This study examines the normalcy of adolescent risk-taking and proposes that the social adventures of adolescents have significance for the development and maintenance of interpersonal relationships and self-identity. To evaluate the narrative role of shared risks in transforming different types of relationships, an interview procedure was…

Examined assertive bids of elementary school children engaged in a cooperative task. Results from kindergarten and grade one participants support previous research regarding greater male assertiveness and attempts to influence other boys. By grade three, girls' overall assertiveness equaled that of boys. (Author/DB)

Describes an in-class exercise using students' discussion of their answers on a multiple choice test to demonstrate the powerful effects and pervasiveness of social influence. After a brief multiple choice test, students discuss their answers with their neighbors and then answer again. Similar response patterns emerge among the participants. (MJP)

Studied adolescent participants in a group intervention program to determine the influence of peer reactions to problem behavior. Found that the impact of friendship is not always positive and can lead to unintended iatrogenic consequences. Concludes that adults' role in attending to children's peer contexts is perhaps the most critical for…

This research describes an observation study of 100 children, ages 9-13 years, on the island of 'Ua Pou, Marquesas Islands, French Polynesia. The children were in a French government boarding school in the main valley of the island. Complex, sophisticated group processes among the Marquesan children were observed. The role structures of the group…