Influence of hedonic tone on lexical decisions

A lexical decision task was used to investigate the effect of a word’s hedonic tone on decision time. Thirty words, varying in degrees of pleasantness, were randomly presented with 30 nonwords, half of which were pronounceable and half not. It was demonstrated that decision times for the pleasant words were significantly faster than for the unpleasant words. The two types of nonwords were also found to differ: Decision times for the pronounceable nonwords were significantly slower than for the nonpronounceables. Results are discussed in the light of previous work in both memory and perception. The utility of the lexical decision task for relevant future research is also considered. Part of the work reported in this paper was supported by North East London Polytechnic as partial fulfillment of the requirements for a higher degree (C.N.A.A.).     

Equal Opportunity Programs: A Case for Counseling

The Civil Rights Act of 1964, under Title VI, requires that institutions of higher education submit enrollment figures according to ethnic breakdown for federal monies to be allocated. Such requirements are indicative of efforts to diversify student populations. The Higher Education Act of 1965 also incorporates a number of related programs—Supplemental Opportunity Grants, College Work Study, Talent Search, Upward-Bound—which are designed to provide direct or indirect assistance to disadvantaged students. (Gordon, 1975)     

The disadvantaged as a social and professional phenomenon

Being culturally disadvantaged is a social condition which is created, managed, and maintained by both social and professional institutions. When institutions attempt to sustain societal norms by selecting certain attributes and calling them desirable, these institutions are relegating large segments of the population to a deviant status if it does not share these attributes. The “culturally disadvantaged” are such a group. This phenomenon not only results in differential perceptions and expectations, but also influences their self-evaluation, academic success, and career opportunities. The transformation of deviance into incompetency has also led to formally sanctioned methods of managing deviancy. Methods, such as compensatory education, ability grouping, and special class placement can be viewed as maintaining the position that the culturally disadvantaged are indeed deviant and incompetent.     

Open learning and guidance

The expanding and diverse area of open learning is described and difficulties of definition addressed. Rationales for its relationship with guidance based on the learning opportunities structure, the confluence of teaching and guidance, and the concurrence of goals between open learning and guidance, are identified. Models of guidance in relation to open learning are indicated, together with some of the issues these raise. A framework for the analysis of open learning and guidance is suggested, based on the policy objectives of providers (enablement, enfranchisement, cost-effectiveness) and on the components of learning (content, media, styles). The survey indicates a need for better evaluation strategies and a closer scrutiny of what is 'opened' for whom.     

AN ANALYSIS OF THE PROCEDURAL COMPONENTS OF SUPPORTED EMPLOYMENT PROGRAMS ASSOCIATED WITH EMPLOYMENT OUTCOMES

This study examined the relation between the procedural components of supported employment programs and employment outcomes for 120 individuals with disabilities. These individuals were involved in supported employment programs established through the Utah Supported Employment Project. The results suggest that successful implementation of supported employment services led to ongoing employment of study participants in community work sites, increased wages, and ongoing opportunities for workers to interact with nondisabled peers. In addition, several procedural components were found to be strongly associated with successful employment outcomes for workers. Results of the study are discussed in terms of the training needs of supported employment program staff and future research for the dissemination of a cohesive technology of supported employment.     

Motives and Values to Achieve: Different Constructs With Different Effects

ABSTRACT Motives to achieve and values associated with achievement were conceptualized as distinct and independent personality constructs, one nonconscious, the other conscious, each predictive of a different type of achievement-related behavior It was hypothesized that (a) motive and value measures would be uncorrelated, (b) motives would predict “operant” or spontaneous behaviors while values would predict “respondent” or stimulus-driven behaviors, and (c) motives and values would interact such that subjects with high values relating to achievement would perform better than those with low values, but only when their motives were also high Hypotheses (a) and (b) were strongly supported m two studies, and Hypothesis (c) was supported in Study 2 In that study, the motive for achievement was a particularly strong predictor of operant math performance among those subjects who valued achievement as opposed to affiliation The findings suggest that nonconscious (motive) and conscious (value) measures are both useful in different cases–the former for predicting “real” (doing) activity, the latter for predicting self-report (thinking) responses Questions concerning how motives and values might combine to predict different kinds of behavior are addressed     

On The Trail of Little Albert

The Psychological Record - In 1920, John Watson and Rosalie Rayner published a study of the emotional conditioning of an 11-month old infant, “Albert B,” which was to become a textbook...