A study investigated students values to determine the regard in which today's students hold money and material possessions. Questionnaires, eliciting responses to 10 topics organized by a weighted scale, were administered to 150 students in two sections of a class in principles of public relations. Results revealed that money had minimal…

This study investigated the ability of high-functioning verbal individuals with autism or Down syndrome (DS) to respond appropriately to conversational "social scripts" involving reactions to another person's distress. Subjects were 13 persons with autism and 13 with DS, aged 5-27, matched on verbal mental age. During a "tea…

Teachers' ratings are often used as early as the preschool period to provide an overall picture of children's behavioral adjustment and social competence. The goals of this study are to (1) show the relations among general, outcome-oriented observational categories of preschoolers' social competence and (2) specify those discrete emotions and…

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate a microcounseling technique, microtechnology, with regard to its effects on three measures of cooperation in young children. A 3x3x2 factorial analysis of covariance was carried out on two of the three measures, with three grade levels, three levels of teacher involvement with microtechnology, and…

In order to promote peace in our personal lives and in our world it is necessary for teachers to espouse peace education throughout the process and content of their educational systems. Peace education refers to a non-authoritarian educational process that is compatible with peace and avoids all structural violence, not just education about peace.…

Parents and teachers can help children learn qualities (such as empathy, caring, kindness, and generosity) that contribute to a more peaceful environment. Children can be helped to learn the values and techniques of resolving conflicts without injuring others. We should be concerned about teaching peacemaking in order to prevent crime, drug…

The purpose of this paper is to explore the role of the preschool teacher in dealing effectively with aggression in the classroom setting. First, assertiveness, aggression and hostility are differentiated and theories of aggression are reviewed. Subsequently, social, home, family, and temperamental factors influencing aggressive behavior of…

In this action research study, research findings related to developing children's prosocial behavior were discussed at a seminar with parent/teachers in a cooperative nursery school to determine if post-seminar parent/teacher intervention would lead to increased prosocial behaviors in the children. Forty-seven children in the nursery school were…

This paper describes research which involved (1) the study of children's moral reasoning about their own spontaneous prosocial behavior and (2) an examination of the early development of such reasoning. Prosocial moral reasoning is defined as reasoning about conflicts in which the individual must choose between satisfying his or her own wants,…

This paper identifies limitations of previous investigations of the relation between televised violence and viewer aggression and suggests a framework for future research concerning the effects of media viewing on child development. It is suggested that typical research is short-term, cross-sectional, and laboratory-based. Factors which mediate…

The outcomes of children's exposures to others' positive and negative emotions were examined developmentally. Twenty-four infants in three age cohorts (10, 15, and 20 months old) were studied for 9 months. Mothers reported the child's reactions to naturally occurring events in which emotions were expressed; in addition, each week mothers simulated…

In a single case study which incorporated a reversal within a multiple-baseline-across-subjects design, two women presented individual children (N=3) with eight natural-appearing opportunities to behave prosocially in each session (two opportunities each of helping, sharing, teaching, and sympathy). The training procedure involved a standardized…

Ninety-five college students participated in an investigation of the arousal and observational learning effects produced by television viewing. The subjects were assigned to one of three experimental television viewing conditions: a serious dramatic presentation with high physical and verbal violence, a comedy with high verbal conflict but no…

This paper is a report of a study which explores the relative contributions of norms, modeling, positive affect, and empathy to generalized reciprocity (prior help by one person leading to greater helpfulness by the recipient toward another person). Preschool children were randomly assigned to one of six groups and individually exposed to two…

In an effort to test the effectiveness of verbal instruction in diminishing aggressive behavior, eight aggressive preschool children were individually instructed by their teacher on the harm that results from aggression, its lack of effects as an interpersonal strategy, and the benefits that result from prosocial alternatives. The eight subjects…