THIS REPORT PRESENTS THE RESULTS OF A 5-YEAR RESEARCH PROGRAM WHICH ANALYZED MANY OF THE CORRELATES OF PEER ACCEPTANCE-REJECTION IN A SERIES OF STUDIES INVOLVING 37,913 SCHOOL CHILDREN, AGES 9 TO 12 YEARS. PEER ACCEPTANCE-REJECTION WAS INVESTIGATED THROUGH THE USE OF A PEER RATING SCALE AND A TEACHER RATING SCALE. A NUMBER OF METHODOLOGICAL…

The amount and type of peer interaction occurring in four racially mixed eighth grade classrooms were studied. Observational data were collected on the peer-directed behaviors of 69 white children and 32 black children weekly during one semester. The race and sex of the person to whom each behavior was directed were recorded as were the affective…

Two issues which are addressed in children's cross-race relationships are assessment and intervention. Results from two different types of sociometric studies are reviewed: those using measures of cross-race "best-friendship" and those using measures of "acceptance." Comparisons suggest that using a criterion of best-friendship rather than…

Teacher reinforcement of indoor play equipment utilization was employed as a procedure to increase the peer social interaction of an asocial four-year-old female child. Touching peers, using peers' names, verbalizations, solitary or parallel manipulation, cooperative construction, and cooperative thematic play were dependent variables. Treatment…

An experiment using paraprofessionals as counselors began in summer 1972 at Allegany Community College with the hiring of three recent graduates whose primary responsibility was to enhance communication on campus among students and between students and staff. Guided by a weekly three-hour clinic session with the Dean of Student Services and by…

This paper describes research which involved (1) the study of children's moral reasoning about their own spontaneous prosocial behavior and (2) an examination of the early development of such reasoning. Prosocial moral reasoning is defined as reasoning about conflicts in which the individual must choose between satisfying his or her own wants,…

This curriculum guide is designed to assist anyone involved in the organization of self-help mutual aid groups among older persons, based on the assumption that those to be affected must be involved. There are four major sections in the guide which speak to background issues; training of organizers in terms of their roles and functions; four…

This brief report summarizes the findings and conclusions of studies concerning the relation between birth order and various aspects of personality and intellectual development. Major topics discussed are the relation between birth order of the child and: (1) the effects of sex and spacing between siblings on personality characteristics of the…

The causal linkage between socioeconomic status, occupational and educational aspiration, and attainment was examined in this attempt to test an existing theoretical model which used socioeconomic status as a major input variable, with significant other influence as a crucial intervening variable between socioeconomic status and aspiration. The…

To gain some insight and understanding of the opinion leadership phenomenon as an element of a change strategy for agricultural education, a means of identifying and investigating the personal and social characteristics of teachers identified as opinion leaders was developed. Chi square, "t" test, and Spearman's rank order correlation…

This guide was designed for use in home education programs aimed at helping both children and parents improve their self-confidence, as a preliminary step toward helping children succeed at school. Specific behavioral goals for the parent trainer, the parent, and the child are presented in five areas: (1) relationship to self, (2) relationship to…

The central concern of this paper is to examine the subculture of the aging theory and the relationship between aging group-consciousness and morale. Aging group-consciousness is postulated to be one of the major components of an aging subculture. A study of 81 older people was conducted in a rural, multi-story housing facility. Questionnaires…

This study examines the effects of interdependent goals and cooperative learning environments on conformity in children. Each of the subjects (390 3rd and 4th grade children) was randomly assigned to a 3-child learning group (or to a no-group control) and then to one of seven experimental or control conditions. The experimental conditions and…

This paper is a report of a study which explores the relative contributions of norms, modeling, positive affect, and empathy to generalized reciprocity (prior help by one person leading to greater helpfulness by the recipient toward another person). Preschool children were randomly assigned to one of six groups and individually exposed to two…

Male and female adolescents (n=274) indicated (1) the amount of stress they experienced in their day-to-day living, (2) their satisfaction with the help they received from their mothers, fathers, and peers, and (3) perceptions of their well-being in three conceptually distinct areas (life satisfaction, various affective states, and mental and…