CALIFORNIA STATE UNIVERSITY, NORTHRIDGE
THE EFFECT
OF INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION SKILL
,,
TRAINING ON INTERNAL-EXTEruqAL LOCUS OF CONTROL
pJ~ONG
THIRD GRADE STUDENTS
A thesis submitted in partial satisfaction of the
·requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in
Education - Educational Psychology - Counseling
and Guidance
by
Shirley Labinowich
January, 1978
The thesis of Shirley Labinowich is approved:
Dr. Rie Hitchell
_.Dr. _.George Ferrell
/,.·''
Dr. Ezra Wyeth,
\Gha~rperson)
California State University, Northridge
ii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to acknowledge my indebtedness to those
who have supported me in development of this study.
My
thanks to Dr. Ezra Wyeth for his helpful suggestions and
to Dr. Rie Mitchell, whose warm encouragement and understanding of my objectives made it all seem really possible.
A very special appreciation is offered to Dr. Jim Ferrell
for his generous sharing of expertise and his willingness
to help smooth over the rough edges.
To LaVerne Cohen and Dean Moordigian, who allowed me
the freedom of their classrooms with no questions asked,
I offer
my deep gratitude for the trust and cooperation
that was given.
The patience and understanding of my husband, Ed, is
inextricably woven throughout the hours of effort devoted
to these pages.
Most of all, I want to share my joy and appreciation
of those boys and girls at Osceola Elementary School who
enabled me to learn with them and from them.
iii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER
I.
PAGE
Title Page.............................
Approval Page..........................
Acknowledgement........................
i
ii
iii
INTRODUCTION .......................... .
1
Purpose of the Study
Statement of the Problem
Hypothesis
Definition of Terms
Justification and Need for Program
Need for an Instrument
Description of the Program
Description of the Instrument
Description of the Study
II.
A SURVEY OF RELATED RESEARCH .......... .
18
Programs Related to Human
Relations Skills
Locus of Control - Measurement
and Studies of Change Toward
Internality
Locus of Control - Instruments
of Measure for Children
III.
PROCEDURES ............................ .
Development of the Program
Implementation of the Program
Development of the Social SelfDirection Scale
Validation and Reliability of the
Social Self-Direction Scale
Administration of the Social
Self-Direction Scale
Setting and Description of the
Study
Limitations of the Study
iv
37
CHAPTER
IV.
PAGE
RESEARCH FINDINGS & SUMMARY OF
RESULTS & CONCLUSIONS ............. .
53
Instrumentation
Construct Validation for the Social
Self-Direction Scale
Reliability Data for the Social
Self-Direction Scale
Evaluation
Null Hypothesis
Data Analysis for the Preand Posttests
The Program
The Social Self-Direction Scale
Program Effectiveness
Recommendations for Further
Research
BIBLIOGRAPHY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
66
APPENDICES
APPENDIX A- Program...............
I.
II.
III.
IV.
72
Self-Awareness
Self-Direction
Self-Assertion
Conflict Behavior
APPENDIX B - Social Self-Direction
Scale...............
103
APPENDIX C- Answer Sheet ..........
106
v
ABSTRACT
This study is concerned with the development of a
program to provide interpersonal communication skills to
elementary-aged children.
It also explores the effects of
such a program in relation to increased internality in a
locus of control construct.
The program developed within this study provides
training in interpersonal skills within an existing school
curriculum with a focus on self-awareness, self-direction
and assertiveness.
Direct instruction, teacher modeling,
experiential exercises, and group techniques are utilized
to provide an intervention program for approximately one
school year.
Effectiveness of the program is measured by a selfreport paper and pencil instrument developed for this
study to measure the effects of interpersonal skills
training on locus of control construct.
Evidence of
acceptable test-retest reliability (r = .70, N = 24) and
estimate of internal consistency via the split-half method,
(!_
=
.49) is presented.
Evidence for construct validity
is obtained through correlation of the newly developed
instrument to the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control
Scale (r = .44, p
< .05)
Inventory (r = . 59, p
and the Coopersmith Self-Esteem
<. 01).
vi
A pretest-posttest control group design is employed
with two third-grade, self-contained classrooms of approximately 34 children each.
Experimental treatment consists
of an hour to an hour and a half instruction per week in
the program developed within this study.
The null hypothesis predicts no difference in
increased internality on the locus of control construct
between control and experimental groups, as indicated by
mean scores on the evaluation instrument.
An analysis of
covariance is computed with pre- and posttest scores using
pretest scores as a covariate.
Although descriptive
statistics show a mean gain score of greater than eleven
points, analysis of covariance indicates the null hypothesis cannot be rejected at .05 level.
vii
CHAPTER I
CHAPTER I
PROBLEM
This study is concerned with the need for direct
instruction of interpersonal communication skills in
young children.
Evidence is presented that many children,
particularly those in lower socioeconomic levels have
learned to deal with complex social realities by means of
impulsive and often explosive actions.
Their poor inter-
personal skills result in peer rejections, which in turn,
reinforce the child's feeling of inadequacy, badness and
social rejection.
A program of direct intervention is
developed within this study and its effects are measured
through a locus of control instrument.
This chapter develops the rationale for a program to
provide interpersonal skills for the elementary school
child.
A description of the program developed within this
study is provided as well as a discussion of the experimental treatment and the instrument used as a basis for
measuring the outcomes of this investigation.
Purpose of this Study
The purpose of this study is to determine the effects
of interpersonal communication skill training on internalexternal locus of control in third-grade children.
- 1 -
A
- 2 -
program was developed to implement this training in a
classroom as well as to develop a self-report instrument
to measure effectiveness of the program in modifying locus
of control.
Statement of the Problem:
1.
The first problem.
Can a change toward greater
internality, as defined in the locus of control construct,
be affected in third-grade children through a training
program of interpersonal communication skills?
2.
The second problem.
Can adequate reliability and
evidence of construct validity be established for a selfreport instrument developed within this study for measurement of internal-external control in third-grade children?
HyPothesis
Third grade children, who have been trained in the
use of interpersonal communication skills, have a higher
internal score on a self-report locus of control
instru~
ment than children who have not been trained in these
techniques.
The Definition of Terms
1.
Interpersonal Communication Skill Training.
Interpersonal communication skill training incorporates
exercises, activities and roleplaying intended to develop
the ability to respond to verbal and non-verbal behavior
- 3 -
in an empathic manner.
It tries to develop the ability
to give and receive effective feedback as well as employ
active listening skills.
It is designed to enable the
sender to maintain the locus of responsibility by incorporating "I-messages" into statements of self-disclosure,
assertion and confrontation.
Instruction is provided by
the teacher and incorporated into the existing curriculum
of the classroom.
2.
External Locus of Control.
An externally-
oriented child will be operationally defined as one who
obtains a low score on the Social Self-Direction Instrument developed for purposes of this study.
The internally-
oriented individual perceives reinforcements to be
contingent upon his own behavior and positive or negative
events to be the consequences of his own actions.
He
tends to verbalize his needs and asserts himself in lieu
of being physically aggressive.
He attempts to fill his
needs assertively rather than through indirect manipulation
of others.
4.
~ression.
Aggression is unduly harmful,
threatening, or belligerent behavior.
5.
Assertion.
Assertion is a behavioral expression
of positive or negative feelings in a socially acceptable
manner.
- 4 -
6.
Social Seif-Direction.
Social self-direction is
peer-related interaction associated with internal locus
of control.
The locus of action is recognized by the
child to be his own.
The child's behavior is a direct
expression of his needs and feelings as opposed to
indirect manipulation of impulsive aggression.
Justification and Need for the Program
As the child enters his classroom, eager and anxious,
on his first day of school, he unknowingly enters a world
in which he will experience relationships that will be
equalled only by the intimacy of his own family.
He
suddenly finds himself in a crowded situation where violation of his personal space becomes the norm.
He is faced
with the joys and frustration of close personal interaction.
The child's ability to learn from his peers in
such a setting may satisfy needs that have been previously
unrecognized or unfulfilled.
Examples of these needs
include training in social behavior, belongingness, _
affection, learning to share feelings of others, cooperation, respect for others, learning to give and take helpful
criticism, and acceptance of individual differences,
(Peters, Shertzer & Van Hose 1965).
- 5 -
White (1963) suggests that a most critical factor in
the development of one's sense of identity is interpersonal
competence.
Egan (1975) points out that without signifi-
cant adults to model effective human relations skills, the
child will not only fail to develop these skills, but will
think of himself as unworthy of care.
If the same lack of
modeling is experienced in school, he will not learn to
prize himself
any~ore
than he did at home.
The child
becomes locked into a "parallel-learning 11 situation.
When
those who lack skills in human relations live intimately
with others who are unskilled, either a lack of self-growth
results or more than likely, their interactions result in
destructiveness.
What do children learn in their social
interaction in school?
Egan (1975) suggests that evidence
indicates that they learn:
how to remain superficial,
how to build facades,
how to play interpersonal games
how to hide out from themselves
and others,
how to down play risk in human
relating,
how to manipulate others (or
endure being manipulated)
how to promote self-interest and
how to hurt and punish others if
necessary. (p. 22)
- 6 -
My fourteen ye?,rs of experience as an elementary teacher
leads me to concur with Egan and has resulted in my own
firm conviction that our traditional childrearing and
educational practices have not only failed to strengthen,
but have successfully suppressed the ability of many
children to honestly express needs and frustrations in a
direct, non-manipulative way.
This imposed control soon
teaches the child to censor the feelings he may expose to
those he depends upon for love and approval, resulting in
his own eventual lack of inner direction.
Egan (1975) sums up my own sense of frustration as I
see this most important aspect of human development
virtually ignored by our educational system.
He asks
Where do children learn, in any
systematic way, the human relations skills that are so necessary
for effective living? ... It is
utterly amazing, then, that interpersonal skill building is left so
much to chance in our society. It
is also amazing that our educational
systems have not filled the vaccum
created in the home. There is no
doubt in my mind that children
should be systematically trained
in human relations skills. (p. 21)
Rubin (1974) defines the role and limitations of
affective education as he stresses that therapy is the
business of therapists, not educators.
He does indicate
that disabling emotional experiences can be reduced by
classroom experiences which
- 7 -
1) sharpen perceptual accuracy
with regard to people and
events,
2) familiarize students with
constructive responses to
emotion-laden situations
3) promote the cumulative
development of healthy,
person-satisfying attitudes,
beliefs and values.
(p. 13)
He further states that affective education is not one in
which "counterfeit feelings" are imposed upon the child.
Instead, it must concern itself with the learner's
attitude towards himself
.... with his perception and
interpretation of the social
scenes in which he finds himself; and with the tactics he
uses to counteract and inhibit
unpleasant emotions. (p. 12)
My observations of classroom interaction convince me
that peer interaction is the testing ground for the selfimage of the child.
It is here, free of his depen.dancy on
adult approval, that he may begin to experience himself
as the locus of his own action.
In the world of his peers,
he may risk the direct assertion of his experienced feelings and needs.
He may learn through these experiences
that his feelings and behaviors are related, not isolated
from each other.
He may come face to face with the self-
responsibility of his actions.
- 8 -
Unfortunately? most of the children I have worked
with have little congruence of feeling with behavior.
These children view their behavior as externally stimulated, negating their own internal responsibility.
provide the reader with a more concrete
example~.
To
the child
who throws a rock in retaliation for being called a name,
may view his act totally within that framework.
The
consequences will also be externally reinforced as he is
punished for "breaking a school rule"" or "being a bad boy".
However, with the proper language to express his feelings, ·
he will be faced with the awareness of his internal control
in assigning personal meaning to whatever name he was
called.
With this recognition, his response becomes one
of choice and assertive control, rather than the impulsivity of blind aggression.
Coopersmith (1970) expands this premise as he
describes a "defensive" child as becoming apprehensive and
even strongly antagonistic if his self-image is threatened.
He states that children who feel attacked do not
reveal themselves to the attacker and so cannot move
beyond the fortress they feel compelled to erect.
Such
defensive postures come from poor communication with
significant others.
The result of such limited communi-
cation is that children fail to develop motivation and
- 9 -
skills in corrm1unica,ting feelings to other persons or
themselves,
They have) in
effect~
closed themselves off.
Studies present evidence that many children, particularly those in lower socioeconomic levels, have learned
to deal with complex social realities by means of impulsive and often explosive actions (Chilman 1966; Deutsch,
1967; Herzog, 1967).
Children who have no acceptable means
of handling everyday frustrations often experience many
other social and emotional difficulties.
Their poor
interpersonal skills result in peer rejections, which in
turn, reinforce the child's feeling of inadequacy, badness,
and social rejection (Branden, 1969; Coopersmith, 1967;
Lorber, 1966).
Figure 1 represents a model which is highly illustrative of this negative spiral.
It has been developed
by Marshall (1972, p. 92).
