Results revealed that college students were significantly more punitive toward a child labeled "mentally retarded" than were fourth graders, the labeled child received a significantly less severe punishment than did the nonlabeled child, and the child received the most severe punishment when s/he reacted defiantly and obtained a reward when s/he…

Because students rarely see themselves as irrational, hateful, or insecure, they tend to believe that stereotypes are not their problem. This article describes an exercise that helps students recognize their own racial biases and understand the influence of stereotypes on memory. Because stereotypes facilitate the processing and recall of…

Six hundred gifted students (grades 4 through 12) completed a survey eliciting information regarding their feelings about being labeled gifted. Results provided corroborative evidence that students perceive the label more positively than negatively. Most considered the label a "requirement" for admission to programs that offered challenging…

The possible effect of the label "mentally retarded" to help ameliorate negative attitudes of 126 fourth-sixth graders toward mentally retarded peers with poor social behavior was examined. The label had a protective effect when the retarded child was withdrawn but little effect when the child was aggressive. (Author/CL)

In an investigation of the effects of categorical labels and assigned attributes on the social acceptability ratings of 96 regular fourth-grade children, positive attributes were found to help maintain favorable ratings in spite of unfavorable behavior. (Author/CL)

Discusses labels such as "dyslexic,""disadvantaged," and "emotionally disturbed" that adversely affect teachers' attitudes toward students; urges teachers to take care that the shape of the world and the shape of the children who inhabit it are not distorted by labeling and restricted definitions. (GT)

Approximately 500 students in special programs for the gifted were surveyed regarding their attitudes toward the programs and especially toward their identification as gifted. (DLS)

This study examined degrees of acceptance of the "gifted" label between 155 adolescents who reported either extreme comfort (N=71) or extreme discomfort (N=84) with the label. Few students reported the use of conferences in school-initiated labeling. Adolescents whose parents had initiated labeling were most likely to report comfort with the…

Students evaluated "a typical person,""a patient seeking counseling," or "a client seeking counseling.""A typical person" was evaluated positively and "patient seeking counseling" was evaluated negatively, regardless of whether the students had previously sought counseling. Students who had sought counseling evaluated "a client seeking counseling"…

Effects of the labels "mentally retarded" and "retarded" on 136 fifth- and sixth-grade children's attitudes toward peers were studied. Results indicated that children's attitudes were more positive toward the target child labeled "mentally retarded" than labeled "retarded." Reactions to the two labels were, in part, a function of the physical…

Describes how three middle-aged educators have been working with and helping to connect adolescent young men, from an alternative educational program for troubled youth, and independent elders in an assisted living complex. Notes the connections are built around storytelling and writing. Discusses positive results from this program. (SG)

The extent to which people use exemplars and prototypes when asked to employ a gender stereotype scale to rate characteristics of targets varying in age, race, and gender is explored in this study. The sample consisted of 324 graduate and undergraduate students ranging in age from 19 to 68 with a mean of 29 years, 74% were women and 81% were…

Reexamined the relationship of self-designation of race to preference for counselor race in 160 Black students. Results rejected the use of self-designated race labels as a reliable method of predicting student preference for counselor race, suggesting the influence of changes in the social and political climate. (JAC)

Surveyed college students (N=167) about norms for sexual behavior. Concluded that the "permissiveness with affection" norm exists and violators of this norm are negatively labeled, but different standards apply to men and women. Suggests counselors become aware of the complexity of this sex code and their own biases. (JAC)

The effect of presentation labels upon subjects' evaluation of behavior modification was investigated in two experiments. Subjects were two groups of undergraduate and graduate students required to evaluate identical administrations of a lesson under different presentation labels. (Author/YJ)