The effects of two interdependent group contingencies, group-average and group-individual, on math performance and verbal interaction were investigated. In a group-average contingency the average performance of the members of the group must meet a set criterion level. In a group-individual contingency each member of the group must meet a set…

This paper reviews research about how reading affects behavior. Chapter one gives a general introduction to reading effects and their implications for librarians, educators, and other professionals. The second chapter deals specifically with the 66 studies that have examined reading's influence on attitudes and emotions, analyzing these studies…

The use of the behavioral science principle of contingency in several approaches to teaching beginning reading is discussed in this paper. The failure to provide a contingent relationship between the given reading skill and student success in demonstrating the skill can lead to repeated apparent successes without the student actually manifesting…

Male and female subjects judged an essay purportedly written by an attractive or an unattractive female author. The attractive author was rated as significantly more talented by male judges. Female judges rated the attractive author less talented although this difference was not statistically significant. A second experiment concerned ratings by…

To assess the relation between role perception and persuasion tactics, 58 first and third graders were asked to describe: (a) their mother, teacher and friend; (b) how they would persuade each of these individuals in different situations; and (c) how these others would persuade them. Results suggest that children are able to differentiate among…

A study was conducted to examine whether androgynous individuals would view out-of-role implicit behavior by both male and female managers more positively than would either masculine or feminine individuals and whether low status behavior by the managers would be rated as being more considerate than high status behavior. Two weeks after completing…

A study was conducted to examine speech interruption patterns as an index of communication dominance and gender differences in language behavior. Six graduate student groups involving a total of 35 subjects were videotaped. The data extracted for study were 255 transcribed interruption sequences. A category system was developed and used to code…

The purpose of this educational research project is to assess whether teachers actually encourage and foster (invite) their elementary students to solve problems. Teacher invitations are verbal and nonverbal messages sent to students either intentionally or unintentionally. Teacher invitations are significant because they indicate the teacher's…

A study was conducted to examine the influence of parents' attitudes toward and use of media on their college-age children's media use and attitudes. Telephone interviews were conducted with 400 university students in the Northeast, and a questionnaire was sent to their parents. Both instruments measured media use variables, attitudes toward the…

Four coorientation variables--congruency, accuracy, agreement, and feelings of being understood--were examined after each of 15 meetings of a discussion group composed of 12 graduate students in education. It was hypothesized that group members' accuracy and agreement regarding salient group issues would increase over time, and that congruency and…

This study explored competition and styles of research in the fields of education, political science, sociology, and psychology. The paper is based on a theory which considers science as a competitive activity. Basic, non-applied, experimental, and "high qualitative" research styles are considered more advantageous to competition because (1) they…

This paper describes a study of the relationship between terminology in psychological studies and prevailing social conditions at the time of the studies. It is proposed that researchers reflect societal concerns by their choice of semantic markers (terminology). Over 3,000 psychological studies from 1900-72 were analyzed in terms of their…

This paper reports on a study of the involvement of high school students with instructional activities. It was hypothesized that student involvement depends on expectations for success, importance of the action to the achievement of success, and confidence that the action is appropriate for the achievement of success. Eighty-eight students…

This research report describes an analysis of the ways state legislative policy makers in Arizona, California, and Oregon engage in the process of turning political interests and pressures into public policies. The purpose is to provide insights into the overall processes of social science utilization within state legislatures, using a behavioral…

The communication apprehension and interpersonal needs of college students in the People's Republic of China were examined and compared to similar data on college students in the United States, Korea, Japan, and Australia. The instruments used in the studies were the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA) and the Fundamental…