Inadequate
self-concept
Negative reaction \
of peers and teachers 1 ~.....,..:;..._--~,
Negative
labelling
Individual's lack
of skills
Lack of understanding of individual
differences
Group' s lack of
skills to help
- 10 -
Marshall suggests
th~t
it is possible to enter the
trajectory of the spiral by teaching the child new interpersonal skills,
However~
not only does the peer group
lack an understanding of human relations and the skills
to accept children with problems, but many teachers do
not ordinarily include teaching of this knowledge in the
curriculum.
By providing direct intervention, the program
proposed by this study hopes to reverse this spiral,
My personal experience as a classroom teacher utilizing interpersonal skills, can attest to the personal growth
value of employing these techniques.
I have experienced
the beauty of stepping out of the constraining role of
teacher and into the joy of experiencing students in terms
of myself.
The language of self-disclosure, according to
Gordon (1975) results in three major risks:
1) Others may
know me intimately and so I risk rejection of me rather
than my role.
2) The possibility of needed self-
modification, since blame is not placed on outside forces
in self-disclosure.
3) Since the language of self-
disclosure keeps the locus of responsibility within, I
must be responsible for my own human condition.
My personal and professional growth in taking these
risks is reflected in Gordon's (1975) report on teachers
employing these techniques,
- 11 -
another w_ay of looking at the
.. is to view them as oppor~­
tuniti.e.s for personal growth.
They (teachers) cite changes in
their own lives as evidence that
risk and growth often go together,
and that change toward a richer.
fuller, more rewarding way of
being is worth the risk. (p. 152)
1 ••
risks~
Although many approaches are directed towards providing adults with effective means of communicating with
children, minimal attention is given to developing these
skills of communication in the child himself.
He is thus,
deprived of the skills which may facilitate his own risktaking and personal growth.
The language of Gestalt Therapy, as defined by Fritz
Perls (1947) recognizes the need for "Ego-language" in
continued development of responsibility for self,
You will readily realize the
difference between the two kinds
of speech when you hear somebody
saying: "The cup slipped out of
my hand" instead of "I" dropped
the cup ... (p. 217)
The avoidance of responsibility
and the avoidance of Ego-language
are closely related. As responsibility is so often connected
with blame, shame, and punishment,
it is small wonder that people
shrink frequently from responsibility and disown their feelings
and actions. (p. 216)
From this premise, I have developed the major impetus for
this study.
- 12 -
A thorough review of the literature reveals that the
direct intervention programs for teaching interpersonal
communication skills to children are practically nonexistent, particularly at the elementary school level.
The
child is left to his own designs in the world of his peers.
A program to provide the elementary-age child with
interpersonal skills will not only provide him with a means
of recognizing his own internal control, but with a means
of increasing it.
As he and his classroom peers grow in
their ability to listen effectively, respond with empathy,
self-disclose approximately, and communicate with a sense
of self, the classroom will finally become that which it
could be--a place for mutual understanding and self-growth.
Need for an Instrument
Much of the literature relating to development of
interpersonal skills indicate an eventual move towards
effective coping with frustration, assertiveness as opposed
to aggression and improved interpersonal relations.
The
"ego language", as defined by Perls (1947), is described
as necessary for continued growth in responsibility for
self.
This "language" appears to be the baseline for
interpersonal communication skills.
The literature also reveals that internals (in comparison to externals) tend to be more effective in inter-
- 13 -
personal relations (Nowicki, 1973; Rotter, 1966), and are
rated as more positive and less deviant in classroom
behavior (Buck and Austrin, 1971).
The many parallels between the effects of interpersonal communication skill training and the characteristics of internals would suggest a strong case for using
this approach to move children toward stronger internality.
The instrument used for a pilot study conducted in my
own classroom was the Norwicki-Strickland Locus of Control
for Children (CNS-IE, Norwicki•Strickland, 1973).
The
instrument was chosen for use because it seemed to focus
more on personal interaction rather than academic achievement.
Although the instrument offers much prior research
in support of its construct validity, I found the children
experiencing much confusion relative to wording of some of
the items.
Other items lacked specificity of relation-
ships, i.e., "Are you often blamed for things that aren't
your fault?", causing frustration as to whether the item
applied to home or school.
Another example, "Do you think
that cheering more than luck helps a team to win?", causes
cor..fusion since the young child's experience says that
picking the best players helps a team to win.
This also
reflects the general nature of many of the items.
I felt
the instrument did not focus on the social self-direction
- 14 -
which seems implicit in the theory of interpersonal
communication skills and would not be sensitive to changes
produced by the proposed program in this study.
This opinion is supported by Coan (c.f. Dies, 1968)
who suggests that the items on Internal-External scales
may not tap all major aspects of personal control.
Joe
(1971) concludes in his review of the I-E scales as a
personality construct, that researchers may need to rethink
the locus of control construct to account for newlydiscovered correlates on the scale.
Therefore, I developed
an instrument which will focus more closely on internalexternal control relative to social self-direction as
operationally defined in this study.
Description of the Program
The program was
~esigned
for integration into the
regular curriculum in spoken and written language.
Directed teacher-class involvement averages one hour per
week.
Table 1 indicates the basic framework containing
four objectives with specific units for each objective.
- 15 -
Table 1
OBJECTIVES
UNITS
Self-Awareness
Identifying Feelings
Developing Empathy
Developing Ability to
Self-Disclose
Identifying Non-verbal
Behavior
Understanding Inference
II4.
Self-Direction
Verbal Expressions of
Problems
Recognizing Congruent
Expressions
Alternative Conflict Behavior
Self-evaluation
III.
Self-Assertion
Identifling Ownership of
Prob ems
Understanding "Conununication
Stopp,ers"
Use of 'I" statements to
establish Locus of
Responsibility
Understanding "you" statements in Assertiveness
Conflict Behavior
Developing Active Listening
Skills
Developing Verbal Alternatives to impulsive
Aggressive Behavior
Acceptable Ways to Vent
Anger
I.
IV.
- 16 -
Specific tasks were assigned to each unit incorporating
exercises, role-playing, dyadic interaction, and small and
large-group interaction.
Fantasy exercises were also used
to encourage expression.
Many self-concept exercises were
incorporated throughout the program.
(see appendix)
Description of the Instrument
The social Self-Direction Scale, hereafter referred
to as SSDS, is a self-report inventory designed to measure
the Internal-External construct relative to interpersonal
relations in elementary school children.
Items focus on
personal responsibility and self-assertiveness in peer
interaction.
Examples of items are: "I know when I am
making other kids mad at me."
and "When I get angry at
someone, it's easier to hit them than tell them why I'm
angry."
The instrument is a paper and pencil measure con-
sisting of no more than 35 items requiring responses on a
five-point Likert format (0-4) with 19 externally-worded
items and 16 internally-worded items.
Responses are
required on a five-point scale ranging from "Always Like
Me" to "Never Like 'Me'.'.
Description of the Study
The experimental design employed in this study was a
pretest-posttest control group design.
Analysis of
covariance was applied to data using pretest scores as
- 17 -
the covariant.
Two third-grade, self-contained, classrooms
consisting of approximately 34 children each were used.
Experimental treatment consisted of approximately one to
one and a half hour's instruction per week and participation in exercises from a program designed to develop
interpersonal communication skills with an emphasis on
behavioral self-direction and self-responsibility.
Experi-
mental treatment was applied for approximately one full
school year.
The control group had no instruction in these
skills and their teacher had no understanding of the
experimental treatment.
CHAPTER II
CHAPTER II
A SURVEY OF RELATED RESEARCH
This chapter is presented in three sections.
The
first section provides the findings of a literature search
concerned with programs and studies related to human
relation skills which focus on communication in the classroom.
The next section presents an overview of the locus
of control construct and studies in which attempts have
been made to affect internality.
The last section is a
survey of instruments which assess locus of control in
children.
Programs Related to Human Relations Skills
A search of the literature reveals a definite focus
in the last decade on the social and emotional development
of young people.
The literature is replete with discus-
sions of the rationale and philosophical presuppositions
underlying such education and suggestions for implementation.
Both School Counselor and Personnel & Guidance
Journal devoted entire issues to the subject in 1973.
Recent programs have emerged which recognize the need
for improved interpersonal communication skills for those
who influence the child in home and school.
A few of the
more notable are Teacher Effectiveness Training (TET) and
Parent Effectiveness Training (PET) developed by Gordon
- 18 -
- 19 -
(1970, 1975).
This program demonstrates the art of active
listening and communicating feelings to others.
of needs and acceptance are stressed.
Assertion
Between Parent &
Child and Teacher & Child are two books authored by
Ginott (1965, 1975) which develop communication skills as
well as delineating the effects of manipulative praise and
approval on children.
Elizabeth Hunter (1970) has written
Encounter in the Classroom, which employs encounter and
sensitivity group techniques to aid teachers in increasing personal and interpersonal effectiveness in relating
to children as well as other adults.
Two areas of thrust seem to emerge for teaching
interpersonal skills: those studies assessing indirect
attempts to facilitate student development through training school personnel in affective skills to improve
commun~
cation with children, and those studies assessing direct
attempts to facilitate student development through direct
participation of children in classroom activities and
programs.
Relative to the focus of this study, discussion
will be limited to those studies concerned with direct
attempts to facilitate student acquisition of these skills.
It is surprising to discover that the area of affective education receiving the most attention, techniques
and procedures for using with students, has been the most
- 20 -
neglected in actual research.
Although there have been
numerous positive reports from teachers who have used such
programs, there have been reported comparatively few
experimental studies that yield objective data in support
of such programs.
Programs using experimental designs for evaluation
have been conducted in school systems with positive
results.
Although these studies cover a broader scope of
affective skills than the communication skills to be
focused on in this study, I am citing them because they
reflect the paucity of empirical evidence supporting the
success of affective programs.
VanKoughnett and Smith (1969) reported significant
differences between the experimental and control groups in
a program designed to enhance the self-concept of black
students in the Pontiac, Michigan
school system.
In trying to determine the most effective mode for
teaching a unit on drug education, Smith (1974) utilized
three groups: an affective group, a didactic group, and a
control group which focused on non-drug related problems.
An instrument was used to measure both cognitive and
affective gains.
The affective group showed a significant
gain in both the cognitive and affective areas.
- 21 -
In a study with 150 second-grade students Vaden
(1972).reported an affective program designed to enhance
self-control was significantly related to general school
adjustment based on teacher ratings; however, improvement
in observable classroom behavior was not significant at
the .05 level when measured by an instrument.
Several packaged programs of affective education have
been developed during recent years.
Among them are the
American Guidance Services' DUSO Program (Dinkmeyer, 1970),
the Science Research Associates Self-Development Program
(Anderson, Lang & Scott, 1970), and the Human Development
Training Institute's series on Methods in Human Development
(commonly known as the "Magic Circle'.' series).
Although
the subjective reports from teachers using programs such
as these are generally favorable (Bessell & Palomares,
1970; Dinkmeyer, 1970; Morgan 1971), there has been a
dearth of objective research yielding empirical data in
support of these programs.
The literature reveals only
the few following studies.
Using the DUSO materials with first, second, and
third-grade students, Koveal (1972) found a greater sense
of personal freedom in first-grade participants and no
change in the sense of worth among students participating
in the other grades.
- 22 -
Three experimental studies evaluated the effects of
the Human Development Program.
Montgomery (1971) employed
the awareness portion of the program.
He reported that,
out of 16 variables, students showed significant improvement in only the variables of self-awareness and sensitivity to others.
McGee (1972), who used the program with
preschoolers, found a significant increase in IQ scores,
but not in affective areas.
Sweaney (1974), who used the
program with first graders, found, in spite of overwhelmingly positive subjective reactions from students and
teachers, ·no significant difference between the experimental and control groups on the affective variables.
The preceding studies indicate that, at best, the
empirical evidence in support of affective programs designed for direct impact on students is mixed.
The discrepancy
between the overwhelmingly positive subjective reports of
participants and the somewhat tenuous empirical data gained
from the more objective research studies may be an indication of a reason for the dearth of objective research in
this area.
That discrepancy may reflect the ineffective-
ness of the direct programs of affective education, or it
may reflect the inadequacy
of affective research tech-
niques as well as the instruments designed to measure such
research.
There may very well be some affective outcomes
which resist quantification.
- 23 -
Another factor dictating mixed results in direct
intervention programs may be that they are often treated
as another "subject" to be learned rather than integrated
naturally as part of daily personal interaction within the
crowded confines of a classroom.
Teachers are a potent factor in the success of such
programs.
Wackman and Miller (1975) have developed a
classroom program oriented toward secondary school which
is designed to build a variety of interpersonal communication skills.
In delineating some of the limitations of
this program, the authors pointed out that the nature of
teaching communication skills sometimes creates conflict
for the teacher in that students provide most of the feedback to each other and some teachers have difficulty
adapting to the role of a resource person who moves from
group to group.
