This study compared judgments of social appropriateness to videotaped scenes by children and adolescents with (n=19) and without (n=19) autism. The non-autism group detected inappropriate behaviors significantly more often than the autism group for verbal but not nonverbal scenes. Groups also differed in the reasons given for their judgments in…

Analyzed first, second, and third graders' invented games for type, complexity, and rule knowledge; compared game-rule knowledge to classroom-rule knowledge. Found two types of rules: conduct and procedural, indicating children perceive need for rules that tell how to play and that specify appropriate behavior (conduct rules resembled classroom…

Reexamined the standard scoring structure of the revised Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2) Social Introversion Scale with Rasch measurement using data from 2,600 nonpsychiatric subjects from the restandardization sample. Discusses how to use Rasch measurement to understand and improve personality measurement. (SLD)

Examined the content of the "Journal of Black Psychology" from 1985-99, classifying 245 articles into 15 content categories and ranking authors and institutions that were most frequently published. The categories of articles receiving the most activity were related to personality (racial identity), reactions and commentary, social…

The relations of children's nonsocial behavior to their emotionality, regulation, and social functioning were examined in a short-term longitudinal study. Parents (primarily mothers) and teachers rated children's effortful regulation, emotionality, asocial behaviors, problem behaviors, and social acceptance, and children's nonsocial play behaviors…

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) who are educated in integrated settings are often at risk for school failure because of their inability to remain attentive, complete tasks and assignments, and accomplish homework. In other words, they are characterized by their inability to manage their academic and social behavior. The…

Offers the view that learning in organizations is mainly a social activity because work is most often done by people in the context of communicating with others. Briefly assesses how learning can be managed in organizations.

The first major goal of this study was to determine whether touch would enhance mother-infant coregulation in ordinary, nonstressful face-to-face interactions. In an experimental manipulation of presence versus absence of touch in face-to-face interactions between 79 mothers and their 3.5-month-old infants, results indicated that when touch is…

Although social justice advocacy has increasingly been acknowledged as important in the field of psychology (e.g., Goodman et al., 2004; Toporek et al., 2006a, Vera & Speight, 2003), there is a dearth of empirical research examining social justice advocacy across graduate psychology students. This mixed-methods study examined demographic and…

The author shares a story about the positive power of nature in the lives of children, particularly those children who are at-risk for school failure. The setting for the story is the Central Child Development Center (CCDC) in Rock Hill, South Carolina, a public preschool with four-year-old kindergarten students (4K) and preschoolers with special…

Previous research has suggested that the understanding of modesty--downplaying one's achievements to evoke a positive social evaluation--develops in the primary school years. However, very little is known about how children's understanding of modesty is associated with social contextual factors, such as audience type. A sample of 92 children aged…

Auditory forms of nonpersonal communication have rarely been evaluated in informal settings like parks and museums. This study evaluated the effect of an interpretive audio tour on visitor knowledge and social behavior at Carlsbad Caverns National Park. A cross-sectional pretest/posttest quasi-experimental design compared the responses of audio…

Children's feelings and beliefs about peer relationships were examined as a possible mediator between mothers' positive and negative emotional framing and children's (n = 46) behavior with peers. Mothers' emotion framing was assessed as they and their young children read a picture book depicting emotionally-laden content, but no printed text.…

Although much scholarship has focused on the schooling experiences of African American boys, this article demonstrates that African American girls encounter unique educational perceptions and obstacles. Black girls in a predominately minority school performed well academically, but educators often questioned their manners and behavior. Some tried…

Current parent-adolescent behavioral interaction research highlights the importance of three elements of behavior in defining adaptive interactions: autonomy, control, and warmth vs. hostility. However, this research has largely addressed the developmental needs and psychosocial outcomes of adolescents, as opposed to parents, with a focus on how…