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Past research has indicated that children with language impairment (LI) struggle more than children with typical language in their social interactions (Fujiki, Brinton, & Todd, 1999). The purpose of this study was to determine if the social strategies and goals of children with LI varied from those of children with typically developing language. A social goals questionnaire was used to determine the strategies the children verbally indicated that they would use. The children were then asked why they would use the selected strategy. The responses were then separated into goal categories. A chi-square analysis indicated that children with LI varied significantly from children with typical language in their selection of the strategies of adult-seeking, passive, and hostile-controlling strategies. A descriptive analysis of the social goals showed the goals to be less relationship-oriented and less congruent with the selected strategy than typically developing peers.

Social aggression -- the use of covert forms of aggression such as betrayal, gossip, and rumor-spreading -- has only recently been the focus of research and is not yet well understood. This study hypothesizes that the tactics of socially aggressive children are consistent with the social manipulations of Machiavelli. Niccolo Machiaveli wrote extensively on the coercive techniques he used to gain power, achieve his goals, and defend his country (e.g. Machiavelli, 1513/1968). Christie and Geis (1970), inspired by Machiaveli, began researching a form of social manipulation that they term Machiavellianism. While the similarities in characteristics of Machiavellian and socially aggressive children seem to indicate that they may share behavioral strategies and social goals, there is no research to date that compares these children. Additionally, since little research has examined the goals of social aggression in relational conflict situations this study used a quantitative measure of social goals in order to better understand the purpose of a child's behavior. / text

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No description available.

Social media engagement has become a critical part of adolescent social interactions, making it important to examine individual differences in motivations for social media engagement as well as associated adjustment outcomes. Additionally, much of the extant research focuses on how much time adolescents spend on social media; researchers have only recently begun to differentiate specific social media behaviors and their varied role in adolescent development (e.g., Valkenberg & Peter, 2011). Based on recent research, I investigated four social media behaviors: self-disclosure, self-presentation, lurking, and social monitoring, along with social media engagement in terms of time and frequency. Based on hormonal activation theory (Forbes & Dahl, 2010), I focused on pubertal and social goal correlates of individual differences in social media engagement among adolescents. I also examined positive (prosocial support) and negative (peer victimization, internalizing problems) adjustment associated with social media engagement. Participants were 426 public school students (54.2% female, 73.6% Caucasian, mean age = 12.91, SD = .92) from sixth (N = 152), seventh (N = 142), and eighth (N = 132) grades who completed self-reported survey measures during their Health classes. Adolescents used more passive (lurking, social monitoring) than active social media (self-disclosure, self-presentation) behaviors. Girls reported more social media engagement than boys, and older adolescents reported more social media engagement than younger adolescents. Pubertal timing was not associated with social media engagement; instead, social goals (i.e., popularity goals and preference goals) were strongly associated with adolescents’ social media use. Social media engagement was reliably associated with adolescent adjustment. Self-presentation may function as a double-edged sword, promoting peer prosocial support but also increasing the risk for peer victimization and internalizing problems. Self-disclosure was uniquely associated with an increased risk of peer victimization, and lurking was uniquely associated with internalizing problems. Social monitoring was not uniquely associated with any of the adjustment outcomes. Contrary to previous literature (e.g., Kross et al., 2013), the amount of time spent on social media was not uniquely associated with any adjustment outcomes after social media behaviors were controlled, suggesting the importance of examining what adolescents are doing with that time. Unexpectedly, the frequency of social media use (a measure less often considered in the literature) appeared to be uniquely associated with more adaptive adjustment. The association between social media engagement and adjustment was stronger for girls than for boys (particularly for peer victimization). Findings extend previous research demonstrating the importance of considering specific social media behaviors in adolescent development. Future research should longitudinally examine the role of social media engagement on adolescent adjustment. Additionally, multi-method approaches (e.g., observational data collection, peer nominations) should be utilized to better understand the role of social media engagement on adolescent development. Finally, future research should examine different social media platforms (e.g., Twitter, Fortnite, Snapchat) and adolescent adjustment. / Psychology

Critics argue that there has been a trend among Microfinance Institutions (MFI) to focus on profitability in order to stay financially sustainable. This made some institutions neglect the social mission of microfinancing. In this paper I intend to examine if empirical evidence supports this so called mission drift hypothesis as well as other claims in this context. Using the global panel data set of the MIX (Microfinance Information Exchange), which gathers from 1995 to 2010 and contains up to 1400 institutions with a high variety of organizational forms, I was able to identify a world-wide mission drift effect in their social goal of reaching out the poorest part of the population. Furthermore, I find that, on average, the outreach of an MFI has a significant negative influence on its short and long term financial performance. Despite that, I eventually proved that the probability that an MFI worsens its social performance substantially increases if its profitability has decreased in the previous years. / Das Konzept der Mikrofinanzierung wurde, insbesondere im Zuge der Mikrofinanzkrisen in Asien und Südamerika zunehmend kritisiert. Dabei stand vor allem die Kommerzialisierung der Branche im Zentrum der Kritik. In dieser Studie soll daher unter anderem die sogenannte „Mission Drifts”-These also dass das eigentliche Ziel des Mikrokreditwesen aus den Augen verloren wurde, empirisch überprüft werden. Mit Hilfe des Microfinance Information Exchange (MIX) Datensatzes, wurden Paneldaten von bis zu 1.400 Kreditinstitutionen, mit unterschiedlichen (Rechts-)formen, aus den Jahren 1995 bis 2010 ausgewertet. Die Regressionsanalyse hat gezeigt, dass Profitablität in der Tat einen negativen Einfluss auf das Ziel hat, möglichst arme Menschen zu erreichen. Auch der Trade-off zwischen der Reichweite von Mikrokrediten und kurzfristiger sowie langfristiger Profitabilität konnte nachgewiesen werden. Die Daten zeigten aber auch, dass Mikrofinanzinstitution dazu tendieren soziale Ziele zu vernachlässigen, wenn es im vergangenen Geschäftsjahr finanziell bergab ging.

