It was hypothesized that unhappily married couples would show a deficit in problem solving by indicating significantly more unresolved problems and would indicate less involvement with one another in both elective free-time activities and shared sexuality. All hypotheses were confirmed. (Author)

This is a study of decision-making patterns among urban community-living older adults. Focus is on the utilization of resources by the elderly. The sample consists of 410 respondents who were interviewed twice. The results show that action-taking related to a significant life event is the most important predictor of well-being. Significant…

In order to identify behavioral cues which contribute to judgments of marital satisfaction/distress, 40 undergraduate judges rated the level of marital satisfaction of 24 couples shown on videotape and then listed the behavioral cues used in making their judgments. The stimulus tapes were problem-solving interactions of both distressed and…

The problem-solving performance of young boys and girls was examined in three conditions in which good performance was indicated as being appropriate for boys, for girls, or for both boys and girls. The relations between task scores and five sex-role measures were also examined. As predicted, the boys performed significantly poorer when the task…

Third grade subjects were classified as impulsive or reflective on the basis of the Matching Familiar Figures (MFF) test. In Experiment I, subjects were given either convergent thinking tasks, brainstorming tasks, or a control task. In Experiment II, half of the subjects received difficult tasks intended to induce failure while the other half…

The validity of an automated experimental system incorporating a computer mediator for resolving conflicting requests to speak among four-member problem-solving teams was assessed. Learning how to use problem-solving strategies was affected by this new method for facilitating participation in dialogue. Strategy learning among shy and assertive…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether or not children manifesting different cognitive styles also behave differently in small-group instructional situations. Six groups of seven children each engaged in a small group videotaped learning experience in which they were to learn the English equivalent of 75 symbols. Analysis of the data…

A Head Start research report on ways to improve academic achievement of disadvantaged children describes five projects: (1) a study of sociolinguistic variables in school learning and problem solving when classes are taught in dialect versus standard English; (2) subcultural determinants of cooperative and competitive behavior in preschool…