Past research has demonstrated the prevalence of 11 attitudes toward personal suffering among retirees: punitive, testing, personal growth, bad luck, resignation to the will of God, redemptive, divine perspective, minimizing, submission to the laws of nature, acceptance of the human condition, and defensive attitude. This study examined attitudes…

School climates at 12 day care centers in Sweden were compared to investigate effects of center climates on children's social and emotional behavior. Observations and interviews conducted at the day care centers revealed differences in center climates related to child-rearing patterns, patterns of interaction, the distribution of power, and in…

Although research in nonverbal communication is in its seventh decade, the origins of individual differences in nonverbl sensitivity remain. To investigate the relationship between family norms of emotional expression and nonverbal communication, 64 college students completed the Family Expressiveness Questionnaire, were videotaped while…

In a recent controversial article, "Feeling and Thinking: Preferences Need No Inferences" (l980), R. B. Zajonc argues in support of the independence of affect and cognition. Examination of the structure and assumptions of Zajonc's arguments suggests that they do not support the view that affect is non-cognitive. Zajonc appears to leap…

The attributions of success and failure in a course in nursing research design and statistics were measured using a modified version of the Mathematics Attribution Scale. Eight subscales were formed by combining hypothetical success or failure events paired with each attribution category. The scales were success-task, success-environment,…

This study explored questions concerning the specificity of facial expression of emotions in infants. A sample of 27 infants (nine each at ages 10, 11, and 12 months) were tested in six experimental and six control conditions. Two of the experimental conditions were designed to elicit fear, two happiness, and two surprise. Videotapes of the…

This discussion asserts that there is no significant difference between traditional instruction and remedial/developmental instruction in improving the academic achievement of skill-deficient students. Because the cognitive style of each learner reflects how learning tasks are approached and completed, matching strategies are needed that deal with…

The purpose of this study was to determine what personal attributes, in the opinion of teachers, were needed by the effective educator. Once identified, these attributes would be assessed in entering and exiting students in the teacher education program at the University of Wisconsin. A theoretical model for the "ideal teacher" was devised listing…

A method for statistical analysis of semantic differential data in educational evaluation is discussed. Estimated scores for unobserved affective variables are obtained using the canonical factor regression method. This method overcomes previous prolems of bias and inefficiency in computing composite affective indices. In an application of the…

Perspective transformation is a consciously achieved state in which the individual's perspective on life is transformed. The new perspective serves as a vantage point for life's actions and interactions, affecting the way life is lived. Three conditions are basic to achieving perspective transformation: (1) "feeling" experience, i.e.,…

There has been much work on social networks and interpersonal worlds, but until recently little discussion of the unique aspects of women's networks. To examine the factors that constrain or facilitate such female bonding, 43 low-income urban mothers were interviewed. For these respondents, female bonding was a significant aspect of their lives.…

This research reports the development of a semantic differential for rating nonverbal style of expressiveness in a population of expectant mothers. Mothers' nonverbal features (facial expression, gestures, voice quality) were emphasized as uniquely valid indices of emotional attitudes towards parenthood and as the principal forms of interpersonal…

As sex-role equality becomes more acceptable in heterosexual relationships, it is important to examine traditional assumptions about "appropriate" masculine and feminine behaviors. Subjects (N=203) reacted to descriptions of initiations of heterosexual relationships in which the sequence of two initiations (starting a conversation and issuing a…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships among teachers' goal orientations, structure (amount of directiveness provided by the teacher), and observable classroom behaviors to determine: (1) if teachers with different goal orientations differ in verbal and nonverbal affective responses; and (2) if teachers with different goal…

Skillful interpretation of nonverbal communication on the part of college administrators is pointed out as an important factor in the success or failure of educational enterprises. A method is presented of using such instruments as the Occupational Climate Description Questionnaire and the Leadership Behavior Description Questionnaire in assessing…