An in-depth study of the process of adaption among Peace Corps volunteers in Brazil and cross-cultural training methodology is presented in this volume, the first of two reports resulting from the project. Since ultimate aims of cross-cultural learning tend to be described in abstract terms, the fundamental issue had to do with specifying and…

With the exception of intra-family murder and child abuse, there has been very little research on violence between family members. However, preliminary results of this study indicate that even at age 17 and 18, 62 percent of siblings had hit each other during the previous 12-month period. Also, physical fights between husband and wife have…

Little empirical research has been done on the subject of argumentation, especially in the area of refutation, or "disproof," even though some research on debate indicates that refutation constitutes a significant predictor of a team's success. A recent study investigated the effects of eight forms of refutation against five major categories of…

An examination was made of the role-taking process with respect to aggressive behavior and sex roles. Ss were 20 boys and 20 girls from a housing project. All were caucasians of low socioeconomic status. Each S was shown 19 cards, each containing a schematic cartoon and involving two major figures in a particular situation. For each card there was…

The performances of 100 4-year olds on the Matching Familiar Figures Test were analyzed in terms of decision time and decision accuracy. The subjects were divided into four groups: (1) the fast/inaccurates, (2) the slow/accurates, (3) the slow inaccurates, and (4) the fast/accurates. Assessment of individual personality characteristics showed that…

Research was conducted to investigate the phenomena associated with an individual's having perceived control or actual control over aversive stimuli. In all, 10 studies were conducted, 7 of which were directly relevant to investigating variables affecting perceived or actual control, and 3 being "spin-off" experiments. The seven studies…

The present final report covers the various activities of the Center for Research on Language and Language Behavior at the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor during the final year of its operation before its closing on January 31, 1971. A prefatory section lists completed projects and the availability of individual reports. Included in this…

To insure the most accurate research, it is necessary to have teams of scientists from the culture being studied and from a contrasting culture. The indigenous members of the team provide a sensitivity to nuances of meaning and interpretations of intent of behavior that cannot easily be recognized by an outsider. The outsider team members will…

This paper describes a study which was carried out to examine the intra-group verbal behavior of "person-oriented" and "non-person-oriented" individuals. Extrapolating from conceptual systems theory, it was expected that the "person-oriented" (conceptually abstract) individuals would deal with different referents,…

This paper presents an investigation of the association between similarity of interests and likability in a manner as nearly comparable as possible to earlier attitude and personality research. The finding of a strong, positive relationship between similarity of interests and likability would be significant for two reasons. First, it would…

The aim of this project was to conceptualize and map cognitive processes and structural aspects, working mostly from video tapes of children in relatively natural clinical interviews, play and school situations (laboratory work, etc.). A conception of cognitive structure and an over-all perspective on cognitive functioning, which differ…

This study attempts to determine whether families with a son rated by his teacher as either "high" or "low" on classroom adjustment (behavior indicative of social maturity and achievement motivation) could be differentiated on the basis of their communicative patterns. It was questioned if significant differences existed in the amount of positive…

Four issues related to psychological development are discussed. These issues concern: (1) the criteria by which the separate levels, or structures, or stages of psychological development are to be identified; (2) the principle by means of which these configurations are to be ordered; (3) the nature of the transitions taking place between…

This study is an attempt to investigate the extent of which knowledge of results in various forms (true, none, and false) may modify aesthetic judgment. Seventy-two graduate students were administered an aesthetic judgment test of fifty items. On half of the test, twenty-four subjects received correct feedback and twenty-four received false…

A review of investigations which have had as their purpose the identification of competencies needed by professional adult educators is presented. This document attempts to taxonomize in a single list the competencies which research has found, and then suggests a process whereby specific behavioral objectives can be structured which will enable…