Despite the lack of "hard research", the counseling
profession seems to be overtly moving towards providing
interpersonal skills directly to children.
Pine (1974)
cites several studies giving evidence that school counselors spend little time counseling students and the function
of therapuetic and developmental counseling is being
assumed by the classroom teacher.
He views the counselor
eventually functioning as a "counselor-educator" who can
- 24 -
achieve a multiplier effect by shifting their priorities
to training parents, students, and school staff to use
counseling skills.
This will result in the delivery of
counseling services to a significantly larger population
than the counselor could ever hope to reach.
Of the few existing studies on affective education
those with a direct focus on programs of communication
skills are rare, and rarer still is the use of these skills
with elementary-age children.
In an attempt to enlarge
the reach of counseling skills, some studies have appeared
which cover the effectiveness of dealing with others as a
result of training in interpersonal skills.
Gray and Hall (1974) focused on training junior high
students in helping relations using the Carkhuff (1969)
model and engaging these trainees as "rap" leaders of small
student groups that would deal with adolescent concerns.
The results were significant at the .001 level in the
experimental group 1 s ability to discriminate and communicate more effectively.
However, observable differences
reported by teachers whose students constituted both
experimental and control groups seem especially significant
beyond the hard data.
The trainees were observed to have
a greater ability to solve problems, cooperate with others,
listen effectively, and exhibit more leadership behavior.
- 25 -
The "rap" leaders became involved in preventing violence
during a student strike, providing training at a crisis
intervention center, and at the end of the 1972-73 school
year, they were working with more than 140 students in
small groups.
Much of the literature on counseling, sensitivity
training, and psychotherapy emphasizes the importance of
learning to acknowledge and deal in a straightforward
manner with difficult and frustrating experiences (Burton,
1969; Satir, 1969; Bach & Deutsch, 1970; Holt, 1972).
Interpersonal communication provides a way to lay
do~~
ground rules within which assertiveness can replace destructive aggression.
In a study by D'Augelli, Deyss, Guerney, Hershenberg,
and Sborofsky (1974) forty-eight dating couples were
assigned to experimental and control groups.
As a result
of less than twenty hours of training, participants moved
from a skill level typical of college students to levels
typical of counselors.
Conclusions suggested that such
assertive skills to assist individuals and families in
dealing with their own concerns can be taught effectively
and efficiently.
Suggestions were made that further
research is. needed to ascertain whether such positive
results would be obtained with a younger age group.
- 26 -
Gumaer (1973) directed his peer facilitator program
towards fifth- .and sixth-grade children.
Eight students
were selected on the basis of a sociogram identifying
student leaders.
Interpersonal communication skills were
taught in twelve half-hour sessions.
Peer facilitators
were used to lead small group discussions and dealt with
interpersonal relationships including the racial tensions
which existed at the school
A pre- and posttest Likert-
type questionnaire was completed by teachers indicating
that the children became "more attentive", "more active"
in classroom discussions, and in some cases, "more thoughtful and sensitive to others".
Some of the children's
comments were :
I like feedback. It helps me to
~tay ou~ of fights when someone
~s bugg~ng me.
I like feedback because you can
tell a person how you really feel
about certain things. (p. 10)
These comments seem to exemplify internal orientation that
can result from interpersonal training.
The attitudes of
the children seem well within the constructs of the Social
Self Direction Scale developed for use in this study.
Relative to the existing conditions of external
pressures in presently overcrowded classrooms, as well as
the external pressures of our present educational system,
- 27 -
the incorporation of interpersonal skills into our present
curriculum seems essential.
The stress of interpersonal
relationships for children under these conditions seems
to necessitate possession of these types of skills.
Montagu (1966) supports this position when he says that
external defenses can never make
up for the lack of having internal
controls. What we need to do is
build internal controls in human
beings so that they can withstand
external pressures and maintain
internal equilibrium. (p. 118)
The literature indicates not only a dearth of "hard
data" on the effects of programs dealing with interpersonal
relations, but also a definite direction in aiming these
programs toward adolescents and adults.
The programs
developed for elementary-age children deal primarily with
self-concept enhancement and group self-disclosure, as
opposed to one-to-one interaction.
Programs providing
direct intervention of teaching interpersonal communication
skills to the elementary child would appear to be almost
non-existent.
It would seem that both programs and
research are highly needed in this area.
Locus of Control - Measurement and Studies of Change
Towards Internality
Piaget's work has demonstrated that children have a
strong belief in casual relationship--that is, that the
- 28 -
action of an individual can produce or modify an experience
(Furth, 1970).
Rotter (1966) has identified this conceot
.
as locus of control and defined it as the location of the
force within the environment which the individual perceives
to be responsible for the outcome or development of an
experience.
Rotter identified two types of control--
internal and external, operating along a continuum.
When
the locus of control is internal the individual perceives
himself as a prime causal factor in determining the events
in his environment.
When the locus of control is external,
the individual perceives forces outside of himself as prime
factors in determining these events.
High internal
centro~
for example, does not mean that an individual never
experiences failure_, but rather that, in failure, he
accepts himself as a prime cause of that failure.
Thus
locus of control is a concept that is operative for both
positive and negative events in an individual's environment.
Rotter (1966) has proposed that the concept of internal-external control of reinforcement can account for a
wide range of personality characteristics and overt
behaviors.
He suggests that the 1-E scale appears to
measure a psychological equivelent of the sociological
concept of alienation, in the sense of powerlessness, and
- 29 -
that the person who has a strong belief that he can control his own destiny is likely to be more alert to
receiving environmental information which is useful to his
future behavior, to be somewhat aggressive in attempting
to improve his environmental condition, to place greater
value on personal achievement, and to be resistant to
subtle attempts to influence him.
Some studies indicate that promotion of internal
control is associated with self-assertiveness, activism,
hopefulness, and positive coping; whereas an external
orientation accompanies defeatism, helplessness, passivity,
and depression.
(McGhee & Crandall, 1968; Rotter, 1966;
Robber, Seeman & Liverant, 1962).
James, Woodruff, and Werner (1965) reported evidence
that internals can control not only their environments, but
also their own impulses better than externals.
Phares,
Ritchie, and David (1968) concluded that internals were
more willing than externals to remedy personality problems.
Internals (in comparison to Externals) tend to be more
effective in interpersonal relations, (Nowicki, 1973;
Rotter, 1966; Strickland, 1971), to experience more meanful. . relationships vlith teachers, (Bryant, 1972), and are
rated as more positive and less deviant in classroom
behavior, (Buck & Austrin, 1971).
This would seem to offer
- 30 -
a strong case for suggesting that Externals may benefit
from a program that moves them significantly toward internal locus of control.
A careful search of the literature was made, especially in view of Leftcourt's (1967) statement: "Only one
study has focused on attempts to alter external control
related behavior."
(p. 373) In this study, Leftcourt and
Ludwig (1965), the usually high external-control blacks
persisted in a game-type competition against a white
opponent despite continuous losses when they believed that
the experimenter was interested in them as jazz musicians.
Two control groups failed to show the same persistence.
Subsequent to Leftcourt's (1967), most of the change
research has been investigated in therapy settings.
Foulds (1971) conducted a study on 30 college students.
He hypothesized that an exposure to eight weekly four and
one-half hour sessions of growth goup experience would
result in a significant change toward internal orientation
as measured by Rotter's I-E scale.
They were provided with
many experiences to increase "straight talk" and to be
aware of their own "manipulative behaviors".
The findings
indicated that the focus on authentic communication resulted in significant movement toward internality in group
members, while no change occurred in control groups.
- 31 -
Considering that the number of research studies in
changing locus of control has been small, it is not surprising that a search for related studies .in an educational
setting produced sparse results.
In one of the studies,
Pehazur and Wheeler (1971), black and Puerto Rican subjects
indicated more external control than the Jewish subjects
and this was related to low need-achievement.
An increase
in both need-achievement and internal control was noted
after the black and Puerto Rican subjects were read a story
making internal control more salient.
In another study Norwicki and Barnes (1971), it was
found that the use of contingent reinforcement for good
and poor performance in summer camp for deprived innercity adolescents showed significant increases in internality in five out of eight groups. from previous performance.
Wicker and Tyler (1975) developed a pilot study which
proved to be the sole study of this literature search which
utilized direct instruction of understanding behavioral
acts in interpersonal relations to affect internality.
Two
measures were used: the Bailer scale (Bailer, 1961) and
Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Questionnaire
(Crendall, Katkovsky, and Preston, 1962).
These are both
Locus of Control measures with high reliability.
Subjects
were educationally retarded children who were provided with
- 32 -
daily 30 minute sessions of activities designed to deal
with conflict situations and recognizing consequences of
behavior.
Experimental group showed significant difference
over the control group in movement towards internality.
McWilliams and McWilliams (1976) describe a study in
which elementary children were placed in a one-to-one
tutorial situation with graduate students in a remedial
reading program.
The Norwicki-Strickland Locus of Control
Scale for Children (1973) revealed a significant change
toward internality for the experimental group.
The change
was attributed to an emphasis on individuality and immediate positive reinforcement.
Chandler (1975) cites his unpublished pilot study in
which underachieving junior high students who scored high
in externality on the Children's Locus of Control Scale
(Bailer, 1961), were used as tutors for underachieving
second and third graders.
Significant differences toward
internality were measured for the tutors.
The available research indicating attempts to effect
change. relative to Locus of Control is minimal and appears
to attack the problem through a diversity of approaches.
Thomas (1975) in an analysis of underlying constructs of
Locus of Control has noted that the multitude of factors
involved in Locus of Control are also affected by specific
situations.
He urges that curriculum developers who wish
- 33 -
to develop curricula that will enhance internality in a
given domain provide experiences in a variety of situations.
He speculates that the treatment effect in a
specific area will not necessarily generalize to other
area.
Considering this possibility and the present scar-
city of empirical evidence in attempts to affect a change
in Locus of Control, conclusions regarding the efficacy of
any specific approach must remain highly speculative at
this point.
Locus of Control - rn·s·truments of Measure for Children
There have been a number of attempts to measure locus
of control in children,
The first of these by Bailer
(1961), was modified from the James-Phares scale.
a 23-item questionnaire with yes-no responses.
It is
With
younger children the items are read and the child answers
yes or no.
A typical item is, "Do you really believe a
kid can be whatever he wants to be?"
Crandall, Katkovsky, and Crandall (1965) developed a
scale (Intellectual Achievement Responsibility--TAR) for
"self-responsibility" in academic achievement situations.
The items deal with whether or not the child feels that he,
rather than other persons, usually cause the success and
failures he experiences in intellectual achievement situations.
The child chooses between alternatives as in the
- 34 -
following example: "Suppose you did better than usual in a
subject at school.
Would it probably happen (a) because
you tried harder, or (b) because someone helped you?"
While other instruments deal with a number of motivational
and behavioral areas such as affiliation, dominance,
achievement, and dependency, the IAR is aimed at assessing
children~s
beliefs in reinforcement responsibility exclu-
sively in intellectual-academic achievement situations.
Also, the other instruments include a variety of sources
and agents such as luck, fate, impersonal social forces,
more-personal "significant othersu, etc.
The IAR limits
the source of external control to those persons who most
often come in face-to-face contact with a child, parents,
teachers, and peers.
Another test for children, more projective in nature,
was developed by Battle and Rotter (1963).
This test pre-
sented the subject with six situations modeled on the
Rosenzweig picture frustration approach.
The child is told
how he would fill in the balloon, as in comic strips, for
an outline drawing: for example, where one child is saying
"How come you didn't get what you wanted for Christmas?"
A reliable scoring manual for this test is available.
Nowicki (1973) observes that Battle & Rotter's measure is
difficult to administer to large groups and has incomplete
reliability information.
- 35 -
The Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control (CNS-IE) was
developed by Nowicki and Crandall (1973) as a generalized
locus of control instrument which can be administered to a
large group of children within a wide age range.
Evidence
of construct validity as measured by relationships with
achievement, intelligence, socioeconomic class, and parental education level is presented.
The scale is a paper
and pencil measure consisting of forty questions which are
answered either yes or no by placing a mark next to the
question.
A typical question is, "Most of the time, do you
feel you can change what might happen tomorrow by what you
do today?"
The Nowicki Scale has been reviewed by McDonald
(1973) who concluded that the instrument appears to be the
best measure of locus of control for children.
Research with these measures generally suggest that
locus of control becomes more internal with age and that
internality is associated with higher social class and
white culture placement as opposed to Black and lower
socioeconomic status.
Sunnnary
Based on the literature review presented in this
study, the following conclusions may be warranted:
1.
Programs providing direct instruction in inter-
personal communication skills for elementary children
appear to be almost non-existent.
- 36 -
2.
