Pettigrew's Category Width Scale was administered to 150 first-year psychology students in a study designed to relate a cognitive style dimension, category width, to individual preferences in information processing strategies. (Author/CM)

Two studies explored one university's application of learner-type segmentation to enable a better understanding of its undergraduate students. Tested the hypothesized segments of "job focused,""knowledge seeker,""socio-economic advantage,""stepper," and "undecided" through surveys and focus groups.…

This study investigated implications of using full rank-ordering information obtained when undergraduate Canadian students are asked to rank orientation preferences on the operationalized Clark-Trow typology. It was hypothesized that orientation blends resulting from first and second rank-ordered orientation choices were predictable. Each…

In a study of individual differences in long-term memory access, university undergraduates verified (1) whether an item was a member of a category; (2) whether two items belonged in the same category; and (3) whether two words had the same name. Reaction times from these tasks were correlated with verbal ability, as measured by performance on a…

Field-dependent and independent subjects sorted geometric and verbal material according to category exemplars, forcing active learning, and then recalled the category locations. Field-independent individuals generally performed better on learning and memory tasks with a more active approach. Active versus passive learning styles are discussed.…

Inherent limitations on the feasibility of experimentation have made it difficult for investigators to formulate an adequate understanding of individuality as a psychological phenomenon. Recently, Fiske (1979) and Sontag (1971) have suggested that application of a longitudinal or developmental strategy might be of some use in remedying this…

Examined the relationship between personality and psychopathology using the Multivariate Personality Inventory (MPI) (N=100). Results showed significant differences among groups, which indicates that the personality groups as defined by the MPI in a normal population perform as would be predicted from work with pathological groups. (JAC)

Individual differences and the role of advance organizers in reading comprehension were examined. Subjects read short passages sometimes preceded by a given type of advance organizer. Good readers showed greater recall of detail given either type of advance organizer; poor readers displayed enhanced recall of detail only for a particular type of…

From Erikson's (1968) psychosocial criteria of crisis and commitment, Marcia (1964) derived four ego identity statuses, i.e., achievement, moratorium, foreclosure, and diffusion. To explore antecedents of Erikson's ego identity construct, 130 college females completed a modified identity status interview, and questionnaires designed to elicit…

A reparameterization of a latent class model is presented to classify and scale nomial and ordered categorical choice data simultaneously. The model extension represents a nonhomogeneous population as a mixture of homogeneous subpopulations. Simulated data and data from a magazine preference survey of 347 college students illustrate the model.…

Four techniques for assessing differences between least-squares estimators of regression coefficients from group and individual-level data are summarized. The utility and suitability of all four approaches are discussed when (1) data are grouped by a nominal characteristic; (2) there are multiple regressors; or (3) individual-level data cannot be…

Questions concerning individual differences in learning ability may be more precisely addressed in light of an agreed-upon taxonomy of learning skills. Existing taxonomies are reviewed, and their shortcomings are described. A taxonomy is then proposed based on a synthesis of current thought consisting of four dimensions: the forms of knowledge;…

Using data from a survey of more than 1,900 first-year students at a large research institution, this study applied J.L. Holland's theory of personality and environment to examine the ways in which students view diversity. Holland categories, individual characteristics such as race and gender and interactions with people of color before college…

A trial advocacy professor who spent some time as an assistant public defender discusses the types of clients the criminal defense lawyer is likely to encounter and offers suggestions for training the advocate to address the problems posed by each defendant type. (Author/MSE)

The objective of this study was to empirically validate West Germans' classifications of 11 attributions according to dimensions of locus, stability, controllability, predictability, and globality. The West German sample was then compared to an American sample. It is believed that West Germans and Americans develop different beliefs about the…