This paper argues that the emerging discipline of sociobiology has the potential of doing what epistemologists, developmental psychologists, psychoanalysts, and ethologists have been unable to do: to provide a theory documenting our inherited dispositions as reflected in cultural evolution and personal development. Accordingly, the paper begins…

Research conducted in the United States has found that people exert more effort when they perform a task individually than when they do so in a group. This phenomenon has been labeled social loafing. To examine the transcultural generality of social loafing, 20 male and 20 female Chinese school children in Taiwan were selected from grades 2, 3, 6,…

This dissertation provides a case study of the daily experiences of children and teachers in a nonprofit day care center. Located in a middle class suburb of a midwestern metropolitan area, the center serves 54 three- and four-year-olds of varied economic and racial background (20% of the children are black; family incomes range from below $8,000…

This report on refugee resettlement programs and techniques addresses two central issues: (1) what kinds of assistance should be made available by the Federal government to incoming refugees; and (2) which services in the public and private sectors have been most effective in helping refugees to achieve self sufficiency? Chapter I provides a brief…

This paper examines the impact of 12 hours of exposure to Rational Behavior Training (RBT) and 10 days of exposure to a controlled conflict situation within a wilderness environment on 30 high school students. Results indicate that the treatment group, when compared with a control group, showed a marked and statistically significant reduction in…

These five booklets present the program transcripts of a weekly series broadcast by member stations of National Public Radio. A wide variety of participants express their views on various aspects of the adolescent experience. Kenneth Keniston, Urie Bronfenbrenner and Margaret Mead are among those participating as well as teenagers themselves. The…

Selected studies that examine social interaction variables which affect the language young children use in social play are reviewed. Interaction variables discussed in major sections of the paper are (1) the nature of social play; (2) egocentrism and its impact on verbal communication; (3) language as a functional behavior; (4) adaptation of…

Intended for students in grades 4-7, the lessons in this guide focus on law related education. Major objectives are for students to gain an understanding of (1) the laws and legal practices in a democratic society; (2) the concepts of authority, order, property, and justice in the operation of institutions; and (3) the processes and functions of…

These teacher-developed learning activities for grades 4-7 deal with consumer law-related topics. The self-contained activities are organized into five sections. Section one contains a role-playing card game that helps students examine rules and feelings. For example, one role-playing situation involves a confrontation between a student and a bus…

Although research has supported the relationship between locus of control and personal adjustment, many correlates of locus of control differ for males and females. Three samples of undergraduates completed the Reid-Ware Three-Factor Locus of Control Scale and either the Texas Social Behavior Inventory (N=64 males and 211 females), the Barron ego…

The secondary social studies lessons in this publication are intended to help teachers improve instruction. Lessons are provided for the curriculum areas of social inquiry, ethical development, and civic competence. In the social inquiry lessons, students learn to describe and explain human behavior. In the ethical development lessons, students…

Networks have emerged as a major topic of interest in the behavioral sciences, and network concepts have recently been extended by community psychologists to higher education. To examine the effectiveness of peer networks within an introductory psychology class, networks of four students each met weekly in place of a lecture to review material and…

Although most people are occasionally lonely, others find loneliness to be an enduring problem. Loneliness is often associated with a variety of personality characteristics which interfere with the formation of interpersonal relationships. The interrelationship of shyness and loneliness over time and in response to varying situations was examined…

Both social ability and social disability models of delinquent peer relations have been developed to explain the social relations of delinquents. A key difference between these models is the assumption of normal social relations among delinquents in the social ability model, contrasted to the social ineptitude and lack of social skills attributed…

This study tests the general hypothesis that preschool experience has a measurable effect upon children's noncognitive development between the time they enter and the time they leave the preschool program. The California Preschool Competency Scale (CPSCS) was administered to 4-year-old children in a prekindergarten program (PreK) in the fall of…