This study focused on the influence of selected personal factors on North Carolina legislators' perceptions of the North Carolina Agricultural Extension Service. A review of the theories of perception and related research was coupled with interviews with 145 members of the 124th General Assembly of North Carolina. Concepts of the district or…

The following research projects are described in this annual report: (1) "Concept Learning in Discrimination Tasks," which indicates that kindergarten children are able to discriminate the letters "b,""d,""p," and "q"; (2) "Discrimination of Letter-like Forms," indicating that nursery…

The purpose of this investigation was to identify factors involved in adult student achievement and behavior in short concentrated management courses and to develop and test hypotheses regarding these factors in order to provide a basis for improvement of educational practices associated with such courses. One hundred and two adults divided in…

This paper is an empirical statistical analysis and interpretation of data relating to school readiness previously examined and reported on a theoretical basis. A total of 118 white, middle class children from six consecutive kindergarten groups in Dearborn, Michigan were tested with seven instruments, evaluated in terms of achievement, ability,…

A research study compared two methods for individualizing computer-assisted instruction (CAI) training and evaluated the effect of providing a lesson narrative before training. A 2x2 factorial design was used with 96 Navy trainees in the Basic Electricity/Electronics School. The two pretraining conditions were: 1) a narrative overview read before…

The structure of characterizations of college students by faculty members, particularly observable and significant dimensions or trait patterns, were investigated. Student ratings by faculty members on 80 bi-polar traits, together with Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores and high school and college freshman average grades, were obtained.…

209 children residing in an institution for dependent children were used as subjects for the development of an institutional behavior rating scale. Results of a factor analysis are discussed in detail. It is noted that potential uses of the scale are: 1) to give the psychologist a picture of the child's daily functioning in various situations; 2)…

The Pennsylvania Assessment of Creative Tendency (PACT) is an experimental Likert Style Attitude Inventory designed to measure the creative tendency of elementary school children. PACT has been constructed over a period of four years, and has been subjected to item and factor analyses. The reading level has been set at Grade 5.0 or lower. To…

This study serves as a basis for revisions of the Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire (OCDQ) and as the second part of a larger study in which the conceptual model of climate introduced by Halpin and Croft, and the OCDQ, will be revised. The purposes were (1) to determine the factor structure of the OCDQ when a large, national sample…

This study addresses itself to the development of a valid method for identifying a high-risk group of preschool children. The design used is longitudinal and attempts to relate early child and parent behavior patterns to various outcome measures as the child grows older. This paper reports the behavior patterns of a group of two-year-olds and how…

Factor analysis was used to summarize the interrelationships between a large and varied collection of measures. Data for 500 third grade students assigned to either an experimental or a comparison condition were obtained. The data covered scores for the first 28 items of the Student Affective Behavior Checklist, (2) 9 nonmathematics subtests of…

An objective measure of motivation to achieve for preschool children called Gumpgookies is described. It is an objective-projective technique that requires choice between two alternate types of behavior portrayed in pictures and accompanying verbal descriptions. Gumpgookies are amoeba-like creatures who behave in ways intended to show differences…

Three systems for defining general cognitive abilities were analyzed to determine the nature of possible reference tests for cognitive abilities. They are the Guilford analysis of cognition, Guttman's facet design, and the Primary Mental Abilities of the Thurstones. This analysis led to a fourth schema for classifying abilities that deal with…

A factor analysis of test data measuring the results of the Appalachia Preschool Education Program is presented. The program involved three treatments for 3-, 4-, and 5-year-old children. A control group as well as the three treatment groups was tested. A total of 20 subtests was administered; the scores on these comprised the variables that were…

An age-normed test battery was developed for use as a research instrument to assess strengths and weaknesses in the sensory-motor development of elementary school age children. The importance of sensory-motor functions for the child's total development and learning is noted. The experimental sensory-motor test battery consists of 12 subtests, and…