PSYCHOLOGICAL FOUNDATIONS OF ADULT EDUCATION.

TWO PAPERS ARE INCLUDED IN THIS BULLETIN. THE MILTON SCHWARTZ PAPER, "THEORIES OF MOTIVATION AND THEIR APPLICATION TO ADULT EDUCATION," SURVEYS THE THINKING, RESEARCH, AND CONCLUSIONS OF SOME OF THE LEADING FIGURES CONCERNED WITH SOCIAL MOTIVATION. THE AUTHOR ATTEMPTS TO CLASSIFY THESE THEORIES BY GENERATING A TWO-DIMENSIONAL SCHEMA OF SOCIAL MOTIVATION. THE HORIZONTAL CONTINUUM INCLUDES POSTIVE-STRIVING THEORIES ON ONE END AND NEED-REDUCTION VIEWS ON THE OTHER. THE VERTICAL CONTINUUM PUTS ACHIEVEMENT MOTIVATION ON ONE END AND AFFILIATION-COMFORT NEEDS ON THE OTHER. AN ATTEMPT IS MADE TO DEMONSTRATE THE UTILITY OF THE SCHEMA THROUGH EXAMPLES FROM STATEMENTS OF ADULT EDUCATION STUDENTS. RICHARD LANYON, IN "PSYCHOLOGICAL LEARNING THEORY, APPLICATION TO ADULT EDUCATION," REVIEWS SOME OF THE MAJOR THINKING OF SCHOLARS IN THE FIELD OF ANIMAL LEARNING (CRUCIAL FACTORS OF AMOUNT OF PRACTICE AND REINFORCEMENT), EXAMINES FINDINGS IN THE FIELD OF HUMAN VERBAL LEARNING (ADDED CRUCIAL FACTORS OF MEANINGFULNESS AND ORGANIZATION OF MATERIALS), AND THEN SUMMARIZES APPLICATIONS OF THESE PRINCIPLES TO EDUCATION. THE AUTHOR DESCRIBES TEACHING MACHINES AS MAKING DIRECT USE OF THESE IMPORTANT PRINCIPLES OF LEARNING AND HE MAKES SUGGESTIONS FOR THEIR APPLICATION IN REGULAR CLASSROOM TEACHING. THIS DOCUMENT IS ALSO AVAILABLE FROM THE UNIVERSITY EXTENSION DIVISION, RUTGERS, THE STATE UNIVERSITY, 35 COLLEGE AVE., NEW BRUNSWICK, NEW JERSEY. (EB)