Individualized learning environments: Intra- and interpersonal consequences

This study examines the effects of individual goal structures on the intra- and interpersonal behavior of 120 fourth-grade children. Each group of four children was introduced to one of two individualized learning programs: (a) workbook materials color-coded according to level of difficulty (allowing implicit comparisons among children as to progress), and (b) materials not coded according to difficulty (discouraging comparisons). In both learning programs, children worked individually (at story writing) and were rewarded for the work. Results indicate that boys, but not girls, who were rewarded equally for doing good work in an individualized setting but who start and end at a lower step than other more frequently took away a toy from those peers with whom they compared themselves than did boys who were rewarded equally for good work and where there were no comparisons. Boys as a group, regardles of condition, gave more prize tickets to themselves than to others and gave more prize tickets to themselves than girls gave either to themselves or others. Both boys and girls appear to adopt the evaluations of their work given by the experimenter and appear to be influenced thereby in later prized-giving to themselves and to others.     

The development of communication: Attribute variation leads to contrast failure

Groups of 5-year-olds in two experiments described multidimensional triangles for a listener. The attribute differentiating referent triangles from nonreferent triangles in Experiment I was constant across trials for the simple condition group, while any one of three attributes was distinctive on a given trial for the complex condition group. One-adjective messages by subjects in the simple condition were virtually always informative; in the complex group, such messages were predominantly ambiguous. The boundaries of the variation effect were assessed in Experiment II. In addition to the simple-complex variation of the relevant attributes, the values of the irrelevant attributes either varied across trials in the diverse groups or remained constant in the constant groups. One-adjective messages were informative only in the simple-constant group; in the other groups, such messages were predominantly ambiguous. Thus, young children can base their communications on a comparative analysis of stimulus arrays, but performance deteriorates when there is any variation in relevant or irrelevant attributes. These results were discussed in relation to various theories of the development of meaning and communication: the cognitive overload theory, the broad context theory, and the perceptual saliency theory.     

Sex-role typing as related to acceptance of self, acceptance of others, and discriminatory attitudes toward women

This study examines four hypotheses relating sex-role typing to self-acceptance, acceptance of others, and sexist attitudes toward women. University students completed the Bem Sex-Role Inventory, the Berger Self-Acceptance Scale, and the Macho Scale. Findings showed more self-acceptance than acceptance of others among masculine-typed subjects and more acceptance of others than self-acceptance among feminine-typed subjects. Feminine-typed males and masculine-type females showed least self-acceptance among the six groups, while androgynous subjects showed highest self-acceptance. Masculine-typed males were least accepting of others and scored highest in discriminatory attitudes toward women. Male subjects showed greater variability than did female subjects on all scales, and Bem's measure of sex-role typing proved a more efficient moderator of scores of males than of those of females. Additional personality and behavioral research with sex-role typing variables is proposed.     

Clients' treatment expectations at a community mental health center

Clients' expectations about mental health care, particularly differences in these expectations as a function of social class, and the relationship of discrepancies between expectations and perceptions to treatment outcome, is examined in this study with 317 Caucasian clients. In contrast to the majority of studies, no differences in treatment expectations relating to clients' social class, sex, or marital status were found. Nor were discrepancies related to course or outcome of therapy. Discussion focuses around explanation and interpretation of these findings. Particularly relevant is the need to determine the extent to which nonusers in the community share the attitudes and expectations of clients.     

The fate of ear asymmetries in short-term memory

Recognition memory for word lists presented to left or right ears was tested after filled retention intervals of 0-to 60-sec duration. Experiment 1 showed that the right-ear advantage (REA) for immediate recognition in dichotic listening does not occur after 10 sec delay. In Experiment 2, monaural presentation produced a nonsignificant REA which did not appear to be affected by delay. These data suggest that the REA for immediate report usually observed in the dichotic listening situation is a transient phenomenon which is based on phonetic encoding. The left hemisphere seems to be specialized for the initial reception of verbal information, but not for the storage or retention of such information over time.     

Computer-based career planning for adults

The Career Information and Planning System is described. Designed for officers of the United States Army, it is a computer-based counselling and guidance system which aims to enhance the career planning skills of adults.     

Continuing education,identity, sex role,and psychosocial development in adult women

Comparisons on psychosocial development and sex-role identification were made between 39 adult women returning to college in midlife and 40 traditional homemakers. Significantly more homemakers had foreclosed on the adult identity issues of goals and religion and scored lower on a measure of psychological androgyny. Women in continuing education showed greater evidence of identity crisis as they neared graduation. The two groups did not differ along Eriksonian developmental stages, but there were differences in the pattern of favorable and unfavorable resolutions of psychosocial crises within both groups. The results support the existence of an identity crisis as a response to life events in adulthood and demonstrate a relationship between behavioral and self-report indices of rejection or acceptance of the traditional feminine role.This research was completed in partial fulfillment of the doctorate degree from the Graduate School of Education and Human Development, University of Rochester.     

INCREASED PEER-TEACHING WITH GROUP-ORIENTED CONTINGENCIES FOR ARITHMETIC PERFORMANCE IN BEHAVIOR-DISORDERED ADOLESCENTS1

Group-oriented contingencies were applied to increase the arithmetic problem-solving rates of four behavior-disordered adolescent residents in a psychiatric hospital. The experiment followed an ABAC reversal design consisting of baseline conditions (A₁ and A₂), and cumulative (B) and mixed (C) interdependent group-oriented contingency conditions. Under the cumulative arrangement, the subjects earned five cents for every correctly solved multiplication problem. The same conditions were in effect with the mixed contingency, except that each subject was required to work at least three problems before any subject could earn money. The results indicated consistent increases in the subjects' arithmetic computation rates as a function of the group-oriented contingencies. Concurrent observations were made across the four conditions of the experiment on four categories of the subjects' verbalizations: antecedent peer-teaching, consequent peer-teaching, positive statements, and negative statements. The subjects' rates of antecedent peer-teaching verbalizations covaried with the group-contingency-induced increases in their levels of computation behavior. The majority of the verbalization involved answers to number fact questions or redirecting peers to engage in on-task activities. The three other categories of the subjects' verbalizations that were observed—consequent peer-teaching, positive statements, and negative statements—were not found to covary with the subjects' altered rates of computation behavior.