Thesis: M.S., Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management, 1977 / Bibliography : leaves 148-153. / M.S. / M.S. Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan School of Management

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The possible relationship between parental perceptions of playfulness and temperament was examined. Parents completed the Behavioral Style Questionnaire and the Child Behaviors Inventory. Children were tested using the Weschsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence to examine the effect of IQ on perceived playfulness. Fathers‘ ratings of playfulness were correlated with paternal ratings of approachability and maternal ratings of persistence. Mothers' ratings of playfulness were correlated with maternal ratings of persistence and adaptability and paternal ratings of persistence. Distractibility, intensity, and threshold were correlated with parental ratings of externality. No correlations were found between parental ratings of playfulness or externality. IQ scores were found to have no significant relationship to parental ratings of playfulness and temperament. Playfulness is a construct distinct from temperament but which can be explained, in part, by temperamental traits which, like externality, detract from the child's propensity to enter into a playful dispositional state. Externality seems to overlap with certain temperament traits which describe the child's propensity to react in particular ways to the context. Future experimental research is needed to assess the contextual influences on playful dispositions. Observational and interview data are also needed to assess whether parental differences in playfulness ratings are attributable to differential perceptions or to contextual variables or to an interaction between the two. / Ph. D.

This study gives the activities of two groups of preschool children during the morning session of a nursery school. Purpose: the purpose was 1) to perfect a reliable technique for measuring the behavior of nursery school children; 2) to record and analyze the behavior of the entire group of children enrolled at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute in the winter quarter of 1943; 3) to compare the behavior of five of the nursery school children in 1942 with their behavior in 1943. Subjects: Fourteen children of preschool age enrolled at the Virginia Polytechnic Institute during the winter quarter of 1942 and the winter quarter of 1943, were subjects. The behavior of five of these children was studied during both of these periods. Methods, definitions, and procedure. The observational methods and definitions of behavior used by Neidengard (6) in 1942 were followed in this study. Two observers, who previous to the study had achieved percentage of agreement, recorded for five minutes at a time the behavior of a single child, rotating observations from one child to another until three hours had been secured for each of ten children. This material was studied by the analysis of variance method. The data for the five children in 1942 was taken from Neidengard’s original material. / M.S.

published_or_final_version / Criminology / Master / Master of Social Sciences

Due to a living and learning work environment that is filled with role ambiguity, resident assistants often handle situations that require clear and competent ethical decision making. The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the various aspects of ethics that affect the lives and job performance of resident assistants. Through an examination of the levels of moral development and the ethical issues faced by resident assistants, the intentionality and the quality of values education for resident assistants is hoped to be improved. One hundred and seventeen resident assistants at a mid-sized, Midwestern, public university created the sample population. All 117 participants completed the survey resulting in a 100 percent return rate.Resident assistants at Ball State University do not have a unique profile of moral development. As a group they tend to make decisions based upon the established rules of society rather than individual rights or universal principles. Results from the Defining Issues Test showed that they have a principled morality score of 37.07% in comparison to the standardized mean score for college students of 42.3%. In their work environments, they report situations involving dating or relationship issues as occurring most often. Colleagues dating their residents was perceived as the least serious out of 16 ethical situations. Situations of racial, gender, or religious intolerance were considered quite serious by the resident assistants. Out of the 117 participants, 109 resident assistants reported situations which created personal ethical or moral dilemmas. Dilemmas that included issues of the enforcement of or the belief in housing policies were reported 21 times. Director or staff conflicts involving a variety of situations were reported as an issue by 17 resident assistants. Relationships with residents that are based upon friendship and/or respect along with perceived issues of resident assistant harassment created the third largest category out of 15 categories of moral dilemmas.Resident assistants are paraprofessionals with a great amount of responsibility and are often put in situations which involve unconscious ethical decision making. Suggestions for hiring, training and role modeling are given in order to better meet the needs of resident assistants. Professionals and researchers must continue to examine the areas of moral development and ethical issues because understanding the issues that concern resident assistants is an important step in creating an ethical campus community. / Department of Secondary, Higher, and Foundations of Education