Idiomatic expressions in American English provide an important clue to the speaker's values and attitudes, many of which are represented in bipolar language (e.g., "warm hearted"-"cold blooded,""walking on air"-"feeling low"). Most bipolar idiomatic continua which predict meaning also reveal positive and negative evaluations connected with…

Discusses the development of young children's ability to distinguish between warranted and unwarranted assertions in various kinds of communication. Includes examples of home and classroom techniques for building this critical thinking skill. (CW)

Four styles based on Carl Jung's behavioral functions are discussed: intuiting, thinking, feeling, and sensing. By recognizing these styles in oneself and others, and communicating with others in their primary styles (style-flexing), communication can be more effective. A chart presents typical personal characteristics associated with the four…

Investigated the effect of a verbal response model of assertiveness with nonassertive college female nursing students. The model is composed of three verbal components presented in a systematic training program. Subjects (N=25) were randomly assigned to the assertive training group, the attention control group, and the no-treatment control group.…

Explored are the characteristics of social misperception (both verbal and nonverbal), its historical foundations (taken from the psychological and educational literature), and its relation to learning disabilities and to emotional disturbance; a differential diagnostic system is offered. Counselors are given techniques by which they can assist…

A satirical view of the jargon of mental health professionals, written so as to illustrate (not merely describe) the problem. (BP)

The mother of a young deaf child describes her son's progress in communicating through sign and verbal language. (CL)

Asserts that creative writing can be taught in grades 1-4. After a full discussion of the subject, teaching procedures are described. A list is presented of imaginative topics for pupils, such as "conversation between pigeons on the railroad station square" and "advertisement for a dangerous product." (Text is in German.) (IFS/WGA)

Discusses findings which suggest that frequency adverbs do affect the perceived aggresiveness of sentences at most levels of verbal aggression. (MH)

Oral responses of 180 male and female undergraduates to scenarios containing positive-loving, neutral-informational, and/or negative-rejecting male child communications were obtained. Responses were scored along 25 specific categories, as well as a global rating of acceptance/rejection of child. (Author/JMB)

Investigated were the language styles used by three teachers in a school for the moderately, severely, and profoundly handicapped in a one-to-one teaching situation with 8 children (8 to 17 years old). (IM)

Written and oral problems in communication are described and related to law instruction. The importance of clarity of expression is emphasized. (LBH)

Twelve 21/2-year-old children received adult verbal intervention selectively directed toward acquisition of either question forms or verb forms. Findings showed that children who received verb intervention acquired new verb structures while children who received question intervention acquired new forms of questions. (Author/JMB)