The first day of an introductory sociology course provides a crucial first impression to both students and instructor. The information instructors present on the organization, content, and expectations of the course reduces student anxiety and uncertainty. Instructors use self-introductions to address first day concerns and to provide information…

This article provides the rationale for doing research on childlessness and parenthood in late life. Childless older adults have been rendered invisible in the social scientific literature. A central goal of this issue is to make them visible and to expose unstated assumptions about normal adult life. Parenthood emerges as a key organizer of the…

To explore factors associated with college students' intentions to participate in Internet-based health research, data were collected from 502 undergraduate students enrolled in introductory-level business courses at a large midwestern university. Findings suggest that intentions to participate in Internet-based research are influenced by one's…

"For Our Own Safety" is devoted entirely to the subject of, and risks associated with, restraint and seclusion of children. This book is a collection of the diverse viewpoints presented at the international symposium, "Examining the Safety of High-Risk Interventions for Children and Young People" (Ithaca, New York, June 1-4, 2005). It presents…

This study examined the effects on 6- and 8-year old children (n = 160) of rejection versus acceptance by an initial group, the reason for the rejection or acceptance (personal versus category-based), and the norms (inclusion versus exclusion) of a new group to which the children were assigned, on their negative affect and attitudes towards the…

This randomized experiment examines the effects of contextual information on undergraduate college student's levels of alcohol-related incident guardianship at college parties. The research is conceptualized using routine activities theory and the theory of planned behavior. The experiment examines attitudinal variations about heavy drinking…

This study examines imagined interactions (IIs) among young adults in the United States, Thailand, and Japan. A comparison of means across cultures on II characteristics reveals that the Japanese participants have the widest variety of II partners, whereas the American participants are the most self-dominant in their IIs and demonstrate the most…

Breaching experiments involve the conscious exhibition of "unexpected" behavior, an observation of the types of social reactions such behavioral violations engender, and an analysis of the social structure that makes these social reactions possible. The conscious violation of norms can be highly fruitful for sociology students, providing insights…

Assessing the effectiveness of a leader is often a difficult exercise for many organizations. This is usually because most assessment procedures are influenced by organizational politics, they are not standard based, and the items on which a leader is assessed are undefined or poorly defined. This study presents the "Essential Behavioral…

The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the socionormative approach of internality in the field of education, and more specifically regarding scholastic judgment. It describes the theoretical development and the main procedures used by researchers to show that internal causal explanations have more value than external ones because they…

People can use a variety of different strategies to perform tasks and these strategies all have two characteristics in common. First, they can be evaluated in comparison with either an absolute or a relative standard. Second, they can be used at varying levels of consistency. In the present article, the authors develop a general theory of task…

This exercise explores how organizations affect individuals' feelings and expressions of emotion. Although recent attention by management theorists suggests that emotions are an important aspect of organizational life, people's actual experience of emotions at work often do not reflect this emphasis: Work-place emotions remain, in large part,…

Self-help initiatives stand as a classic context for organizational studies in community psychology. Behavior setting theory stands as a classic conception of organizations and the environment. This study explores both, applying behavior setting theory to consumer-run organizations (CROs). Analysis of multiple data sets from all CROs in Kansas…

This article turns one of most cited philosopher's John Dewey's title, "How We Think" (1933/1998) back upon itself to consider how "thought" or "reason" are cultural practices that historically order and generate principles for reflection and action. The discussion proceeds thusly: (1) Schooling is about changing people; (2) Changing people…

Background: Few methodologically rigorous international comparisons of student-reported antisocial behavior have been conducted. This paper examines whether there are differences in the frequency of both antisocial behavior and societal responses to antisocial behavior in Victoria, Australia and Washington State, United States. These 2 states were…