This study examines social comparison processes occurring in the interactions among normal adolescents in peer groups. Eight types of social comparison processes were predicted. Two of these, specific to adolescent developmental processes, are new. The experimental design called for behavioral observation documenting occurrence of social…

A Piagetian perspective is used to build a rationale to explain why group games are good for young children. Three major areas in which group games might foster children's development are discussed. In the socioemotional area, the rationale is that moral development, personality development, and autonomy are enhanced by the social context of peer…

This review of the literature on the "only child" indicates that the single child is likely to be oriented more toward adults than towards peers, to be subjected more to an adult culture, to be an achiever who strikes out on his own, and to have a heightened sense of responsibility compared with children who have siblings. Statistics…

It was the purpose of this study to identify and to describe black developmental tasks as treated in 10 randomly-selected black junior novels and to measure the extent to which they were present in the novels. Nineteen judges rated books appearing on the judges' list of 32 black junior novels, published during the period 1962-72. From these…

This study investigated the interrelationships among the development of role-taking skills, moral judgments, and sharing behavior of boys and girls in K-3. A total of 160 lower middle class white children (20 boys and 20 girls from each grade) participated in the study. Data were collected on four measures: (1) sharing candy with a friend, (2)…

A four-part series of papers on values education comprises this document. Part one presents a brief background of moral education in the United States, beginning with the Puritans, and including references to Horace Mann, William Holmes McGuffey, and others. Tracing its history, the author defines values education and its need in the school…

Children, aged 10-12, were referred to an outpatient mental health center because of behavior problems, some involving social skill deficits, others not so involved. Children acknowledging a social skill problem, and a desire to do something about it, were chosen pending parent approval and cooperation. Prior to participation in the group,…

Based on the assumptions that language use is selective and that language can affect an individual's perceptions in subtle ways, this paper investigates the use of the noun "man" and the pronouns "he" and "his" as generic terms. It is suggested that the use of "generic man" places women at a disadvantage in terms of understanding themselves and…

This paper reports research studies on the determinants of children's helping of another child in distress. Effects of age and various environmental conditions were investigated. Experiments had a similar design: subjects were given a task and made aware that a child was alone in an adjoining room. The experimenter then left the room and subjects…

The booklet contains a report of a feasibility study for developing the Coqualeetza Indian Hospital at Sardis, British Columbia, into an Indian community center. As explained, before the white man arrived in Fraser Valley, the Indians knew "Coqualeetza" as the "place for cleansing;" Indian women washed their blankets at this…

The ethological approach may become an important methodology in the developmental studies of children. The ethological approach takes into consideration the total world of the child, social and cognitive, when the child's development in that world is analyzed. Information can be obtained both from studies of other primates (for example, the study…

Students' maturational levels, rather than grades or chronological age, should determine enrollment in the middle school. Diversity in maturation rates creates diversity in interests and attitudes. These differences necessitate the development of programs for the middle school which differ from the elementary and high school approaches. Two…

A national observer team surveyed 335 Head Start Centers during an 8-week summer period to locate useful innovations and developments in preschool education methods which might have future implications for the whole educational system. Team reports agreed that the programs had been more successful in bolstering the social and emotional needs of…

Four years of an ongoing research project designed to investigate the joint impact of family, peers, teacher, and professional upbringers on the socialization of children in Israel are reported. Data are gathered on child behavior and socialization practices from fifth, sixth, and seventh graders. Settings in the two major waves of field work…

This conference report discusses four viewpoints on the changing makeup of the family unit. Reasons for these changes in the family (i.e., communes, unmarried couples, unisex marriages) were seen as deeply imbedded in the philosophical, religious, psychological, and moral components of life and in the technological and urban civilizations within…