Assessment of students' behavioral interactions during on-task classroom activities

This study was designed to characterize the quality and quantity of interactions between students and significant others in the processing of new information during classroom activities. I wanted to test the hypothesis that black children, from moderate to low income urban environments, tend to have a more socially active cognitive style than their white peers in the performance of classroom tasks. Five different English classes, all 8th graders in a single junior high school (total of 114 black and white boys and girls), were observed in the same environment at different intervals to identify differences in the number of interactions between boys and girls, by racial groups. Classroom lessons and related activities were videotaped. The recorded activity was tabulated and rated by 3 trained observers. Black children more than white, and boys more than girls, initiated interactions with peers in the classroom in performing assigned tasks. This social interaction also showed that (1) 76% of the observed classroom time, subjects as a group were observed on-task and (2) pupils' interactions with their selected targets (classmates and their teacher) were 87% positive, and (3) relatively few interactions could be classified as disruptive.     

Reactive effects of concurrent verbalization in person perception tasks

The reactive effects of concurrent verbalization (CV) on task performance in impression formation research have not been investigated, despite increasing use of this process tracing method. Since many person perception tasks involve multiple trials, assessment of reactivity should focus on carry-over and reactive-practice effects, as well as changes in task performance concurrent with thinking aloud. An experimental method for assessing these three forms of reactivity was demonstrated in an information-request impression formation task. Concurrent reactive effects were found for both continuous and intermittent CV. For the former, task processing was mildly slowed but altered in a manner suggestive of more efficient learning of, and memory for cues requested early in task performance. The substantial slowing of task processing during trial 1 intermittent CV largely disappeared by trial 2, indicating that subjects may require more practice for this method to be used effectively. The results for continuous CV are in line with recent findings which are inconsistent with certain predictions from the predominant theory of verbal protocol generation (Ericsson and Simon, 1984). Investigators using CV are urged to incorporate empirical checks for reactivity into their experimental designs.     

Parallel parsing: Evidence from reactivation in garden-path sentences

An all-visual, on-line, lexical priming technique was used to investigate whether the human sentence processor computes syntactic representations serially or in parallel. Structurally ambiguous garden-path sentences such as the following were studied: “The psychologist told the wife that the man bumpedthat her car was stolen.” Despite the strong preference for the sentential-complement reading of the ambiguous region (italicized), a reactivation effect for the head of the relative clause (wife) was observed immediately following the presentation of the embedded verb (bumped), suggesting that the relative clause analysis is also computed. This finding is taken as evidence for parallel parsing since both possible analyses were shown to have a processing reflection simultaneously: Computation of the sentential-complement analysis was demonstrated by the fact that readers garden-path when that analysis turns out to be incorrect, and computation of the relative clause analysis was demonstrated by the reactivation effect.     

The Influence of Self-Monitoring on Inflation of Grade-Point Averages for Research and Selection Purposes1

The present study investigated the tendency to inflate self-reports of GPAs on application forms and research surveys. The major purpose of the research was to examine the consistency of inflation behavior across situations and determine whether self-monitoring moderates this consistency. Two hundred and twenty-six graduating seniors reported their GPAs on application forms used at a university's placement office and 1 month later reported their GPAs on a research survey in a classroom setting. Respondents’ self-monitoring and attitude toward inflation were also measured on the survey. Results indicated that inflation was more prevalent on the research survey than on application forms and low GPA respondents exhibited greater inflation than did high GPA respondents. Furthermore, inflation across situations was more consistent and could be better predicted by inflation attitudes for low self-monitors than for high self-monitors. Implications for impression management and self-reports in employment contexts are discussed.     

