Being asked to give the Charles H. McCloy research lecture is one of the highlights of the author's academic career. Although McCloy's primary area of expertise was measurement and the analysis of motor skills, he also shared an avid interest in youth development through sport and physical activity. In this article, the author features youth sport…

The purpose of this experiment was to determine whether a faded knowledge of results (KR) frequency during observation of a model's performance enhanced error detection capabilities. During the observation phase, participants observed a model performing a timing task and received KR about the model's performance on each trial or on one of two…

This guide is designed to provide elementary school teachers with a harmless, inexpensive, clean, odorless, and easy-to-care-for insect-rearing project for the classroom. The following topics are included: (1) instructions for the care and feeding of the beetle larvae; (2) student activities for observing larval characteristics and behavior…

Presents two studies of elementary school children which suggest that: (1) white children do not conform differentially to black and white models, (2) black and white children do not differ in amount of conformity, (3) blacks conform more to white than to black models, and (4) girls conform more than boys among lower- but not middle-class…

One solution to the problem of getting expert knowledge into expert systems would be to endow the systems with powerful learning procedures that could discover appropriate behaviors by observing an expert in action. A promising source of such learning procedures can be found in recent work on connectionist networks, which are massively parallel…

Several studies were conducted where subjects were not instructed to imitate models. Subjects viewing models exhibiting complex, flexible, divergent, or creative behavior tended to increase this behavior, while subjects watching rigid or convergent thinking models were less consistent. (Author/BJG)

This document focuses on the behavior influence process as it is related to modeling and role playing applied in classroom settings. The topics discussed are divided into six sections, with an "Introduction" and "A Final Word.""What Is Modeling?" describes some basic conclusions about modeling reached by behavioral and learning researchers. "How…

Seven suggestions for using demonstrations to improve physical education instruction are presented. (MJB)

Examines second graders' and sixth graders' observational learning of complex problem solving strategies. (BD)

Discusses the need for the development of specific instructional practices to teach relevant concepts and issues on communication in the family setting. Provides guidelines for an exercise using E. Goffman's concepts of markers and tie-in signs to determine, observationally yet unobtrusively, whether individuals in public places have a familial…

Investigates the extent to which family background (number of siblings and birth order) interacts with a willingness to copy aggressive behavior of others among 36 boys between 60 and 68 months old. Concludes that those from larger families were more willing aggressors and that birth order did not affect imitation. (JDH)

In a medical sociology course composed of health care students with little sociology background and sociology students with no health care background, a paired observation exercise was given. Health care and sociology students were paired, and each pair observed the same medical encounter and reviewed each other's papers. (Author/RM)

This article notes that student teachers often find themselves just sitting'' because they have received no training or instruction in the art of observation, the main value of which is learning to be analytically as well as actively involved in teaching. (JA)

The literature on observer characteristics and imitation was reviewed in an attempt to delineate the role of these variables in the imitative process. (ST)