This study of 501 children and adults found that subjects with mental retardation or borderline intelligence were less proficient at identifying facial expressions of emotion than were children of average intelligence. Among individuals with mental retardation or borderline intelligence, recognition increased with intelligence quotient. Among…

Examined arousal regulation as a function of levels of prenatal cocaine exposure in 4-month-olds, using a "still face" procedure. Found that, independent of several other factors, a greater percentage of heavily cocaine-exposed infants, compared to unexposed infants, showed less enjoyment during "en face" play with their mothers and continued to…

Matched pairs of 177 adult students in a cohort degree program and 165 in a noncohort degree program were surveyed. Cohort groups had higher grade point averages and significantly higher affective learning. Males, younger students, and those early in their program gained the most from cohorts. Overall cohort gains were not as high as those in…

Recent research using theory-of-mind tasks has rekindled interest in the possibility that social interaction makes a significant contribution to cognitive development. It is proposed here that this contribution may be most pronounced with phenomena that, like belief or affective states, are internal and abstract. A more modest contribution is…

This study examined the effects of enthusiastic teaching on the listening comprehension skills of kindergarten children. Subjects were 26 kindergartners who were evenly divided into experimental and control groups. Twelve pieces of literature were read to each group 3 days a week for 4 weeks. Teachers read to the experimental group in a highly…

The birth of a child represents an important normative transition for the infant's mother and her close social network members that may affect both the mother's personal well-being and the quality of her interpersonal realationships. Participants included 47 mothers of infants treated in neonatal intensive care units, and 36 mothers of healthy…

This document is an English-language abstract (approximately 1,500 words) of an empirical investigation carried out in an experimental school in Finland called Alppilan Yhteislyseo. The experimental group consisted of 119 pupils whose average age at the end of the experiment was 15.8 years. The experimental period in algebra started in grade 7 and…

Members of two types of self-help groups assessed the occurence of various helping processes in their groups. Found self-help groups emphasized supportive and expressive processes while avoiding confrontive processes; and behavioral techniques were used more frequently by behavioral control groups than by stress coping groups. (RC)

Compared visual self-recognition in toddlers of depressed (DM) and nondepressed mothers (NDM). Found that DM toddlers showing self-recognition were more likely than NDM toddlers to display nonpositive affect. DM toddlers not showing self-recognition and who shifted affect in the postrouge condition were less securely attached to mothers with less…

Presents a model of the information search process as a complex series of stages involving thoughts and feelings as well as actions. A study that sought to verify the model using high school seniors from three different achievement levels is described, and the implications for library instruction are discussed. (five references) (CLB)

Toddlers in foster care, exposed prenatally to cocaine, were assessed for development, temperament, play behaviors, and adaptive and maladaptive behaviors. Compared to nonexposed toddlers, these toddlers possessed more risk factors at birth and experienced more illnesses after birth; scored lower on conceptual development and higher on expression…

Examined whether hostile and defensive personality characteristics contribute to conflict and withdrawal within marriage. Analysis of 90 newly wed couples' discussions showed that, among husbands, high levels of hostility combined with low levels of defensiveness accompanied increased conflict. This same personality pattern led to an increase in…

It is assumed that students with EBD who have more severe deficits in academic, behavior, and/or social domains are placed in more restrictive settings. However, this assumption has not been empirically tested. This study compared students educated in self-contained classrooms to students educated in a self-contained school to determine if the…

In order to assess the effects of reform efforts to recruit more academically able teacher candidates over the previous decade, this study was designed to determine the relationships between selected personal attributes and the differences in the affective characteristics of a 1980's sample and a 1990's sample of teacher candidates. The subjects…

The present study investigated whether infants of mothers who were depressed postpartum would behave like infants of non-depressed mothers who simulated depression. A total of 24 mothers and their 3-month-old infants were videotaped during face-to-face interactions. All mothers were given the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and the State-Trait…