Retention and generalization of spelling words acquired using a peer-mediated instructional procedure by children with mild handicapping conditions

A peer-mediated instructional procedure termed Classwide Peer Tutoring (CWPT) has been shown to increase the rates and accuracy of student responses to academic tasks and to improve student performance on weekly spelling tests. In addition to replicating previous research, the present investigation evaluated the retention and generalization of words learned using CWPT. Students classified as mildly handicapped participated in daily practice of 10 spelling words using CWPT for 10 weeks. Short- and long-term retention of words practiced was assessed. Results indicated that the students average post-test score was over 84% correct on weekly tests, replicating previous results. When included in a dictation task the following week, 76.2% of previously tutored words were correctly spelled. Short- and longer-term retention measured on posttests was 72% and 69% correct, respectively. Modest improvements in students sight recognition of words practiced during CWPT were obtained. Student failure to learn particular words was attributable to fewer opportunities to practice these words. Further, students reported positive evaluation of CWPT and perceived positive social and self esteem outcomes.     

Illness and the origin of caring

In recent years, many in medical education have examined the question of how best to reinvigorate the doctor-patient relationship, given the increasing technological distance that has emerged between them in modern medicine. In this paper it is argued that "humanism" and caring in medicine reflect the quality of transitional relatedness in the illness condition, a significant separation-attachment phase of life. By improving our understanding of the origin of caring, educational strategies for physicians in training may improve as might our abilities to provide care.     

Social Support and Depression in Rheumatoid Arthritis: A One-Year Prospective Study1

Previous research on patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA) has suggested that social support is beneficial for helping patients to adjust psychologically to the chronic and unpredictable episodes of pain. This study addresses whether support buffers the adverse effects of arthritis pain or whether support results in a decrease in the severity of pain regardless of pain levels in 233 RA patients. The results indicated that patients who reported higher satisfaction with their emotional support when experiencing higher levels of pain were less likely to be depressed than patients who do not perceive such support. The results were obtained after controlling the effects of demographic variables, functional disability variables, and the direct effects of pain and social support. However, moderating effects of emotional support were not found when this relationship was examined over a 6-month period. Rather, causal modeling suggested that both pain and emotional support contributed to a change in depression over two 6-month intervals. The results also suggested that depression may have an adverse effect on change in emotional support over a similar time frame.     

The effects of facial control and facial mimicry on subjective reactions to comedy routines

The impact of facial control on subjective reactions to dubbed (created with inserts of smiling people) and undubbed comedy routines was examined. The presence of dubs increased EMG activity over thezygomaticus major andorbicularis oculi muscle regions for spontaneous-condition subjects, but not for inhibit-condition subjects. Analyses also showed that spontaneous-condition subjects exhibited increased smiling at dub points, a finding that is consistent with the notion that subjects mimicked the inserted facial displays. Self-report findings revealed that spontaneous-condition subjects reported significantly greater amusement to the dubbed compared with the undubbed routines, whereas inhibit-condition subjects' self-reports of amusement did not differentiate dub conditions. Furthermore, spontaneous-condition subjects reported significantly more amusement to the dubbed routines than did inhibit-condition subjects. Despite strong facial control effects on facial EMG activity, no main effect of facial condition on self-reported amusement was found, and therefore, the data provide no support for a general version of facial feedback theory. The data are consistent with the view that mimetic responses enhanced subjective reactions, and they are compatible with the Leventhal and Tomkins versions of facial feedback theory.The research was supported by NSF Grant No. BNS-8507600 and the Lincoln Filene Endowment to Dartmouth College. The authors wish to acknowledge helpful comments provided by Ursula Hess, Timothy L. Hubbard, Arvid Kappas, and two anonymous reviewers.     

Thinking aloud performance: Individual consistencies over tasks

Previous research (Gilhooly, 1987) indicated considerable individual consistency in quantity and quality of thinking aloud performance over three 8-puzzle tasks. The present study investigated the consistency of individual thinking aloud performance over two types of tasks. One type was largely spatial (the 8-puzzle) and the other largely verbal (the Poisoned Foods task). Considerable individual consistency in thinking aloud performance was found within each task type and, more importantly, between types of task. Thus, subjects who produced lengthy and complete protocols on the 8-puzzle problems also did so in the Poisoned Foods task. These results are discussed in the context of Ericsson and Simon’s (1984) model of thinking aloud.