The study compared the effects of different play conditions (microcomputer, remote-control robot, or no toys) on the amount of time four dyads of handicapped/nonhandicapped children would interact during structured play. Results suggested that microcomputers may serve as social facilitators for children with significant social and language…

Examines the relative importance of verbal, nonverbal, and social normative information in judgments of honesty and deceit. Finds strong support for the nonverbal cue primacy model and no support for the social-normative model. Suggests additional research is warranted on the relative strength of these sources and the manner of combination to form…

Analyzes responses of Brazilian and American students to measures of behavioral intention, perceived norms, and feelings regarding prosocial behaviors in both public and anonymous conditions. Concludes that Brazilians had internalized ingroup norms but that Americans had complied with norms because of social desirability pressures. (FMW)

Most observed conflicts were: (1) brief and lacked aggression; (2) resolved without adult intervention by children's insistence; (3) resulted in winner/loser outcomes; (4) concluded with children remaining together after the conflict. Social interaction before conflicts was unrelated to conflict behaviors other than aggression. (RH)

Self-report data on the physiological/behavioral response associated with embarrassment were collected by questionnaire in Greece, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and West Germany. Blushing/increased temperature and smiling/grinning were reported consistently, with considerable variation, across nations. Understatement and overstatement of…

Compared physically abused children's perceptions of television programing to those of non-abused children. Abused children watched more television than non-abused children, but were less able to name television characters or to identify an aggressive adult TV character they disliked. (Author/BB)

Reports a study that examined the influence of authoritarianism on the formation of behavioral intentions by female college students. High authoritarians took subjective norms less into account relative to low authoritarians, providing support for the theory that personal and subjective norms can be distinguished empirically. (LS)

Describes the computer program labeled ERVING which teaches students to reason sociologically using E. Goffman's classic dramaturgical perspective. Suggests that artificial intelligence programs offer a means for developing instructional models for the social sciences which are not amenable to a quantitative approach. (KO)

Two studies examined the influences of concordant and nonconcordant attachment relationships to mothers and to child caregivers on children's behavior in child care. In both studies, the child's level of competence in play with the caregiver and engagement with peers was a function of attachment security with both mother and caregiver. (NH)

Discusses the development of social policy since 1901, with special emphasis on the War on Poverty. Analyzes the relationships among poverty, social norms, and family structure. Outlines the problems of the new social condition, characterized by drug abuse and welfare dependency. (FMW)

A longitudinal study examined predictive relations among sociometric status, aggression, and adolescent childbearing; the relation among peer status, aggression, and multiple births; and whether these variables are related to the timing of adolescent childbearing. Results suggest that controversial peer status and aggression predict adolescent…

Explored relationships between three dimensions of temperament (surgency, negative affectivity, and control) and several patterns of behavior for 80 children aged 6 and 7 years. Found that surgency correlated positively with aggression and negatively with guilt and shame. Negative affectivity correlated positively with aggression, guilt and shame,…

Summarizes 16 recent ERIC documents and journal articles on children's social difficulties. Topics of the articles include social-cognitive processes of withdrawn children; genetic and environmental influences on inhibition; anxious-withdrawn preschoolers; helping children grow up in the 1990s; development of inhibition; behaviors of parents of…

This study examined the social attributions of 32 students with learning disabilities (LD) compared to those of 29 nonlearning-disabled low achieving and 33 average-achieving students. Students with LD were more likely to use external factors in explaining their social successes and failures, while attributing their successes to internal factors.…

This paper views effective communication as an essential component of appropriate social behavior, provides definitions and conceptualizations of social skills and social competence within academic contexts, and describes social skills assessment and intervention procedures for school-age children and youth with and without disabilities.…