Reference group theory suggests that a perceived similarity between interacting individuals leads to future interaction, increased source credibility, and more frequent agreement on specific issues. This study shows how the reference group theory applies to the authoritarian television character Archie Bunker and television viewers that watch…

Recent research indicates that fourteen linguistic and paralinguistic patterns--thought to measure uncertainty, vagueness, dependence, and negative affect--discriminate between men's truth telling and deceptive language behavior. This study sought to determine if these same patterns also discriminate between women's truth telling and deceptive…

A multi-aged primary classroom environment was observed to determine (1) the degree to which teacher behaviors specified by developers of an adaptive learning environment (ALE) are actually exhibited by the teachers, (2) the nature of classroom processes and interactions between teachers and students in an ALE, and (3) the extent to which…

This study examined the influence of an individual's attributions upon the type of tasks that individuals would select. Questions guiding this study concerned the predictability (congruence) of tasks from attributions, the consistency of this task-attribution congruency, and the generalizability of the results. Subjects were 801 students drawn…

Only recently have imitation researchers turned their attention to the effects on the model of being imitated by observers. This report outlines and reviews the findings of research in the developing paradigms. Four paradigms into the effects of being imitated are examined briefly: (1) operant strengthening paradigm; (2) classical conditioning…

Video-taped samples of two help-oriented groups were rated for six leader and participant facilitating behaviors and therapeutic process (self-exploration). As manifested by leaders and participants, two help-oriented behaviors were significantly correlated. Four leader behaviors were positively correlated with participant self-exploration,…

A method is presented for systematically exploring family life as expressed in fiction. The approach can be easily adapted to classroom teaching, or utilized in research projects. A summary of how lay authors of specific books portray mother-daughter and father-daughter relationships is reported. (Author)

Four second-grade teachers completed the Classroom Behavior Inventory for every student in their class (N=101). Subjects were classified as either reflective (N=32) or impulsive (N=32) by using the Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFF). (Author)

A survey of the adaptive behavior of 426 community-placed mentally retarded individuals (76 percent of whom were 13-to 49 years-old) was conducted through small group, tape recorded interviews with their 109 caretakers. (Author)

Design of a research project is discussed that tests the development of role orientation of individual high school students over four-year period to move toward greater adult orientation. (Author/ND)

Reports results of a study of 274 4-year-olds in 17 half-day nursery classrooms, which examined: (1) the relationship between class size and individualization; (2) the influence of space on children's involvement in activities; and (3) the impact of various activity areas on children's and teacher's behavior. (ED)

Provides data indicating that development occurs in cycles, with behavioral competencies appearing and developing and then disappearing only to reappear again in a more complex form at a later age. Data on conservation and auditory-manual coordination in infancy are used to support this theory. (ED)

Summarizes the Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis on language and thought process, along with several critical viewpoints. The writings of Koschmieder, Gipper, and Lenneberg, as well as psychological and linguistic aspects of experiments on color differentiation and conditioned response, are discussed. (Text is in German.) (DH)