There has been little research indicating attempts
to increase internality and very few studies which employ
interpersonal communication skills.
3.
Instruments which measure locus of control con-
structs in children are few in number, particularly for
children younger than third grade.
CHAPTER III
CHAPTER III
PROCEDURES
This chapter is presented in seven sections.
The
first section describes background and rationale for
development of the training program.
The second section
deals with classroom implementation of the program.
The
third section describes aspects of the Social SelfDirection Scale.
The fourth section discusses procedures
for determining reliability and gathering evidence for
construct validity of the instrument.
The fifth section
describes procedures for classroom administration of the
instrument.
Section six provides information about the
setting and gives a description of the study.
The last
section defines possible limitations of the study.
Development of the Program
In 1975, I piloted a two-month study in my fourthgrade classroom to determine the effects of teacher
modeling of assertive "I" statements and use of other
interpersonal skills based on Teacher Effectiveness
Training, Gordon (1975).
This program provides the teacher
with skills of active listening and other interpersonal
communication skills in relating to students.
The stated
objective of these skills is to provide the child with
more autonomy in his own thinking and a greater sense
- 37 -
- 38 -
of responsibility since he is not being directed in his
actions, but rather made aware of the effects of his
actions on others.
Thus, I hypothesized that student
locus of control might be altered toward a more internal
orientation.
The Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control
measure was used for measurement.
My informal observation
of the lack of skill in communication between the children
themselves brought to awareness the need for a program of
direct intervention in providing these skills directly to
the children.
My conclusion was that greatest benefit to
the child can be provided by making him not only the
recipient of increased communication skills by those
adults around him, but by providing him with the ability
to use these skills himself, thus facilitating his own
personal growth through self-disclosure and awareness of
his internal responses as an expression of behavior.
Hence, congruence of feeling and behavior leads to
"response-ability".
The reality of today's classroom provides an enrollment ranging from 30 to as high as 40 children in a room.
The environmental factors of noise as well as the magnified
social interaction conflicts arising from movement and
sharing of space within the classroom's confined space,
result in constant conflict between the children.
The
child's ability to get his needs met is colored by constant
- 39 -
frustration.
Providing the child with a means of circum-
venting aggressive behavior became one of the objectives
of my program.
Rimm, Brown and Stuart, (1974) provided six hours of
assertion training to adult males who were confined to a
mental health hospital primarily because of antisocial
aggressive behavior.
The findings revealed that assertion
training led to a reduction of felt anger.
One suggested
explanation was that in target situations, the initial
response (prior to treatment) was anxiety which was
suppressed by generating feelings of anger.
Following
treatments, such anxiety could be dealt with assertively,
thus eliminating the need for anger.
It was stated that
the fact that assertion may reduce anger could have
considerable significance.
Rimm's observation seems to reinforce Gordon (1975)
as he defines anger as
a posture or an act, not a true
emotion or feeling ...
Anger comes after experiencing some
earlier feeling.
Anger is a secondary feeling. It
always follows a primary feeling ...
In a sense, a person can be said
to manufacture his own internal
reactions, which then feels like
an emotion. (p.l48)
Gordon offers examples of teacher making themselves angry
as a result of experiencing a primary feeling:
- 40 -
Student cannot grasp the concept
of adding fractions.
Primary feeling of the teacher is
frustration. Teacher angrily shouts,
"You're not even trying--it's so
simple a third-grader could get it
before you do! (p. 149)
The "you" message sent is based on a secondary feeling of
anger.
An alternative"I" message based on the primary
feeling of frustration, i.e. "I" am upset because I don't
know how to teach this to you", would have placed complete
ownership of (and responsibility for) the feelings on the
sender.
"You" messages place blame outside the speaker,
reinforcing an external locus of control.
This leads us
back to what Perls (1947) has called "Ego-Language", the
assumption of responsibility for self.
The core of my
program is based upon this premise.
Despite much literature attesting to the openess and
honesty of child to child interaction, my many years of
classroom experience has led to observation of much in the
way of manipulation for social success and persistent
bickering resulting from inability to openly express needs.
I have also experienced the results of education's "hidden
curriculum" in which children have become adept at using
available adults to solve their conflicts.
The format of the program was set up with these factors incorporated in the basic objectives.
Exercises
are utilized allowing for an experiential approach to the
concepts.
Attempts were made to utilize the children's
- 41 -
personal experience wherever possible.
(see appendix)
The sequence and choice of activities for this program has been primarily based on my professional growth
which has evolved through the coursework required for
this Master's Degree.
My participation in this program
has provided the background to select specific objectives
as well as the skills to implement them as a classroom
teacher.
The exercises used in the program were freely adapted
to fit the Locus of Control orientation of the program
and the age level of the children involved.
Although
specific sources for the exercised are cited in the
bibliography, it is impossible to determine the actual
origins of many of them since they appear in several
publications without reference to an original source.
The few exceptions are the IALAC Story (Simon, 1973)
and The Feeling Glasses, (Weinstein & Fantini, 1970).
I wrote the Breaking Free story, as well as developing
the "circle" analogy used within its text.
The program was designed to integrate into existing
curriculum for spoken and written language in elementary
school.
Directed teacher-class involvement averaged one
hour per week.
The basic framework contains four objec-
tives with specific units for each objective.
- 42 -
OBJECTIVES
UNITS
I.
Self-Awareness
Identifying Feelings
Developing Empathy
Developing Ability to
Self-Disclose
Identifying Non-verbal
Behavior
Understanding Inference
II.
Self-Direction
Verbal Expressions of
Responsibility
Recognizing Congruent
Expressions
Alternative Conflict
Behavior
Self-evaluation
III.
Self-Assertion
Identifying Ownership of
Problems
Under standing ''Cormnunicat ion
Stopr.ers"
Use of 'I" statements to esta
blish Locus of
Responsibility
Understanding "you" statements
in Assertiveness
Conflict Behavioi
Developing Active Listening
Skills
Developing Verbal Alternatives
to Impulsive Aggressive
Behavior
Acceptable Ways to
Vent Anger
IV.
- 43 -
Specific tasks were assigned to each unit incorporating
exercises, role-playing dyadic interaction, and small
and large group interaction.
Fantasy exercises were
also used to encourage expression.
Many self-concept
exercises were incorporated throughout the program.
(see appendix)
Implementation of the Program
Although I refer to this as a program, I am reluctant
to use this term in the sense that it implies structured,
planned, contrived experiences.
The objectives of the
various units and the experiences are delineated in a
structured way for the purposes of this study.
However,
the utilization of specific incidents as they naturally
arise in the classroom are a necessary condition for providing any growth in interpersonal skills with children.
Exercises and attempts at discussion which are not
directly relevent to classroom situations can quickly
transform into classroom "rules", to which the children
give lipservice, then expend energies in circumventing.
Since the mornings of the school day are usually
devoted to academics, activities related to the program
were usually implemented in the afternoon.
Exceptions
frequently occurred in that academics were often set aside
- 44 -
if a situation arose which was applicable to a concept in
the program.
Involvement in the program activities averaged an
hour to an hour and a half per week.
Many of the exercises
were repeated, usually at the request of the children.
As with any program, my enthusiasm and interest in the
program as a teacher was a key factor.
Teacher modeling
and participation was of prime importance.
I participated
in every exercise possible, including taking part in the
dyads (see appendix).
I particularly made a point of
initiating with my participation in the exercises requiring self-disclosure.
I found the most helpful direction for me as a teacher
was to set up standards for my own behavior, which then
became the goals and structure with which I directed all
of the activities and experiences for the children:
1.
I will establish my needs as a
human being---not as a teacher
interacting with children.
2.
I will not be manipulated into
solving interpersonal problems.
3.
My need to express anger or
make demands on a child will
be done only in a manner that
I would be willing to use
with my own peers.
- 45 -
4.
I will always attempt to
interact with a child on the
basis that he is attempting
to fill some need, rather
than personally attacking me
as a human being.
5.
I will attempt to maintain
self-awareri~ss to determine
when my actions are controlled
by a position of ego-threat, a
need to be liked, or any other
framework which may interfere
with my own geniuneness.
Development of the Social Self-Direction Scale
Although the Crandall et al., scale (Intellectual
Achievement Responsibility Questionnaire) is a highly
tested reliable instrument, its specific focus on academic
achievement did not seem to make it suitable to my study.
I also question the difficulty of its forced choiced format, requiring children to retain two choices of an answer,
since the instrument needs to be administered orally to
compensate for reading deficiencies in third-graders.
As stated previously, I used the Nowicki-Strickland
instrument (CNS-IE) for my pilot study, but was not totally
satisfied that it related specifically enough to my area
of focus on peer relationships.
My development of state-
ments for my own instrument (SSDS) was primarily adapted
from items on both the Nowicki and the Crandall scales.
For example, Item 27 on the CNS-IE, "Have you felt that
- 46 -
when people we:t:"e l!lean to you :Lt
at all~~~ w~s changed to
11
wa~
usually for no reason
Kids a·re often mean to l!le for no
reason at all,'', to insure that the ·item was interpreted
as a peer relationship question.
Much of the literature relating to development of
interpersonal skills indicate an eventual move towards
effective coping with frustration, assertiveness as opposed
to aggression, and improved interpersonal relations.
The
many parallels between the effects of interpersonal connnunication skill training and the characteristics of
internals determined the focus of many of my items developed for the SSDS (see appendix).
I attempted to keep the
focus on peer relationships with a few items related to
academic persistence.
The items were reworded many times and two colleagues
checked the test for face validity, resulting in 100%
accuracy in determining internal-external orientation of
the items.
They also suggested some rephrasing which was
later incorporated.
The Likert format was adopted as a
result of the feedback from children involved in the pilot
study.
They felt the "yes--no" format of the CNS-IE to be
too restricting.
In a study of the yes-no modality vs.
Likert format, Chandler (1976) reported fewer extreme
shifts than moderate shifts in response, as he adapted the
Adult Nowicki Internal-External Scale to a Likert format.
He reported that the revised form manifested a normal
- 47 -
distribution of scores in contrast to skewness toward
internality in the original "yes-no" form.
An answer sheet is provided requiring answers on a
five-point scale ranging from "Never Like He".
(See
appendix) A total score is obtained by summing all internally-worded items and reverse scoring and summing all
externally worded items.
Low scores are indicative of a
generally external orientation.
Validation and Reliability of the Social Self-Direction
Scale
Test-retest reliability estimating procedures yielded
an r of 170 from 24 fourth-fifth grade pupils, retested in
July of 1976 after a two week interval.
Evidence for construct validity for the SSDS was
gathered by correlating it to two instruments: the NowickiStrickland Locus of Control Scale and the Coopersmith SelfEsteem Inventory.
The Nowicki Scale is more generalized in its locus of
control than other instruments measuring this construct in
children.
Construct validity evidence was developed by
correlating scores on the Nowicki Scale with data on
achievement, intelligence, socioeconomic class, and
parental attitude.
Nowicki (1973) has also reported signi-
ficant correlations to the Crandall scale, (third-grade
- 48 -
r
=
.31, p < .01); the Bailer-Cromwell Scale (29 white
children aged nine through eleven, 4 = 41, p < .05) and
the Rotter scale (college students N
p <.01).
= 76, r = .61,
She suggests that these relations add support
for the construct validity of the Nowicki Scale.
The Social Self-Direction Scale was significantly
correlated to the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control
(third grade, r = .44, p < .05, N
= 23).
A further attempt
to compile construct validity made by correlating SSDS
scores with Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory scores.
Robert (1971) reported a significant correlation between
scores on the Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control and the
Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (Coopersmith, 1969).
The
characteristics of internally-oriented individuals as
identified by Rotter (1966) appear to overlap those characteristics of individuals with high self-esteem as identified by Coopersmith.
The Social Self-Direction Scale was found to be
significantly correlated to the Self-Esteem Inventory
(£
= .59, p
< .01, third grade children, N = 21).
Administration of the SSDS
I personally administered all of the tests used in
the program.
To ensure consistency in administrating the
SSDS, a cassette tape was recorded with both directions
- 49 -
and the test.
An answer sheet was provided with circles
to be filled in by the children (see appendix).
The child-
ren were not unfamiliar with use of a separate answer sheet
since they have taken many district and state mandated
academic achievement tests which require them to fill in
a circle corresponding to a choice of answers, A toE, for
computer scoring.
Each child was provided with a marker for keeping his
place on the answer sheet.
Although I administered the
SSDS to entire classes at once, the recorded tape freed me
to move around the room and monitor the children.
They
were told that the test was to find out how they felt about
some of the things that happened between them and their
friends and that some of the questions were to see how they
felt about their work at school.
I strongly stressed that
there were no right or wrong answers and they would not be
graded.
The format of the answer sheet was copied on the board
showing each response ranging from "Always Like Me" to
"Never Like Me" in columns with the circles under each
column.
