Comments on this special theme issue examining the roles of socialization, biology, and culture as they affect adaptive and maladaptive developmental outcomes. Presents models for predicting and understanding behavioral and affective change at transitions occurring especially from middle childhood through adolescence. Provides examples…