Affection as a separate dimension of meaningfulness

The meaningfulness of affectively significant (liked) materials has been shown to be separate from traditional explanations of meaningfulness, such as familiarity and rehearsal, in the verbal learning laboratory. The present investigation studied affective meaningfulness in the learning of course materials. Before the course began, students rated summaries of the study units of their course for affection. As predicted, subjects obtained higher examination grades on liked topics than on disliked topics, independently of perhaps the most prominent “rehearsal” explanation, amount of study on the various units. Also as expected, poor students showed a greater reliance on affective meaningfulness in their learning than did good students. Greater awareness of the role of affection in learning is recommended. Present findings suggest that considering this dimension of meaningfulness to be merely a by-product of familiarity or rehearsal may be the most detrimental to the students with the most learning difficulty.     

Comparison of intellectual performance of Chicano and Anglo third-grade boys on the Raven's coloured progressive matrices

The present study compares the nonverbal intellectual performance as measured by the Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices of 68 Chicano and 28 Anglo third-grade boys. An important aspect of the study was the attempt to control for problems related to SES, language status of the subjects, and cultural content of the testing instrument. The null hypothesis of no difference was rejected, as the Anglo group scored significantly higher than did the Chicano group. The results were discussed in terms of ω² (omega square), a measure of statistical association. Because only 4% of the variance of the Raven's scores could be accounted for by ethnicity, it was concluded that the ethnicity variable does not effectively predict intelligence.     

类别感知对类别学习中额外特征学习的影响

两个实验采用联结学习范式,分别探讨知觉类别和语义类别材料中,类别感知对特征学习的影响.结果发现,即使是在联结学习范式中,当学习者感知学习材料存在类别时,不仅关注可以有效预测结果的特征,也会关注类别中的其他特征.同时,在知觉类别和语义类别材科中都发现了相同的结果.本实验结果说明,当学习者感知学习材料中存在类别时,即使是在联结学习范式中,学习者也会像类别学习范式中一样,学习额外特征,支持对存在类别的感知,是影响学习者特征学习的重要原因.     

Automatic Activation of Adolescents’ Peer‐Relational Schemas: Evidence From Priming With Facial Identity

This study provides experimental evidence for automatic, relationship‐specific social information processing in 13‐year‐old adolescents. Photographs of participants’ liked, disliked, and unknown peers were used as primes in an affective priming task with happy and angry facial expression probes and in a hypothetical vignette task. For the affective priming, reaction times were faster for congruent than for incongruent prime–probe pairs when the prime visibility was high and the prime–probe stimulus onset asynchrony was long. In the vignette task, participants attributed more hostility toward the protagonist, experienced more anger, and were more likely to retaliate when the disliked peer served as a prime. It is concluded that peer‐relational schemas and related affect are activated automatically upon perception of a peer.     

A Comparison of Aggressive-Rejected and Nonaggressive-Rejected Children's Interpretations of Self-Directed and Other-Directed Rejection

The hypothesis that aggressive-rejected children are unaware of their social status because they are self-protective when processing negative peer feedback was tested in 3 studies. In Study 1, fourth-grade girls and boys were asked to name peers they liked or disliked, as well as peers they thought liked or disliked them. Comparisons of aggressive-rejected, nonaggressive-rejected, and average status groups revealed that aggressive-rejected children were more unrealistic in their assessments of their social status than were nonaggressive-rejected children. In Study 2, rejected and average boys identified in Study 1 were asked to name who they thought liked or disliked other children from their classroom. Comparisons of perceived and actual nominations for peers revealed that aggressive-rejected children were able to assess the social status of others as well as did nonaggressive-rejected and average status children. Because the difficulties aggressive-rejected children demonstrated in Study 1 did not generalize to judging the status of others in Study 2, the self-protective hypothesis was supported. Study 3 provided a parallel test of this hypothesis under more controlled conditions. Subjects from Study 2 viewed other children receiving rejection feedback from peers in videotaped interactions and received similar feedback themselves from experimental confederates. While all subjects rated self-directed feedback somewhat more positively than other-directed feedback, aggressive-rejected subjects had the largest self-favoring discrepancy between their judgments of self- and other-directed feedback. These findings also suggest that aggressive-rejected children may make self-protective "errors" when judging other children's negative feelings about them. Ethnicity differences in evaluating peer feedback emerged in Studies 1 and 3, raising questions about the impact of minority status on children's evaluations of rejection feedback.     

