Data were collected for this study of the relationship between television watching and family life via a recording device (C-Box) consisting of a television set and a video camera. Designed for the study, this device was installed in 20 homes for one week to record the viewing area in front of the television set together with information on…

Courses using a Personalized System of Instruction (PSI) have proliferated in the past decade. Researchers have explored various factors related to PSI, but rarely, if ever, have students' study habits or preferences been considered. A questionnaire examining the study habits, exam preferences and attitudes toward various instructional formats was…

Interpretation of experimental tasks is influenced by knowledge of the language used, by assessment of what the experimenter intends, and by how subjects themselves would normally represent the physical situation. Whether these processes in which children engage in cognitive studies differ from those employed by adults in similar tasks was…

Attitudes toward their children were assessed in interviews with 357 mothers of nonhandicapped elementary students and 93 mothers of mildly retarded students in Yugoslavia. Child behaviors (academic and social) were assessed through teacher interviews. A markedly stronger relationship between school behaviors and mother attitudes was found for…

Compared the alcohol-related attitudes and stereotypes of 677 Papua New Guinea high school youth, 315 Australian, and 166 American students. While the overwhelming majority of Australian and American students had drunk alcohol, the majority of Papua New Guinean young people had not. (JAC)

Assessed whether evaluations of men and women are influenced by the gender appropriateness of personality characteristics. Students (N=211) rated written descriptions of masculine or feminine individuals with socially desirable or undesirable personality traits. Results showed gender appropriateness had no significant effect on evaluation. Ratings…

Examined the relationship between physiographic gestures and speech in seven-year-olds using data from classroom interviews. Found that an abundance of physiographic gestures were used in conversations, but they were not randomly distributed. Describing pictures and activities produced many gestures, while storytelling produced almost none.…

Investigated the relationship between shift time and use of leisure time, nonwork satisfaction, and mental and physical health among rank-and-file workers and nurses. Found employees working on fixed shift had higher job performance, motivation, and patients' care skill, and probably enjoyed better physical and emotional health. (Author/JAC)

Examined the relationship of self-rated decision style to vocational decision-making behaviors among school leavers (N=169) before leaving school, and to the implementation of their plans after leaving school. Support was found for the active-passive dimension in decision style and for the advantage of using an active logical style. (Author)

Assessment of the prelinguistic behaviors of 43 deaf children (ages 8 to 49 months) of hearing parents in Israel found only partial resemblance to the theoretical model of prelinguistic communication in hearing infants. Unique interrelationships among pointing and early noncommunicative behaviors were found with no correlation between use of…

The perceptions of students toward conservation and nature utilization and their behavior toward the environment were studied with 725 Danish adolescents and a previously studied group of Bavarian adolescents. Following construct validation, comparison of mean within-region factor values reveals substantial differences between countries. (SLD)

Investigation of activity patterns of four residents of a Community Residential Unit in Victoria, Australia, found that personal/domestic activities engaged 35-47 percent of residents' time, followed by sedentary activities (18-25 percent). Social interaction and indoor recreation occupied less than 9 percent of time and outdoor and social…

Reports on psychological support for emotionally and behaviorally disturbed children in 286 state day or boarding schools and 83 independent schools in Great Britain. Concludes that many flaws exist in the educational structure and that a full-time psychologist is necessary for both the student and teachers. (CFR)

Analyzed the health-compromising behaviors of German youth using responses of 2,330 seventh, eighth, and ninth graders from the German Youth Study. Smoking and drinking are not seen by these students as health-threatening behaviors, but as socially appealing behaviors. Discusses implications for health education. (SLD)

The relationship of the Contraceptive Self-Efficacy Scale to contraceptive behavior was explored in four female samples: (1) 258 California adolescents, (2) 259 Chicago (Illinois) adolescents, (3) 231 Montreal (Canada) high school students, and (4) 148 college students. Results are discussed in terms of use in research and clinical settings. (SLD)