Search

The U.S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences has developed a wide range of statistical models to test hypotheses generated in relation to an equally wide range of measurement and evaluation situations. The randomized block (RB) design has traditionally been a preferred model for much psychological research. The RB has had, however, the stringent requirement that the sample population be strictly defined and stratified beforehand, a requirement more appropriate in a controlled laboratory environment than in many field situations. This technical paper describes the development of an alternative statistical design which provides the advantages of the classic RB method without its operational disadvantages, and which will be useful not only in the area for which it was developed, but in other areas of behavioral science research. The statistical model chosen for comparison and test was a modified analysis of variance (ANCOVA) design that does not require previously selected stratified samples and does incorporate the ability to handle categorical variables: the categorical analysis of covariance (CANCOVA). Empirically, no practical difference was found between the power of RB and CANCOVA when the samples were large. (Author/NG)

This study investigated the effects of sequence and synthesis prescriptions from the Elaboration Theory by teaching the parts of a microcomputer system based on a parts-conceptual structure. A 2x3 factorial design was used which incorporated two sequences, general-to-detailed and detailed-to-general, and three levels of synthesizer, i.e., no synthesizer, synthesizer first, and synthesizer last. The subjects were 128 eighth-grade pupils who were randomly assigned to the six treatment groups. Each group viewed a slide/tape presentation followed by a paper-and-pencil test on attributes and relationships of 19 concepts. A two-way analysis of variance revealed that the attributes of the concepts were learned equally well by all groups, but relationships were learned better (1) with a general-to-detailed sequence than with a detailed-to-general sequence (p.<05), and (2) with the synthesizer last (p<.01) or no synthesizer at all (p.<05) than with the synthesizer first. Twenty-five references are provided. (Author/RP)

Self-instructional booklets simulating computer-assisted instruction (CAI) were used to teach four basic concepts in science to first graders in three treatment groups which received different types of feedback--hints, correct answers, and right or wrong. A control group received neither instruction nor feedback. A multiple-choice test was administered to the 47 students in the 4 groups following completion of the instruction. It was found that the group provided with hints had the highest mean; the group provided with the correct answer had the second highest mean; the group provided with right/wrong feedback had the second lowest mean; and the control group had the lowest mean. The results were inconclusive with respect to the hypotheses as there were no significant differences among the group means. Possible causes are suggested in the discussion that concludes the report. A table summarizing the means and standard deviations, a flowchart showing the hypothesized model of relationships between different forms of feedback, and samples of generalities, practice items, and test items are provided. Lists of 12 references and 10 prior IDD&E working papers are also included. (Author/RP)

This report presents an investigation of three hypotheses concerning facial expressions in young children: (1) children seem to emit the same number of changes in facial expressions when they are alone as when they are in contact with another person; (2) the number of facial expressions made when children are along, compared with when they are in contact, with another person, does not vary with age between 4-, 5-, and 6-year-olds; and (3) there are no differences in the number of facial changes made between boys and girls when they are alone and when they are with another person. A total of 15 4-, 5-, and 6-year-olds were observed watching soundless animal movies in a natural classroom setting. An observer quantitatively recorded all changes in facial expression made by each subject as he viewed the movies both by himself and with a friend. Results confirmed only the second hypothesis, and showed that the children studied did make more facial expressions when accompanied by a friend than when alone and that the girls made significantly more facial changes than the boys. (SDH)

College students and college recruiters rated bogus resumes of twelve senior industrial management students who were allegedly seeking employment. In addition to subject population, three variables were systematically varied in each resume: applicant's sex, physical attractiveness, and scholastic standing. The dependent variable was subjects' perceptions of the applicant's suitability for the position of head of a furniture department in a large department store. Significant effects showed that applicants with high scholastic standing were preferred to applicants with low scholastic standing, male applicants were preferred to female applicants, attractive applicants were preferred to unattractive applicants, and applicants were rated more favorably by college students than by recruiters. It appears that the training and experience of college recruiters did not reduce the tendency to discriminate among job applicants on the basis of sex or physical attractiveness. (Author)

