Recent research on mass media, with a particular emphasis on television, is reviewed for the effects that the media has on behavior and the use of media in educational endeavors. Although a very pessimistic view is taken concerning the contribution of specific research studies, it is emphasized that one should not underestimate their importance,…

Experimental modification of destructive and assaultive sibling interaction was carried out within the home environment. Two brothers (6 and 3 years old) were treated through token positive reinforcement techniques in an effort to improve their behavior towards each other. A "time out" from reinforcement procedures involved an isolation period for…

Assuming superiority is a function of sex-role, it was hypothesized that "masculines" would prefer aggressive humor against females more than would "androgeneous" or "feminine" subjects. However, results indicated that sex, rather than sex-role, affected preference for humor directed against members of the opposite…

These conference proceedings carry as their major theme the inevitability of conflict. With the emphasis on accepting this as a fact of life, the problem is posed in terms of how to manage conflict constructively: how to use it and grow, and learn from it instead of avoiding it. Conflict is discussed with regard to the following: (1) public…

This six-culture study sought to make a first approximation measurement of differences in personality development and the socialization of these differences in children. The study was part of a larger strategy involving other cultures and methods. A sample of 24 children from each of the six cultures was selected and observed during at least 12…

Assertive behavior in children is characterized as manipulation and exploration of the environment. Assertive behavior can be nondestructive or destructive. It has been suggested that learning is dependent on assertion and that distortion or inhibition of assertive behavior may restrict or distort the learning process. Fifty Head Start children…

The manual describes specific procedures by which an educational consultant can train classroom teachers and other social agents how to increase the social and academic performance of acting-out children in first and second grades. The intervention procedures require 30 days to implement and to train teachers to regulate their attention so as to…

Commercial television as it currently exists presents moral content and values that are often contrary to the predominant values of the society. It emphasizes violence and illegal action; it perpetuates a system in which groups of people are devalued because of sex, race, age, and other such criteria. There is good reason to believe that this type…

Answers from questionnaires administered to middle-class freshman and junior students in 4 different rural and suburban high schools were used to assess predisposition to violence. The findings indicated a modest inverse relation between violence proclivity and age, with a sharp difference between boys and girls, reflecting our cultural norms.…

It was the purpose of this study to assess the effects of films on children, using a measure of interpersonal aggression. It was anticipated that modeling effects would depend simultaneously upon the degree of realism of the model's performance (on a reality-fantasy dimension) and the similarity between the observer's task and the model's…

This study investigated the effects of three gaze patterns-staring, normal looking, glancing and avoiding eye contact-and verbal insult on instrumental aggression. It was hypothesized that the experimental manipulation of verbal insult will: (1) not affect shock intensity or duration (2) not increase the subjects self-reported hostility, and (3)…

Athletic programs in the public schools and colleges are often justified by assertions that competitive team sports build character and sportsmanship for participants and spectators, and that sports reinforce such school and community ideals as the virtues of competition, patriotism, and the desirability of healthy living. Spectator behavior at…

This study reports the successful use of compulsory "peer selecting modeling" for the treatment of hostile and aggressive behavior within a special education program. The treatment procedure, a brief, situation-specific variant of peer and participant modeling, was designed for routine use by classroom teachers. (Author)

A method is proposed for modeling developmental data, and particularly the developmental relationship between the age of a child and the presence or absence of aggressive behavior. A dichotomous logistic response model is used. (Author/JKS)