I provided a sample question orally, "I like
chocolate ice cream best for dessert."
lve then discussed
the range of responses in relation to liking chocolate ice
cream for dessert.
Distinctions were made between the
strengths of each response relative to agreement and dis-
- so -
agreement.
I also stressed the fact that this was like
the computer-scored test in that only one response could
be marked per line.
If more than one circle was filled in
per line, the computer got confused and recorded no answer.
The test took about 45 minutes to administer with a ·
break mid-way for stretching and drinks.
It was hand-
scored, using a mask for reverse scoring the externallyoriented items.
Setting and Description of the Study
The school in which the study was implemented is
located in a middle to low socioeconomic area in Sylmar,
California.
The ethnic composition is about 45% Mexican-
American, 5% Blackt with remainder being Anglo, Oriental,
and other White.
A school policy results in each self-
contained classroom being heterogeneously grouped relative
to academic achievement and behavior; therefore, both the
control and experimental classrooms were similar in distribution of ability and behavior.
The programs of the two
classrooms are very similar in structure; individualized
programs in mathematics, spelling and reading.
Both
classes are involved in Early Childhood Education and are
provided with paid teacher-aides for approximately two
hours per day.
- 51 -
The two classrooms are both third grade, selfcontained, and enrolling approximately 34 children each
at the beginning of the school year.
mental group.
I taught the experi-
The teacher of the control group was
apprised of neither the program content nor the objectives
of the study.
To insure consistency, I administered both
pre- and posttests to both classes, using a recorded tape
of the SSDS.
This eliminated a possible variable due to
reading deficiency in some of the children and assured
consistency of voice inflection in reading the statements.
Pretests were given at the beginning of the school year
(September, 1976) and posttests were given in May, 1977,
allowing for approximately one full school year of experimental treatment.
The program was designed to fit into
the Language Arts area of school curriculum and class
participation averaged one to one and a half hours per
week.
The members of experimental class did not know that
they were involved in a study, nor were they aware that
they were being exposed to materials which were related to
the
pre~
and posttests.
Limitations of the Study
The findings and conclusions reached in this study
are limited in their application inasmuch as the non-random
selection of sample restricts generalization about thirdgrade students in other schools.
- 52 -
Since only one teacher was involved in the experimental treatment, it will not be possible to generalize
relative to successful implementation of the goals of this
program by another teacher.
Possible variables involved
will be adequacy of skills and personality factors.
Another limitation lies in the Internal-External construct.
The aggressive child may see himself as "able to
assert" and, thus, initially report himself to be internal
in his orientation.
Therefore, self-directed behavior
which has been redirected toward socially acceptable goals
may not be detected by the instrument.
A question of reliability of the instrument creates
another possible limitation in that reliability studies
were conducted on fourth-fifth graders with the intention
of implementing the program with fourth-grade students.
Subsequent to the beginning of the school year, my grade
level was changed to third grade due to a lowering of
enrollment.
CHAPTER IV
p '
CHAPTER IV
RESEARCH FINDINGS AND SUMMARY OF
RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS
This chapter is divided into five sections.
The first
section presents statistical data resulting from pre- and
posttests as indicated by this experimental design.
The
next section discusses classroom interaction and observed
effectiveness of the program.
The third section relates
to reliability measures and evidence of construct validity
for the Social Self-Direction Scale.
The fourth section
discusses effectiveness of the program in terms of statistical data.
The final section presents recommendations for
further research.
Evaluation Data
This section presents the null hypothesis and data
analysis of pre- and posttests administered for evaluation
of program effectiveness.
Null Hypothesis
The null hypothesis is:
There is no difference in SSDS mean
scores between third-grade children
who have been trained in the use of
- 53 -
- 54 -
interpersonal communication skills
and those who have not been trained
in these skills.
Data Analysis of Pre·- and Posttests
Analysis of covariance was computed with Social SelfDirection pre- and posttest scores using pretest scores as
the covariate.
Table 1 indicates a high mean gain score for the
experimental group and no gain for the control group.
Table 1
Group Means for Social Self-Direction Scale Preand Post Tests
Group
N
Control
Experimental
22
27
Pretest
Means
Posttest
Means
80.0
79.0
72.3
83.6
Adjusted
Posttest Means
78.2.
84.2
Table 2 reveals that the pretest scores indicating a change
towards internality for the experimental group was not
significant.
An analysis of covariance adjusting the
initial differences between the control group and the
experimental group indicates that the null hypothesis could
not be rejected at the .05 level.
- 55 -
Table 2
Analysis of Covariance for Responses
Indicating Internality
ss
df
MS
F
2.1
Between Groups
390.1
1
390.1
Within Groups
8423.2
46
183.1
8813.4
47
Total
The Program - Classroom Observations and Conclusions
Since I had initially planned the study for the fourth
grade, I faced an unexpected third grade class in September
with some apprehension as to the effectiveness of my program at this age level.
However, much to my pleasant surprise, the third
graders were quick to respond and use the concepts with
each other.
My class was structured around centers and the
children worked in groups of six at various centers.
They
worked singly or in pairs with much freedom for interaction
as compared to a traditional classroom.
I was pleased to
find that I was "facilitating" conflicts less and less as
the year progressed.
Tattling, an activity for which third
graders are notorious, almost became extinct.
One child expressed her delight to me one day as she
- 56 -
related an incident which occurred on the playground:
A boy from another class came up
and called me a bad name and I
told him, "I don't like it when
you call me that. It makes me
feel bad." You know what he
said? He said, "Alright, then
don't push me anymore like you
did yesterday." I said, "O.K.",
and you know what? We didn't even hit each other!
This is typical of the kind of conflict that evolves where
children "get even" for incidents that often occurred two
days before.
As the children became more assertive about
immediate needs or imagined trespasses, many of the
"vendettas" failed to evolve.
A side benefit of the program's effectiveness, was
that my aide and I were really "kept on our toes" by the
children.
It's quite heart-rendering to be told "I really
hurt inside when you yell at me like that."
The children adopted the word "frustration" very
quickly as we discussed various feelings.
They used it
readily to let us know when the classwork was too difficult.
This made our job much easier because most children
will begin "fooling around" rather than ask for help when
they reach a barrier in their work.
One child had a particular problem relating to others.
He was "mainstreamed" due to a prior
physi~al
handicap and
limited his interaction to physical aggression.
One day
- 57 -
he had a headlock on another boy and rather than stop the
action, I asked the boy if he enjoyed what Mark was doing
to him.
He replied through clenched teeth,
"Tell him then!".
"No~".
I said,
He said, "Mark, I don't like you when
you do that to me.
It hurts!".
tussle was avoided.
Mark let go and the usual
As a class, we discussed Mark's
particular need for feedback.
By the end of the year, he
was learning to touch playfully and the children had
accepted him.
Practice in listening skills and identifying feelings
in others was encouraged through use of dyads and triads.
This was a particularly pleasing experience for the children.
They frequently requested them as a class activity.
They enjoyed evaluating each other as "good listeners" and
class isolates were given an opportunity to interact.
Boy-
girl interaction also began to take place without the usual
giggles.
The first dyad activity resulted in one child's
cormnent, "This is the first time I've ever been listened
to!"
Sharing experiences with the total class was encouraged by soft applause which I identified as meaning, "Thank
you for sharing.
I heard what you said.", rather than as
an evaluation of how well the child shared.
The children
obviously enjoyed giving and receiving this response and
sharing usually involved most of the children.
- 58 -
The awareness of making demands rather than requests
was an important aspect of the program.
I have observed
that children do not speak kindly to each other, but then
I have observed that adults in authority do not often speak
kindly to them.
able to them.
Thus, the necessary modeling is not availParticipation and modeling of the teacher
was of prime importance.
I participated in every exercise
I could, particularly ones which required self-disclosure.
The program, as it is delineated in the appendix,
approximates the sequence I used with my class.
cises were repeated throughout the year.
Some exer-
My experience in
teaching tells.me that with another class, I might not
follow the same sequence or have the same emphasis on particular activities.
Each class is as unique in its needs
and personality as the individuals are.
The real key to
success of the program then, lies with the teacher and his/
her intuitive direction toward specific goals.
The Social Self-Direction Scale
This section discusses reliability data and evidence
for construct validity of the Social Self-Direction Scale.
Suggestions are made for further changes and improvement
of the Scale.
- 59 -
The test-retest reliability for the Social SelfDirection Scale appears acceptable (r
=
.70, N = 24)
particularly in light of the small sample involved.
A
two-week period of measurement was used, however, compared
to a six-week period of measurement for the NowickiStrickland Locus of Control Scale which reported a testretest reliability of r
= .67 for a sample of 98 eight to
eleven-year old pupils (Nowicki & Strickland, 1973).
The
sample to which I administered the test was comprised of
fourth and fifth-graders, ranging in age from nine to
eleven years of age.
Considering the differing sizes of
samples and time intervals in a comparison of reliability
estimates of the two measures, factors would seem to
indicate an acceptable test-retest reliability estimate
for the Social Self-Direction Scale, though not at a high
level.
An estimate of internal consistency for the Social
Self-Direction Scale computed via the split-half method,
corrected by the Spearman-Brown Formula, r = ·.1+9.
The
discrepancy of results between test-retest and the splithalf methods appears unreasonably high.
The fact that the
test items are not comparable to each other may have a
more drastic effect on the split-half estimate.
- 60 -
The constructs incorporated in the Social SelfDirection Scale and its accompanying program involved
characteristics of assertiveness, self-awareness, and
recognition of responsibility within the inner self.
These
constructs appear well within the characteristics of
internally-oriented individuals as identified by Rotter
(1966).
Much research has been gathered relative to these
and other factors of internal-external locus of control.
In an attempt to gather evidence of construct validity
for the Social Self-Direction Scale, a correlation was made
to two different measures: The Nowicki-Strickland Locus of
Control and the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory.
The
correlation between the Social Self-Direction Scale and the
Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control showed significance,
r
=
.44, p < .05, but not at a high level.
Although both
instruments attempt to measure attributes identified within the various factors of internal-external locus of
control, examination of the two scales show little overlap
of specific attributes.
The correlation of the Social Self-Direction Scale to
the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory was considerably
higher, r
= .59, p
<
.01, which may indicate that attri-
butes of self-esteem are more closely related to the
constructs of the Social Self-Direction Scale than those
- 61 -
factors incorporated in an instrument such as the Nowicki
Scale which attempts to measure locus of control.
As mentioned earlier, Coan (c.f. Dies, 1968) suggests
that the items on Internal-External scales may not tap all
major aspects of personal control.
Considering the focus
of SSDS as it relates to interpersonal self-awareness and
direction, construct validity may have to be established
by means other than correlation to another locus of control
scale.
My personal bias causes me to question the validity
of any paper and pencil test which attempts to interpret
attitudes and behavior.
However, the practicality of time
and expense seems to indicate this approach in much
behavioral research.
In reviewing the effectiveness of the SSDS, specific
changes in some of the items seem indicated: Item 29: "I
avoid telling friends how I feel most of the time.", may
be poorly worded, as I had some children ask the meaning
of the word "avoid".
I would now change the item to read
"I don't let my friends know how I feel most of the time."
Item 22: "When I feel dumb, I know I could do things better
if it were really important to me." seems ambiguous.
I
would reword it to read, "When I am doing poor work, I know
I could do it better if it were really important to me."
Item 24 seems ambiguous in that the word "wrong" may
- 62 -
connote an action that is already wrong as opposed to a
mistake which can be made unknowingly.
"When I do some-
thing wrong, I would rather make an excuse than figure out
why it is wrong."
I would change the wording to read,
WWhen I make a mistake, it is better to pretend it didn't
happen, than to find out why I made it."
I would like the test to be shorter, since the length
is excessive for third grade and necessitates a mid-way
break.
However, reliability would be reduced.
Program Effectiveness
Although the descriptive statistics show a mean gain
score of greater than eleven points, the analysis of
covariance indicates the null hypothesis could not be
rejected at .05 level.
researcher.
This seemed an anomaly to this
Out of personal curiosity, I calculated a "t"
test for comparison of mean scores for the two groups.
With the "t" test, the null hypothesis could be rejected
at .01 level.
After more careful consideration, it became
apparent that the mean gain score comparison of the two
groups was a loose design.
It did not take into account
the lack of equivalence between the two groups in the pretest, therefore, it was not statistically valid.
The
analysis of covariance adjusted the mean posttest score on
the basis of the non-equivalent pretest scores and provided a tight comparison.
- 63 -
Based on my personal observations of behavioral
changes that could be associated with factors of greater
internality for the experimental group, it seems reasonable
to speculate that some concepts verbalized in statements on
the measurement instrument may have been beyond the understanding of the children prior to implementation of the
program.
Concepts related to assertiveness and acceptance
and disclosure of feelings may have been beyond the experience of children who had not been exposed to this modeling.
