Examines the role of gender in preschoolers with behavior problems. Child characteristics, parent characteristics, and independent assessment of mother-child interactions were conducted. Few differences between the sexes were observed for any variables. Girls and boys shared more similarities than differences in terms of origins and developmental…

Investigated sex differences in the behavior patterns of toddlers and subsequent parental reactions. Data was obtained from observations in the homes of subjects, and compared to parents' answers on a child rearing questionnaire. (DP)

This study examined the effects of differentially characterizing a model as "good", "bad", or "neutral" on preschool children's subsequent evaluation and imitation of the model. The model's aggressive and motor behaviors were more frequently imitated than were his non-aggressive and verbal behaviors. Instructions influenced the Ss' evaluation of…

Five studies are reported which examine the free vs. earned reward phenomenon in humans. The 420 subjects were distributed over all grade levels from preschool through college. Candies and coins were used as rewards. In preschool through sixth grade groups, black, as well as white subjects and experimenters were used. The California Psychological…

To investigate the development of preschoolers' social-cognitive play behaviors, ten preschoolers (two, three and four years old) were observed in their classrooms on 15 occasions by a time-sampling schedule. Social-cognitive behavior coding (Parten and Smilansky) indicates that children's play became more social as they grew older. (Author/PN)

Studied the effect of short-term exposure to neutral, prosocial, and antisocial toys on the prosocial and antisocial behavior of preschool children. Found that prosocial toys elicited prosocial behavior and antisocial toys stimulated antisocial behavior. In response to both prosocial and antisocial toys, boys displayed more physical than verbal…

Role theorists maintain that good same-sex parent models are necessary for children to develop knowledge of appropriate sex roles. Cognitive theorists say that development of such knowledge depends on contact with good models, but models need not be parents. In the first phase of the study, children's knowledge of adult sex roles was determined…

Investigates children's person-by-situation knowledge of probable causes of emotion in self and in others, and compares this to adults' construals. Shows that children can generate contextual explanations for affective states in self and others that are both shared by other children and adults and selectively related to different kinds of…

A study, as yet unfinished, sought to replicate, expand, and provide preliminary answers to questions raised in previous research on the development of fantasy play by black children as functions of age, sex, income level, and other environmental factors. Fantasy play involves the attribution to persons, objects, materials, or situations of…

To determine if there are discernable effects on children of a group child-care program, the performance of 20 children, 3 to 4 years 10 months of age, who had been cared for in a day-care center from the age of 6 months is compared with that of 20 matched children with no prior day-care program experience. The 40 children participated in…

This study is concerned with the way in which children's naturally occurring behaviors change over a period of time as they adapt to a nursery school setting. A set of seven varieties of environmental constraints and fourteen adaptations to these constraints was observed among 18 3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds in a nursery school classroom first in the…

Used a standard picture-ranking task to assess preschooler's attitudes about orthopedically handicapped individuals. Found that children as young as preschool age can hold a functionally related preference for a normal over a physically handicapped person. Children who held this preference interacted differently in social situations than children…

Explored interrelationships among day-care experience, temperament, and preschoolers' social behaviors in a peer play laboratory. Found that sex predicted both aggressive and prosocial behaviors, and daycare inhibited socialization for some children. Findings suggest that variables of temperament and day-care experience are important to consider…

This article analyzes the interaction between sex role and "pupil role" in the early childhood education setting. It postulates that teachers and schools have a demonstrated investment in socializing children to a passive, docile, and dependent role, beginning at the preschool level. This role, called "pupil role," corresponds closely to the…