A longitudinal study of relations between outer-directedness and IQ changes in preschoolers.

The study was designed to determine whether outer-directedness, measured by glances at E during object assembly tasks administered according to the Turnure and Zigler (1964) procedure, predicts changes in preschoolers' Binet IQs over 6 months. With MA as a covariate to control for the small but significant relationship betweeen glances and developmental level, an ANOCOVA showed a significant interaction resulting from increases in the IQs of non-outer-directed Ss and declines in the IQs of outer-directed Ss. Glances at E's puzzle while S assembled his own were unrelated to glances at E or to IQ changes, but, unlike glances at E, were significantly related to improvements in performance from puzzle 1 to puzzle 2.     

Determinants of value transfer and contrast in simultaneous discriminations by pigeons

In a simultaneous discrimination involving a positive (S+) and a negative (S₋) stimulus, positive value appears to transfer from the S+ to the S₋. However, negative value does not appear to transfer from the S₋ to the S+. Instead, when sufficient experience with the contingencies associated with responding to the S₋ is provided, it appears that the presence of the S₋ enhances the value of the S+ (i.e., a contrast effect is found). The purpose of the present experiments was to further examine the influence of the S+ on the S₋ in a simultaneous discrimination (between subjects in Experiment 1 and within subjects in Experiment 2). In both experiments, we found that under typical training conditions, given little direct experience with the value of the S₋, value transfers from the S+ to the S₋. If sufficient experience with the value of the S₋ is provided, however, contrast between the S+ and the S₋ can be demonstrated. Thus, in a simultaneous discrimination, value transfer from the S+ to the S₋ depends on the animal’s having responded relatively little to the S₋.     

The role of work-related learning in the identity transformation of Canadian workers with low literacy skills

Workplaces are settings where power, knowledge and self are brought together in a complex social environment which includes various forms of struggle related to identity, agency, socio-cultural norms, political structures and functional practices. The purpose of this article is to uncover how formal and informal work-related learning processes influence the identity transformation of workers with low literacy and essential skills. Drawing on two recent Canadian data bases which serve as cases in this study, the position taken by the authors is that the organisational context can both facilitate and impede worker subjectivity. Various conditions, approaches to learning and training pathways are examined as they contribute to social cognitive and transformative learning theories.     

Attitudes Toward Homosexuality among Graduate Counseling Students

The authors surveyed graduate counseling students regarding their attitudes toward homosexuality: its etiology; the mental health of homosexuals; the role of the mental health professional in treating homosexual clients; and myths and fallacies surrounding homosexuality. The results indicate that counseling students feel ill-prepared to deal with homosexual clients, are unsure about the etiology of homosexuality, and that female students respond differently from male students regarding many aspects of homosexuality.     

Book reviews

International Review of Education -