In the recent social revolution, rebellious middle-class youth attacked and rejected, among other values, the American middle-class belief in the worthwhileness of work. Although this recent humanistic revolt hardly affected the patterns of working life in America, it influenced attitudes toward work not only among middle-class adolescents and…

The first of this series of studies on the ability of young children to follow directions was designed to find out which is easier for a preschool child: to follow directions given only by demonstration or given only verbally. Subjects were 108 white, middle class, 4-year-olds enrolled in a nursery school. Each teacher tested the children in her…

With comprehension defined as the ability to specify the relationship between two items, an investigation was conducted to determine the ability of children to relate ideas from several sentences to arrive at answers to questions. This study was a replication of a previous study in which inner-city children participated. In constrast, the subjects…

The purpose of the study was to assess non-intellective correlates of achievement in a lower-class, all black, urban elementary school. These students were compared with a University school population which was different in many dimensions. There were residual similarities relative to the general role of the elementary school student. In neither…

This paper explores behavior patterns of lower class black adolescents and contends that their seemingly illogical and irrational behavior is, in fact, meaningful and utilitarian within the context of their environments. The effects of social and residential segregation and the lack of stable social institutions reinforce strong feelings of group…

To assess mother-child interaction, 23 mother-child pairs from the West Harlem ghetto (half lower class and half middle class Negroes) and from Washington Square (white middle class) were observed. Children were 3-year-old boys. Each pair spent 30 minutes in a laboratory playroom and were observed and tape-recorded. Children's nonverbal…

This study of the cognitive-developmental approach to primary grade value education emphasizes the involvement of the reasoning process in solving moral dilemmas. This approach is in contrast to those which focus on clarifying values and developing an awareness of other cultures' values. Educational intervention in the cognitive-developmental…

This report provides detailed technical information concerning the Preschool Racial Attitude Measure II (PRAM II) a method for assessing the attitudes of pre-literate children toward light- and dark-skinned individuals. Several major changes were involved in the PRAM II revision: (1) the length was doubled, (2) the general artistic quality of the…

The frequently referred-to "generation gap" is a myth as yet unsubstantiated by empirical evidence. Explicit definitions of the phenomenon are lacking; implicit definitions are ambiguous and hard to extract. To offer an empirically tested operational definition of "generation gap" and analyze its relationship to several independent social…

Paralleling the growing use of the black community as a sociological laboratory, a movement for self-determination by blacks has been gaining momentum. Self determination is here defined as the power of black people to decide what should be researched in their community, why, and by whom, and the desire for it has grown because researchers…

This study is concerned with understanding the differences and similarities in the work orientations of poor people, welfare recipients and participants in federal work-training programs, as compared with the work orientations of middle-class families having steady employment. Data were gathered from more than 4,000 persons through work…

MIDDLE-CLASS, FIRST-GRADE STUDENTS (100) WERE TESTED INDIVIDUALLY ON 4 ITEMS OF CONCEPT OF ADDITION AND CONSERVATION OF NUMBER. THE TEST ITEMS WERE IDENTICAL EXCEPT FOR THE NUMBER OF OBJECTS INVOLVED. FOR EACH ITEM, TWO PILES OF CANDY WERE PLACED BEFORE EACH CHILD AND THEN MOVED TOGETHER. THE STUDY SHOWED NO MAJOR DIFFERENCE IN THE MEAN…

This study explored the relationship between maternal sensitivity and the development of mother-infant vocal interaction. Two characteristics of mother and infant vocalizations were assessed at six and nine months in a home feeding situation: (1) the degree of mutual responsiveness, and (2) the affective quality of vocalization. These assessments…

This report describes the beliefs, attitudes and practices of members of the student community who use drugs and the social structure that supports drug use. The study focuses on the cultural frame of reference of the middle class drug user, especially those factors which seem to contribute to the legitimization of drug usage. The study utilized…

To assess the effect of setting on mother-infant interaction, 24 twelve-month-old children and their middle class mothers were observed on two occasions, a week apart. Half of these dyads were seen twice at home under naturalistic conditions or twice in the lab in a free play situation. The remaining 12 pairs were observed once in each location…