This project investigates the racial divide in support for capital punishment. The authors examine whether race has a direct effect on support for capital punishment and test whether the influence of race varies across class, being a native southerner, confidence in government officials, political orientation, and religious affiliation. Using data…

Over the last decade, researchers have become increasingly interested in students' beliefs about the nature of knowledge and how these beliefs develop. Although initial psychological accounts portrayed epistemic development as a domain-independent process of cognitive maturation, recent studies have found trajectories of epistemic development to…

To test and compare theoretical explanations of the use of corporal punishment in school, the authors examine how well county-level measures of culture, socioeconomic strain, and social capital predict the prevalence and incidence of corporal punishment in Kentucky schools. Although several variables are significantly correlated with corporal…

Recent court philosophy has introduced the concept of court-sanctioned "punitive speech." In response to the rising concern over drunken driving and other crimes, many courts are using public humiliation, in the form of public apologies or bumper stickers/license plates that proclaim the crime, as a form of punishment. The key question…

Appropriate play with toys was studied in two autistic children (8 and 6-years-old) with high occurrences of self-stimulatory behavior. (Author/CL)

The fifth of six volumes in the "Elementary Principal Series," this booklet clarifies the principal's leadership role in developing an effective school discipline policy that stresses staff involvement and student self-control. As team leader, the principal works with staff to establish standards and insists that they be enforced. A…

Ten papers contributed by school psychologists or university educators working with school psychology programs review psychological theory and research on behavioral strategies for psychological intervention. Following an overview on the effective use of behavior modification in the school, nine behavior change methods are examined in terms of…

The discipline of discipline is the cornerstone upon which educators should build the other disciplines. Teaching responsibility for one's actions must stand beside the teaching of writing, reading, and arithmetic. Discipline cannot be mastered when stifled with negative reward systems and punishment. This paper describes a comprehensive…

Text of a Federal Appeals Court case in which parents sought damages and injunctive relief as to use of corporal punishment in a county school system. The evidence established that use of corporal punishment at one school violated due process and the constitutional prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment. (JF)

Reactions to several kinds of deviant behavior were measured by a questionnaire administered to 79 students at the University of Rome (Italy), in which descriptions of acts were varied to show "good", "bad", or "unspecified" actors. (Author/NQ)

A study of the effects of an aversive stimulus (noise), a rationale, and sex of the punitive agent on punishment generalization of punishment resulted from the use of a rationale, although noise also produced generalization. (DP)

Ten mothers and their children (4 to 8 years old) interacted in a situation analogous to that thought to precipitate child abuse. Without directly observing the child, each mother telemetrically monitored her child's performance on a puzzle. Following an error, she selected the intensity of punishment to be delivered. However, the frequency of…

Based upon the author's doctoral dissertation (University of Minnesota, 1967).