Event knowledge,elaborative propensity,and the development of learning proficiency

An experimental test was made of two hypotheses formulated to account for age differences across adolescence in the learning of arbitrary associations. One hypothesis ascribes such differences to two factors: the propensity to elaborate coherent relationships among initially disparate items, and accessibility to event knowledge that can form the bases of such relationships. The other hypothesis assumes that propensity remains constant across age, and that development stems entirely from increases in the accessibility of relevant event knowledge. These hypotheses are evaluated with reference to the performance of 11- and 17-year-olds in learning relationships among paired nouns. The results discredited both hypotheses, instigating the formulation of a revised conception of the relationship between knowledge and propensity as developmental determinants.     

What you don't know can hurt you: The effects of performance criteria ambiguity on sex differences in self-confidence1

Previous investigators have suggested that women display lower self-confidence than men across almost all achievement situations. The empirical validity of this suggestion is assessed in an experiment testing the hypothesis that performance evaluation guidelines moderate sex difference in self-confidence. Undergraduates read the guidelines by which their performance on an impending test would be evaluated. Guidelines were: ambiguous (A); clear—specifying the dimensions of performance to be examined, but not providing any examples of others' performance against which subjects' work would be compared (C); or clear with performance examples (CE). Subjects then completed the test and estimated how will they had done. Results showed the predicted pattern in conditions A and C: While women underestimated their actual performan?e much more than men when guidelines were ambiguous, they did not do so when guidelines were clear. Further, the rise in self-confidence for women from conditions A to C was greater than that for men. Also as predicted, both sexes' self-confidence and performance were higher in condition C than in condition A. Finally, although condition CE was expected to depress only women's self-confidence and performance, both sexes showed this effect. It is concluded that sex differences in self-confidence are moderated by situation variables and that programs designed to reduce such differences might be improved by a greater focus upon women's response to clearly specifiable factors in achievement settings.     

THE IMPACT OF AUDITION ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF VISUAL ATTENTION

Interactions between audition and vision were investigated in two experiments In the first experiment, school-age hearing children, deaf children with cochlear implants, and deaf children without implants participated in a task in which they were to respond to some visual signals and not others This task did not involve sound at all Deaf children without implants performed much more poorly than hearing children Deaf children with cochlear implants performed considerably better than deaf children without implants The second experiment employed a longitudinal design and showed that the rate of development in visual selective attention was faster for deaf children with cochlear implants than deaf children without implants Moreover, the gams were rapid–occurring within 2 years post-implant surgery The results suggest that a history of experience with sounds matters in the development of visual attention The results are discussed in terms of multimodal developmental processes     

Is moral ambiguity all we have to offer?

Theology risks marginalization in the debate about ethical medicine, if theologians merely surrender to ambiguity. We live in a pluralistic society, C. Ben Mitchell points out, but Christians must not accept pluralism as an ideology. In light of our own tradition, we must speak out on ethical issues as we see them. Since "the public" is sympathetic to religious values, public policy should not be dictated by anti-religious points of view.     

Cardiac change scale: A brief,self-report research measure

The purpose of this study was to develop and evaluate a brief, self-report measure of the degree of perceived change resulting from cardiac illness. Life change has been widely recognized as stressful, but it is usually assessed with generic checklists of events which have been found wanting in terms of reliability and validity. The proposed measure was designed to assess life change in factors commonly reported to be important in recovery from cardiac illness. The Cardiac Change Scale was found to have very good internal consistency and acceptable test-retest reliability. The construct and criterion validity of the Cardiac Change Scale were supported.     

The Driving Appraisal Inventory: Psychometric Characteristics and Construct Validity1

Four studies examined the dimensionality, reliability and construct validity of the Driving Appraisal Inventory (DAI), a self-report measure of driving habits and skills. In Study 1, analysis of 127 items led to the formation of four unidimensional, internally reliable scales: Carelessness, Drunken Driving, Vehicle Safety, and Self-Evaluation. In Study 2, all were found to have acceptable test-retest reliability. In Study 3, convergent validity support was obtained for the Carelessness and Vehicle Safety scales. In Study 4, concurrent criterion-related validity support was obtained for the Carelessness and Drunken Driving scales. Scores on the Self-Evaluation scale appear to be more a function of self-confidence and/or ego-involvement in driving skills and less a function of actual driving skills. Men score higher than women do on the Carelessness, Drunken Driving, and Self-Evaluation scales, and in Study 4, criterion-related validity of the Self-Evaluation scale was stronger among women than among men.