A study (N=60) was conducted to investigate the relationship between sex and the Bem Sex-Role Inventory in various measures of social influence. These influence measures involved self-reports of power strategies, peer evaluations of influence during group discussions, and personality scales measuring social power concepts. It was found that…

Investigated was the effectiveness of various reinforcement contingencies in diminishing social withdrawal in children, which is defined in terms of low rates of social interaction. Ss were three socially withdrawn first and second graders in three different regular classes, as determined by scores on the Walker Problem Behavior Identification…

Quantitative and qualitative analyses of communication modes used by 20 hearing-impaired students, their teachers, and their peers in mainstream junior and senior high school classrooms found that speech was used most often by all three groups. The hearing-impaired students demonstrated only minimal self-initiated interaction with normal-hearing…

Discusses methods by which teachers can understand student perceptions and attitudes. Investigates personal academic achievements, relationship of the students to the teachers, and interaction norms of the students with each other. (Author/DB)

Classroom interactional patterns by language choice and speech partner of six four-year old Spanish-preferring children in a bilingual preschool, observed over one year, indicated that those children using relatively more English with peers in the classroom and increasing their English usage over time generally showed the greatest increases in…

Drawing on case study data from an urban school, examines the elementary school classroom as a setting for children's learning of culturally appropriate modes of informal work group behavior. Concludes that schools temper the spontaneity, solidarity, and autonomy that pupils can enjoy in their informal relations with one another. (Author/GC)

This essay attempts to describe how age relations are important to the social behavior of preschool children. Major behaviors examined are sociability, friendship, aggression, and dominance. Imitation, cognitive development, social cognition, nurturance, and prosocial behavior are also briefly considered. (Author/SJL)

A senior center activities program was made accessible to nursing home patients through a project called Centercare. Nursing home patients (N=144) from seven different institutions made 4370 senior center visits over a 33-month period. Project results indicate a senior center can successfully provide the institutionalized elderly with social and…

Understanding the spirit and philosophy of open education constitutes the most important ingredient for successful adaptation to an open classroom; teachers need training and retraining before implementing an open classroom. (JD)

Observations of interactions in a day care center serving deaf and hearing children focused on eight children (either deaf or hearing and with either deaf or hearing parents). Although deaf and hearing children interacted with those of other hearing status, there was a stronger tendency to initiate communication with same hearing status peers.…

This study investigated effects of social interactive strategies (such as, contingent imitation, natural reinforcement contingency, and time delay) in promoting early social-communicative skills of a preschool child with developmental disabilities during daily classroom activities. Results indicated that the child's eye contact, joint attention,…

Six students with developmental delays and low levels of social interaction in preschool settings were followed during kindergarten to assess one-year maintenance effects of a peer-mediated social skills intervention program. Results indicated students continued to interact with peers at higher than baseline levels and were rated as within the…

Siblings, mothers, and fathers in nine families of a child with autism were observed in dyadic play interactions with the autistic child. Parents exhibited more play behaviors toward children than siblings, but the autistic children initiated more interactions toward siblings than toward parents. Vineland Adaptive Behavior scale scores correlated…

Reports on a study of student-student interaction via computer-mediated communication (CMC) in an undergraduate course at a British university. Analysis focused on: (1) interaction patterns within groups; (2) the influence of the tutor's "virtual absence," and (3) students' and tutors' evaluation of the experience. Most students valued…

This pilot study examined how the individual social-behavioral profiles of six children with language impairment (LI) influenced their ability to work with two typically developing children in cooperative groups. Although the success of individual interactions was highly variable, the LI child's social profile was a good predictor of ability to…