Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

The Role Of Verbal Incentives And Researcher Attitude In The Motivation Of Preschool Children From Different Socioeconomic Levels, Carol Hunter Byrnes

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The motivating effects of positive and negative verbal reinforcement and researcher attitude on the performance of preschool children were studied in relation to socioeconomic level. Forty children from the Utah State University Child Development Laboratory and forty from Head Start classrooms in northern Utah served as subjects. Each child performed the simple task of placing pegs in a pegboard during a 60- second time interval; once under conditions of positive verbal reinforcement and positive attitude, and again, under one of four experimental conditions: control; positive reinforcement/positive attitude; negative reinforcement/positive attitude; or negative reinforcement/ negative attitude.

The findings seemed to indicate …

Parent-Child Affinity As Perceived By Children, Earlene E. Miller

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

Parental preference of girls and boys was studied in this research. Situations of recreation, personal and moral needs, places and things, and social events constituted the range of choices in the children's selection for one parent or the other as a companion for the activity.

Ninety children (30 preschool, 30 third graders, and 30 sixth graders) were tested individually by an interview schedule. The Parent-Affinity Perception Scale developed for this research contained 30 items. Children were asked to choose "Mother" or "Father" as a response for each item.

The findings indicated a significant difference in preference for "Mother" rather than …