This study examined ability grouping of students in relationship to the amount of time they received from teachers, the effects of grouping on students' self concept, and grouping students according to their social behavior as perceived by the teacher. Information was obtained on the criteria teachers used for placing students in various groups,…

This study compared the psychosocial adjustment and social behavior of children from divorced or separated single-parent families with that of children from two-parent families. The theory of attachment was adopted as the conceptual framework for the study because of similarities between the behavioral response of children to parental separation…

The way that factors in the social environment regulate both the rates and differential modes of deviance among various groups within the school is examined. Using Mertonian analysis, three premises are central to the study including: (1) pressures to deviate occur when people are deprived of access to legitimate means to attain a desired goal;…

Three studies examine the impact of different types of television content on the social behavior of children at various ages. The studies represent research into the interrelated problem of the processes involved in media effects and age-related differences. In the first study an action-adventure program, in which a character's reputation and…

Psychosocial adaptations are sometimes affected by experiences that are ordinarily considered to be amusements. In 1974, a field study was undertaken by the Program on Psychosocial Adaptation and the Future to determine if it is possible to measure the effect of television on adult viewers. A sample of 260 couples, controlled for demographic…

This study investigated the response behavior of nine infants, aged 13-15 weeks, to a recurrent pattern of visual and verbal stimuli presented by their own mothers and by female strangers. The infants were presented with the following 2-minute sequence (repeated 3 times): (1) one-half minute of an unknown female leaning over the crib with a…

This paper focuses on the theory and rationale of assessing the social behavior of children. It is asserted that child social behavior must be assessed accurately in order to do research on socialization. Socialization is defined as the process by which an individual learns to interact with others. It is proposed that it is possible to design a…

Settings influence children's behavior. There are three relevant aspects of a setting, the space and contents of the space, as in the set of a play, the cast of characters who are present on the set, and the activities which occur on the set involving the cast of characters. The author and her associates have studied children in Okinawa, the…

This paper reviews evidence obtained from an analysis of the behavior of 3 to 11 year olds as observed in natural settings in the six culture study and preliminary findings from observing the behavior of mothers and children in a variety of settings in Kenya. The definition of "modern" includes at least three separate indices--the…

An attempt is made to understand the structural and transformational inter-relationships between processes of classification, segmentation, ranking, and segregation in a suburban high school from a cultural point of view. The first of three sections of the paper reviews the acceptance among social scientists in the last decades of the belief that…

This new British journal is a medium of communication for those involved in teaching social science and social studies at the secondary and elementary levels. The first article in this issue, Ian Shelton's "The Sociology of Everyday Life," describes an experimental short course in secondary sociology. The course is designed to produce an…

This collection of papers reflects varied aspects of the female condition. Each documents a perspective on that condition: "Woman as Artistic Innovator" comments on female choreographers; "City Women and Religious Change in Sixteenth-Century France" explores the impact of the Reformation on one particular group of women; "Women and the Jural…

This book demonstrates how science fiction offers new insights into current social issues and helps students become more creative in their thinking about the future. Chapters begin with a discussion of science fiction through "what if" questions. From there chapters explore the concept of ecological balances through a combination of sciences…

The instrument described in this paper investigates the models used by subjects to divide their social universe into two mutually exclusive systems of interaction. This is done by means of motion picture films which portray three geometric figures in action and elicit stories about animated beings as they move in social space from informants. The…

Only a few general principles are provided as a foundation for an effective program. However, what is new is the emphasis on human groups as a basis for organizing a single social studies discipline. Some questions are suggested concerning what should be investigated about groups, and what the students need to understand. 1) What causes human…