A series of five papers is presented here in an effort to relate the problems of instructional technology to insights and evidence from the behavioral sciences. One paper describes the application of present knowledge and empirical methodology, in the form of the systems approach, to the solution of particular behavioral problems. A second paper…

This paper discusses the processes that determine the characteristics of professional sub-cultures. It was postulated that mechanisms of attraction, formal and informal selection, promotion and reinforcement of desired characteristics serve to shape the personality which characterizes the members of a profession and can be expected to result in a…

A strategy for investigating which individual difference variables have transfer value at various stages of acquiring effective reading skills was discussed. Definitions of basic human abilities, including intrinsic and extrinsic individual differences were reviewed. In examining the required subskills in the reading process, it was pointed out…

A study examined the effects of verbal and perceptual aptitudes in relation to the efficacy of two different kinds of modeling procedures (written and filmed presentations) in the acquisition of a teaching skill (analytic questioning). It was anticipated that for Ss receiving the film-mediated model, criterion scores would show stronger relation…

Value judgments play a role in evaluation by determining the anticipated behavioral outcomes, what is measured, techniques for measurement, and decision making. Value judgments are usually faced only at the decision-making stage. Methods to analyze values will hopefully be given more emphasis in future evaluation enterprises. Studies using…

According to this book of "psychological talks to parents and teachers," the American education system is a major social tragedy because it fails to recognize the potential of the individual. Individual differences are often ignored in the "assembly-line" approach to education and labeling children according to test scores is a way of dehumanizing…

The effects of individual personality differences and awareness of experimental demands on the acquisition of a verbal behavior were investigated. Awareness was determined by a recognition task. The personality variable was a measure of the agreeing response set to Likert-scaled personality items. Subjects were grouped as extreme or moderate…

A mailed survey was conducted of the drinking practices of students at the University of Minnesota. Responses were received from 402 of the 496 individuals in a random sample of students at the Twin Cities campus. Key findings include: (1) the majority of students, 56 percent of the men and 61 percent of the women, were classed as moderate…

This document deals with nurturing creativity in the culturally different. It begins by pointing out that every person has a unique set of experiences and could therefore be considered "culturally different". The same methods are used to encourage creativity in those commonly labelled "culturally different" as are used with any individual. If…

From the ideas well set forth by Ferguson, Messick and others, a method was sought that would identify different abilities that entered at different stages in a task. The method selected should meet Cronbach's criterion that it would consider individual differences as well as group performance. Tucker's (1960, 1966) method seemed to be able to…

The nature of foreign language aptitude and the consequent implications for teaching are discussed. Areas include teaching of aptitudinal skills, diagnosis of individual difficulties, necessity of identifying sounds as unique entities, "audiolingual habit theory" vs. "cognitive code learning theory," and inductive and deductive teaching…

The present experiment tested the hypothesis that learning under conditions of high arousal should lead to stronger permanent memory and weaker immediate memory than learning under conditions of low arousal. When digital vasoconstriction was used as the measure of arousal, the results confirmed the hypothesis. Learning under high and low arousal…

Most students, perhaps over 90 percent, can master what teachers have to teach them, and it is the task of instruction to find the means which will enable students to master the subject under consideration. A basic task is to determine what is meant by mastery of the subject and to search for methods and materials which will enable the largest…

Research has indicated that there is no teaching method superior to others in promoting reading skills, improving attitudes, or creating interests, and that different types of children evidence varying responses to different methods. Studies such as those of Jung and Myer regarding personality and learning styles provide clues that are useful in…

THIS ARTICLE DESCRIBES RESULTS OF THE FIRST IN A SERIES OF THREE LARGE-SCALE LONGITUDINAL STUDIES CONDUCTED BY THE U.S. EMPLOYMENT SERVICE TO INCREASE THE USEFULNESS OF THE GENERAL APTITUDE TEST BATTERY (GATB) FOR COUNSELING HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS. THE FINAL SAMPLE CONSISTED OF 26,708 HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS. ALL WERE TESTED WITH THE GATB IN 1958, AND…