The role of partner familiarity in the organization, duration, and content of social pretend play was studied in a triadic situation involving two friends and a third familiar child. Findings showed that play between friends was longer and richer than play with the third partner and that girls spent nearly twice as much time in fantasy as boys.…

Selected results from an ethnographic study of communication in an American Pacific Northwest church community are presented. The case illustrates patterns in the selection of linguistic options of personal address and that personal address choice is influenced by such factors as context, public/private meanings, and interlocutor beliefs.…

Used both a noncontextual mode and a natural history mode of analyzing the emotionally charged dramas that form an important part of the socialization of Inuit children. Focused on a three year old's participation in such a drama. Analyzed themes and plots of the incident. (MM)

The moral realism of everyday life is neither Piaget's childlike egocentrism nor Gabennesch's reification. Natural moral law is seen by Turiel, a cognitivist, as a code of harm, rights, and justice. Other cognitivists accept codes of duty and natural order. (BC)

Moral judgments are an important aspect of social reasoning, not arbitrary products of social formations. Maintains that Gabennesch relegates moral concepts to reification, failing to account for the distinctions between conventionality and moral concepts. (BC)

Examined relationships between negative social behaviors and social activity participation to self-reported drinking and driving behaviors of adolescents. Results from 6,868 adolescents showed negative social behaviors and social activity participation were critical precursors to drinking and driving problem among adolescents. (Author/NB)

In one condition, infants were presented with tongue protrusions and mouth openings modeled by an adult. In another condition, these gestures were simulated by objects. Infants in the first condition reproduced the gestures at significant levels, but infants in the second condition did not. Findings indicate that imitation is a social response.…

Examined effects of reasoning and choice on prosocial behavior of 48 second and third graders enrolled in day camps. Results indicated that the children were more helpful in choice than in no-choice conditions. However, prosocial behavior was most likely when no reasoning was used. (Author/BB)

The fundamental purpose of wellness is to maximize human potential. Describes the dimensions of wellness and identifies some habits that can foster growth within each dimension. Gives examples of societal norms that detract from wellness and those that enhance wellness. Urges schools to integrate the wellness lifestyle throughout all curriculum…

Mezirow's concept of perspective transformation (PT) is criticized for considering examples of socially expected development as instances of PT. Individual development is both social and psychological, and PT is best considered as a developmental shift (a new world view) rather than developmental progress. (SK)

This study compared the social-communicative performance of six preschool children with developmental delays during free play in both mainstream and reverse-integration program settings. Neither setting appeared to promote adequate rates of initiating and responding. The use of attention-getting devices increased the number of successful…

Presents research findings from a 1998 study on predictors of friendship quality and peer acceptance at summer camp. Discusses implications for two core areas of camp: staff training issues (management of group dynamics and providing social-skill-building opportunities for individual campers) and program philosophy as the backdrop for formation of…

Discusses the problem library patron from various fronts: historical, personality traits, importance of complaints, nature and types of problem patrons and their behavior, technology and the newly-bred problem patron, strategies for dealing with problem patrons, and ensuring that library administrators and other supervisors understand the need to…

Assesses 350 delinquent court-adjudicated adolescent males for substance use/abuse. Analyses reveal social behavior/peer relationship variables to be more strongly related to the degree of substance use/abuse than were the family problem risk variables. Follow-up analysis reveals evidence that conforming/socially acceptable behavior acts as a…

A study used functional analyses to identify the social variables that maintained the inappropriate social-communicative behaviors of two adolescent students with mental retardation. Results were used to identify appropriate, functionally equivalent behaviors that the students were taught to self-monitor. The use of appropriate social skills was…