This could have resulted in somewhat random answers for
the experimental group's pretest.
This also may have been
true for both the pre- and posttest for the control group.
Due to a transciency factor at the school, approximately one-fifth of the children in the class were not
enrolled at various stages of program implementation.
This
could have been an influencing factor since the new children had not had full exposure to the concepts and successful peer interaction was an important aspect of the
program.
The test-retest for reliability was administered to
fourth-fifth grade children in anticipation of implementing
the program with fourth-graders.
Since the unpredictabil-
ity of enrollment resulted in my change to a third-grade
class, the added social maturity of children used for the
- 64 -
test-retest may be an important factor in questioning the
Social Self-Direction Scale's reliability for third grade.
The program produced a change, though not significant
in a tight study.
I must conclude, based on my research
and the observable success in moving children toward
greater behavioral self-direction, that this approach in
directing children toward greater internality shows promise
and warrants further study.
Recommendations for Further Research
Considering the lack of tight research on the Social
Self-Direction Scale and the initial implementation of the
program with a small sample, this study could be considered
as a basis for further research involving communication
skills as a method of moving toward greater internality.
Further study is indicated with a larger sample.
This
could be achieved through a team-teaching situation, allowing two classrooms to be involved.
A larger scale study
could be implemented through a planned program of teachertraining.
A revision of the instrument appears worthwhile,
incorporating some of the item changes discussed previously.
An item analysis would allow for systematic revision of
items which show the least consistent interpretation.
- 65 -
Reliability of the instrument over varying age-levels
needs to be established.
The increased social maturity of
upper-grade elementary children may prove a factor indicating a need for replication of this study at a higher grade
level.
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p
APPENDIX A
PROGRAM
'
p .
PROGRAM
I.
SELF - AWARENESS
General Objectives:
Identifying non-verbal
behavior
Identifying feelings
Developing Empathy
Developing Ability to selfdisclose
Developing ability to listen
carefully
To introduce inference as
different from objective
observation of another's
feelings.
Process Objective - Stage 1: To initially provide exposure
to vocabulary of feeling words and to identify feelings in
others.
- Teacher presents a variety of pictures of facial
and body expressions depicting emotional responses.
Ask children to verbally identify feelings of
persons depicted, (e.g. "sad", "Happy", "tired",
etc.). List the feelings on chalkboard. 1)
Summarize responses to bring out concept that many
children interpret the pictures in different way.
Process Objective - Stage 2: To develop the concept that
not all individuals perceive or project the same feelings
in a situation.
- Teacher reads Feelings (Pollard, 1975) to class.
Content of book provides situational pictures and
incidents which produce a variety of feelings.
- 72 -
- 73 -
Dialogue identifies and defines feelings. Encourage children to react to situations, relating
various ways they may have acted and felt.
Process Objective - Stage 3: To identify and experience
ownership of feelings and feeling-related actions.
Teacher presents pictures to be used as cues for
role-playing feelings. Later shift to cues that
are presented verbally or written on slips of
paper. Situational role-playing is done by individuals or groups. Class attempts to interpret
feelings being role-played by classmates, (e.g.
"winning an award", "getting teased by other kids",
etc.). Children are later guided into verbalizing
their feeling with "I feel ... " statements as
alternative behavior while playing the action and
using non-verbal gestures or expressions.
Process Objective - Stage 4: To identify need to check the
accuracy of inferences made in relation to source and
meaning of another's behavior.
- Teacher presents situations to be role-played with
individuals having no awareness of the other's
role direction, (e.g. Role 1: You had an argument
with your mother just before you left for school.
You are still mad and you don't want to talk to
anyone. Role 2: You went to Disneyland yesterday
and you want to tell your friend all about it.)
Children interact in these two roles with no knowledge of other's role direction. Stop action prior
to explanation of behavior. Have children identify
inferences as potentially leading to misunderstand-
- 74 -
ing unless source of behavior is "checked-out" by
one of the parties. Teacher models "checking-out"
with a statement which reflects feelings: "You must
be really mad about something today!" in lieu of a
reactive response, "I'm not going to tell you anything ever again~ You're just jealous because I
had fun!". Allow time for discussion and sharing
of actual experiences of the children.
Process Objective - Stage 5: To develop ability to selfdisclose, listen carefully, and identify feelings in an
empathetic manner.
- Teacher conducts demonstration of listening skills
in a dyad. Volunteer discloses to teacher for one
or two minutes on non-threatening subject, (e.g.
"A time when I did something I didn't think I could
do".) Teacher listens, then repeats general context of disclosure. Teacher then verbally infers
what volunteer's feelings were during incident
related. Teacher then elicits class observations
of teacher's listening behavior, (e.g. "kept eyecontact" "didn't interrupt" "remembered and
'
'
repeated what was said", "tried to feel what they
were feeling"). Observations are recorded on board
as guidelines for exercise. Divide class into
triads, each member taking role of 1. Speaker,
2. Listener, 3. Watcher. Watchers observe Listener
and Speaker with no verbal participation. After
time is called, Watcher gives feedback to other
two members based on guidelines recorded on board.
Keep same groups of three, but change roles of
members so each has opportunity to function as
Speaker, Listener and Watcher. Discussion focuses
- 75 -
on how it felt to be listened to, and difficulties
involved in concentrating on Speaker rather than
Listener's own thoughts.
Process Objective - Stage 6: To gain awareness of selfconcept in relation to self, parents, and peers.
- Elicit words from children that are descriptive of
peers, excluding specific physical descriptions,
(e.g. "caring", "generous", "makes fun of others",
"obedient", "acts big", "dishonest"). Record
descriptions on board. Discuss to clarify mutual
understanding of terms used. Duplicate copies of
the list. Children cut out and stack phrases.
Four lists of words are to be made: "My word Picture of Me", "My Father's Word Picture of Me",
"l'1y Best Friend's Word Picture of Me". Children
choose and copy appropriate words for each list.
Discussion is based on differences and similarities
of the four lists. "Which one is most like your
own picture?" "Where do the ideas about yourself
come from?"
Process Objective - Stage 7: To experience personal feedback from peers. To understand that perceptions are
relative to perceiver's individual viewpoint.
Phrases from process for Stage 6 are placed in
envelope with child's name on front. Envelopes
are then randomly passed out to classmates. Stress
need for anonymity. Direct children to select
appropriate words for child whose envelope he was
given and paper clip them together. Envelopes
are returned to owner for comparison to lists made
- 76 -
in process for Stage 6. Paper clip is removed
and process is repeated two or three times to
establish differences in perception. Discussion
should focus on what causes people to see each
other differently? What value is there in knowing
how others see you? Can one viewpoint (including
your own) be correct if everyone sees you differently?
PROGRAM
II.
SELF-DIRECTION
General Objectives:
To experience increased power
of choice through verbal
expressions.
To become aware of negative
expectations as a restrictive behavioral factor.
To reaffirm a power of refusal
based on responsibility for
actions.
To develop awareness of congruently expressed feelings.
To develop alternative behaviors in conflict situations.
To experience self-evaluation
of behavior.
Process Objective - Stage 1: To experience a power of
choice and an acknowledgement of consequences of the choice
as opposed to helpless resistance. To experience that the
individual has a power of choice even when he continues to
choose in the same way.
- Have children write of list of things they uhave
to" do, beginning each sentence with "I have to
... ". Teacher divides class into dyads, directing
children to take turns reading own list to partner.
Lists are then reread, replacing "I have to ... "
with "I choose to ... " with an awareness of any
reason for choosing to do that particular thing.
- 77 -
- 78 -
Statement is then expanded to include the awareness, (e.g. "I have to clean up my room." may
become I choose to clean up my room because I don't
like my mother to be mad at me."). Teacher directs
discussion to help sharing children's experienced
difference between "I have to ... " and "I choose
to ... ". Questions for discussion: "Who is in control when you say "I choose to do something"? Who
is in control when you say "I have to do something"? Are there things you have to do that you
could choose to do instead? How would they be
different?"
Process Objective - Stage 2: To experience the avoidance
of new experience through self-imposed fears and negative
expectations.
- Have children write a list of things they are
afraid to try, beginning each sentence with "I'm
afraid to try ... " Teacher divides class into dyads, directing children to take turns reading own
list to partner. Lists are then reread, replacing
"I'm afraid to ... " with "I'd like to try ... "
Maintain an awareness of why it might be satisfying
to try somethings that are feared. Statement is
then repeated and expanded to include the awareness. (e.g. "I'm afraid to try singing in front of
the whole school. 11 may be changed to "I'd like to
try singing in front of the whole school, because
I'd feel very proud of myself." Direct discussion
should involve actions they are afraid to try
because it offers no positive reward or could
result in physical danger. Encouraging sharing
- 79 -
of experiences that did offer positive consequences,
even though fearful. Stress the reality that most
of us are afraid to do many things, even though we
disguise our fears.
Pr:ocess Objective - Stage 3:
- Have children write a list of things they think
they "can't" do, beginning each sentence with "I
can't ... ". Teacher divides class into dyads,
directing children to take turns reading own list
to partner. Lists are then reread, replacing "I
can't ... " with "I won't ... " with an awareness of a
"because" based on personal need. Statement is
then repeated and expanded to include the awareness,
(e.g. "I won't get an "A" in handwriting because
I'm not willing to spend lots of time practicing",
"I won't drive a car because I'm too little and I
might get into an accident."). Teacher directs
discussion to help sharing children's experienced
difference between saying "I can't" and "I won't".
Direct discussion to understanding of whether "I
can't" is really a statement of something impossible. Ask which statement gives more sense of
control over what they can and cannot do. Encourage class to maintain awareness of their own and
other's use of "I can't" in everyday activities.
Process Objective - Stage 4: To experience and recognize
the difference between feelings that are expressed congruently and feelings that are hidden or denied.
- 80 -
- Teacher records the two alternative responses to
"What Happened" situations on slips of paper
numbered to match the situation. Each answer is
distributed randomly to a child. Teacher then
reads "Friend's Comment", that this is something
someone just said in response to that situation.
Children who have matching responses to that situation then read them aloud. Class discusses and
determines which answer is "hiding feelings" and
which is "sharing feelings". Teacher then leads
questions for discussion: "What would make someone
want to hide their feelings?" "\.fuat other ways
might feelings be expressed in this situation?"
No. l:
No. 2:
WHAT HAPPENED? You studied hard and got
an A+ on your spelling test.
FRIEND'S COMMENT "Boy, you sure did make
it on the test this week~"
ALTERNATE RESPONSES:
(sharing feelings): "Yeah, I studied hard
and I feel good that I
really knew all the
words.''
(hiding feelings): "I was just lucky, I
guess."
WHAT HAPPENED? You've been chosen to
announce the program for a school assembly.
FRIEND'S COMMENT: "Aren't you scared?"
ALTERNATE RESPONSES:
(sharing feelings): "Yes, I'm scared silly
and I'm really excited
too."
- 81 -
No. 3:
(hiding feelings): "Nah, what's scary
about saying a few
words in front of a
bunch of people?"
WHAT HAPPENED? You just drew a really
good picture and you're feeling really
proud of it.
FRIEND'S COMMENT: "That's a really good
picture you drew~"
ALTERNATIVE RESPONSES:
(sharing feelings): "Yes, it came out just
the way I wanted it
to~"
(hiding feelings):
No. 4:
"Oh, I was.. just mess-:
ing around ... it's not
so hot."
WHAT HAPPENED? Reading is very hard for
you. A classmate just made fun of you
for missing some words you were reading
out loud.
FRIEND'S COMMENT: "I really got mad when
Janet made fun of you."
ALTERNATIVE RESPONSES:
(sharing feelings): "Yes ' I was embarrassed and it just
made it harder for
me to figure out the
words."
(hiding feelings): "It really didn't
bother me. I don't
care about reading
anyway."
- 82 -
No. 5:
WHAT HAPPENED? You just asked your mother
to cut your hair and you're really happy
with the way it looks.
FRIEND'S COMMENT: "You really look strange
with your hair cut like that."
ALTERNATIVE RESPONSES:
(sharing feelings): "I think it looks
pretty good. I wish
you liked it, too."
(hiding feelings): "My mother made me get
it cut. I hate it."
No. 6:
WHAT HAPPENED?
No. 7:
You like Joe and your
friends are making fun of
him because he looks different .than they do.
FRIEND'S COMMENT: . "I wouldn't want to sit
next to him. I might catch something!"
ALTERNATIVE RESPONSES:
(sharing feelings): "I play with him sometimes. I like him,
he's nice."
(hiding feelings): "Yeah, he's really
weird. I wouldn't want
to be around him
either."
WHAT HAPPENED? A classmate keeps borrowing
your eraser and you like to have it to use
when you need it.
FRIEND ' S CONMENT: "Hey, where ' s your
eraser? I need it.
