Test-retest item instability indices for low, middle, and high scores on the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale were calculated in order to test the hypothesis that low scores are invalid because of unreliability of responding. The hypothesis was not supported. (Author/JKS)

Teacher's interactions with 219 eighth-grade students were compared to personality characteristics of the students, using factor and regression analysis. It was found that teachers more closely supervised both the aggressive and the apprehensive students. Teachers presented clear intellectual challenges to the self-assured and the bright students.…

Described are four studies: three investigate how context affects classroom processes, and one studies the effects of training supervising teachers in the same skills needed by student teachers. (GW)

The diversity among interpretations of single items in personality questionnaires has been noted previously. Using adjectives from the Adjective Check List (ACL), the study sought evidence bearing on these questions: Does such diversity make the responses to an item not comparable across subjects? If so, what are the implications for scores based…

Speech-anxious students ranging in age from 17 to 48 were offered a four-week speech anxiety group. Treatment groups demonstrated significantly greater speech anxiety reduction than the no-treatment controls at postassessment and follow-up assessment. (Author/MFD)

Purpose was to assess immediate and dealyed effects of social modeling, cognitive structuring, and two self-management strategies for increasing affective self-disclosure. Social modeling and cognitive structuring had immediate effects on affective self-disclosure. A combination was more effective over time than any single treatment or no…

Emotional impact of various stimulant and depressant drugs is reviewed and emotional impact of various types of environments is described. Emotional predispositions associated with personality are noted. Specific hypotheses are derived to show which drugs are most likely to be used in different, environmentally induced or temperament-associated,…

Subjects in a T-group tend to decrease reactive attributions. They are perceived as having learned to act, rather than observe and react. T-group change is conjecture. Some learning transfer from group to external environment is expected. (MFD)

Describes a study of the accuracy of student responses on objective tests. Investigators examined the frequency of correctness on initial responses versus changed responses, and the relationship to degree of familiarity of the content. Results show that changing test answers tends to produce more right than wrong answers by more students.…

Two therapists each led a self-help group, a "confidant" group, and a women's consciousness-raising group. Experimental subjects showed significant improvement in ratings of future health and became significantly less other-oriented in attitudes toward women relative to the controls. The therapist variable produced few differences in response to…

A study of claims resulting from suicidal acts reveals that included in the indicated work conditions were sudden changes in organization, conflict of loyalties resulting from work change, reactions to pain and suffering following a physical work injury, and the economic and status deprivation resulting from disability and unemployment. (Author)

There is a time when every adult and most children are faced with the death of a close friend or relative. Understanding can be established through developmental counseling programs at various age levels. The seventh-grade program discussed here can help counselors develop successful approaches for their own students. (Author)

This work investigated the young child's ability to respond appropriately to the intended, as opposed to the literal, meaning of one class of such utterances, requests for action. An action-based response heuristic is proposed to explain the apparent ability of two-year-olds to deal with indirect speech acts. (Author/SW)

Immediate reinforcement of what has been learned is of prime importance. Ideal testing procedures are those that show students at once the rightness or wrongness of their answers. For reading comprehension, multiple choice is recommended; for production (oral or written), constructed responses (an example is given) are recommended. (IFS/WGA)

One hundred and eighty fourth-grade boys completed tasks where they were given stimulus patterns in one or two sensory modes (auditory or visual) and asked to identify equivalent patterns in the same or in the other mode. Correlations between mathematics achievement and modality matching ability were significant with "striking" variation…