The possibility of developing a learning theory that is designed to insure its relevance to educational problems is discussed. It is suggested that the constitutive problem for an educational psychology of learning is how one learns things that are difficult to learn. Behaviorist learning theories fail almost entirely to explain why anything is…

To determine college students' level of geographic awareness, a test was administered to 2,200 students (both freshmen and upperclassmen) in eight colleges and universities in North Carolina. The test, which required students to complete statements about geography, was patterned after a geography examination sponsored by the New York Times in 1950…

This paper analyzes the economic knowledge of high school students based on national data from 8,000 students who took the revised "Test of Economic Literacy," a nationally normed and standardized achievement test in economics. First, the validity and reliability features of the test are presented and then the test scores are broken down…

In a study investigating the nature of questioning, a group of subjects with little relevant knowledge and a group with a great deal of relevant knowledge were asked to prepare a chocolate mousse. During the preparation, the subjects were allowed to ask any number of questions and each was answered immediately. Results showed that the number of…

To examine the importance of being literate in the technology of telecommunication, the attitudes of three populations were studied: college students, academics, and industry professionals. Altogether 266 names and addresses were compiled. Using a quota strategy, industry professionals were drawn from several segments of the telecommunication…

A series of experiments investigated the role of prior knowledge in tasks involving the operation of equipment from written instructions. The experiments covered two situations. In the first, the prior knowledge was already possessed by the subjects before the experiments. The studies involved comprehension and memory of technical prose, expertise…

Identifying the variables which influence student attitudes, perceptions, and behavior patterns in regard to religion, sex, and alcohol has been a major source of investigation. To determine the dimensions underlying the relationship among religion, sex, alcohol use, and alcohol knowledge among university students, 376 University of Maryland…

Based on a preliminary version of this study, project aims were to learn what college freshmen knew about presidents in office from the late 19th century to the present and to determine the students' writing levels. During the first class of each of five semesters, students enrolled in an American History Since 1985 course were asked to write one…

Recent research has suggested that children acquire important knowledge and attitudes about drugs early in their development. To explore the extent of preschoolers' knowledge of alcoholic beverages, two studies were conducted. In the first study, 20 children, 10 from families with alcoholic fathers and 10 controls, participated in Piagetian-like…

A cross-sectional sample of 704 adults was interviewed in a study examining the processes that relate demographic predictors to media use and effects. It was hypothesized that primary groups influence what an individual should attend to and know about public affairs, and that the individual perceives the primary group to "prescribe" the…

This article describes the following case: Pete Wilmington, Vice President of Sales for See-Saw Jeans for Kids, has wrapped up a deal with Wal-Mart to carry See-Saw Jeans for Kids in all Wal-Mart stores on a trial basis for the next year. See-Saw Jeans for Kids is a clothing manufacturer with sales of $41 million, but the Wal-Mart account has the…

A telephone survey of 206 adults was conducted to test hypotheses concerning past information seeking, source preference, and media consumption. Subjects who had obtained information from "expert" institutional sources were found to have greater drug knowledge and interpersonal communication experience. Higher Print consumers had greater knowledge…

This interim evaluation report of the St. Louis, Missouri Urban Consumer Education Project assesses program effectiveness in terms of teacher training and teacher knowledge of consumer basics, community resource participation, and student and teacher knowledge. The project was designed to teach fifth grade students their rights and…

Based on the premise that the quality of domain-specific knowledge is the main determinant of expertise in that domain, an examination was made of the shift from considering general, domain-independent skills and procedures, in both cognitive psychology and artificial intelligence, to the study of the knowledge base. Empirical findings and…

The Wisconsin Nutrition Education and Training Program (NET) developed a test that would provide an adequate measure of the effect of the Wisconsin NET program on student knowledge. The teacher knowledge test was developed and used for baseline collection data. The student knowledge test was developed from the same general behavioral objectives as…