Some aspects of a general systems theory of second language acquisition are as follows: the system is greater than the sum of its parts; each component has a distinctive role in the overall operation of the system; some components may be entire systems themselves; the workings of the system proceed according to patterns, and rules for any given…

The report describes the procedures followed in identifying and analyzing social incentives which might be used in Air Force technical training. Questionnaire techniques were used to scale a list of 62 potential incentives for attractiveness, feasibility, and other characteristics. Personal motives, background variables, and ambiguous surface…

Empirical techniques are developed that may be used in conjunction with data stored in the Institutional Profile System to enhance present capabilities of assessing group structure in medical schools. Relevant literature is reviewed, and the institutionally descriptive data available for analysis and their manipulation into researchable formats…

The problem of interpreting the dimensionality underlying binary test data is addressed. Medical school students were tested on both achievement and aptitude measures. The person-by-test (aptitude) interaction matrix was factor-analyzed to identify patterns of individual differences. The resultant groups of similar patterns were used as the…

A multi-dimensional construct of self-esteem has been proposed and subjected to initial testing through design of a self-report instrument. Item clusters derived from Rao's canonical and principal axis factor analyses are consistent with the hypothesized construct and have substantial internal reliability. Factor analysis of item clusters produced…

In this study, the data originally used by Hemphill, Griffiths, and Frederiksen in their "Whittman" study of principals' behavior patterns were factor analyzed using psychometric techniques. Results of the analysis substantiated four of the eight originally defined dimensions of administrative behavior, and an additional important factor termed…

This report gives some simple examples of stability for one factor and 2 x 2 factorial analysis of variance, reliability and correlations. The findings are very different: from superstability (no transformation whatsoever can change the result) to almost total instability. This is followed by a discussion of applications to multivariate analysis,…

Economic trends in the 1960's in the Iowa rural renewal area, Appanoose and Monroe counties, show that the level of economic activity increased in the area but was clearly below the level for the state. Economic trends suggest that to provide economic opportunities in the area, by 1980, comparable to those available on the average to all residents…

To provide empirical data from which inferences could be made about the definition of critical reading and also the relationship between critical reading and critical thinking were the main objectives of this study. The Reading Comprehension Test; the Test of Critical Thinking, Form G; the Nelson-Denny Reading Test, Form A; and the Lorge-Thorndike…

Psychometric characteristics and factor structure of the Reading Comprehension Test (CR) and the Test of Critical Thinking, Form G (CT) were studied in an effort to determine basic dimensions of critical reading and critical thinking and to discover the relationship between these two. The two tests were administered to 57 Florida high-school…

Speech specialists have developed a taxonomy of concepts and abilities related to verbal argument as used in ordinary discourse. This study represents one possible step in the validation of that taxonomy: an evaluation of the Wisconsin Tests of Testimony and Reasoning Assessment (WISTTRA) and the underlying abilities or dimensions measured by…

The Picture Interpretation Test (Torrance and Grossman, 1967) was used in a battery of creative tests as part of a construct validity test. The test was administered to 46 boys and 37 girls in five first grade classrooms in a Clayton County, Georgia, elementary school. The purpose of the test was to measure the child's ability to "read a…

An examination was begun of the development of an individual's ability to adhere to standards and to reward himself for only those performances above criterion. Also to be determined were what social variables affect this ability. Two experiments were run that placed 8- to 10-year-olds in a situation with a miniature bowling game (secretly…

To determine common training requirements of secondary-level vocational teachers, a factor analysis was made of responses by 40 randomly selected vocational teachers representing four states: Pennsylvania, Iowa, North Carolina, and New Jersey. Teacher responses consisted of the assignment of ratings to 40 items on a Likert-type scale. Ten teachers…

This study examined differences in the number of perceptual judgment modifications made by 36 subjects showing different levels of dogmatism when the source of information was manipulated among superior, subordinate, and peer sources. An experimental and a control group were used, and a 2x3 factorial analysis design was developed. Dogmatism was…