Negation as a logical operation was studied in a block sorting task in which children aged three through seven had to identify the set of not-X and not-XY from a domain of 18 blocks varying in shape and color. Seven experiments were carried out in which number of correct responses, error types, and response latencies were analyzed. For negation…

The purpose of the study was to examine instructional sequences to determine how prior experience with subordinate tasks affected mastery of a superordinate task and to determine the overall efficiency of performance within a sequence. In Experiment I, 72 fifth graders were presented tasks in addition problems from a modulo-twelve system; in…

The ability to resist distraction is an important requirement for air traffic controllers. The study examined the relationship between performance on the Stroop color-word interference test (a suggested measure of distraction susceptibility) and impairment under auditory distraction on a task requiring the subject to generate random sequences of…

Two studies were performed to evaluate the extent to which response patterns and sustained attentiveness is a function of the demands of a secondary task, primary task difficulty, and feedback arrangements. The first study varied primary task stimulus difficulty level, feedback arrangements on the primary task, and presence of the secondary task.…

This instrument was designed to record an observation of an individual student's behavior while engaged in a purposeful learning task. The observer must check the appropriate response for each area tested. There is space for written comments. (See TM 001 369 for further information; for a description of the total project, see TM 001 363; for other…

THE GENERAL PROBLEM UNDER INVESTIGATION CONCERNED TWO PROCESSES OF CONCEPT FORMATION - THE DEDUCTIVE REASONING PROCESS AND THE ASSOCIATIVE PROCESS - EMPLOYED BY CHILDREN OF ELEMENTARY-SCHOOL AGE. IT WAS ASSUMED THAT BOTH OF THESE PROCESSES ARE FOUND IN VARYING DEGREES AMONG CHILDREN OF DIFFERENT AGES AND MENTAL ABILITIES, DEPENDING UPON THE…

EXPERIMENTS WERE CONDUCTED TO DETERMINE THE EXTENT TO WHICH (1) EXPERIMENTALLY INDUCED ANXIETY INFLUENCES ABILITY TEST PERFORMANCE AND (2) THE VARIOUS PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL MEASURES OF ANXIETY ARE RELATED. HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS WERE ADMINISTERED THE FOLLOWING MEASURES OF ANXIETY--(1) S-R INVENTORY OF ANXIOUSNESS, (2) AFFECT ADJECTIVE…

Ways suggested for principals to categorize tasks according to importance in order to allocate time more effectively. (Author/MLF)

Reports on an initial inquiry into children's compliant response inhibition, their tendencies to accomplish and maintain the inhibition of an attractive activity upon the request of an adult socialization agent. (Author/MP)

Examines the possible effects of cultural and epistemological factors, such as mythicomagical and empiricoscientific thought, on conservation task performance. (BD)

The differential effects of delayed auditory feedback (DAF) upon four tasks varying in cognitive complexity were examined with undergraduates as subjects. The tasks were the construction or reading of a prose passage, and reading or naming, in a specified sequential order, word labels or pictorial representations of objects attached to a display…

Test performance and reported anxiety levels of high and low test-anxious subjects taking either a regular exam or an exam containing brief, written relaxation instructions were compared. High test-anxious subjects performed more poorly and reported greater worry and emotionality. Results provide greater external validity for Test Anxiety Scale.…

Five-year-old children were trained on the length relationships between adjacent members of a five-term series of sticks, and subsequently tested on their abilities (1) to judge the length relationships between nonadjacent pairs of the series, and (2) to incorporate an unseen novel stick into the series through inference. (CM)

Discussed is a model for goal setting, which is based on Locke's theory that difficult but clear and specific goals, if accepted, will result in higher performance than easy goals, nonspecific goals, or no goals at all. (Author/RK)