The author raises questions in analyses of educational policy issues and suggests possible answers to them. The questions concern the nature of changes in the educational system from a given proposed policy change, the magnitude of such change, and the length of time needed to secure the anticipated magnitude of change. Competency-based education…

The construct Interpersonal Orientation (IO) refers to the degree to which a person is responsive to the interpersonal aspects of his relationships with other people. A self-report measure of IO was devised whose construct validity was supported by correlational data. Two experiments were conducted to assess the potential usefulness of IO in…

This paper takes a step toward the construction of a general social theory. As the author points out, such a theory must deal with the interplay of social organizations, social movements and social institutions, and the interaction between them and individuals. The author hints that a theory of choice and exchange may some day meet these…

Examines social factors that lead to the development of learned helplessness in elderly persons in the health care setting, including stereotyping elderly by health care professionals, effects of unequal interpersonal exchange, and behaviors associated with sick and healer roles. Discusses programatic and educational prophylaxis and solutions to…

Extends earlier work on aging as a process of exchange by focusing on the issue of exchange rates and how they are negotiated. Access to power resources declines with age, placing the old person in the position of negotiating from weakness. (Author)

This book explores the relationship between adult education and social change and argues that it is vital for all adult educators to continuously engage radical theory in their teaching, reassess radical adult education's doubting and abandonment of the Marxist tradition in favor of postmodernism and radical pluralism, and seek to reinject the…

This article examines health promotion and disease prevention from the perspective of social cognitive theory. This theory posits a multifaceted causal structure in which self-efficacy beliefs operate together with goals, outcome expectations, and perceived environmental impediments and facilitators in the regulation of human motivation, behavior,…

Designed for high school economics students as a public service project of the American Fletcher National Bank, the booklet examines the fundamentals of the profit system in attempts to dispel common misconceptions held by students. A comparison is made between newspaper carriers and big business entrepreneurs by considering the risks made in…

A model of internal principle for integrating past research findings on adult altruism postulates that although individuals' shared beliefs result in significant group effects, there remains a significant portion of variation due to a subject's "factor" or unique internal rule. To examine the influence of both the level (degree or amount) and the…

Psychologists have recently given considerable attention to the study of relationship and friendship development, but the contributing social processes have not been examined in relation to each other over time. To examine the effects of disclosure, similarity, equity, and social exchange on satisfaction with a relationship and liking for one's…

Women have historically been under-represented in the medical profession in part because the norms of feminine behavior have deviated from behavior expected of physicians. To determine the career and family expectations of current medical students, 320 medical students were surveyed. Results confirmed the hypothesis that even sex-role-modern women…

Traditional psychological theories which focus on the pathological tendencies of the individual account for little of the reported widespread spouse abuse. Social exchange and general systems theories focus on problems in the relationship rather than problems in the person. Given that a family perspective may be helpful in long-term treatment of…

This paper explores the potential contributions of social exchange theory in investigations of marriage and family relationships. The basic premise of social exchange is that individuals in social interaction attempt to maximize rewards and minimize costs to obtain the most profitable outcomes. Research has shown that five factors must be…

The usefulness of concepts gleaned from identification theory was explored in an analysis of questionnaires from students in urban high schools in 1966. An "identificatory sequence" consisting of identificatory process and identificatory motive, and culminating in value similarity between child and parent, was proposed. This sequence was linked,…

Explored applications of the social exchange perspective of relationship satisfaction to educational and therapeutic interventions with those involved in close personal relationships, focusing on the role relationship expectations play in evaluations people make of their relationships. Explored educational implications of data contrasting…