According to John W. Alkinson, a University of Michigan psychologist, the recent decline in scholastic aptitude test scores may be due to overly-high motivation among students. Concerned about increased competition for college and the importance of their test performance, students may become too excited to do well. (SJL)

Compares how Pennsylvania newspaper editors and journalism educators ranked what they considered the most important skills a newsman should have. Both groups agreed that the three most important attributes were the ability to write stories clearly and interestingly, to use the tools of expression (spelling, grammar, punctuation) properly, and to…

Study concludes that university students perform at higher levels when performance is contingent on extrinsic rewards, i. e., final examination grades, and that intrinsic student interests do not differ as a result of this contingency. Suggests relevant topics for future studies. (KC)

Tested effects of three sex variables on managerial career evaluations. The variables were sex of evaluator, sex of manager, and predominate sex of manager's subordinates. Subjects evaluated four managers, in an "in basket" format. Manager's sex and predominate subordinate sex frequently interacted. (Author)

The STAIC (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children) was administered to 1,522 third and fourth grade Black disadvantaged children from a large metropolitan school district. (Author)

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of progressive and gradually increasing speed practice on motor skill acquisition using the pursuit rotor. (JD)

Results of the present experiments on raising expectations are consistent with previous experiments in that the generalization effect, while significant, is smaller in magnitude than the direct effect. (Author)

A study compared pupil perceptions of class position with preference rankings by the teacher. Sample was comprised of one class of eight to 11 year old students in a Catholic school in England. Findings indicated that the teacher's opinion of a child is an important influence on pupil performance and self concept. (Author/DB)

Arguments are presented for a view of teaching which is multi-method, multi-person, multi-situation, and multi-variable. (Author/MJB)

Examined were the effects of the elicitor on the language obtained from nine language-impaired children (3 to 6-years-old) in a clinical setting. (Author/IM)

Brown addresses Schonbach's criticism (previous article) of Brown's tribute to Lenneberg (Cognition, June 1976). Brown reviews various research on codability, recognition, and memory of color names; and encourages the development of new generalizations. Although Whorfian hypotheses are appropriate for studying semantic differences, they have not…

Males and females in kindergarten and third grade predicted whether a boy or a girl would succeed on a masculine or a feminine task. Findings support attribution theory and indicate that differential perceptions of male and female performance exist in young children. (Author)

In a laboratory study designed to investigate variables that affect self-regulatory dysfunctioning, 96 college students volunteered to practice solving mathematics problems similar to those found on graduate school admissions tests. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed. (Author)

Success in obtaining tenure and promotion in the atmosphere of today's colleges is achieved by reaching a balance between publishing, research, community service, and competent performance in the classroom. (JD)

This study does not support the contention that individual differences in distance running ability are primarily due to variations in cardiovascular-respiratory capacity, but that the influences of body size, body composition, and running speed should also be recognized. (MB)