This study examined a system for fading teacher prompts to children who served as peers in peer-initiation interventions for young children with disabilities (n=6). Results indicated that social interaction continued at the levels found during intervention and was maintained during a short maintenance period. (Author/DB)

Analysis of the social exchanges of 33 toddlers with developmental disabilities showed that more of the observation time was spent socially with mothers than with peers, and the number of turns per exchange was longer with mothers. However, toddlers initiated more social exchanges with peers than with mothers. Few changes were exhibited over time.…

This study examined the ability of six children with specific language impairment (SLI), ages 8 to 12, to particpate in a negotiation sequence with two same-age peers in triadic interactions. Children with SLI produced significantly fewer negotiation strategies and used developmentally lower level strategies than peers. The coding system is…

This study used a social network paradigm to examine college student integration of 329 college freshmen at a private liberal arts college. Analysis of the structural aspects of students' on-campus associations found differential effects of various social network characteristics on student commitment and persistence. (DB)

This study sought to describe the norms of reciprocity in social interaction from the viewpoint of immediate behavioral exchanges by examining the social interaction of preschool peers in a free-play situation. Seventeen 4-year-old children, eight girls and nine boys, were observed during free play activity periods after a picture sociometric test…

A self-esteem maintenance model was tested using 52 friendship pairs. Undergraduates (N=52) participated in a word identification task described as an indirect measure of important skills (high relevance) or as a game of password (low relevance). Participants presented clues to both a friend and a stranger. As predicted by the model, subjects gave…

This study was designed to: (1) obtain ecological data on the social behaviors of children in the preschool classroom especially in freeplay settings, and (2) identify characteristics of the physical environment and program variables which support, attenuate, or preclude social behaviors and social development. Observations were made of 16 3-, 4-,…

Situational analysis of student-teacher and student-student interaction during a kindergarten/first grade social occasion provides information on verbal and nonverbal behavior forms, situational contexts, and tacit rules of classroom interaction. (MJB)

An assessment is made of the conflicting claims that either co-operation or competition between pupils facilitates pupil learning. (Author)

Modeling was shown to be a more rapid modification procedure than was shaping, and the interaction levels produced through modeling, with or without the addition of shaping, were more stable over time. (Authors)

Undergraduates were trained to help the counseling staff by serving as models in demonstrating patterns of social behavior for clients, and as listeners to those having adjustment problems in college. (CJ)

Four hundred and twenty-six randomly selected Ontario secondary school teachers rated 75 subject teaching positions on a prestige status scale. Academic subjects were accorded highest prestige, followed by commercial, then technical. Higher prestige was accorded by interacting teachers than by non-interacting teachers. (Author/JB)

Dyadic free play of 32 preschool children (16 deaf and 16 hearing) was videotaped on two occasions; each child was observed once with a deaf partner, once with a hearing partner. Results are discussed in terms of the social interactions of hearing and deaf children, with particular attention to the characteristics of initiation attempts.…

A description of an intervention strategy that was designed on the basis of the initial level of interaction of an isolate preschool child with peers and adults is presented. The results of this case study are discussed. (Author/AL)