This report presents the results of a 1986-87 survey of frequencies and percentages of drug use among sixth and ninth graders in the Springfield (Massachusetts) Public Schools. Among the findings elicited through a student questionnaire were the following: (1) The users of drug and alcohol were more frequently male than female. (2) There did not…

Data from a recent study of potential effects of friends' characteristics and friendship features on students' adjustment to school are used to illustrate the distinction between two contradictory assumptions about the path of peer influence. The first assumption, which is linked to the work of Bronfenbrenner, takes a negative view, and focuses on…

The aim of this study was to assess the extent to which collaboration with a more competent peer aids children's ability to solve mathematical balance beam problems under feedback and no-feedback conditions. Subjects were 61 children whose pretest scores on 14 balance beam problems that allowed reliable assessment at five increasingly…

A study examined the effects of factors (including television, family, peers, age, and socioeconomic status) on consumer socialization, the process by which individuals develop consumption-related cognitions and behaviors. The specific criterion variables studied included consumer affairs knowledge, puffery filtering, consumer finance management,…

A study explored the perceptions of counselors regarding educational and vocational needs of Hispanic students experiencing problems in high school. A sample of 25 secondary school counselors in the San Bernardino-Riverside area of California were interviewed. The counselors most frequently cited these causes for the problems Hispanic students may…

Group contingencies is a technology for using peers to influence behavioral change through contingencies; the use of contingent interdependent group rewards for specific group behaviors has been of interest to behavioral researchers. To sort out the effects on quiz scores and peer social interaction (PSI) of group contingencies based on academic…

This field study suggests that there exists a direct relationship between an organizational culture and the conflict resolution communication approaches used within the organization. A collegiate greek lettered organization was chosen for study due to the strong identity such organizations generally promote. The organizational culture is defined…

A study examined the effect of assigned social decision rule (whether a jury is required to give a unanimous or less than unanimous verdict) on the process and product of mock jury deliberations. Subjects, 360 students from an eastern university, were randomly assigned to six-member juries under three decision rule conditions: (1) unanimity, (2)…

The Adolescent-Significant Others' Relationship Questionnaire was administered to 4,822 Malaysian students who ranged in age from 13 to 19 years. Subjects were Form I, III, and V students selected from six states in peninsular Malaysia by cluster sampling. The sample consisted of approximately equal numbers of males and females; urban and rural;…

The similarities and differences in the responses student writers received from peer groups communicating face-to-face and by electronic mail were examined in this study. Subjects were 20 English/language arts teacher education students at the University of Virginia, who were divided into four groups with each group randomized to a treatment order…

The decisions President Richard Nixon and his closest advisors made in the Watergate coverup were products of what Irving Janis calls "groupthink." Groupthink, a type of decision-making emphasizing unanimity over objective evaluation, develops when the decision makers (1) form a group of marked cohesiveness, (2) insulate themselves from…

In this study, student liberalism is examined longitudinally to determine whether it changes as the result of being exposed to different educational environments. The effect of college on liberalism and the relative efficacy of different measures of the college environment are also addressed. The main focus is on the effect of student peers. Data…

This book presents sexual abstinence as a viable, positive choice for teenagers. In seven lessons focusing on the advantages of delaying sexual intercourse, this high school curriculum acknowledges the need for sexual expression by young people and provides activities that help them sort through the internal and external pressures that affect…

This guide for leaders of workshops on self-appraisal for university teachers presents a process that is being developed in Australia and the United Kingdom to help members of professional groups monitor their effectiveness in conjunction with their peers. The approach has been used in Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Japan. The method…

During the 1960s and 1970s an enormous amount of research was conducted to better understand children's social and intellectual development, and hundreds of educational programs for children and parents were initiated in hopes of improving conditions surrounding many of America's young children. By the middle 1970s, however, it became apparent…