Failure of laboratory evaluation of CAI to generalize to classroom settings: TheSuperShrink interview simulation

Laboratory settings are often used to evaluate instructional innovations. This paper reports a comparison of laboratory and course evaluation ofSuperShrink, an educational computer simulation of two comprehensive clinical interviews designed to teach undergraduates personality and diagnostic formulation. Previous experimental comparison of the computer simulation with a booklet version ofSuperShrink in a laboratory setting, carried out with volunteers from the departmental subject pool, indicated that students found the computer version more involving, enjoyable, and realistic. The present experiment involved the comparison of computer and booklet versions of two complete cases in four courses in abnormal psychology. The results opposed those from the laboratory setting. The students strongly preferred the booklet version and cited its greater convenience as one reason for their preference. Our findings suggest that care must be taken to ensure that laboratory evaluations of CAI are ecologically valid and are replicated in classroom settings.