Parents and teachers can help children learn qualities (such as empathy, caring, kindness, and generosity) that contribute to a more peaceful environment. Children can be helped to learn the values and techniques of resolving conflicts without injuring others. We should be concerned about teaching peacemaking in order to prevent crime, drug…

This paper outlines some of the origins and functions of modeling within a human service training context, particularly counseling psychology, and discusses some of the consequences of modeling as a training method. The materials suggest that an emphasis on affective experience and behavioral methodologies has limited the potential of social…

A two-group independent design was employed to study the relationship between parental age and modeling effectiveness. Subjects were 50 mother-father-child triads. The child's baseline data was recorded on a task that involved constructing a specified geometric shape on a pegboard. Then the child was asked to construct another shape modeling his…

This paper is a report of a study which explores the relative contributions of norms, modeling, positive affect, and empathy to generalized reciprocity (prior help by one person leading to greater helpfulness by the recipient toward another person). Preschool children were randomly assigned to one of six groups and individually exposed to two…

Investigated the content and development of children's imitative behavior in the home. The data consisted of incidents of naturally occurring imitations of 24 children 16 and 29 months of age collected over a four-month period by mothers trained in observational recording. Immediate imitations decreased with age; deferred imitations increased with…

Physical education teachers and coaches are encouraged to increase their role-modeling influence by developing common interests with students, giving more attention to individual students, becoming more skillful and knowledgeable in their specialty, and reinforcing students who follow their example. (JMF)

While investigations of the impact of parental factors on children's career choices have identified variables that appear predictive of career choice in males, variables which influence career choice in females are less well documented. This study used social learning theory as a framework for examining the impact of parental reinforcement,…

Reviews the literature on some of the major ways that parents and teachers influence the development of prosocial tendencies in children; they include child-rearing practices, social cognition, mood, modeling, and training. Also provides suggestions for parents and teachers to help children behave prosocially. (Author/BB)

The psychoanalytic theory of identification and the cognitive-developmental and social-learning theories of imitation are briefly described. Pertinent empirical research in the following areas is summarized and critically evaluated: imitation in infants, observational learning, clinical use of modeling, and the relation of imitation to aggression,…

Discusses parents' responsibility to provide their children with a moral compass that comprises respect for others, kindness and caring, honesty and honor, and reverence for life. Recognizes that children experience difficulty in achieving goodness and that good behavior sometimes encounters painful consequences. Suggests that parents model…

An Oregon elementary-school principal describes her experience of creating a peaceful school. To create the safe environment needed for learning, teachers taught students conflict-resolution skills; 15 life skills, such as integrity, initiative, flexibility, and humor; and a three-step problem-solving model. Students are taking their new skills…

Responses of 138 third and fourth graders to failures and successes in mathematics computation were studied in 4 experimental conditions varied by social learning context and modeling. The collaborative learning context increased student persistence after failure and dynamism after success, and modeling increased persistence and dynamism in an…

Asserts that formal education should impart tacit knowledge--a complex set of understandings one must possess to live and function successfully in society--as well as traditional disciplines, theories, and cognitive skills. Discusses modeling attitudes, values, ways of life, and democracy to students, and what should be expected of a particular…

This practicum was designed to bring together first and third generations in a caring, supportive, mentoring classroom atmosphere. The study was conducted in a co-educational K-5 public elementary school with 90 percent white enrollment. The subjects were from three fourth-grade classrooms, each with 28 heterogeneous students. Volunteer, retired…

This paper was presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association as part of a symposium, "A social learning alternative to structural theories for explaining developmental changes in childrens behavior." This presentation examines the moral development of a child in terms of a social learning approach, and discusses…