The first major goal of this study was to determine whether touch would enhance mother-infant coregulation in ordinary, nonstressful face-to-face interactions. In an experimental manipulation of presence versus absence of touch in face-to-face interactions between 79 mothers and their 3.5-month-old infants, results indicated that when touch is…

This study attempted to distinguish between the ambivalent response of shyness and the more potent negative affect of fear in infancy. Sixty infants between 9 and 12 months of age participated in two laboratory situations: a nonsocial situation involving the presentation of a mechanical toy; and a social situation involving a standardized stranger…

This document examines the function of social conventions among strangers. Conventions are regularities in behavior, sustained by an interest in coordination and an expectation of cooperation. Such regularities may arise temporarily or fall just as temporarily; they may exist in a particular time or place and may take time to evolve. From the…

This paper focuses on the relationships which exist between the looking-glass-self theory of human behavior of Charles Horton Cooley (published in 1902) and the idea of social penetration of I. Altman and D. Taylor (published in 1973). The paper discusses Cooley's classic metaphor of the looking-glass-self: humans use the verbal and nonverbal…

This study indicated that the child's decision to respond generously to the needs of others may be a function of his evaluation of the relative fairness and deservedness of the other's plight. Whether competition renders the child less responsive is a subject for further research. (JMB)

This paper seeks to explore the usefulness of certain sociological concepts and methods in the field of mental retardation focusing attention to defintional flexibility and spatial relativity of the 'mental retardation' concept. (Editor/RK)

An investigation of the hypothesis that minority groups exhibit social avoidance of the majority class on the basis of perceived dissimilarity in status revealed that social avoidance was significantly associated with the investigator's status. (Author/KM)

Author examined some logical connections between the creative process and the problem of human relations and argued that though antisocial behavior among creative people is normal and expected, it is neither required nor inevitable. (Author/RK)

An antecedent-consequent model of toddlers' socially directed messages to peers was developed to investigate the differential success of themes in eliciting interaction. Videotaped observational data collected under a short-term longitudinal design were obtained from two playgroups, each consisting of six toddler-age boys. Toddlers' social…

Rituals are often present at times of tension, change, and uncertainty and they perform important and diverse functions at such times. They are, however, virtually absent at one important and increasingly common event, divorce. Families do draw upon rituals to deal with in-law relationships following divorce. This report stemmed from a research…

This paper describes the Self-Evaluation Maintenance (SEM) model of social behavior which consists of three variables: the psychological closeness of another, the relative performance of that other, and the relevance of the performance dimension to one's self-definition. The SEM model is described as involving two processes, the reflection process…

Cognitive factors have been shown to play an important role in marital distress. To examine the importance of the self-other distinction for understanding the impact of attributions on marital satisfaction, two studies were conducted. In the first study, causal attributions for naturally occurring behavior by the self and spouse were investigated…

Questions the appropriateness of unidimensional or unidisciplinary approaches to understanding the student activism phenomenon and suggests the likely futility of intervention programs based on them. (RB)

Our understanding of a story is highly dependent upon our ability to recognize the underlying purpose for actions described in the story. We need to view those actions as steps in, or reactions to, plans. This paper sketches some of the components of a model for the understanding of plans and social actions. The model is first applied to narrative…