Eight moderately and mildly retarded adults received an interpersonal skills training program. Ss acquired new social skills as evidenced by performance on a situation role play assessment, but gains did not result in significant group differences (when compared to eight control Ss) in a more natural setting. (CL)

Results indicate: (1) medium overlearning enhances skill transfer; (2) high overlearning decreases skill acquisition and transfer; and (3) precounseling structuring has no effect on acquisition or transfer. The method evaluated is effective in teaching social skills to institutionalized elderly. (Author)

Project Special Friend, a reverse mainstreaming program in which elementary school volunteers worked with severely retarded students, is described. After one year the program was found to have increased the social awareness of the retarded students and given the volunteers a much better understanding of their handicapped peers' problems and…

Interviews were held with 88 mentally retarded institutionalized adults (ages 18 to 30) in order to identify types of verbal and nonverbal behavior that are associated with making positive or negative impressions on others and that therefore might be priority targets for communication training efforts. (Author)

Skilled patients spoke, looked, smiled and gestured more than unskilled patients. They also showed more behavior variability in response to situational changes. Unskilled patients were deficient in component behaviors and in monitoring and other process skills. Deficiencies in speech contributed to impressions of social incompetence. (Author/BEF)

The nature of the testing situations should be carefully considered when interpreting the correlation between a personality test and a measure of social desirability and interpreting the actual scores on personality measures which seem strongly susceptible to the influence of social desirability. (Author)

Results of this study indicate that running away occurred more frequently among children referred for mental health services. Behavioral problems identified in this study suggest that running away is symptomatic of psychopathology and maladaption. (Author/NRB)

Structure and construct validity of the California Preschool Social Competency Scale was investigated. Five factors were interpreted: considerateness; extraversion; task orientation; verbal facility; and response to the unfamiliar. The first three were found to be similar to the three dimensions of the Classroom Behavior Inventory. (Author/BW)

Female relationships are described as more intense, demonstrative, exclusive, and nurturant than male. Male relationships are more likely to be based on enjoyable companionship and similarity in attitudes. The relationship is important enough to development that lack of a close friend should be viewed as a deficit. (Author)

Outlines conceptual and operational definitions that distinguish between the control movements and control patterns of domineeringness and dominance. The evidence suggests that (1) domineeringness and dominance are, in actuality, different phenomena and (2) different patterns of role strain, system satisfaction, and interaction styles are…

Describes a course in interpersonal communication offered at the University of Minnesota in which four instructors taught a single section course. Each instructor taught a part of the course based on his area of expertise. (JMF)

Suggests that young children use their expectations of a context-specific, normal range of pause duration in timing the onset of a turn at speaking. (FL)

The adaptation of patient simulators for teaching pharmacy students medication history interviewing is described. This experiential approach to interviewing provides the opportunity for a supervised experience of patient interviewing in a realistic setting with immediate feedback on interviewing technique available to the student. (Author/MLW)

The issue of early childhood intervention programs is considered, particularly improvement of social competence and respect for biological heterogeniety. (Author/GK)

Argues that the use of a third classroom goal structure--cooperation--supplemented by appropriate competition and individualization can contribute substantially to the preparation of graduates who are both technically skillful and interpersonally competent. (JOW)