ALTERNATE RESPONSES:
(sharing feelings): "After today, I want
- 83 -
(hiding feelings):
you to get your own
eraser. I really get
upset when I need my
eraser and you have
it."
"Go soak your head~"
Process Objective - Stage 5: To experience the potential
and possibilities of alternative behaviors in conflict
situations. To recognize behavioral choice as a factor in
controlling consequences.
- Children share personal conflict situations and
their consequences, selecting one they would like
to role-play. Child plays his own role as well as
"directing" others in correct dialogue and behavior
to ~eproduce situation. After role-play is completed, discuss alternative actions. Situation is
then role-played again with a command of "freeze"
being given when play reaches point of alternative
action. Child who volunteered alternative action
then "directs" players into new actions and dialogue. Questions for discussion: "What might be
the advantage of trying new ways Of dealing with
problems when the old ways aren't working?" "How
much control do you really have in how things turn
out?"
_Process Objective - Stage 6: To provide opportunity for
objective awareness and self-evaluation of behavior.
- The following statements are typed to fit in
rectangles on lower part of form represented
below. Duplicated forms are periodically given
to children. Appropriate behaviors for immediate
- 84 -
period of time are then selected by child relative
to his evaluation of self. Rectangles are then
cut out and pasted on figure representing "Me"
and balloons held by figure. Forms may be displayed on bulletin board if child desires.
I got mad at someone without telling them why.
I tried something I didn't know how to do.
I gave up on something because it was too
hard.
I told someone how I felt.
I called someone a name.
I helped someone learn something they didn't
understand.
I said "I can't".
I did something that wasn't fun because I wanted to.
I told someone what I liked about them.
I asked a question about something I didn't
understand.
I shared an idea that I knew others wouldn't
agree with.
I learned something from a mistake.
I "checked it out" when I thought someone was
mad at me.
NOTE: Two rectangles are left blank for
child's own ideas or his/her behavior.
_;
1:-~ 7 ~~~~ !~~;::J
1=:~:=:~ E--~ J ~
L~- ~ ~J 1~~~J r=~-==-~= J
-,2:3 [~~~:1
~~--- ~- 7 1~--'I
1_ '- __:_
-:
J~
1\
- 85 -
PROGRAM
III.
SELF - ASSERTION
General Objectives:
To gain awareness of verbal
expression that hinders
effective communication.
To understand that negative
experience has an effect
on self-concept.
To develop an awareness of
the demands which are implicit in hostile expressions.
To identify the positive aspect of making direct
demands to satisfy needs.
To become aware of feelings
which underlie a need to
express anger.
To understand the structure
and appropriate use of "I"
statements in direct
communication.
To identify ownership of
problems when dealing with
conflict areas.
Process Objective· - Stage 1: To develop awareness of the
frequent usage of commands to express needs. To become
aware of the effects of using commands to express needs.
- Children observe and record commands they hear
in the classroom and playground, (e.g. "Watch
out", "Don't do that!", "Get out of my way",
etc.) Have children share their collections,
- 86 -
reproducing tone of voice, gestures, and
situation command was used in. Child is asked
to share his/her reaction if command was directed
towards him/her. Questions for discussion:
"What feelings go along with giving a command? ..
With being commanded?" "How do you react when
someone commands you to do something?"
Process Objective - Stage 2: To be aware of appropriate
use of commands. To develop alternatives to use of
commands in expressing needs.
- Use list of commands developed in Stage 1.
Elicit ways in which commands can be changes to
requests and suggestions, (e.g. "Be quiet!"
changed to "Would you be quiet please?" or "I
could work better if you were more quiet").
Questions for discussion: "Are there times when
you would have been more willing to cooperate
if someone had made a suggestion or request
instead of a command? Ask children to share
these incidents, finding ways to change the
offending command to a statement they would
have found more acceptable. Question for discussion: "Are there times when a command is
necessary?" (When someone is in danger, etc.)
Follow up discussion by having children suggest
ways in which all the commands developed in
Stage 1 could be changed to suggestions or
requests or statements.
Process Objective - Stage 3: To experience the effects of
negative communication on self-concept in a concrete
situation.
Teacher prepares a sign with IALAC printed in
large letters. Holding IALAC sign, teacher
- 87 -
explains: "IALAC stands for "I am Lovable and
Capable". We all carry this sign around for this
is how we start out feeling about ourselves. If
someone puts us down or is mean to us then the
sign becomes smaller because a part of this
feeling about ourselves is destroyed, (Illustrate
by tearing off a piece of the sign). I'm going
to tell you a story to show you how this happens
in everyday life." Teacher relates following
story, tearing off a piece of the sign as each
negative incident is described:
A 10-year old boy named Victor is still lying
in bed three minutes after the alarm goes
off. All of a sudden his mother calls to
him, "Victor, you lazy-head, get your body out
of bed, and get down here before I send your
father up there!" (rip!) Victor gets out of
bed, goes to get dressed and can't find a
clean pair of socks. His mother tells him
he'll have to wear yesterday's pair. (rip!)
He goes to brush his teeth and his older sister, who's already locked herself in the
bathroom, tells him to drop dead! (rip!) As
he leaves for school, he forgets his lunch
and his mother calls to him, "Victor, you've
forgotten your lunch; you'd forget your head
if it weren't attached." (rip!) On his way
to school, he drops his books and his papers
blow all over the street. Two girls stand
and laugh at him instead of helping him chase
the papers. (rip!) He walks into class late
and the teacher yells, "Don't you know what
time this class starts? You stay after
school for being late, Mr. Lazy-head!" (rip!)
Victor starts to turn his homework in, then
realizes it must have blown away with the
other papers. (rip!)
Teacher continues story with appropriate incidents
for a typical school day. Children willingly
contribute ideas for incidents in the story.
Children and teacher will then make their own
- 88 -
IALAC signs to be worn throughout a full day.
When a sign is ripped, class activities stop for
a discussion of what happened.
Process Objective - Stage 4: To develop awareness that
our sensitivity to "put-downs" relative to our own feelings of self.
- Review some incidents which resulted in IALAC
sign tearing as signs were worn by class and
teacher (staee 3). Teacher elicits a list of
"put-downs" which children have heard or used.
Record on chalkboard. Teacher should contribute
to list also. Have children· identify which one's
would make them mad and which ones wouldn't
bother them very much. Question for discussion:
"What makes one person get really mad at a statement that hardly even bothers someone else?"
Identify a relationship between the "put-down"
and feelings about self in those areas, (i.e. if
"Fatso" makes me really mad, then I must be very
worried about my weight.)
Process Objective - Stage 5: To identify that a demand or
a "want" is implicit in every negative comment. To be
aware of demands as direct communication. To identify
demands which are reasonable. To develop awareness of
unexpressed wants or demands.
- Teacher explains that "put-downs" are really a
way of hiding a demand or expressing a "want" to
another person, (e.g. "You loud-mouth!" may be
really saying "I want you to stop shouting and
listen to me."; "you're a slob" may be really
saying "I want you to stop scattering your belongings all over my desk." Teacher helps children to identify demands that are honest and
- 89 -
would probably be met if they were known to the
listener rather than hidden behind hostile remarks. Direct discussion is utilized to help
children realize they do have a righ_t to make
demands on others, just as others have a right
to refuse meeting demands. Encourage children to
identify negative comments which reveal a need
to scapegoat and bolster their own lagging selfconcept, (i.e. "Anybody could read in that book 1
You must really be dumb!", may really be saying
"I want you to respect me as being smarter than
you are.") Guide discussion to help children
identify demands which are reasonable and those
which are based on a need to bolster the
demander's negative self-concept.
Process Objective - Stage 6: To become aware and identify
anger as a secondary emotion which interferes with direct
communication of feelings. To identify feelings which
underlie expressions of anger. To understand the structure and use of "feeling statements" as a function of
direct communication.
- Teacher presents the following sequence of diagrams using movable paper circles on a magnetic
chalkboard or flannel board. The circles represent two children in an area of conflict:
"These are two good friends.
Mike and th~ other ~e."
. 8
8
We'll name one
- 90 -
Teacher moves circles together. "This is a
normal situation in which Mike and Jose are
dealing with each other and there is no
problem." t~
n
~~
Teacher overlaps Mike's circle onto Jose's
circle. "Now something happens where Mike
makes fun of how Jose plays ball and hurts his
feelinRs' so we'll show Mike on some of Jose's
space.
/~
~~~:~
Teacher tears a piece from Jose's circle and
shows it to class. "Jose is angry about what
Mike said. He doesn't feel as ?ood about
himself as he did before, so he s mad. It's
like losing a piece of our IALAC signs."
e1
Teacher explains, "Jose doesn't feel good about
the way he plays ball, so he is feeling hurt
by what Mike said. Remember that we all have
certain things that we don't want to be
teased or joked to about and that's perfectly
alright. What causes trouble and makes you
keep hurting is when you hide your hurt
feelings behind anger. This is just what Jose
did. He put up his "Anger Wall" and said
"Drop dead!" to Mike. (Teacher places diagram sho
elow on board.)8
.. "Drop dead !.!!? Mik
~
Teacher explains, "Now Mike can't see the piece
missing. He doesn't know that Jose's feelings
are hurt. All he can see is the "Angry Wall"
and the "Drop dead!" statement that is now
hurting his feelings.'' (Teacher tears a
- 91 -
piece from Mike's
on board as shown
places it back
er
Teacher continues presentation. "What do you
suppose Mike will do now? (Call Jose a name or
hit him.) So now they are mad at each other
and Mike still doesn't know he hurt Jose's
feelings. He only knows that Jose can't take
a joke and got mad and called him a name.
Let's see how it could have turned out differently. (Teacher places new untorn circles
on board.)
~
e~
Teacher overlaps Mike's circle onto Jose's
circle. "Mike is making fun of Jose."
ffl
Teacher tears Jose's circle.
are hurt."
g
"Jose's feelings
Teacher continues presentation. "If, instead
of getting angry and shouting "Drop dead!"
to Hike, Jose had said, "When you make fun
of the way I play ball, I feel embarrassed
because I wish I could play better myself.",
what do you think Mike would now know about
Jose's feelings? If Mike really liked Jose,
what do you think he might do? (Teach him
to play better or not make fun of him when he
plays ball.) The statement that Jose made
to Mike is called a "Feeling Statement".
(TeacAhrlaces diagram shown bel.ow on board.)
. Jose
"Feeling Statement" (Mik~
\..__5
f..,.....,.._._
: :: :
:
:!_,. v
- 92 -
"Notice that it doesn't hide Jose's feelings
like the "Anger Wall" did. Mike can see that
he has torn Jose's sign. A "Feeling Statement" has two parts: It tells what the other
person did to interfere with you or hurt your
feelings, and it tells HOW you feel. Teacher
writes the statement on-rhe board, designating
the two parts:
When you make fun of the way I
HOW:
play ball,
WHAT: I feel embarrassed because I wish
I could play better myself."
Using the above diagram, teacher explains,
"Now that Jose has made his "Feeling Statement"
he can choose to make a demand on his friend:
''I don't want you to make fun of the way I
play ball anymore." He is telling his friend
how he needs things to be so he feels lovable
and capable. It's just like putting the torn
piece back on his IALAC sign. (Teacher puts
piece back on Jose's circle."
Process Objective - Stage 7: To practice the structure
of "Feeling Statements" in role-play. To experience the
assertiveness of expressing feelings and making direct
demands on others to fill needs.
- Teacher leads class into role-play situations
of conflict, using "Feeling Statements" and
demands as an alternative to hostile expressions. "What would you do?" "These are
things that really make you mad."
1. Your friend keeps taking pencils out
of your desk without asking.
2. You have just made an "out" because
you can't throw a ball very well.
Someone on your team says you play
like a baby.
3. One of your really good friends made up
a funny rhyme about your name and keeps
teasing you with it.
- 93 -
4.
5.
6.
You have to wear clothes that are pretty
worn out and some kids in class make
fun of you.
You had to have your head shaved so the
doctor could put medicine on it. The
kids in your room make fun of you.
You have a hard time doing Math. The
teacher calls on you and you give a very
wrong answer. The kid next to you calls
you a dunnny!"
Process Objective - Stage 7: To develop the ability to
"check out" assumptions regarding another's behavior.
To be aware of "no conflict" areas of human interaction
as requiring different behaviors than "conflict" areas.
- Teacher presents diagram shown below. "Part
of the fun of having a friend is that you can
tease and make fun of each other and laugh
about it. How is that different from what
happened with Jose and Mike when they got mad
at each other? (We all have certain things
that hurt our feelings.) When we're with a
good friend and we don't have to be concerned
about what we say to each other, we can call
that being in our "Okay" area.
. [_\E~)__(~,~~ ~OKAY
AREA
Then we have an area where we have some things
we want other people to be careful of, or we
might be with someone who is not a good friend.
