One pathway through which second order effects proceed is "social referencing," a process in which the individual utilizes another's interpretation when appraising a situation. This phenomenon is well identified in adults and older children. While it had not been studied in infancy, there are good indications that the necessary cognitive…

The influence of citizens on educational collective bargaining was examined in this study of eight school districts in California and Illinois. Data were collected through interviews with persons active in collective bargaining and observation of bargaining sessions and other meetings. The study revealed that citizens rarely participate directly…

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…

This exploratory study investigated subjects' reactions to the suffering of another person, with subjects categorized on the basis of their own levels of previous physical punishment by their parents. Within the just world victim derogation paradigm, subjects observed a similar/dissimilar other receiving punishing shocks (as compared to a no-shock…

Parental and peer influence on adolescents account for a substantial portion of the variation in health behavior developing in late adolescence. Of high school students sampled, 50% describe the influence attempts of their mothers, fathers and peers as neutral on most health behavior. Smoking is the exception to the pattern with mothers and…

The meaning fathers have in the lives of women as they are growing up was investigated. Women's perceptions of their fathers on several factors were measured to determine how these perceptions differed with father loss, cause and time of loss, perception of parental marital relationships, and presence of an older brother. Questionnaires were…

PARTICULAR FACTORS INFLUENCE THE LEARNING OF THE DISADVANTAGED CHILD. ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS CAN INCREASE THE LIKELIHOOD OF LEARNING COGNITIVE STRATEGIES. VARIATIONS WITHIN THE ENVIRONMENT INFLUENCE VARIATIONS IN COGNITIVE DEVELOPMENT. PARENTAL INFLUENCE MAY AFFECT THE LEARNING ABILITY OF THEIR CHILDREN. LOWER-CLASS PARENTS HAVE SELDOM SUBJECTED…

THE EXPERIMENTAL PROJECT ATTEMPTS TO DETERMINE WHETHER EARLY ADMISSION TO SCHOOL CAN OVERCOME BARRIERS TO LEARNING WHICH ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS SEEM TO IMPOSE. A DEPRIVED CHILD OFTEN DOES NOT RECEIVE ATTENTION, AFFECTION, OR GUIDANCE WITHIN HIS HOME. THE YOUNG CHILD SHOULD BE HELPED TO DEVELOP A WHOLESOME SELF-CONCEPT, TO ACQUIRE THE DRIVE TO…

Two questions were examined in this study: (1) Do symbolic interaction and social learning processes independently contribute to adolescents' self-esteem? and (2) If they do, what is the relative magnitude of their contribution? Data for the investigation were gathered through self-report questionnaires. Fourteen to 18-year-old adolescents, and…

The primary purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of infant test scores, Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment (HOME) scores, socioeconomic factors and maternal IQ as predictors of children's mental test performance. Additional purposes were to (1) determine the extent to which socioeconomic factors and maternal…

Direct observation of a child's motor performance by a parent was hypothesized to exert an effect on motor behavior. The presence of a parent observer during practice was hypothesized to exert a depressing effect on learning and a facilitating effect on performance when parent observer was introduced later in practice. Male and female children age…

Five- to seven-year-old second-born children from white, middle-class, intact families were the subjects for this study. Older siblings served as role model for each child, and the parent surrogate models were selected from a pool and trained to act as the child's real parent. The imitation task emphasized verbal, postural, and motor responses of…

The Florida Parent Education Model, working with 5- to 7-year-olds enrolled in Follow Through programs, is based on the premise that a child's home environment has the most lasting influence on his adaptation to school and to the world around him. The program works with the mother, who, as educators are discovering, has more influence on the child…