Two studies were conducted to test the hypothesis that information about intergroup competition is central to children's representations of social categories. Children (N = 99, 5- and 6-year-olds) were introduced to two novel social categories, which were described as having competing or noncompeting goals, by varying the quantity of a resource in…

This study examines empathy, parental attachment, companion pet attachment and social behaviors in a sample of 120 students between the ages of 18-20 enrolled at Front Range Community College in Westminster CO during the fall semester 2008. The study is based on the research questions posed by Thompson and Gullone (2008) but pays particular…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of self-efficacy perception of mothers' towards parenting on the peer relations of children aged between 5 and 6. The sample group of this study comprised of 200, 5-6 year old children (girls = 96, boys = 104), and their mothers. The Ladd and Profilet Child Behaviour Scale, the Peer…

There is a large body of literature suggesting that students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) lack appropriate social skills, including deficits in building and maintaining interpersonal relationships, prosocial behaviors (e.g., sharing, helping, cooperation), and self-management strategies. While the literature shows small to modest…

The present investigation explored the association of mother--child and father--child emotional expressiveness during toddlerhood to children's prosocial and aggressive behaviour with peers. Data were collected from 62 Mexican-American families with toddlers (29 females, 33 males) during a home visit. Children's peer interactions were also…

This study evaluated the school-based short-term, cognitive-behavioral group anger management programme, "Learning How to Deal with our Angry Feelings" (Southampton Psychology Service, 2003). Thirteen groups of children aged 7- to 11-years-old were randomly allocated to two different cohorts: One cohort ("n"?=?35) first…

This study focused on violent and prosocial behaviors by adolescents toward parents and teachers, and the relation between such behaviors and adolescents' perceptions about the family and school environment. Gender differences in child-to-parent violence and student-to-teacher violence were also studied. The sample comprised 687 adolescents from…

Humor is an important aspect of interpersonal interactions as it is linked to the development and maintenance of relationships (Merolla, 2006). The purpose of this dissertation was to test the effect of a humor communication skills training program on the ability to minimize anti-social humor (i.e., aggressive, self-defeating) and enhance…

Previous research has shown that 6-month-olds evaluate others on the basis of their social behaviors--they are attracted to prosocial individuals, and avoid antisocial individuals (Hamlin, Wynn & Bloom, 2007). The current studies investigate these capacities prior to 6 months of age. Results from two experiments indicate that even 3-month-old…

Fifty-nine 6- to 9-year-old children evaluated three discipline strategies (reasoning, verbal power assertion, acknowledgment of feelings), and mothers were asked to predict their children's evaluations. Maternal knowledge scores were derived. Mothers were less accurate at predicting their children's perceptions of discipline when the misdeed in…

The aim of our research was to investigate social and emotional skills that determine pre-schoolers' aggressive and pro-social behaviours in stressful situations. The sample of the empirical study consisted of 119 (36-48, 49-60 and 61-72 months) Hungarian children from six pre-schools. Instruments that were used: Coping strategy self-report and…

Although assigned mentoring relationships have typically involved same-gender matches, a growing number of programs, particularly those in schools, have begun pairing female mentors with male mentees. This practice stems, in large part, from the relative dearth of male mentors and programs' efforts to increase the availability of youth mentoring…

There is very little known about how sibling characteristics may influence the social functioning of a child with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The current study utilized data from the Simons Simplex Collection (SSC; n=1355 children with ASD and 1351 siblings) to investigate this relationship. Phenotypic measures included (a) the "Autism…

The study investigated how role models' behavior may positively or negatively influence African American early adolescents' attitudes toward violence and violent behavior. Participants in this study included 331 African American seventh and eighth graders from low-income neighborhoods in an urban, Midwestern city. The study used a model developed…

The present study used a cross-sectional design to examine the relations among youth anxiety symptoms, positive and negative peer interactions, and social skills. Also examined was the mediating role of social skills in the relations between youth anxiety symptoms and positive and negative peer interactions. Youth sex and age were examined as…