Medical students and their spouses (N = 724) served as participants to create norm-referenced vertical jump values for active, healthy people ages 21-30. All tests were conducted and measured by the same individual during a campus fitness evaluation using a Vertec[TM] apparatus. Jump height was measured to the nearest 0.5 in. Mean jump height was…

From the author's perspective, self-determination is characteristic of all humans regardless of their capabilities, disabilities, or idiosyncrasies. It is evident when they act on their circumstances to get what they need or want and when they persist in those pursuits until situations change in the right direction for them. It is accurately…

In current research on parenting, 2 ways of conceptualizing perceived parental autonomy support can be distinguished. Parental autonomy support can be defined in terms of promotion of independence (PI) or in terms of promotion of volitional functioning (PVF). This study aimed to establish the empirical distinctiveness of both conceptualizations…

This guide is addressed to children in the often neglected middle years--ages 9 through 12--to help them see themselves as better persons and students in the process of growing up. Part one discusses issues that concern children as persons: self-esteem, things that can hurt and annoy, disabilities, dilemmas and decisions, learning to say no to…

Many researchers have attempted to assess power in marital dyads. Specifically, the question of which spouse carries the most power has been frequently examined. Confusion between spouses in decision-making roles, number of marital arguments, and self-esteem of spouses were examined in this study. Data were gathered from 31 married couples from…

The willingness to manipulate others has been called Machiavellianism. The purpose of the present study was to acquire a preliminary answer to the question: what verbal communicative strategies do people with high Machiavellian characteristics employ which permit them to influence and control the group process? (Author)

Discusses six impediments to independent expression of opinion: risks of disapproval, lack of perceived alternatives, fear of disrupting the proceedings, absence of shared communication, inability to feel responsibility, and sense of impotence. Asserts that to overcome these impediments, socialization oriented to the critical evaluation of…

This report on sexual assault was written for adults who work with adolescents. It contains data on teenage sexual assault from the National Youth Survey (NYS), a survey of a nationally representative sample of approximately 1,700 youths who were between 11 and 17 years old at the time of the project's initial interview and who were interviewed…

This report on sexual assault was written for adolescents. It contains data on teenage sexual assault from the National Youth Survey (NYS), a survey of a nationally representative sample of approximately 1,700 youths who were between 11 and 17 years old at the time of the project's initial interview and who were interviewed annually for 5 years…

Studies show that culture change initiated by the common individual is slow, but like the geologic forces shaping our earth, it is persistent and inevitable. Anthropology's response to Freud began the culture-and-personality school that stressed psychological rather than biological foundations of behavior. Recent studies perceive individuals as…

Alcoholism is a complex behavior pattern. Social learning theory, which is concerned with the analysis of why individuals behave in certain ways and the effects of reinforcement patterns in their behaviors, offers an alternative to traditional treatments of alcoholics. Among alcoholics, drinking is a control issue. Locus of control is viewed as a…

Arguments and research studies examining whether people prefer arbitration or mediation to resolve a conflict between disputing parties are discussed, critiqued, and compared. In both mediation and arbitration a presumably neutral third party is involved, along with disputants, as an element of the dispute-resolution process. Mediation and…

Past research has suggested that gender and race may be important factors in the development of students' political attitudes, that males express more positive political attitudes than do females, and that white students express more positive political attitudes than do black students. A 31-item Political Attitudes Inventory was administered to…

Research studies on group versus individual bystander responses either have involved nonviolent emergencies or laboratory simulations. To investigate group versus individual bystander response to a violent assualt in a natural setting, 80 male college students (from an original pool of 393 white, male students) were observed either individually or…

Student leadership can become a malevolent force which can destroy or undermine individuals as well as the school community. Student leaders' roles in schools can also, however, be benevolent, leading to both personal development and school/community development. In schools for blacks in South Africa, black power and student power may combine to…