Four different methods for inputting enemy situation data--(1) typing, (2) typing with error correction, (3) menus (choosing appropriate entry from a list), and (4) typing with autocompletion and an English option--were compared for speed, accuracy, and ease of use. Thirty-two enlisted men and women, none of whom had used the inputting techniques being studied, were randomly assigned to the four method groups. The subjects acted as intelligence staff entering information about the enemy into a computerized data base. Subjects received free text messages describing enemy actions, extracted necessary information, and entered the appropriate codes into a variation of the Enemy Situation Data Add (ESDA) format of the TOS system. Results indicated that menus were more error free than the other inputting methods; also, menus were popular among the subjects and did not have higher mean times than the other inputting methods. To maximize the benefits of the menus, special attention should be given to the design of an operational menu-based inputting system, particularly with respect to length, display speed, and item selection. Spelling correctors or autocompletion should be considered only for experienced users and in operational settings that specifically require such aids. (CMV)

This study investigated the effects of scorekeeping on student motivation in a computer assisted arithmetic drill and practice game. A 2x2 factorial design was used which incorporated the four treatments formed by time score (present and absent) and rank score (present and absent). Selected on the basis of their previous experience with the procedure of carrying in addition problems, the subjects were 52 second grade students who were randomly assigned to the four treatments. After a brief introduction and demonstration of the rules of the game, each student could elect to play further rounds to a maximum of 15 minutes. Motivation was measured by the number of rounds elected. An analysis of variance calculated for the number of rounds played indicated that there was no significant treatment effect. Discussion of the results and suggestions for further studies conclude the report. (Author/RP)

Focusing on the achievement and motivational effects of analogies of varying enrichment levels when used with abstract, unfamiliar, and difficult content, this study examined their effects on instruction at the recall and application levels using content consisting of both concepts and principles. The subjects were 123 eighth-grade science students who were assigned to one of three treatment groups for each of six topics: (1) no analogy, (2) simple analogy, and (3) enriched analogy. An instructional booklet and a posttest booklet were distributed to each student, and both immediate and delayed posttests were administered. Analysis of variance revealed no significant main effects on any of the immediate posttests, i.e., recall, application, or total. In contrast, significance was approached or reached on 5 of the 12 delayed achievement test measures, 1 on the recall level and 4 on the application level. The results of this study suggest that, although analogies may not be very useful for either rote remember-level learning or application-level learning, they may often be very useful for creating linkages within memory that would have an important influence on meaningful understanding, long-term retention, far transfer, problem solving, and the skill of analogical reasoning. A 31-item reference list is provided. (RP)

This study examined the effects of the type of adjunct questions (use-a-generality, remember-a-generality, and remember-an-instance) and the position of these questions either before the relevant text passage (pre-questions) or after it (post-questions) on the three corresponding performance levels of learning. The subjects were 74 eighth-grade students at a suburban school in Syracuse, New York, and the materials for the learning task consisted of an approximately 450-word passage selected from a social studies textbook for this grade level. Six different treatment groups were used, with each group receiving adjunct questions which varied as to performance level and placement of the questions. The results were analyzed separately for each level of performance as well as for the total test score. None of the effects reached significance for any of the subtests. These results suggest that, in order to optimize learning, the position of the adjunct questions must be taken into account as well as the type of question to be used. An 18-item reference list is provided. (RP)

Inconsistencies in the use of terminology to describe instructional treatments, confounding of discovery and expository methods with other aspects of instruction, and inconsistencies in defining independent and dependent variables within and between studies have all contributed to the lack of definitive conclusions about the effectiveness of different instructional methods. The purpose of this study was to compare the effectiveness of three instructional methods, i.e., expository, discovery, and a modified form of discovery, Component Display Theory, which incorporated the rule given in the expository lesson using a theoretical paradigm for analyzing the components of instruction. The subjects were 50 third-graders from Syracuse, New York, and a concept taken from beginning set theory in conceptual mathematics was selected as the task. While none of the instructional treatments proved to be significantly better on the overall test incorporating both application and transfer subscales, a few differences did emerge through analysis of the subscale results. The findings indicated that explicitly providing a generality, whether at the beginning or at the end of a lesson, will facilitate performance on applying that generality. A 15-item reference list is provided. (RP)