This article reconstructs R. S. Peters' underlying theory of ritual in education, highlighting his proposed link between ritual and the imitation of teachers. Rituals set the stage for the imitation of teachers and they invite students to experience practices whose value is not easily discernable from the outside. For Peters, rituals facilitate…

A year after receiving his PhD in psychology from the University of Rochester, Tim Kasser accepted a position at Knox College, in Galesburg, Illinois, where he is currently professor of psychology. He regularly teaches psychology classes on personality, clinical and abnormal psychology, dreaming, and research methods, as well as an…

The present work documents how the logic of a model's demonstration and the communicative cues that the model provides interact with age to influence how children engage in social learning. Children at ages 12, 18, and 24 months (n = 204) watched a model open a series of boxes. Twelve-month-old subjects only copied the specific actions of the…

This multi-case qualitative study, conducted in two elementary schools, observed the self-efficacy experiences of 67 5th grade mathematics students in daily lessons. Four classrooms were observed a total of 40 times for 30 minutes each. Two classrooms each used traditional instructional materials and standards-based instructional materials.…

Results of two experiments indicate that dimensions of the social situation in which social behaviors are modeled influence eight-month-old children's tendency to imitate and their choice of recipients for their imitation. (Author/RH)

Differences between hyperactive and nonhyperactive boys in their play and responses to models were assessed. Hyperactive boys behaved differently during play even before viewing any model, and generally responded more to the guidelines suggested by the model, especially the fast one, than did the nonhyperactive boys. (Author/GK)

Social learning theory stresses the importance of observation and modeling. Processes that determine outcomes of observed behavior include attention, retention, motor reproduction, and motivation. For nursing education, the theory appropriately focuses on the social environment for learning. (Contains 35 references.) (SK)

Explored the relationship between two types of childhood family aggression and severe marital aggression in the next generation of adults (N=2,143). Results indicated that observing hitting between one's parents is more strongly related to involvement in severe marital aggression than is being hit as a teenager by one's parent. (LLL)

Based on Bandura's (1977) social learning theory, the purpose of this study is to identify the relationship of preservice teachers' perceptions of faculty modeling of computer-based technology and preservice teachers' intent of using computer-based technology in educational settings. There were 92 participants in this study; they were enrolled in…

Article critically reviews the research literature on peer modeling among children as a function of model attributes. Conditions under which perceived similarity causes behavioral change are discussed. (RB)

From socialization theory, it was hypothesized that parental support and monitoring as well as peer deviance would influence individual trajectories of alcohol misuse, other substance use, and delinquency. Six waves of data were analyzed using interviews with 506 adolescents in a general population sample. Results from multilevel modeling showed…

This study investigated the effect of two independent variables on the sharing behavior of children. The results indicated that both observing a model share and longer ownership of the item facilitated sharing in these children, although the latter was originally hypothesized to retard sharing. (Author)

Presents a study of the effects of modeling, direct instruction and suggested attributions on children's donating and sharing behavior. Seven- and ten-year-old children served as subjects. (BD)

Violence is an unfortunate and unpleasant aspect of many sporting contests. It is a challenging task to unravel the complex reasons that underly the phenomenon. As of yet this task has not been accomplished fully. This paper will assess the relative importance of a number of factors that contribute to sports violence, and will suggest remedies to…