Introduction

Personal narratives are powerful tools that can be used to introduce competing mindsets into the academic discourse. They are especially powerful if they challenge a master narrative that seeks to portray the weak or powerless, such as Chicanos, in negative images or social contexts. This paper uses personal narrative to examine how Chicanos perceived the 1970s as a period of change in academe, one that would increase their presence and voice. The personal narrative also examines how academe is structured and organized to constrain the Chicano’s search for presence and voice.     

Peer tutoring effects on students who are perceived as not socially accepted

Peer tutoring is effective in increasing academic skills with both the regular and special education populations. Studies also have reported significant findings in the social/affective realm, such as social acceptance. In spite of the numerous studies investigating the effects of tutoring on social benefits, results are inconclusive. It is important to establish the extent to which peer tutoring can be used, especially as a technique for social change. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a structured peer tutoring program on the social acceptance of students. Students perceived as not socially accepted were paired with students who were rated as well liked. Both had the opportunity to serve as tutors and tutees. Participants were administered a questionnaire, pre-and postintervention. The results were significant for type of student, distinguishing between those students rated as liked and those rated as disliked. The results also showed that students in the control group were rated higher on the “dislike” category than were those in the treatment conditions. Significance was obtained for the experimental groups on a time variable, suggesting that regardless of role (tutor vs. tutee) change in acceptance would occur over time. However, evaluation by mean analysis suggested that the students who were rated as disliked and served as tutors were rated as liked more following treatment.     

Relations of Preschoolers' Social Acceptance to Peer Ratings and Self-Perceptions

To examine the relations of preschoolers' social acceptance to peer ratings and self-perceptions, 53 preschoolers were asked to rate how much they liked or disliked their peers and to justify these ratings. Preschoolers also rated their peers' aggressive, prosocial, and sociable behavior. Finally, they completed a pictorial self-perception scale that assessed their views of their physical competence and their relationships with mother and with peers. Children who were better liked by peers were rated as more prosocial, more sociable, and less aggressive than less liked children. Preschoolers often reported liking certain peers because they perceived that those peers liked them; they often reported disliking certain peers because they perceived those peers as aggressive. In contrast to findings with older children, preschoolers' social acceptance was not significantly related to any aspect of their self-perceptions. The results provide evidence for the validity of peer ratings by preschool-age children and bring up issues related to the development and assessment of self-perceptions among preschoolers.     

Relations of Preschoolers' Social Acceptance to Peer Ratings and Self-Perceptions

To examine the relations of preschoolers' social acceptance to peer ratings and self-perceptions, 53 preschoolers were asked to rate how much they liked or disliked their peers and to justify these ratings. Preschoolers also rated their peers' aggressive, prosocial, and sociable behavior. Finally, they completed a pictorial self-perception scale that assessed their views of their physical competence and their relationships with mother and with peers. Children who were better liked by peers were rated as more prosocial, more sociable, and less aggressive than less liked children. Preschoolers often reported liking certain peers because they perceived that those peers liked them; they often reported disliking certain peers because they perceived those peers as aggressive. In contrast to findings with older children, preschoolers' social acceptance was not significantly related to any aspect of their self-perceptions. The results provide evidence for the validity of peer ratings by preschool-age children and bring up issues related to the development and assessment of self-perceptions among preschoolers.     

Pupils’ Liking for Physical Education as a School Subject

Stensaasen, S. 1975. Pupils’ Liking for Physical Education as a School Subject. Scand. J. educ. Res. 19, 111‐129. The intention of the present study was to assess adolescent pupils’ liking for physical education as a school subject and what aspects of this subject they particularly liked and disliked. The empirical data stem from 1321 pupils at the 7th, 8th and 9th grades levels at youth schools situated in eight densely populated areas in south‐east Norway. Data on the pupils’ liking for physical education and other school subjects were gathered by means of a five‐graded Likert scale and on aspects which the pupils liked or disliked by means of open‐ended questions. Physical education was found to be one ‘of the best liked subjects in school. No sex or grade differences could be detected. The results showed a very high degree of consistency over time from fall to spring.     

