A theory of the dynamics of dyadic interaction is presented, based on the concepts of "concern" (i.e., intentions, goals, and interests), "appraisal" and "contagiousness." Differences between children who participate in a specific interaction are linked to differences in social competence and social power. An overview is given of the social…

Among the many methods of teaching skills to parents of disruptive children, videotape modeling of specific parent-child interaction sequences has been particularly effective. Given the likelihood of timeout resistance in defiant children, the authors tested the effectiveness of videotape parent training with a sample of clinic referred,…

The recent increase in prison populations has given rise to an unprecedented number of children in the school system with incarcerated parents. To cope with stressors before, during, or after parents' incarceration, children can exhibit a range of problematic and maladaptive behaviors. This article explores the negative behaviors these children…

A person-oriented approach was used to examine the role of parenting in the associations between single learning disabilities and multiple learning disabilities and the adjustment difficulties in 8-11-year-olds. The results revealed that multiple, but not single, learning disabilities were associated with greater difficulties in emotional and…

This study examined the playfulness of toddlers, ages 18-24 months, participating in a situational context with a non-maternal adult play partner. The goal was to investigate adult interaction styles and outcomes in terms of children's playful dispositions. Play behaviors were observed and coded from videotapes. A qualitative analysis of…

This study examines the earliest jokes produced by three children and investigates how these jokes contribute to a model of humor development. Subjects were three male infants, and data was collected through a diary record procedure kept by the children's parents. Data was collected on one child at age 13 months; data collection for the other two…

Members met to discuss the various forms of interactive violence and the potential negative impact it has on children at this hearing. Statements made by the following individuals are included in this document: [Panel I]Senator Sam Brownback; Dr. David Walsh, President, National Institute on Media and the Family (additional documents); Mrs.…

Examined expressions of negative emotion among 37 toddlers and strategies used to reduce or change these expressions. Six strategies were identified and evaluated. Findings suggest that active engagement was most commonly used and most negatively associated with child distress. Use of strategies varied by context. (HTH)

Three experiments using "backward reasoning" found that: age differences occurred in predicting surprise relative to false belief; by age five or six, children claim that surprise occurs when gaining knowledge where one was previously ignorant or held a false belief; by age seven to nine, they understand that surprise will more likely…

Investigates preference for and compliance with literal versus metaphorical instructions commonly used to teach relaxation to children. Exposed 33 non-clinical preschool children to both literal and metaphorical instructions. Results show that all children preferred metaphors to literal instructions. Findings also suggest that internalizing…

Assesses Greek primary school children's understanding of sun exposure during summer vacation. Results indicate that children know the damaging effects of long time exposure and the precautions that should be taken during summer bathing. (Author/SOE)

Examines relations between specific types of moral reasoning (i.e., imminent, probable, physical, and psychological) and teacher-reported overt aggression in 203 first and second graders. Regression analyses indicated that psychological reasoning explained a significant amount of the variance in overt aggression. (Contains 55 references and 3…

Examines response decision processes of rejected-reactive aggressive, rejected-nonaggressive and average children in terms of the presence or absence of behavioral response alternatives. Congruent with previous research, rejected-reactive aggressive children made significantly more hostile attributions and generated a higher number of aggressive…

Examined the relationship between sibling caregiving and social cognitive knowledge. For each of 55 sibling dyads, the frequency of preschoolers' caregiving acts and the number of seconds the younger siblings were distressed were recorded. Although emotional role taking, knowledge of caregiving scripts, and toddler distress were positively related…

Generating ideas for play and following instructions were studied with 15 children (ages 6 to 15) with autism, 15 children with learning difficulties, and 15 younger normal children. Children with autism were as able as controls in following instructions; they were impaired at generating original actions with a car but were not impaired with a…