While human emotions are often considered instinctive, this paper examines the notion that indifference to events or circumstances which might seem to have a prima facie claim to emotional significance is related to the narrative construction of those events or circumstances in the life of the observer, and is not a result of absolute stimulus…

This literature review has the goals of: (1) reviewing and summarizing the existing research literature on factors which influence the success of collaboration; and (2) reporting the results of the research literature review so that people who want to initiate or enhance a collaborative effort can benefit from the experience of others. The review…

This study examined techniques which facilitate children's separation from their mothers and their move into a novel situation. Subjects were 32 male and 32 female 40- to 48-month-old children. Some children were visited in their homes the night before the experiment. Subjects remained with their mothers in a waiting room for 10 minutes. A…

The social interactions that occur during pair problem solving were studied using a computer tool and without using the tool. The computer tool, (the TAPS system) is an instructional system that presents complex word problems and provides a graphics user interface with tools for constructing problem trees (network structures showing…

In this study of prominent characteristics of parenting in the United States, France, and Japan, 72 mother-infant dyads were examined. The study focused on three prominent interactive domains of visual and vocal exchange between mother and baby (nurturing, social exchange, and didactic stimulation), examining their frequency of occurrence and…

This manual and the accompanying videotape are designed to provide a practical way to teach social skills to all students in grades K-8, including students with disabilities, in the classroom and across other school settings. The strategy's collaborative approach was designed for general and special education teachers who are working with other…

This study involved 30 children with attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADD+H), 14 children with attention deficit disorder without hyperactivity (ADD-H), and 28 clinic control children, with a mean age of 8.1 years, and utilized an extreme groups methodology. The study tested the hypothesis that the teacher-rated social behavior of…

Various definitions of gender identity have ranged from recognition of one's biological sex to an individual's sense of masculinity or femininity. For the purpose of this paper, which examines some of the theoretical approaches to the subject, gender identity will be defined as "the degree to which individuals are 'aware' of and accept their…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between mentally retarded children's social status and their social behavior as perceived by their peers in the mainstream classroom. For purposes of comparison, the relationship between nonretarded children's social status and their perceived behavior was also assessed. Sociometric surveys…

A study was done to examine the role of college student drinking games, the consequences of playing drinking games, and the motivational nuances involved in playing these games. A typology of drinking games is presented; it includes five categories: (1) consumption games (who can consume the most alcohol during a given event); (2) skill games (the…

A study was done to examine the role of self monitoring in choice of college major. A self monitor is an individual who adopts a social orientation so that he/she can manage self presentation. Self monitors are likely to modify their academic choices to fit social situations or others' expectations. Subjects of the study were 38 male and 54 female…

The Infant Health and Development Program (IHDP) is an intervention designed to facilitate social development in low birthweight (LBW) children. This report does not deal with the full complexity of operations involving program components as they interact to shape social competence. Rather, the report represents a first or "setting" stage, a look…

This study examined the relation of social situation variables and children's gender to children's social problem solving ability in potentially unsafe situations. A total of 62 preschoolers (mean age 4.4 years) were shown a series of four vignettes. In two vignettes, an adult or a child asked a second child to cross a street. In two other…

The Social Skills Diagnostic Screen (SSDS), developed by the Fort McMurray School District in Alberta, Canada, in 1991-92, is a checklist which may be used by teachers, parents, counsellors, and students to ascertain a student's level of social development. The SSDS may also serve as a tool to specify or clarify specific social skills with which…

This bibliography of 146 scales contains measures requiring the observation of a particular set of actions and the recording, usually at a later time, of some inference or judgment concerning the observed actions. Judgment may be in terms of an indication of the presence, degree, or frequency of a behavior. The majority of instruments target the…