Affective Bias in Children''s Perceptions of Dominance Relationships

This study investigated children's perceptions of the relative strength of themselves and their peers, in 2 classes of 8-year-olds and 2 classes of 11-year-olds. Each child ranked his or her entire class in terms of strength and liking. Previous investigators have assumed that such strength perceptions reflect the dominance structure of the group. The present results, replicating previous findings, indicate that children consistently overestimate their place in this hierarchy in relation to their peers' perceptions. In addition, it was found that bias in perceptions of strength extended in a systematic way to the peer group, with liked peers being overranked and disliked peers being underranked. For most children, this result could be explained in terms of an enhanced evaluation of liked, but not disliked, peers, or in terms of liked, but not disliked, peers being perceived as similar to themselves. The theoretical and methodological implications of these results for the concept of dominance in children's groups are discussed.     

奇卡诺自我身份探究肇始——以文本为例

二十世纪六、七十年代的奇卡诺民权运动,波及了美国社会的各个领域。在当时的文学界,奇卡诺作家开始觉醒,主动对抗白人文学中对墨西哥裔移民的定型描写。本文试图分析在此运动期间,奇卡诺作家如何尝试使用自己特有的语言书写形式——西班牙语和英语的混合体——来进行自身身份的初步探索,从而证实此时期的奇卡诺作品在整个以自我身份探究为主题的奇卡诺文学发展进程中的不可忽视的地位和作用。     

Communicating education information to anglo and hispanic populations

The authors wanted to know whether — and how — the Hispanic and Anglo populations in southwestern Texas were receiving information about a new public school program for handicapped youth. Gathering information through personal interviews and bilingual questionnaires, they learned that 54% of Anglos, and 43% of Hispanics, were aware of the program. Of those, about half of both ethnic groups had first learned of it through television spots. But the proportion of Hispanics learning first through social relations was greater (28% compared with 18% for Anglos). Although the per person cost of creating initial awareness through social relations was considerably greater ($43.38 compared with $11.96 for TV spots), it is of interest that a fairly large number of Hispanics receive educational information through social contact with those who hear it from mass media.     

The school closure issue and the Chicano community: A follow-up study of theAngeles case

The present study is a follow-up study of theAngeles school closure case in which three predominantly Chicano elementary schools in Santa Barbara, California were closed due to declining enrollment in the District. Nearly 600 Chicano children were dispersed to five predominantly Anglo schools. The plaintiffs were a group of Chicano parents and their children, claiming the exclusive burden of the closures was placed on minorities. The present study is an attempt to investigate several adverse effects hypotheses predicted at the trial by the author who testified as an expert witness. Specifically, four major hypotheses were investigated that dealt with psychological maladjustment, academic decline, parental involvement decline, and adverse community impact. The subjects of the study were 50 respondent Mexican American mothers, randomly chosen from the closed schools' population. The respondents were primarily Spanish-speaking and of very low socioeconomic status. Based on the results of a comprehensive home interview, it was concluded that there is convincing evidence that the closures have indeed created a significant burden on a large majority of the children and their families. The long term implications of the closures are complex, but there is a strong possibility that the adverse impact of the closures will increase the already high probability of school problems and failure for the affected children as they progress through the educational system.     

An exploratory study on singaporean secondary school students’ perceptions of choral learning

This paper explores 122 secondary school students’ perceptions of the choral learning environment. A survey questionnaire was developed taking into consideration the responses of a pilot study in which students were requested to list what they liked and disliked about the choir. The participants rated their degree of agreement on a five-point scale on psychosocial and other perspectives of choral learning. Three research questions were posed: (1) What are Singaporean secondary school students’ perceptions of choral learning? (2) Are there any gender differences in their perceptions of choral learning? (3) Are there any across school differences in their perceptions of choral learning? The findings of the study were discussed from the perspective of Singapore’s education and learning environment research.     

