Threat emanating from financial markets may intimidate college students to some degree. In this article, the authors considered the influence of such intimidation on student financial market knowledge. They hypothesized a negative relationship between intimidation and market knowledge. An empirical study of over 150 undergraduate business school…

This article describes ethnographic decision tree modeling (EDTM; C. H. Gladwin, 1989) as a mixed method design appropriate for counseling psychology research. EDTM is introduced and located within a postpositivist research paradigm. Decision theory that informs EDTM is reviewed, and the 2 phases of EDTM are highlighted. The 1st phase, model…

The question arises whether the effects of collective bargaining in the public sector will resemble the consequences for private enterprise. Using assumptions drawn from private sector experience, this study investigated the impact of collective bargaining on the school principal from the perspectives of rules orientation, status anxiety, role…

The Subject-Verb-Object (S-V-O) approach to social cognition was used to study some traditional balance theory problems and several additional problems as well. (Editor)

Educational theories must be put to the test in a holistic manner that allows researchers to make decisions about recalcitrant research findings, whether revising the theory, amending initial conditions, rejecting observational evidence, or correcting the logic of the theory-observation-deduction. Pragmatic judgments are more important than…

Preparation of this paper facilitated by Grant GS-1741 from the Division of Social Sciences of the National Science Foundation.

McCauley, Stitt, Woods and Lipton's finding that groups were more conservative than individuals when betting at a race track has been criticized on statistical and methodological grounds. This study evaluates their research and sustains their general results and conclusions. (Editor/RK)

Decisions to terminate training for subjects involved with discrete trial experiments in discrimination learning should utilize a probability criterion rather than a deterministic criterion. Furthermore, these decisions should be based upon the number of correct and error responses made by the subject, with the decision made to terminate training…

Describes a computer-based method of confidence-testing, available in batch processing and interactive form, which improves a student's ability to assess probabilities during clinical diagnosis. The methods and results of three experiments are presented. (EAO)

Reviews the major tenets of the groupthink hypothesis of Irving Janis, as well as the research on which it is based. Reviews previous research on group dynamics related to groupthink. Proposes guidelines for research to test the propositions of groupthink. (Author/RC)

Describes a study designed to discover how community college students enrolled in algebra and English grammar courses used the available learner-control features of the TICCIT (Time-Shared Interactive Computer-Controlled Information Television) computer-assisted instruction system. Results indicate learner-control options were utilized but no…

Presents a meta-analysis of research concerning the effectiveness of learner control in tutorial computer-assisted instruction based on a model of control as decision making plus information. Results are discussed which suggest that instructional design in learner control research should be based on model building rather than hypothesis testing.…

This booklet provides some systematic guidelines for assisting educational planners to discriminate between high-quality educational research and research that should not be relied on for decision making. The guidelines focus on educational research studies that employ either experimental or survey-research methodologies. A checklist is presented…

Too few researchers understand what statistical significance testing does and does not do, and consequently their results are misinterpreted. This Digest explains the concept of statistical significance testing and discusses the meaning of probabilities, the concept of statistical significance, arguments against significance testing,…

Reports on survey studying the human-machine interface in Canadian university, public, and special libraries. Highlights include position category and educational background of 118 participants, participants' feelings toward automation, physical effects of automation, diffusion in decision making, interpersonal communication, future trends,…