This study compared 29 females with Turner syndrome and 21 females with fragile X syndrome (ages 6-22) on a videotaped role-play interaction with 34 females in a comparison group. Three of eight behavioral measures of social skills differentiated the participant groups. Fragile-X subjects required more time to initiate interactions and Turner…

Among findings of evaluation of the coping strategies of maltreated children (n=152) were that abused children and children both abused and neglected were difficult or compliant in interactions with their mothers, avoidant under stress, and aggressive with siblings; and that neglected children were cooperative in play with the mother, anxious…

This study examined the effects of discounting behavior ("put downs") on the quantity and quality of ideas produced by a group and on the group climate. Subjects were 52 college students divided into 8 groups. Groups in which discounting occurred produced significantly fewer ideas, and the emotional response to the group process was…

Explores the predictability of friendly, cooperative behavior of school children over a 5-week period. The basis for the predictions was the children's others-concept, as measured by the Paired Hands Test. In three tasks out of five the high others-concept children showed a higher frequency and greater proportion of task-related and friendly…

A study examined the relationship between interaction involvement--a kind of communication competence--and communication behavior in a negotiation setting. Subjects, 120 college students, completed the Interaction Involvement Scale and were placed in same-sex dyads of three types: (1) mixed dyads of one high- and one low-involved subject; (2)…

Identification of age differences as a major characteristic of satisfying heterosexual love relationships was investigated. Married couples (N=102), divided equally into three groups, i.e., young, middle-aged, and older adults, completed a 108-item instrument, rating each statement in terms of how well it described their current love relationship.…

The influence of aversive conditions on interpersonal attraction was investigated using 60 female undergraduates as subjects. Dyads were formed and equally divided into aversive (loud-noise) and neutral (low-noise) conditions. After completing an attitude survey questionnaire subjects completed a short filler task while the experimenter…

Descriptive data were collected over a two-month period on two middle elementary classrooms to which student teachers had been assigned. From this data typical patterns of teaching/learning behavior were identified for each classroom. The student teachers were then interchanged, and the data collection continued for another two months. Comparison…

Categories such as commanding, requesting, and explaining were used to analyze communicative intentions in conversations of 108 children, aged five through nine, during three sets of play activities varying in task specification and leadership role assignment. Results showed that the frequency and variety of communicative intention categories…

This longitudinal study of changes in play behavior in preschool children reports decreases in less mature forms of play and increases in more mature forms of play over time. The study was designed to test the assumption that the play of young children develops in a progressive manner. Ten 3-year-olds and ten 4-year-olds were observed during free…

This study examines social comparison processes occurring in the interactions among normal adolescents in peer groups. Eight types of social comparison processes were predicted. Two of these, specific to adolescent developmental processes, are new. The experimental design called for behavioral observation documenting occurrence of social…

This theoretical paper explores the implications of some modifications and extensions of the Transactional Analysis (TA) theory of personality and attempts to understand some specific aspects of human nature and behavior in evolutionary terms. "Ego State" as used in TA designates both a structural and functional unit of the personality.…

This paper deals with the training of personnel in the delivery of child-care services to institutionalized Youth. The emphasis is on training personnel in interaction behaviors that are preferred by youth themselves. Two studies are reported. The first determined what types of interactions the youth preferred, and validated these preferences on…

The effect of a high-opportunity (HO) versus a low-opportunity (LO) play environment on the aggression of preschool children was investigated, hypothesizing that the LO play environment will elicit significantly more aggression than the HO play environment. The two environments were presented randomly to one group of 10 4-year-olds, five of each…