A person-centered approach was followed for the study of patterns in personality development in middle childhood through early adolescence. In a longitudinal study of 100 children, the "big five" personality factors--extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, emotional stability, and openness--were assessed in person descriptions by…

The success or failure of black children in school has been attributed to positive or negative self-concept, but the construct of self-concept has been misused and misrepresented by educators and researchers. The traditional definition of self-concept as a highly interrelated perception of the self has been defined in perceptual rather than…

A study examined the effect of bibliotherapy on the personal and social development of second grade students in a self-contained classroom. Students were pretested with the California Test of Personality (CTP), primary series, then were read to from books chosen on the basis of weaknesses exhibited by the children on the test. Books were read to…

This article contended that the problems and frustrations encountered in the culture shock process are important to an understanding of change and movement experiences, and that such transitional experiences can be the source of higher levels of personality development. (Author/RK)

Model outlines three dimensions of maturity likely to be relevant in all societies: (1) Capacity to function on one's own, (2) Capacity to interact with others, (3) Capacity to contribute to social cohesion. Nine attributes pertinent to these capacities are defined. Problems in the measurement of psychosocial maturity are discussed. (Author/RC)

This book describes Character Development and Leadership Training in the School and Community, a high school course instituted at Lakeland High School in Shrub Oak, New York in 1983. It was written to help other educators interested in implementing similar student leadership programs. The developer of the program explains some of his reasons for…

Personality theory stresses the importance of communion with self to personal development. Since writing is a form of communion with self, researchers have begun looking for measurable differences in the personality development of writers and nonwriters. Several experiments have tended to confirm that writing has the potential to effect positive…

A brief overview of the history of the scientific study of the child in Canada is provided in this paper. Discussion begins with an account of the scholarly interests and activities of James Mark Baldwin, who brought modern psychology to Canada, and Frederic Tracy, who objected to child-centered approaches to child rearing. The remainder of the…

How better understanding of one's own childhood and education can make one a better teacher, and how planners should take account of the personality needs of faculty members in designing institutional changes. (Editor)

Six hundred preadolescents, half from kibbutzin and half from classrooms in Tel Aviv, were asked to describe the frequency of certain socializing behaviors of their parents, peers, teachers, and caregivers. Implications for personality development are discussed. (ST)

This paper explores the concept of child abuse. The analysis begins by explaining the problems evident in defining child abuse, and presents the historical development of child abuse prevention. A theoretical discussion on personality development is also included. The second section of the paper describes results of a research project designed to…

Theories furthering understanding of the effects of child rearing practices on psychiatric disturbance are briefly reviewed. Particular attention is given to family dynamics, the double-bind hypothesis, and the development of schizophrenia and related border line syndromes that lead to psychotic phenomena. The issue of child rearing practices is…