Evaluated psychometric features and correlates of the Hopelessness Scale for Children. Results indicated the scale was internally consistent, item-total score correlations and test-retest reliability were in the moderate range, and individual items discriminated high and low hopelessness children. Hopelessness correlated positively with depression…

A total of 20 five-year-old children were observed in two different preschools to examine conciliatory and subordinate behaviors following conflicts and to determine these behaviors' relationship to subsequent interaction (i.e., separation or peaceful association). Discusses the importance of conciliatory gestures in resolving social tension. (CB)

A study of preschoolers confirmed findings that toy choices reflect the sex typing of social behavior. Although toy choice was not related to all behaviors idenitifed in earlier studies as sex-typed, those for which there were clear gender differences in this study (socializing with peers and spontaneous prosocial behavior) were related to…

The authors advocate a performance-based approach to assessing social competence in which multiple staff and parents evaluate the adequacy of the child's behavior in social interactions with peer and adults. An example illustrates the approach in an early childhood special education setting. (CL)

American and Chinese students (Grades 6 and 9) performed an auditory tracking task that required counting tone patterns alone and in pairs. The Americans tended to work harder individually, while the Chinese performed better in pairs. These findings contradict earlier suggestions that "social loafing" is a transcultural phenomenon. (KH)

A short-term longitudinal study of the peer-related social interactions of 111 developmentally delayed toddlers and preschool children was carried out. Results suggested the existence of unusually marked deficits in peer interactions. Possible contributing factors were discussed. (Author/RH)

Social interactions regarding moral and conventional transgressions were observed among two toddler groups. Each of 16 day care center classrooms, eight serving 13- to 27-month-olds and eight serving 18- to 40-month-olds, was observed for three 45-minute sessions. Implications of results concerned the developmental origins of distinctions between…

This paper suggests that highly competitive sport encourages strong identification of fans with teams. Theories of conflict, categorization, and social competition are used to discuss some determinants of identification with teams, and implications for physical education are drawn. (Author/MT)

Compares the feelings of identity and security in 44 young adults who had been adopted and 44 who had been foster children. Adoptees appeared more confident and secure; most of those who had been foster children seemed insecure about their legal position and the change in their lives. (CI)

Studies the aggressiveness of over 600 subjects, their parents, and their children over a 22-year period. Subjects who were more aggressive 8-year-olds were more aggressive 30-year-olds, exhibiting serious antisocial behavior as adults. The stability of aggression across generations within a family was also high. (Author/CB)

Use level, visual encounters, crowding expectations, and feelings were examined by regression techniques to explain perceived crowding among innertube floaters. Degree of user specialization and specificity for any given activity and place is offered as an explanation for the discrepancy from previous findings. (Author/DF)

Evaluated the assumption that social evaluations are infrequent in daily interactions. Undergraduates (N=39) self-observed five different hours of social interaction and reported an average of 2.6 evaluations per rated hour of interaction. An average of 61 percent were rated positive. Family members gave positive evaluations less frequently than…

Guided design involves an instructor in developing a problem that students are expected to solve and then leading them, step by step, through the problem to its solution. This teaching method was used to help students explore how individuals, small groups, and then larger numbers of people in larger areas interact to form the Muncie (Indiana)…

Schools are organizations in which rules are pervasive but not always explicitly stated. Students learn not only specific rules but also about rules in general. The hidden lessons about rules are among the few parts of the hidden curriculum associated with the social environment which are effectively learned. (IS)

Two experiments are reported: one in which presentation of external information about a stranger evoked significantly higher attraction ratings than available psychological information; and a second where similarity of Subject and Other on external characteristics had greater effects upon attraction scores than did similarity of psychological…