This paper examines the acquisition of superstitious behavior in young children. Six preschool children were exposed to a 15 minute fixed-time inter-reinforcement interval (FT-15") schedule while another six preschoolers were exposed to a 30 minute fixed-time inter-reinforcement interval (FT-30") schedule. In a free-operant laboratory…

There is little hope that any single philosophy of health education will emerge to become dominant in the foreseeable future. Rather, our culture encourages a range of philosophical assumptions, valuing diversity more than consistency. It is the assumption of this brief paper that most perspectives or philosophical positions can be represented…

The purpose of this paper is to describe a system of individually guided motivation which is directly tied to a total system of individually guided education. In the system of motivation, the child's entering characteristics are assessed, motivational objectives in the form of desired behaviors are set for each child, a program designed to…

One central aspect of children's behavior in play and in situations of response uncertainty may involve the degree to which the child considers available information and forms a plan to guide behavior. Twenty-five boys and 25 girls, aged 27 months, were observed in a 30-minute free play session in which mobility and time spent in sustained…

A three-year experimental study was conducted at Northern High School, Baltimore City Public Schools, to gain evidence indicating whether the use of programed instruction or the use of traditional instruction in high school mathematics resulted in greater mastery of subject matter, greater retention of subject matter, and better grades in…

The seven papers in this book were prepared as the bases of discussions at a BEPD-sponsored conference which dealt with the ways in which teachers can make a difference in education. The conference was a followup to one held a year earlier on the topic, "Do Teachers Make a Difference." The implications which can be drawn suggest the need to make…

Briefly argues for a broader interpretation of the concept of individualized instruction. Would include various forms of student expression and teacher sensitivity to the intellectual, social, and emotional needs of children as teaching dimensions which can be individualized. (JMB)

Discusses the current concern about establishing standards for student performance and argues that setting such standards ignores natural variability among children. (JMB)

The possibility that the relevance decision may be affected by individual differences in openness to information in terms of cognitive style variables is examined. Results are discussed in terms of the relationship between information systems and the "espistemic who." (Author)

Provides a comprehensive view of the decision-making process as it relates to career choice. The steps in this process are (1) problem identification, (2) generation of alternatives, (3) information gathering, and (4) evaluation of alternatives. Individual variations are summarized. (CH)

The author attempts to (1) sensitize teachers to the difficulties of teaching adults, (2) review components of the learning process, and (3) give a prospectus for an adult learning theory and supportive instructional theory and strategies that enable classroom teachers to reach every adult learner in the class. (CH)

Identified and described diversity in modes of retirement adaptation using 24 individual interviews. Comparisons among analyses yielded four distinct ways of conceptualizing and experiencing retirement--as a transition to old age, as a new beginning, as a continuation of preretirement life structure, and as an imposed disruption. Features of these…

Used a model of individual response to catastrophic events to analyze data from survivors of the Beverly Hills Supper Club fire of 1977. The most predictable symptoms at 1 year were associated with stress disorders. Overall, up to 45 percent of outcome variance 1-year postfire could be explained by individuals' experiences surrounding the fire.…

Interview results indicated terminally ill patients with knowledge produced significantly longer transcripts than others. Groups did not differ significantly on state or trait anxiety scales. There were significant associations involving age, anxiety, and the dependent variables of the content analysis, especially among terminally ill patients…