Adult assistance procedures were experimentally compared for their effects upon the preschool child's tendency to persist in self-selected manipulative tasks in a free-play setting. (JMB)

Groups of 20 normal and 20 hyperactive boys ranging in age from 6 to 12 years were observed interacting with their mothers in 15-minute free-play and 15-minute structured-task situations. (JMB)

Describes and illustrates games and game settings used in two observational projects dealing with game play by young children. One project presented games encouraging use of strategies; the other provided game equipment and invited the children to invent their own rules and playing procedures. (DS)

Indicates that assertive training is effective in reducing counselor discomfort and anxiety. Such training has no significant effect upon client or supervisor ratings of counselor effectiveness. (Author)

Studies involving couples focused on the development of a Marital Satisfaction Inventory (MSI). Correlational analyses confirm that measures of communication are the best single predictors of global marital satisfaction. Profile analyses demonstrate the ability of the MSI to discriminate between couples in therapy and a matched control group.…

Study delineates the five most frequently utilized strategies of relational conflict resolution: manipulation, nonnegotiation, emotional appeal, personal rejection, and empathic understanding. (PD)

Acting on the premise that she was teaching her son a task, each of 30 mothers selected consequences for her child's errors. In actuality, feedback to the mother regarding her son's performance was experimentally manipulated. Results showed that differential conditioning of both high and low maternal punitiveness could be achieved by using the…

Studies the interaction of employee personality characteristics and job scope in prediction of turnover. Results indicate that employee reactions to the job are a result of interactions between personality characteristics and the nature of the job. Interactions between employee characteristics and the work environment are an important…

In addition to reviewing available procedures for interpreting interaction effects in ANOVA designs, this research develops procedures for estimating the magnitude of simple main or interaction effect variance components relative to the total variance accounted for by simple effect profiles. (Editor/RK)

Prior theoretical formulations have suggested that client exposure to levels of personal risk and responsibility most conducive to optimal group development can be regulated with group structure. Analysis of variance results indicated the highest frequency of therapeutically relevant behaviors occurred in the high-structure and high-risk-taking…

Replicates an earlier study designed to determine specific meanings associated with various kinds of touch behavior in opposite-sex friends. (MH)

This article discusses a technique the authors have designated Family Photo Reconnaisance. They describe the rationale for and process of utilizatizing family photographs and movies in family therapy sessions to evoke past events and memories and to uncover feelings about these occurrences and the people involved in them. (Author)

The existing empirical literature on the outcomes of marital and pre-marital enrichment programs is critically reviewed. Six specific issues are addressed in an effort to improve the quality and utility of further research and practice in this area. (Author)

Within diverse sets of nonmarital relationships it is postulated that similar developmental stages emerge. Delineation of these stages provides a framework for understanding the many complexities of nonmarital interacting systems. Five hypothetical developmental stages are presented and applied to two types of nonmarital dyads. (Author)

Discusses a study designed to determine the effects of visual environmental esthetics on interpersonal attraction and concludes that visual esthetics influence participants' perspectives of their partners in live interpersonal communication settings. (MH)