Progress on a research project at the University of New South Wales that has attempted to develop a test of the interpersonal communication skills of medical students is summarized. The test, which used films of doctor-patient interactions, was designed to measure the ability to respond appropriately to the emotional content of the interactions.…

The specification and estimation of a partial least squares model is discussed in terms of assessing the magnitude of the effects of a variety of differences among Swedish schools on the cognitive and affective outcomes of lower secondary students in science. (Author/SB)

Examined the effects of sex of parents and sex of child on parent-child interactions in the departure routine when the parent left the child at a child-care center. Also compared the mother-child interactions in this situation for one- and two-parent families. (JMB)

The relationship between teachers' perceptions of students' foreign-language (FL) academic skills and affective characteristics and their performance on tests of native language skill and FL aptitude was examined. Comparisons of final grades and teachers' perceptions by skill level groups found significant overall effects when grouping students by…

Using cross-sectional data from a cohort of 8th-grade, urban, black youth, several latent-variable structural equation models were tested. Findings underscore the continued primacy of deviance in predicting drug use and the necessity of incorporating affective influences into current cognitive-behavioral intervention strategies for minority youth.…

Examined the effectiveness of an intervention program to prevent conduct problems among the preschool sons of 104 alcoholic fathers. The 10-month intervention combined parent training and marital counseling and had significant positive effects on the children's negative, prosocial, and affective behavior at program termination. Only the prosocial…

Examined the connection between adolescents' expressions of negative affect and their attempts to meet the developmental task of establishing autonomy and relatedness in interactions with their parents. Longitudinal observational data and interviews of 96 adolescents and their parents revealed that difficulties establishing autonomy and…

The relationships among prior achievement, individual outcome, team outcome, and students' achievement and academic perceptions were studied for 190 students (grades 3 through 7) learning mathematics in teams. Subjects' teachers also participated. Team outcome was related to achievement and academic perceptions, but not to prior achievement and…

Structure and intensity of naturally occurring and induced affect were studied with 244 university students and 1 employee in 2 studies using 2 methodological paradigms (dimensionality and classification) and 2 everyday contexts (lecture and television advertising). A circular structure of feeling was experienced during the lecture (naturally…

Data from 404 university students (28% females; 72% males) enrolled in a discrete mathematics course were analyzed to explore gender differences. Concludes that differences associated with confidence, self-concept, test anxiety and quantitative ability, detrimental to women were overcome by increased assignment work and tutorial attendance to…

Compared 22 high-goal-directed and 22 low-goal-directed early retirees to examine the idea that effective adaptation to life events requires an ability to maintain a sense of purpose and direction. Found that high-goal-directed retirees were viewed as more outgoing and involved, whereas low-goal-directed retirees were viewed as self-critical,…

Preschoolers through second graders were given an opportunity to help another child obtain toys. Help that required a specific form of affective attribution and reconciliation was found to be related to the affective attribution and reconciliation measures when the demands of the helping opportunity matched the social cognition measure demands.…

Explores gender differences in the use of computer-mediated communication in a specific learning context by a small group of postgraduate distance learners and their tutors at the University of Sheffield. Uses content analysis of online dialog to investigate learning and socioemotional behavior. (Author/LRW)

Examined whether apprentices differed from nonapprentices in rates of deviant behavior. Found that nonapprenticed males were less deviant than apprenticed males; nonapprentices perceived more connectedness with and peer disapproval from parents; affective quality of parent-adolescent relations did not differ by educational track; and there was…

Self-determination theory and a motivational model of engagement were used to determine the impact of perceived competence and autonomy on engagement and performance in 77 third and fourth graders identified as above average in ability. Children who felt less competent or less autonomous reported more negative affect and withdrawal. (SLD)