One of 52 theoretical papers on school crime and its relation to poverty, this chapter states that youthful vandalism is a multidetermined problem that has its roots not simply in the personality of the vandal but also in interaction with peer, family, and community systems. The costs of vandalism are noted, and various intrapsychic and…

Hypotheses derived from a theory of self-image maintenance and enhancement were employed to interpret the phenomena of attitude change following counter-attitudinal behaviors. Attitude change was viewed as a means of avoiding responsibility for the negative consequences of actions which threaten the self-image. The converse hypotheses were…

Freudian theory and subsequent research indicates a connection between sexual and aggressive motivation. The present study investigated preferences among nonsexual, sexual, and aggressive humor as a function of induced aggressive mood. One-hundred and twenty male and 120 female university students participated in one of four 2x2 factorial designs…

The author conceives of the human emotional system as being composed of three functions of motivational stimuli: (a) the attitudinal or emotional, (b) the reinforcing, and (c) the discriminative controlling function which the stimuli acquire. He defines and describes each of these functions and their effect on integrated learning principles. He…

Behaviors often regarded as diseases are in fact, normal events. Growth, both physical and mental is discussed, including a list of learning modes ranging from ontogenic to verbal transaction. Autistic children are considered. Causes, effects and characteristics such as: (1) irregularities in sleep, (2) irregularities in the environment, (3)…

This study is designed to determine whether data obtained cross-sectionally from a sample of subjects in the middle childhood range on selected personality characteristics could be well described by a concave parabolic curve and thus linked to the closure behaviour elicited from the subjects. Specifically, the investigation seeks to determine if…

The author proposes a framework for the study of behavior and personality that takes into account phylogeny (development of genetically related groups of organisms) as well as ontogeny (course of development of an individual organism). The adaptive function of behavior is stressed. The author states that individual personality is a unique…

Using a deliberately confusing and frustrating game exercise, the author attempts to present the student's perception of the conflicting demands that the school system places upon him. Despite the dearth of literature on behavior therapy as it relates to the adolescent, the author believes that the behavior therapist can help the adolescent. After…

In the study and analysis of cultures we must first examine our ways of thinking about things and formulate the assumptions on which we are working, because many of our results may come to us as direct implications from the assumptions that we make. In theorizing about language, culture, and human behavior, the following hypotheses are examined:…

The authors discuss their replications of 2 prominent studies in the area of modeling aggressive behavior; those of Lovaas and Bandura. In the first, they predicted that, given the same socio-economic background, there would be no differences between black and white children in the amount of aggressive play subsequent to viewing an aggressive…

EXPERIMENTAL TESTS (23) WERE CONSTRUCTED TO MEASURE CERTAIN BEHAVIORAL-COGNITION FACTORS OF SOCIAL ABILITY. THE TESTS, AS WELL AS 24 MARKER TESTS OF SEMANTIC AND FIGURAL ABILITY, WERE ADMINISTERED TO WHITE, MIDDLE-CLASS, AVERAGE INTELLIGENCE 11TH GRADERS (240). THE STIMULI CONSISTED MAINLY OF PHOTOGRAPHS, DRAWINGS, AND CARTOONS. WORDS WERE USED AS…

This paper discusses the development, application, and implications of a statistical technique--a concordance index--for measuring the restrictions and constrictions (legal and societal) which inhibit individual decision making and adapting behavior. It was found that as sophistication sets in there will be less and less tolerance of these…

Presented are 11 papers discussing the following six models of emotional disturbance in children: biophysical, behavioral, psychodynamic, sociological, and ecological, models, and counter theory. Emotional disturbance is defined as a distinctive human state having multiple manifestations and involving disability, deviance, and alienation. All the…

Presents a model designed to allow communication analysts to predict the most promising approach to improving acceptance of a competitive service or idea. (MH)

A careful examination of the history and status of psychology shows that it has only a shaky grasp on the most prized characteristics of science. Suggests that the problem lies in an overidentification with science leading to the use of inappropriate methodologies. Urges that because psychology is at the intersection of the sciences and the…