Historically, racism has been given as an ideological, political, social, and economic justification by one group to exploit others. Suggests that we tend to underestimate the extent of personal and institutional racism by neglecting "unintentional racism" and by presuming that scientific objectivity will protect us from being racist.…

The author of EC 608 658 reflects on her interest in the social life of students with learning disabilities, the relationship of her study to other studies on social behavior and self-concept, the finding that students with learning disabilities attribute both internal and external factors for successful outcomes, and the importance of attribution…

Argues that research's production of knowledge is not set apart from society, but is embedded in it. The article calls for efforts to uncover the ways in which psychological knowledge is shaped by ongoing societal struggles and cultural politics. (GR)

Focuses on the work of girls who take on the role of refereeing the course of action within the game of hopscotch. The fieldwork for this article is based on a study of the interaction of bilingual Spanish- and English-speaking girls. The range of experiences within this game challenges characterizations of girls' play as limiting the development…

Studied effects of previous amount of day care on social adjustment of children in kindergarten. Parents provided child histories; children were later assessed by teachers, peers, and observers. Children with higher day care (in 0-1, 1-4, and 4-5 years categories) scored higher on negative adjustment and lower on positive adjustment assessments in…

This study suggests that group viewing of television in a daycare setting can be used to encourage prosocial behavior in young children. Children (aged three to five years) participated in eight days of group viewing of videotaped segments of "Sesame Street," followed by participation in activities. (AEF)

Examined adolescents' verbal and nonverbal behavior in 30 female-male dyads. All behaviors were coded. Analysis of videotaped interactions revealed more similarities between girls and boys than differences, although gender distinctions were evident in speaking time and in smiling. Results focus on developmental and contextual accounts of…

Explored how hand gestures help interlocutors coordinate their dialogue. Analysis of dyadic conversations and monologues revealed that requirements of dialogue uniquely affect interactive gestures. Gestures aided the speaker's efforts to include the addressee in the conversation. Gestures also demonstrated the importance of social processes in…

Observations and interviews of 20 middle-class preschoolers and their mothers were conducted to examine the emergence of the personal domain. Found that preschoolers make a conceptual distinction between personal and moral or conventional issues, and that mothers were more likely to negotiate with children over personal than social events. (MDM)

Children of 5, 9, and 13 years of age were asked to allocate resources in hypothetical situations in which norms of equity, equality, or need were applicable. Young children were insensitive to the contextual information, whereas older children appropriately tailored their decisions to the situation. (BC)

Describes how students' social skills can be assessed in the context of cooperative learning. Suggests that the following classroom protocols be assessed: (1) listen; (2) be responsible to others; (3) respect others; and (4) stay on task. Provides an assessment scale for these behaviors. (PR)

This study of 14 children (ages 3-5) with disabilities participating in the Classwide Social Skills Program found that the program increased subjects' positive play and levels of teacher reinforcement, but these increases did not generalize to 3-month or 6-month follow-up periods nor to another play session in the day. (Author/JDD)

Describes four kinds of pretend play inhibition observed in children from three to nine years of age. Proposes hypotheses regarding potential causes and developmental sequelae of pretend play difficulties, in both cognitive and socioaffective realms. Discusses the implications of children's pretend play inhibition for examining relationships…

Comparison of social choices of trisomic macaques and of control groups found that groups showed few differences in preferences for stimulus animals with and without disabilities. Results suggest that the avoidance of individuals with disabilities is not a general primate trait and the presence of mental retardation and physical handicaps need not…

A social behavior training package was implemented with 9 children (ages 12-13) with deafness and language disabilities. The package included child training as well as supervision, feedback, and goal-setting by teachers and residential staff members. Target behaviors increased and were generalized across settings, activities, and subjects during…