The Effect of Behavioral Context on Some Aspects of Adult Disciplinary Practice and Affect

Diagnostic labels and perceptions of children's behavior

“…Stevens-Long (1973) found that when child actors behaved deviantly, especially aggressively, they were punished less and perceived more positively if they were labeled "emotionally disturbed" than if they had not been labeled. MacMillan, et al (1974) cited a study by Gersh and Jones (1973) that found a child actor exhibiting behaviors typical of the retarded was rated more favorably under the labeled than the unlabeled condition.…”

“…MacMillan, et al (1974) also found that special class placement and the individual's deviant behavior are often confounded with labeling. Furthermore, studies that have experimentally separated the effects of labeling from deviant behavior have found either that labels did not influence subject judgments or that labels were much less potent influences than were behavioral characteristics and appearance (Aloia, 1975;Gottlieb, 1974;Kidd and Sieveking, 1974;Kirk, 1976;Lehmann, Joy, Kreisman and Simmens, 1976;Stevens-Long, 1973). Reviewing such studies lead Guskin (1978) to conclude, "bias, expectancy, labels, etc.…”

Ongoing Reciprocal Teacher-Student Interactions Involving Disruptive Behaviors in General Education Classrooms

“…In the case of developmental psychology, evidence has suggested that even global aspects of normal child behaviors, such as temperament, systematically influence adult behavior (Thomas, Chess, & Birch, 1968). Similarly, more subtle, discrete child behaviors, such as vocalization (Gewirtz & Boyd, 1977), crying (Murray, 1979), smiling (Bates, 1976), activity level (Stevens-Long, 1973), aggression (Faggot, 1984), and speech (Bohannon & Marquis, 1977), have systematically influenced childadult behavior.…”

Self-reported discipline among Swedish parents of preschool children

“…The relevance of temperament has been suggested by several studies. Active children, for example, have been described as being treated more strictly (Stevens-Long, 1973), and difficult children have been depicted as being more likely to be spanked more frequently and more severely (Holden et al, 1995).…”