To relate scientific evidence with subjective interpretations relevant to the construction and appreciation of visual images, this paper reviews the literature pertinent to the processes involving the perception of visual images, the distinct functions of the left and right hemispheres of the human brain in recording and interpreting visual data,…

The reliability of multiple choice tests--containing different numbers of response options--was investigated for 260 students enrolled in technical college economics courses. Four test forms, constructed from previously used four-option items, were administered, consisting of (1) 60 two-option items--two distractors randomly discarded; (2) 40…

Racial attitude questions from national surveys such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) are being used to show that progress has been made toward interracial harmony in this country. However, there is reason to worry about conclusions from such measures, because they may indicate only progress on learning the socially…

The influence of question format on item responses is examined using split ballot techniques and sex-role stereotypes in a junior college sample. Two formats were used: direct, in which questions asked only about women, and comparative, in which items explicitly compared women with men. Significant differences by format occurred on seven out of…

Ten normal 3-year-old children and their parents served as subjects for this longitudinal study of the interaction between parent-child relationships and the child's approach to task situations while attending nursery school. To illustrate the nature of the data gathered and observations made in this study, three of the 10 children were considered…

This conference report consists of two presented papers and a selected bibliography. The paper by Joan Gussow, "Behavioral Management and Educational Goals," is concerned with operant conditioning as a theory of learning and an instructional method. Basing their methods on the work of B.F. Skinner, educators who are proponents of this…

Fixation time, smiling, vocalization, and fret/cry were recorded to obtain a complete picture of infants' responses to facial stimuli over the first year of life. Four stimuli were presented to 120 infants. Results of fixation data indicate that (1) there is a marked decrease in fixation toward facial stimuli within the first year, (2) at all ages…

Single-score measures of intelligence are inadequate to predict performance on a programed instruction format. Guilford's model of the intellect accounts for three dimensions relevant to learner abilities. The content dimension refers to the kind of material involved, the product dimension to the kind of output required, and the process dimension…

Detailed item analysis results for a form of the Scholastic Aptitude Test were examined for evidence of sex differences in test speededness. The conclusions were: (1) there was no evidence of appreciable differences in rate-of-work on any section of the Scholastic Aptitude Test; (2) there was some evidence that low-scoring females on the…

This study measured the effects on children's behavior of peer influence and prosocial and antisocial television messages. The subjects, 120 children in second, third, and fourth grades, were placed in three different situations: one in which no television was viewed, one in which an excerpt from a television program portraying violence was…

This study was designed to determine the effects of two teacher responses on rate of oral reading. The teacher responses were the simple response of correcting a mispronounced word and the response of praise contingent on correct reading while ignoring all errors. The subjects were four boys ranging in age from nine to twelve from a residential…

There is a common assertion that if you can find out what teachers' problems are, you have gained enormously valuable insight into their world and are in a position to help them at some level to consider and thus accept, reduce, or eliminate those problems. This assertion has provided the basis for studies over the past 10 years. This report…

In order to investigate learning theories, media researchers need to explore three variables: (1) the psychological requirements of a given learning task, (2) individual differences in cognitive style, and (3) specific media characteristics. It is necessary to identify the psychological processes which underlie any specific learning task in order…

Any theory of information processing must address both what is processed and how that processing takes place. Most studies investigating variables which alter physical dimension utilization have ignored the large individual differences in selective attention or cue utilization. A paradigm was developed using an individual focus on information…

This study examines the degree to which young children are influenced by the familiarity of an adult participant in their pretend play with toys which vary in resemblance to highly prototypical objects (e.g., cup-like cups or doll-like dolls). A group of 29 children, mean age 21 months, was divided into two experimental groups balanced by sex; 15…