Autism and Accuracy in Adolescent Perceptions of Friends' Sexual Attitudes and Behavior

This study uses data from adolescents matched with data from their friends to examine whether reference group effects on adolescent sexuality should be thought of as operating through the sharing of norms or the modeling of behavior. We observe that perception of attitudes has such a trivial reality component and such a strong autistic component that it cannot serve as a mechanism of peer influence. Perception of sexual behavior has a reality component which is as large as its autistic component, and large enough to serve as a route of influence. We reach two conclusions: (1) Reference group effects on adolescent sexual behavior probably work through behavior modeling rather than through normative influence. (2) Studies which infer peer influence on sexual behavior using only perception of peers will arrive at erroneous conclusions.     

TEACHING SOCIAL LANGUAGE TO MODERATELY HANDICAPPED STUDENTS

Three students with moderate handicaps were taught to initiate and expand on conversational topics. The teaching procedure used stimuli generated from actual conversations with nonhandicapped peers. Generalization was assessed by audiotaping conversations between the handicapped students and their peers in natural school contexts without adult supervision. Results indicated that training generalized to natural contexts. These results were socially validated by undergraduate special education students, who rated tapes of two of the students' conversations during training phases as more socially competent than during baseline. Results are discussed in terms of the evaluation of complex social behavior as multioperant behaviors.     

Behavioral genetic methods

Traditional behavioral genetic methods involve the use primarily of family, twin, and adoption correlations to estimate the relative contributions of genetic and environmental influences in the etiology of individual differences. These methods and representative results for personality are described. However, newer methods are emphasized: structural models and model-fitting, multivariate analysis, genetic change and continuity in development, shared and non-shared components of environmental variance, and genetic components of "environmental" variation. Because most applications of these behavioral genetic methods to the study of personality involve self-report omnibus questionnaires, an important direction for future research in this area is to use these methods to explore new issues and new measures that have emerged from personality theory and research during the past decade.     

An interactional approach to the study of personality and emotion

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relation between personality and emotional feelings within ecologically valid settings Nineteen subjects rated their emotions in a wide variety of work, recreation, social, and alone situations sampled over a 30-day period They were also administered the Personality Research Form and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire Although theoretically predictable relations were found between certain personality traits and specific emotions averaged across situations, it was not until we distinguished chosen from imposed situations that the most meaningful results were obtained Both temperament and nontemperament personality traits were found to be related to specific emotions Implications of the present findings for research on situation selection and the status of personality traits are discussed     

Criterion-related validity data for the child behavior checklist—Teacher''s report form

Criterion-related validity data for the Child Behavior Checklist—Teacher's Report Form are presented. These data were collected from a sample of elementary school boys. A total behavior problem score and individual factor scores were calculated from the checklist data and were related to indices of academic achievement and overall adjustment in the classroom. Significant correlations were established between the two sets of scores. The results were interpreted as supporting the criterion-related validity of the teacher-judgment measure and its use as a screening or diagnostic device in the school.