The primary purpose of this thesis was to assess the effects of a short verses long-term social skills training program on (a) enhancing adolescent and parent social skills, while Cb) reducing conflict and distress and enhancing warmth and cohesion. A modified pretest - posttest control group design was employed wherein the control group for the first experiment became a portion of the experimental group for the second experiment. The sample consisted of ~3 parent-adolescent dyads who volunteered to participate. Of those, 25 met the minimum criteria for being included in the analysis, 18 dyads from the experimental group and 7 from the control group. Results demonstrated that while the parents did perceive an improvement in skills assessed by the PARI sub-scores , the adolescents did not. Nonetheless, the findings demonstrated that the long-term program of one skill learned every week far eight weeks was mare effective than the concentrated one- week program of two skills learned per night far four nights.

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This case study began as a peer mediation program for a class of Year 4 students, implemented over an eighteen-month period as part of the Personal Development, Health and Physical Education syllabus. The program developed into a process that integrated skills development, an understanding of interpersonal interactions, emotional responses and self understanding. Using an action research model and analysis based in grounded theory it became an interactive, interpretative analysis of conflictual issues between student/student and student/teacher as together they explored a major psychological and philosophical issue, conflict resolution, on a local and personal level. This thesis seeks to authenticate the participants? attempts to change the way in which learning about conflict occurs, to change the ambience of the classroom and to develop a web of interrelationships that work towards a greater understanding of the problem area and ultimately of the wider social and cultural network in which we choose to li / Master of Education (Hons)

Jennifer Howard. Adkins April 12, 2004 51 pages Directed by: Dr. William Pfohl, Dr. Antony Norman, and Dr. Reagan Brown Department of Psychology Western Kentucky University In the United States today there are approximately 1.5 million students being home schooled. With this ever growing number, it is important to examine this unique population in order to determine the effects this alternative form of education will have on these students, not just academically, but in other areas as well. The purpose of this study is to examine the concepts of emotional intelligence and social skills in home schooled students. One hundred home schooled students and their parents participated in this study by completing emotional intelligence and social skills questionnaires. Results of the study support the hypotheses that the home schooled students would have higher levels of social skills and lower scores on the problem behaviors scale than the standardization population. In regards to emotional intelligence, differences were found among the elementary and secondary grade levels of the home schooled children. Home schooled elementary students achieved higher scores than the standardization population on two of the seven areas measured. No significant differences were found in the other areas. Home schooled secondary students achieved higher scores than did the standardization population on four of the seven areas measured. No significant differences were found in the other areas.

Behaving in a socially competent manner (i.e., interacting with other social actors in an effective manner by adjusting one’s goals and behaviours according to the demands of various social situations) is a complex process that requires various cognitive skills. The purpose of the current study was to determine the unique contributions of executive functions, theory of mind and verbal skills to socially competent behaviours in either a cooperative or a competitive context. The impact of manipulating children’s perspective-taking (e.g., taking the perspective of another person) on their socially appropriate behaviours was also investigated. Pairs of children completed a cooperative and a competitive social task together and were assigned to either focus on their own or another’s perspective. Children then completed measures of executive functioning, theory of mind, and verbal skills. Results revealed that executive functioning was related to more appropriate social behaviours in the cooperative task, even when controlling for theory of mind and verbal skills; however, this relation was not found in the competitive task. Furthermore, there was no significant effect of the manipulation of perspective-taking on children’s behaviours. These findings indicate that executive functions make a unique contribution to children’s socially competent behaviours in a cooperative social context.

This study compared the treatment acceptability of four social skills interventions that are commonly used with children with autism, as rated by parents of children with autism spectrum disorders, general education teachers, and special education teachers. Using the survey method and the Treatment Evaluation Inventory-Short Form, ratings of the acceptability of social stories, cognitive-behavorial programs, peer-mediated interactions, and technological devices were explored. The influence of ethnicity of respondent, age of child, and problem severity on acceptability ratings was also investigated. Major findings were as follows: (a) all four of the social skills programs were viewed as acceptable interventions; (b) treatment acceptability ratings were not influenced by group membership, ethnicity (Caucasian/Non-Caucasian), child age, and problem severity; (c) peer-mediated interactions and cognitive-behavioral programs received the highest rankings, followed by social stories and technological devices; (d) significant associations were found between group membership and the overall rankings of cognitive-behavioral programs and technological devices. Study limitations and implications for intervention are also discussed.

Thesis (EdD)--Open University.

Diss. Karlstad : Karlstads universitet, 2007.

Thesis (M.A.)--Marshall University, 2001. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains iii, 15, [5] p. Includes bibliographical references (p. 10-13).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--York University, 1999. Graduate Programme in Psychology. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 60-65). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://wwwlib.umi.com/cr/yorku/fullcit?pNQ43434.