12 Abstract My thesis "Access to education through dramatic literary education" focuses on creative educational process of literary education which uses the methods and principles of drama education at the level of primary school education. The theoretical part deals with a possibility to integrate the area of human knowledge, interdisciplinary relationships and the presence of creative component into RVP. Theoretical part also points out the effectiveness of linking drama education with literary education. In the main part (practical part) we can find an ensemble of literary-drama lessons which analysis creatively a different literary genres. Well thought through lessons provides students with deeper understanding on literary work (text) not only in term of rational meanings, but emotional as well. The set of lessons is in line with the new concept of primary education (vis. RVP) which goal is child development in cognitive area (especially acquisition of tools for exploring and developing thought flow), in skill area, attitudes and values. The set of lessons emphasizes on interdisciplinary relationships and creativity. Part of the lessons was tested (reflected) with children in primary school during the school year 2012/2013

Previous studies have shown that children’s social goals are influenced byemotion and that emotions can be manipulated using relationships. The present study combines these previous findings by examining the effect of children’s relationships on social goals. Social goals were examined in second and fifth grade children using hypothetical ambiguous provocation situations in which the relationship between the participant and the provocateur was manipulated by inserting the name of a friend, enemy, or a neutral peer into the story. After each situation, children rated the importance of four different social goals, indicating which of the four would be the most important to accomplish. Results indicated that within each goal type, importance ratings varied depending on the nature of the relationship. Social relational goals were rated as much more important when the provocateur was a friend versus an enemy or neutral peer, instrumental goals, however, were rated as more important when the provocateur was an enemy or a neutral peer, and avoidant and revenge goals were rated as more important when the provocateur was an enemy. Goal hierarchy was also found to vary across relationships; social relational goals were the most important when the provocateur was a friend, yet instrumental goals became equally important when the provocateur was a neutral peer and were rated as most important when the provocateur was an enemy.

The social aspects of older adults lives are strongly linked to well-being outcomes. Social relationships in older adulthood are rewarding, but also complex, and to maintain a positive social environment, older adults must reconcile long relationships histories, negotiate changing roles, and deal with increasing dependencies. Older adults are known to be particularly effective at regulating their social environments under these circumstances to maximize satisfaction, but some are more successful than others. Older adults manage their social environments through processes of relationship regulation, where individuals actively work towards social goals to customize their social environments and close relationships to meet developmental and emotional needs. Importantly, relationship regulation is embedded in older adults’ social environments, which are not only an outcome, but also the context that inspires, motivates, and hinders efforts to change the social environment. Within the proximal social environment older adults may experience support, hindrance, and satisfying contact with close social partners. Although supportive social environments are related to health and well-being in old age, and evidence suggests that older adults regulate their relationships, little is known about how these goals are worked towards and achieved on a daily basis and within the context of older adults' daily lives. The current study had two distinct aims: (a) to understand the intraindividual processes of regulating social goals within daily context of the social environment; and (b) to examine how interindividual differences predict between-person differences in social regulatory processes. Specifically, this study investigated the degree to which older adults depend on daily support and contact with a close social partner to make progress towards a meaningful social goal, and also the extent to which perceptions of social hindrance impede goal progress. On an interindividual level, this study examined how differences in the proximal social environment and goal orientation are linked to differences in social regulatory processes. Data from the Personal Understanding of Life and Social Experiences (PULSE) project, a 100-day, internet-based microlongitudinal study of 100 Oregon residents age 52 to 88 (M = 63.13, SD = 7.8), were used to explore processes of relationship regulation. At the beginning of the study, participants created a meaningful social goal, and mapped their social convoy. Participants then tracked their daily goal progress and feelings of social support, hindrance and satisfaction over a 100-day time period. Analysis was conducted using multilevel random coefficient models, and was structured to examine within person processes. Daily experiences of goal progress were positively related to social support and contact satisfaction, and negatively related with social hindrance. Importantly, these associations varied greatly between participants, in part as a function of convoy composition and goal orientations. The results from this study suggest that relationship regulation is (a) embedded in the social context of daily life; (b) differs based on the structure of the proximal social environment; (c) contingent on regulatory strategies selected by older adults to work towards their goals; and (d) differentiated by mean tendencies. The linkages between support, hindrance and contact satisfaction with daily goal progress found in this study suggest that the process of working towards a social goal is dependent on older adults' daily social contexts. This has implications for populations with varying access to social support and exposure to social hindrance. Further, individual differences in social regulatory processes were only partially explained by convoy structure and goal orientation. Future research is needed to search for the mechanisms that drive these between person differences in social regulatory processes. / Graduation date: 2012