Because academic success alone does not ensure success in society, schools need to teach fundamental social skills, such as following instructions, accepting criticism or a consequence, accepting "no" for an answer, disagreeing appropriately, greeting someone, making a request, and getting the teacher's attention. Proper social behavior is not…

Compared stage acting items of Snyder's Self-monitoring Scale with face-valid measure of social acting devised to measure ability to regulate one's self-presentation in everyday social situations. Results from 224 college students showed that the two measures had little in common, pointing to necessity of distinguishing between contingent and…

The study investigated the influence of spatial density on four 3- and 4-year-old children's social behavior during freeplay periods. Group data analyses indicated that the restricted freeplay setting resulted in a greater percentage of intervals with child-child socially directed behavior. (Author/DB)

Psychosocial functioning of adult epileptic outpatients as assessed by the Washington Psychosocial Seizure Inventory (WPSI) was compared to that of adult multiple sclerosis (MS) outpatients and normal subjects. When only valid WPSI profiles were considered, the only significant finding was that the epilepsy group and the MS group had more…

Examines children's conceptions of parental authority. A total of 120 children were interviewed and asked to evaluate social events (stealing, family chores, friendship choice) pertaining to restraint of behavior and maintenance of parental rule systems. Results suggest that children's notions of authority are heterogeneous with respect to the…

Observes early social interactions in free play settings of Israeli kibbutz and urban preschool children. Kibbutz preschoolers displayed some aspects of more advanced group functioning (e.g., coordinated play) but also more behaviors reflecting affective distancing (e.g., solitary play, reduced affective expression, verbal aggression). (Author/NH)

In a survey of 508 undergraduates, males reported significantly lower levels of emotional intimacy in same-sex friendship than females. Masculinity, defined in terms of "instrumental" qualities, had little effect on the degree of reported intimacy, while femininity, defined in terms of "expressive" qualities, was positively…

Over 1,000 hours of observation were recorded by 18 production supervisors, 18 mentally retarded workers, and 18 employers through naturalistic observation, self-reports, and structured interviews, respectively. Distinct problematic social situations (N=355) were identified and problematic social behavior. (Author/CL)

The social and play behaviors of toddlers enrolled in two early childhood programs were videotaped and then analyzed with regard to categories of child interaction, play behavior, and adult interaction. (RH)

Behavior by traders in the stock options market is not governed strictly by economic criteria. Trading among participants exhibited distinct social structural patterns that dramatically affected the direction and magnitude of price changes. Findings are discussed in relationship to microeconomic theory, and implications for public policy are…

Examines two strategies which Blacks use to bring about cooperation in the Black community: (1) "indirection," which makes use of humorous messages, avoidance, and signifying to reduce conflicts, and (2) "neutralization," which involves the use of verbal justifications and excuses to stabilize situations in which disagreements may arise over…

To examine the antecedents and consequences of social comparison exchanges of preschool children, this paper describes and analyzes several examples of such behavior. Data provide variegated descriptions of the social components of comparison behaviors in naturally occurring classroom contexts. (Author/RH)

An exploratory study was made of the emotional and social functioning of young children having one manic-depressive parent. Semi-naturalistic observations and experimental manipulations of the affective environment were used to assess two-year-olds' regulation of emotion, as well as their aggression, altruism, and affiliative interactions.…

Describes the Constraining and Enabling Coding System (CECS), a scheme enabling identification of family interactions conceptually relevant to adolescent ego development. Results are presented of applications involving 61 families (each consisting of two parents and an adolescent) drawn from matched high school and psychiatric populations.…

Examines various situations in which young children use social comparison to elicit understanding from a peer. Data are drawn from naturalistic observations of three- , four- , and five-year-olds. Children used social comparison to seek information, agreement, permission, compliance, verbal responsiveness, and attention. (Author/RH)