Forty-one subjects who score at the high and low extremes of the Psychosocial Maturity (PSM) Inventory were intensively interviewed. These interview data were analyzed to contrast the phenomenological and psychodynamic forces in the lives of these subjects that influence their current state of psychosocial maturity. Case material is presented.…

Measures of the perception of occupational prestige and vocational maturity of 313 high school students representing grades 9 through 12 were investigated together with variables: father's occupation, occupational choice, grade level, age, intelligence, verbal and non-verbal abilities, and reading and math achievements. Significant correlates of…

To ascertain if there are significant differences in the frequency of use of movables and connectors in the oral speech patterns of mature and immature children from middle and low socioeconomic levels, 60 beginning first grade children were studied. The Warner-Meeker-Eells Index of Status Characteristics classified children into middle and low…

Phenomenological and psychodynamic differences between girls who score at the high and low extremes of the Psychosocial Maturity Inventory are explored. Ability to tolerate anxiety and the developmental use of interpersonal relationships are discussed as central to identity formation among these girls. (Author/MV)

Investigates the influence of social reinforcement, modeling, direct reinforcement, and words and images on the acquisition of career-related preferences. Students identified social reinforcement as the most important antecedent for their career preference. Career decision making skills mediate the influence of models and direct reinforcement on…

Eighth- and ninth-grade students participated in the vocational exploration group (VEG). The career maturity inventory, administered before and after treatment, indicated significantly positive change. The VEG effectively assisted students to develop positive attitudes toward work and to acquire critical behavior upon which to base mature career…

Middle school students (N=25) with exceptional educational needs were matched with regular students and assessed for their level of moral reasoning using the Objective Assessment of Moral Development. Results indicate exceptional students select types of reasoning typical of younger children, and become less like their peers with age. (RC)

Several aspects of gender concept development were investigated in 60 children of mixed socioeconomic background ranging in age from three to six years. Tasks were designed to assess gender constancy, knowledge of sex-stereotypes, differential memory and preference for sex-typed material, and gender categorization. Cognitive maturity was assessed…

The development of The Psychosocial Maturity Inventory, an attitude inventory based on an interdisciplinary model of psychosocial maturity, is described. It is a self-report instrument comprised of nine subscales and is suited for the assessment of youngsters in the approximate age range 11-18. (Author/BJG)

AN INSTRUMENT FOR MEASURING LANGUAGE MATURITY SHOULD BE EASILY ADMINISTRABLE AND SCOREABLE AND SHOULD BE BASED ON VALID INDICES OF LANGUAGE MATURITY. A RECENT STUDY BY KELLOG W. HUNT SUGGESTED THAT THESE INDICES BE BASED ON A NEW SYNTACTIC UNIT, THE T-UNIT, CONSISTING OF 1 MAIN CLAUSE TOGETHER WITH ANY CLAUSES SUBORDINATED TO IT. COORDINATED MAIN…

Short essays written by 60 secon d and third grade children were analyzed in order to compare the global quality with the syntactic maturity contained therein. Global quality is a broad measure of the level of ability and development evidenced by the pupil in his particular writing. Syntactic maturity is a measure based on the existence of various…

Research in the field of Career Maturity is reviewed and summarized, with particular attention to Super's Career Pattern Study, Gribbons and Lohnes' Career Development Study, and Crites' Vocational Development Project. Crites' organization and revision into a hierarchical structure of the five dimensions of vocational maturity proposed in Supers'…

This study investigates the relation between Psychosocial Maturity and a dimension of moral judgment. Form D of the Psychosocial Maturity Inventory and Form B of the Survey of Ethical Attitudes (SEA) were administered to 182 tenth grade students. Predicted negative correlations between SEA and two Social Adequacy subscales were marginally…

Examined the relationship between early school retention as a result of preschool and kindergarten developmental testing and children's later academic achievement (N=223). Results showed children who scored as immature on the Gesell Screening Test and who were retained a year had the lowest scores on all measures. (JAC)