Mothers used unconstrained or trained facial expressions to convey to their infants messages about happiness or fear concerning a novel object. Results indicated that infants sought and used maternal appraisals; maternal messages of fear lacked clarity; and maternal messages regulated daughters' distance from objects. (BC)

Affection activities (such as hugging, smiling, and saying positive things) can be added to typical preschool games and songs to encourage interaction between handicapped children and nonhandicapped peers. The intervention can be adapted for use with children with diverse handicapping conditions. Typical activities, modified directions for…

A series of studies examined one to five year olds' developmental changes in reaction to achievement-related outcomes. Results were used to formulate a three-stage model for the development of achievement-related self-evaluation. Concludes that a distinction between achievement standards and prescriptions for behavior is not meaningful with young…

Maintains that the monograph, "Self-Evaluation in Young Children," by Stipek and others, forces a consideration of the "self" in "self-evaluation," and a rethinking of views about emotions. It attests to the lack of information on effects of socialization in early childhood. Monograph should add to research on the connection between cognition and…

Infants' orienting of attention undergoes marked development in the first six months of life. Changes in attentional control appear to be related to infants' susceptibility to distress. (Author)

A study found that differences in children's ability to regulate their emotional responses, and in their social and cognitive development, are implicated in developmental differences in children's strategies for influencing others' mood states. (BB)

Analysis of mealtime conversations of 37 families revealed qualitative differences in mothers' use of internal state words to children with Down's syndrome, compared to speech to nondisabled children matched for adaptive functioning. Results suggest that speech to Down's syndrome children calibrated to mean length of utterance may underestimate…

Specific studies are used to discuss three approaches to examining language teacher training programs. Points considered are teacher training programs do not provide enough training in affective areas; they do not have an adequate definition of teacher training; and they can do little to change basic perceptions about teaching and learning. (11…

School effectiveness research has traditionally focused on basic cognitive pupil outcomes such as language and mathematics achievement. Article studies both cognitive and affective educational outcomes in combination with each other, using a sample of 7,000 pupils in 212 primary schools in the Netherlands. The correlations between cognitive and…

This study examined the effects of discounting behavior ("put downs") on the quantity and quality of ideas produced by a group and on the group climate. Subjects were 52 college students divided into 8 groups. Groups in which discounting occurred produced significantly fewer ideas, and the emotional response to the group process was…

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…

Rules of development are the same for all children, but social contexts shape children's development into different configurations. To educate culturally and linguistically diverse children, teachers must be sensitive to the similarities and differences among themselves, their students, and students' families. They must create a classroom…

Discussed is whether high school students of teachers trained in the use of open-ended historical experiments dealing with light and sound perceive physics in a more favorable light. The effect of the training on the participants' classrooms on both teachers and students (n=130) is investigated. (KR)

Presented are two classroom techniques to help beginning teachers. The first is a student-sensitive approach to the first day of class using a questionnaire to assess students attitudes toward mathematics and student interests. The second is a suggestion on how to effectively review student homework. (MDH)

Unintended effects of evaluation are discussed, with reference to the Hawthorne Effect, where unintended effects overshadow the manipulations controlled by researchers. Unintended effects are categorized as (1) affective reactions; (2) political dimensions; (3) importance of individual differences; and (4) expectations concerning evaluation.…