Argues that parents and educators must strive to develop true independence within their children. Argues that independence is achieved by encouraging a strong will in children which enables them to fully develop their personality and arms them with the skills to make decisions, create positive self-esteem, and be responsible and sympathetic…

Researchers examined relationships between generative teaching and elementary student teachers' social maturity, receptivity to criticism, and ability to incorporate criticism, comparing more and less effective subjects. Effective teaching was found to be strongly related to ability to use generative teaching principles and to subjects' social…

Replicates the Asch conformity experiment (two participants pretend to misjudge a shorter line for a longer one in an attempt to influence a third participant) and applies it to 110 school children ages 3 to 17. Indicates that conformity decreases with age in perceptually ambiguous tasks. (MJP)

The study examined the antecedents and correlates of general life satisfaction as reported by 108 gifted and talented young women. Results of the six-year longitudinal analyses supported the predicted centrality of instrumental self perception to social self esteem, occupational confidence, and general life satisfaction. (Author/DB)

Reports on a study of the effects of culture, gender, and age on interpersonal distance, body orientation, and touch among 381 same-sex and mixed-sex dyads in 7 nations. Finds that more touch was observed among Italian and Greek dyads than among English, French, and Dutch dyads. (CFR)

Reports a six-year study of explicit references to young children's small physical stature in an Australian newspaper. Suggests that when newspaper representations of children and childhood are examined for their focus on children's diminutive size, two conflicting themes emerge: endearment versus depreciation. Suggests that these size-value…

In case studies of four nine-year-old Hungarian children with high intellectual potential, this study analyzed the sociocultural, environmental, and family-connected factors and the motivational and personality traits responsible for the decrease of intellectual potential in some children. (SW)

This study investigated achievement motivation based on a survey of 63 Latina women (43 doctoral graduates and 20 completers of doctoral coursework) and interviews with 10 of the women. Results indicated varying strengths in intrinsic achievement motives of mastery, work, competitiveness, and personal unconcern; low levels of sex-role…

Examined whether children of alcoholic mothers were more psychologically damaged than children of nonalcoholic mothers. The subject families' potential for creating a good upbringing environment and subjects' childhoods were studied. Found that children of alcoholic mothers develop social maladjustment problems and addictions, and have a high rate…

Examines questions related to the identification of gifted children, and the special activities and accommodations that should be provided for them. Suggests that young gifted children have advanced understanding and/or performance in a variety of areas, which requires the development of a challenging curriculum and appropriate educational…

Examines children's response to initial separation as they enter school or day care. Suggests that starting school is normally accompanied by some degree of anxiety for both children and parents. Examines two patterns of insecure attachment: anxious-avoidant and anxious-resistant. Offers ideas and practical suggestions for helping parents and…

Analyzed stability and change in late adolescent attachment relations and the interrelationship among attachment, separation-individuation, and college adjustment variables. Results of two studies suggested stability in attachment to parents, over time, for both men and women. Security of attachment was inversely related to independence from…

This study investigated whether significant group, gender, and grade differences existed in the learning style preferences of high school students with learning disabilities (n=53) and gifted students (n=64). Findings indicated significant group differences in preferences for light, design, and kinesthetic modality, as well as for motivation,…

Summarizes a study of questionnaire responses by British and Hong Kong Chinese students rating preferred traits in friends and romantic partners. Reports that romantic partners were expected to be more honest and caring than friends. Lists three principal preferences: kindness/consideration, extroversion, and sensitivity. Finds sensitivity…

Describes a study that used interviews to explore the influence of personality, subject discipline, and organizational structure on the information behavior of scientists. The use of cluster analysis to reveal groupings in the data is explained, computer use is examined, and gender differences are discussed. (60 references) (LRW)