Correlation of the Learning Environment Inventory with a semantic differential attitude test indicated that three learning environment variables (goal direction, satisfaction, and classroom organization) fostered positive attitudes toward chemistry. Course difficulty, interpersonal tension, and course speed were related to negative attitudes. (CP)

Describes three case studies presented in a British science course to show the impact of industrial chemicals on people's lives, and how students can evaluate various factors involved in a particular case study. References and a list of factors for each case study are also included. (HM)

The development and validation of three instruments for the multidimensional assessment of a child's classroom behavior are described. The multidimensional nature, internal consistency, and test-retest properties of scales depicting teacher-, peer-, and self-rated behavior are explicated. Principal-components analyses demonstrate the convergent…

Six personality measures, measures of stress, self-reported health status and coping, and a measure of social desirability were administered to samples of college students and adults (n=589) in a series of four studies. Correlations among these measures and evidence for a higher order factor called Health Proneness factor are discussed. (SLD)

This study reports on the development and psychometric properties of a new 87-item Mathematics Information Processing Scale that explores learning strategies, metacognitive problem-solving skills, and attentional deployment. Results with 340 college students support the use of the instrument, for which factor analysis identified five theoretically…

Used the Revised Class Play measure to examine measurement of peer perceptions of behavioral reputation in elementary, middle, and high school environments. Found that data did not fit the original 3-factor structure; cross-loading of items and different patterns of association between subscales across age groups contributed to poor fit.…

Comparisons of aptitude factor structures were made in nationally representative samples of young black, white, and Hispanic American men and women who took the Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery (ASVAB) (n=9,173). Tests reflecting content common in high school curricula showed few sex or ethnic differences. Other differences are…

The stability of some dimensions of ability between the ages of 12 and 15 years was investigated for 225 boys and 242 girls in Sweden. Testing in grades 6, 8, and 9 indicated high stability for the general intelligence factor and for the residual of the General Visual factor. (SLD)

Using the Mayo Older Americans Normative Studies (MOANS) group (526 55-to 97-year-old adults), factor models were examined for the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R); the Wechsler Memory Scale (WMS); and a core battery of the WAIS-R, the WMS, and the Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning Test. (SLD)

Defines playfulness in human-computer interactions in terms of flow theory and explores the dimensionality of the flow concept. Two studies are reported that investigated the factor structure and correlates of flow in human-computer interactions: one examined MBA students using Lotus 1-2-3 spreadsheet software, and one examined employees using…

Choice of leisure activity expressed by students and one parent each from four countries supports a three-dimensional factor structure of leisure dimensions, identified as aesthetic-intellectual, sports, and social-entertainment. Subjects were 642 U.S., 174 French, 243 Danish, and 139 New Zealand college students and their parents. (SLD)

Psychometric characteristics and factorial replicability of the factor structure of the adolescent version (grades 7-12) of the Walker-McConnell Scale of Social Competence and School Adjustment were studied in an initial wave (n=266) of the national normative sample. The version studied has substantial utility in assessing adolescent social…

A study involving 102 high school students (49 males and 53 females) from Taiwan revealed that the order of response scale labels had a primacy effect on subjects' choices of the alternatives in Likert-type attitude scales. Practical implications of the response-order effects for measurement are discussed. (SLD)

Extensions of the confirmatory factor analysis approach to multitrait-multimethod data are demonstrated, and self-other agreement on multiple dimensions of self-concept are evaluated in 2 studies investigating the ability of significant others to infer multiple dimensions of self-concept for 151 Australian and 941 Canadian college students. (SLD)

The Computer Attitude Scale was adapted for use with Turkish university students. Translation to Turkish and back to English established the scale. Results with 282 university students indicates the utility of the scale with Turkish students, although the construct functions differently between the cultures. (SLD)