Explored the effects of a number of affective and social variables on learners' engagement in oral argumentative tasks. The assumption underlying the investigation was that students' verbal behavior in oral task situations is partly determined by a number of nonlinguistic and non-cognitive factors whose examination may constitute a potentially…

Background: The present study extends existing studies on the role of differential parental treatment in explaining individual differences in adolescent problem behaviors above the absolute level of parenting and clarifies the function of gender of the child, birth rank and gender constellation of the sibling dyads. Method: The absolute level of…

As learner-centred approaches are gaining popularity in many language classrooms, the affective dimensions of learners and the interaction effects of learners and teachers have become an important theme for research and assessment. This paper explores how Japanese learners of English as a foreign language evolve in two geographically distinct…

Family practices related to hygiene, affection behavior, and privacy were studied using a sample of mental health and child welfare professionals. The professionals were asked to use their own experience to state up to what age it was acceptable for parents and children of the same gender and mixed gender to engage in certain family practices. For…

Whether there were differences in motivational and learning environment perceptions of students selected based on their performance on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills (TAAS) was studied over 3 years in a public school district in Texas. The degree to which affective elements of student behavior varied according to their success on this…

Increases in HIV infection among young heterosexual women has prompted a call for the development of new safe sex interventions for this population. This study tested the effectiveness of an intervention conceptualized on the basis of the Health Belief Model and combined with Bandura's self-efficacy theory. Subjects (N=82) were sexually active…

A television program employing a visual metaphor should be an effective instructional tool. Concrete imagery should make the metaphor more memorable and the topic more comprehensible. Splitting the metaphor between audio and video channels should make a strongly unified message, because the audience would have to compare the verbal and visual…

This study examined both maternal and child interaction styles, focusing on the association between differences in maternal level and quality of involvement and the synchrony and affective quality of child interaction behaviors. The subjects were 55 mother-child dyads in which the children (ages 2-5) had been referred to a mental health center…

Employing learned helplessness theory as a trait orientation, a study examined the interrelationships existing between instructor classroom behaviors, student perceptions of control, and student behavioral responses in the college classroom. Subjects, 317 male and female undergraduate students who were enrolled in communication courses at West…

The progress of three groups of university students enrolled in a first-year German course was evaluated after one completed academic year. The achievements of two control groups, a day and an evening class taught by conventional methods, were compared with those of an experimental group taught using suggestopedic methods. Additionally, for the…

A new teacher observation scale is described and teacher ratings are related to measures of self concept and attitude toward school. Different results are obtained when analysis employs change measures of these variables in comparison with status measures. The teaching dimensions of "cognitive demand" and "warmth" seem to be important variables…

This study examines the importance and use of affective teacher characteristics perceived by parents and teachers. A 22-item questionnaire, based on a 110-item survey, asked parents and teachers to rate the importance of affective teacher characteristics. The question of whether parents and teachers feel affective teacher behaviors are an…

A cohort group of nine-year-olds in nine inner-city schools were studied over a three-year period to determine the extent of reading achievement under a continuous progress reading and mathematics curriculum instituted in a large urban school system. Changes in students' perceptions of their learning environment, such as reduced competitiveness,…

Differences in the self-concept of school-aged youngsters before and after interacting with preservice teachers in multicultural community-based situations and changes in their self-concept as a result of the structured teaching of self-concept activities were investigated. Tests revealed that the children possessed a more positive self-concept…

Play sessions of two Mexican children (one five and one eight years old) with English-speaking friends were recorded and the use of language play was examined. Language play is viewed as a non-literal, rule-bound use of language that children engage in for its own sake, either cooperatively or competitively. Practice opportunities and children's…