Examines the research on affective variables as they relate to language learning, with particular attention to anxiety. (Author/AM)

Fifth-grade children prerated both abstract and concrete nouns for likability, and paired-associate lists were constructed by pairing nouns. High self-concept children learned liked noun pairs more efficiently than disliked pairs, while the low self-concept children learned disliked noun pairs more readily. These self-concept patterns were most…

Three measures of field dependence were used to determine whether: (1) Mexican American students are more field dependent than Anglo Americans; (2) intercorrelations between the tests are significant and comparable for both cultures; and (3) field dependence significantly affects academic performance. These assumptions were generally not…

Research is discussed on the interactional dynamics between students and teachers in ethnically and culturally pluralistic classrooms. Two distinct cognitive patterns are shown (analytical and relational), as well as important affective characteristics that result in different classroom behaviors and learning styles. (CTM)

A pretest-posttest research design was used to measure changes in three criterion variables of 150 students enrolled in an undergraduate textile class using programmed instructional materials. Findings have implications for the design of organized learning sequences to help individuals process information more efficiently for complex…

Describes a service established at an adult education college in rural England which provides individually oriented correspondence programs of home study supported by personal tutorials. The most unexpected feature of the service's development is the extent to which students from urban locations have chosen to follow individually supervised…

A 9-year-old impulsive boy was treated with a combination of verbal self-instructions and response cost. The program was sequentially applied to inappropriate "switches" in each of three target behaviors (topics, games, rules) according to a multiple baseline design. Positive change in all of the target behaviors was evident at posttreatment.…

Cognitive style, the impulsivity-reflectivity dimension, is reviewed as an individual difference that does significantly affect a learning/teaching situation. Relevance of impulsivity-reflectivity for learners in a problem-solving situation is established. Conclusions emphasize the importance of this individual difference. (Author)

Critically analyzes recent research studies that examine background variables, cognitive style, and psychological type as influences on performance in college-level computer science courses. Implications for matching curriculum and instructional strategies with student characteristics are presented, recommendations for further research are made,…

Two studies investigated an information processing model in explaining the poor academic performance of highly test-anxious students. The first measured the organization of course material by students in a nonevaluative situation; and the second differentiated types of highly test anxious students by their information processing skills.…

This study investigated the effects on reading of matching perceptual strengths of second- and third-grade, below average readers. Experimental groups consisted of 24 predominantly visual and 24 predominantly kinesthetic learners. Gains were significant for experimentals over controls in word recognition and reading comprehension. (Author/BS)

Advances the notion that students should be assigned to classes according to the time of day they learn best. (JC)

Responses to a questionnaire indicated that Japanese college students (N=200) scored highest on the right hemisphere scale, preferring intuitive and creative learning styles, while Kuwaiti students (N=400) scored highest on the left hemisphere scale, preferring planning and precision styles. American students (N=200) scored highest on an…

A study of 48 dental students' learning styles during the four-year program found that students scored higher on one of four possible dimensions (the concrete sequential) each year and that student preference for this dimension increased with progress toward graduation, suggesting its reinforcement by the dental school environment. (MSE)

When the parents and teacher of a minimally brain-injured kindergarten student understood that the cognitive style of this "slow learner" (inaccurately perceived as laziness or immaturity) required her to observe and evaluate before participating in a learning or social activity, they were able to enhance her learning style. (CB)