Potentiation of taste and extract stimuli in conditioned flavor preference learning

In these experiments, we investigated the nature of potentiation in the conditioned flavor preference paradigm. Almond and banana extracts, which have strong odor components, were combined with salt and saccharin (liked tastes; Experiment 1) or quinine and citric acid (disliked tastes; Experiment 2) in a flavor preference procedure that mixed these solutions with a caloric reinforcer (polycose). The results showed that liked tastes potentiated preference conditioning to extracts (Experiment 1), whereas extracts potentiated preference conditioning to disliked tastes (Experiment 2). In both experiments, the presumably less liked stimulus (i.e., the extract in Experiment 1 and the disliked taste in Experiment 2) was the potentiated cue.     

Preschool peer communication skills: the role of social status and interaction context

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relation between social status and discourse skills in preschool children. Using peer nominations, 48 acquainted preschool children were classified as liked, disliked, or low impact. Children were videotaped in freeplay interactions in which one child entered the play of a pair of same-sex peers. Social status differences were found primarily in skills contributing to coherent discourse. Specifically, liked children were more inclined to direct their initiations clearly, to speak to both interaction partners rather than just one, to respond contingently to others, to acknowledge others, and to reinitiate when rejecting. Liked children were also better able to adapt to the differing social demands of entry versus nonentry contexts in that they were more likely to give information and less likely to express their feelings when entering a group. Deficits in communication skill were greater for disliked children than for low-impact children. Results indicate that communication skills that contribute to coherent discourse are fundamental to social interaction and may influence young children's peer acceptance.     

The influence of examiners' ethnic attributes on intelligence test scores

The study investigated the effect of examiners' ethnicity on the intelligence test performance of Anglo and Mexican-American subjects. Two verbal subtests of the WISC and the Raven Progressive Matrices, a nonverbal intelligence test, were administered by two Anglo and two Mexican-American examiners. All subjects (N=96) were given half the items of each test by an Anglo and half by a Mexican-American examiner. On two of the three tests, the subjects' performance was unaffected by examiner's ethnic attributes. On the WISC Vocabulary, however, Mexican-American subjects scored significantly higher when the test was administered by Mexican-American examiners. The generalizability of these results and their implications for learning in schools are discussed.     

Cognitive Style and Pupil Learning Preferences

A total of 78 12‐year‐old pupils from four secondary comprehensive schools were given the computer‐presented Cognitive Styles Analysis, which determined the position of each pupil on two learning style dimensions: Wholist‐Analytic and Verbal‐Imagery. They were also given individually a structured interview questionnaire to assess their learning preferences in English and science in terms of: (a) mode of working, (b) task outcomes and (c) social context. The English and science teachers were asked to rate the achievement level of the pupils in their subject and this was used as an index of ability. The main findings were as follows, (a) Preferred Mode of Working: As expected, there was a tendency for Imagers to use pictures and Verbalisers to prefer writing, and this increased with ability and what the subject would naturally allow. There was evidence that lower ability pupils were more constrained by the usual format for the subject than were those of higher ability, (b) Social Context: Overall, Group or Pair was preferred to Individual work. Group work was particularly liked by Wholists and especially by lower ability Wholist‐Imagers. Individual work was least disliked by Analytics, particularly in the case of higher ability Verbalisers (c) Task Outcomes. For open versus closed tasks, open tasks were preferred by lower ability pupils, while high‐ability Wholist‐Imagers preferred closed tasks. The findings were discussed in terms of their implications for current practice.     

Learning Style Preferences of Armenian, African, Hispanic, Hmong, Korean, Mexican, and Anglo Students in American Secondary Schools

This is a study concerning the basic perceptual learning style preferences (auditory, visual, kinesthetic, and tactile) and preferences for group and individual learning of Armenian, African, Hispanic, Hmong, Korean, Mexican, and Anglo students in American secondary schools. The results of the study reveal significant ethnic group and sex differences in their learning style preferences, as well as students' achievement level differences. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.