This is an area where we might have our feelings hurt and we can let them know that with
a "Feeling Statement" We can call this our
nBe Careful" area.
r
~o-J~BE
~~__,.,.,-~-~~_,...........,,
CAREFUL AREA
- 94 -
What happens when I let people know about my
"Be Careful" area and they just ignore it
and keep bugging me? Then I am in a ''Check
It Out'' area.
r~]]~cHECK
IT OUT AREA
Often other kids are mad at you for something
they think you did or that somebody told them
you did. It may be something you didn't do,
or maybe you were like Mike and didn't know
you hurt their feelings. So if they do
something to you from behind an "Anger Wall"
and you come back at them from behind your
"Anger Wall", what's going to happen? (We'll
keep fighti~ with
When you think someone is doing something to
you or saying something to you from behind
an "Anger Wall", sometimes you can see over
their wall by "checking it out" and asking
them if they're mad at you over something.
Sometimes kids find it easier to stay behind
their "Anger Wall" than to let you know
their feelings are hurt. If you can keep
your own "Anger Wall" down, they may trust
you and let you know what's wrong so than you
can talk about the problem .~~.....
P,ROGRAM.
IV..
CONFLICT BEHAVIOR
General Objectives:
To gain awareness that feelings distort perceptions.
To gain awareness of one '·s
own potential for inaccurate perception.
To recognize the need to hear
another's viewpoint in a
conflict situation.
To understand a structure for
dealing with conflict
between others.
To appreciate the need to
express built-up anger in
a non-destructive manner.
Process Objective - Stage 1: To experience the influence
of ideas or feelings on perception.
- Teacher draws two vertical lines on chalkboard, one
shorter than the other. "What do you see on the
board?" Elicit a volunteer's observation of "two
lines, one shorter (or longer) than the other."
Teacher continues, "Now think of these two lines as
telephone poles. What do you see now?" Elicit
volunteer's observation that "one pole is farther
away than the other." Ask children to think again
of the lines as two different lengths. (Many will
have difficulty). Teacher continues, "Now you can
see that often when you have a certain idea of feeling it's diffic.ul t to see things the way you might
if you did not have that idea or feeling.
- 95 -
- 96 -
Process Qbjective - St~ge 2; To experience a,nd become
aware of a distorted perception of others through one,, s
own feelings.
Teacher provides several pairs of paper sunglasses
with colored cellophane (or real sunglasses). Provide a pair of sunglasses to a volunteer. Explain
that these are magic glasses that color the wearer's
view with a particular feeling. Explain to volunteer that he is to view the class through ''suspicious" glasses. Have children interact with him
through questions or comments. Volunteer shares
his thoughts as he reacts from a suspicious point of
view., Children contribute ideas for different kinds
of glasses, (i.e. "nobody-like me", show-off,
afraid, helpful, etc.) Divide class into small
groups, providing a pair of glasses for each group.
Each individual interacts with his group wearing
glasses for a particular feeling, then change to one
that would be the opposite. Questions for class
discussion: "How did your feelings affect the way
you thought about other? How did you see things
differently than you usually do? When you have a
good friend, then get mad at him/her for some
reason, how do you see the things they do differently than you did before you were mad? How might this
be like putting on a different pair of feeling
glasses? How might it help to be aware of your
feelings about someone when you think they are doing
something mean to you?" Allow time for class discussion and sharing of experiences.
- 97 -
?rocess. Obj ecti.ve -. Sta,ge 3; To recognize the need to
understand another'· s point of view when in con,flict, To
recognize the need to deal with ''here and now 11 and avoid
name-calling when expressing grievances.
- Statements for discussion~ "Sometimes we see what
other people do in terms of what we think they would
do. When this happens, both people are sure they
know exactly what happened and why. You often end
up being mad at each other for something that you
think happened rather than what the other person
actually did. lfuen you have a problem with someone,
it's very important to hear what they think happened
and what you think happened, so you know what each
of you is really mad about, or if there is something
to be mad about." (Many example of this are available for sharing, (i.e. accidental bumps, materials
thought stolen, untrue gossip, etc.). Teacher
utilizes examples to express methods of communicating action observed. Teacher writes two statements on board for comparison:
"You got in front of me. I have a right
to my own place in line and I don't like
you taking cuts without asking."
"You always push in front of everybody.
You think you're such a big deal~"
"If you really didn't realize you were cutting in
front of this person, would be easier to hear?
Discuss the idea that it would be easy to talk about
the actual action in first statement. In second
statement, discussion would most likely be directed
towards denial of the word "always" and anger at
the name-calling."
- 98 -
Process Objective -. St~ge 4; To experience a method for
resolvi:ng conflict ip which each party has perceived the
situation differently.
- Teacher models procedure through facilitation of
actual incidents between children. Direction should
be interspersed throughout the encounter, as needed,
rather than explained all at once.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Each of you state what you think the other
person did. (You may not talk about what
the other person did before, or talk about
what he "always" does. Speak directly to
that person. You may not blame, name-call,
or criticize. You may not interrupt or be
interrupted.)
Each of you makes a statement about how you
were feeling when the incident happened and
how you are feeling right now. You may also
state any of your rights that you need to
protect.
Repeat what the other person thinks happened
and how he/she feels as accurately as you can.
Each of you suggest an acceptable solution
to the problem or what you want the other
person to do to make it alright for you.
Teacher provides a bulletin board or easily viewed
chart which summarizes the above steps.
1.
2.
3.
State your viewpoint and how you feel.
Listen and repeat the other person's
viewpoint.
What do you want to do to make it O.K.?
- 99 -
Ch:i.ld,ren are encout"aged to use th.i.s. model to
faci.litate conflict si~tuations between other peers
and between younger ch~ldreri when working with them
as "playleaders''· on the playground.
Process Objective - Stage 5: To provide a concrete, short ....
term goal for resolving personality conflicts ..
- Teacher explains that sometimes we just seem to have
a "personality" problem with someone and don't seem
to be able to understand that person. Teacher
duplicates and make Agreement Contracts available
to those who want, but seem unable to resolve
conflict with an individual through communication.
An "appointment book" is made available during
class. Individuals then agree to appear with witnesses after school to sign the agreement. Witnesses accept responsibility to help individuals
keep their agreement. Agreement may be extended
at end of designated period if both parties feel
the need.
Process Objective - Stage 6: To become aware of the need
to physically work off and verbally express anger once it
has developed. To provide methods for this expression.
- Teacher provides small canvas bags filled with foam
or materials. One end should be tied closed with
enough material left to grasp end of pillow, swing
it high and pound it on the floor. Other canvas
pillows are provided which are large and sturdy
enough to hit or kick. Explain that anger is much
like shaking a bottle of carbonated soft drink, If
it's closed up with no escape, it builds until an
explosion happens. This is when we do and say
- 100 -
ROOM 9 - AGREEMENT
We want to be happier in class together.
I
don't like it when
If -----------agrees to stop,
This contract is good for
_________ Date:
agree not to
------
Signed,
W~i~t-n_e_s_s_e_s
I
weeks
- 101 -
things to people th9-t we are often sorry fol;'.
Encourage ch;i..Jdren to use the pillows and ve:~;balize
while using them~ when they feel anger building up.
The pillow can represent the individual they are
feeling angry towards. Children may also physically
confront each other by "squaring off": grasping
each other shoulders, centering body into a balanced
position, then agreeing to push each other and
verbalize anger without moving feet or body from the
balanced position. (This prevents action from
turning into a free-for-all). Jumping rope, running
the yard, and bouncing a very large ball against
the ground, very hard, directing it at another
person, are just a fe\v of many suggestions children
use to work off anger.
Throughout the program many exercises were used to encourage positive self-evaluation and concept.
Yellow Pages - Each child contributed an advertisement describing one of his abilities
which might be of value to someone
else.
"Star of the Week" - Bulletin board was provided to
one child per week, to share personal
pictures, realia, and describe who he
is and what he likes.
Timeline -
Appreciation of individual uniqueness
was provided through developing individual timelines showing most impor-
- 102 -
tant events since birth.
Timelines
were shared on Bulletin Board.
All About Me - Personal Journals were developed
covering all aspects of individual
likes, dislikes, friends, interests,
etc.
Children wrote in journals
throughout the year.
Fantasy was utilized throughout the program to develop the
ability to visualize and free creative imagery.
Short
directed imagery experience was followed by several exercises from Put Your Mother on the Ceiling DeMille, (1955)
and later led into full fantasy trips Awareness, Stevens
(1971).
The fantasies are non-directed enough to encour-
age the child's sense of control over what he creates.
Personal interactions was encouraged through use of "Trustwalk" exercises in which children lead each other blindfolded through various sensory experiences.
"Body sculpt-
ing" was also utilized in which children "sculpted" each
other by placing an individual in a particular position or
forming a scene with a group of individuals.
Sound Filmstrips were used for discussion and further
expansion of awareness:
"How do I Feel?"
"~Jho do I like to be With?"
"What do I Like to do?"
"What do I Dream?" (EBE Early Experiments in
Learning, Albert Carr,
University of Hawaii)
APPENDIX B
INSTRUMENT AND
ANSWER SHEET
SOCIAL SELF-DIRECTION SCALE
1.
If I really want to do something, I can find a way
to do it.
*2.
3.
I keep my feelings to myself.
I share my ideas, even when I'm afraid they might
sound dumb.
*4.
Rather than lose a friend, I'll do something I really
don't want to do.
5.
If everybody agrees on something and I don't, I will
share my ideas anyway.
·k6
I dis like some kids, but don't seem to know exactly
why.
7.
I will tell other kids how I feel when they are doing
things I don't like.
*8.
When kids say or do things that make me feel bad, I
pretend not to notice.
9.
I can agree with someone's ideas, even if I don't like
that person.
*10.
Kids are often mean to me for no reason at all.
11.
I know how to do things well when I really want to.
12.
If I don't understand something, I'll ask questions
about it until I do understand.
*13.
I can't seem to change the things that make me unhappy.
- 103 -
- 104 -
14.
When someone does something to embarrass me, I tell
them what they did and how I feel.
*15.
I will often change my mind if someone I like
believes something I don't.
*16.
Lots of kids seem to know how to make me very angry.
*17.
I
don't do a lot of things I \vould like to do,
because I don't want to look dumb.
-,\"18.
When someone tells me "no", I usually stop asking,
even though what I'm asking seems fair.
*19.
When I want somebody new for a friend, I find it hard
to tell them that I like them.
*20.
I pretend to understand things I really don't, so I
won't seem .dumb.
*21.
When I get into a fight, it's because other kids pick
on me.
22.
When I feel dumb, I know I could do things better if
it were really important to me.
~\'23.
When I get angry at someone, it's easier to hit them,
than tell them why I'm angry.
*24.
When I do something wrong, I would rather make an
excuse than figure out why it is wrong.
25.
*26.
27.
When something is hard to do, I keep trying.
I do somethings badly because I'm lucky.
I feel good inside when I tell someone how I feel
about them.
t
'
- 105 -
28.
*29.
I am happy with the way I act.
I avoid telling friends how I really feel most of
the time.
30.
I find it easy to make friends with the kids I would
like to be friends with.
*31.
I don't have a chance to give my opinion very often.
32.
I know when I am making other kids mad at me.
33.
It is easy for me to tell someone what I like about
them.
*34.
When I am mad at someone, it's because they got mad
at me first.
35.
I know when I am doing something that will get me
into trouble.
* indicates externally oriented statements.
scoring indicated.
Reverse
APPENDIX C
Always
Like Me
Usually
Like Me
1
0
0
0
0
0
2
0
0
0
0
0
3
0
0
0
0
0
4
0
0
0
0
0
5
0
0
0
0
0
6
0
0
0
0
0
7
0
0
0
0
0
8
0
0
0
0
0
9
0
0
0
0
0
10
0
0
0
0
0
11
0
0
0
0
0
12
0
0
0
0
0
13
0
0
0
0
0
14
0
0
0
0
0
15
0
0
0
0
0
16
0
0
0
0
0
17
0
0
0
0
0
18
0
0
0
0
0
19
0
0
0
0
0
20
0
0
0
0
0
21
0
0
0
0
0
22
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
0
23
0
I
I
Sometimes
Like Me
- 106 -
Hardly Ever
Like Me
Never
Like Me
- 107 -
-
Always
_ _!.ike .Me
Usually
Like Me
Sometimes
. Like Me
Hardly Ever
Like Me
Never
Like Me
24
0
0
0
0
0
25
0
0
0
0
0
26
0
0
0
0
0
27
0
0
0
0
0
28
0
0
0
0
0
29
0
0
0
0
0
30
0
0
0
0
0
31
0
0
0
0
0
32
0
0
0
0
0
33 I
0
0
0
0
0
34.
0
0
0
0
0
35
0
0
0
0
0