Need for closure, as formulated by Kruglanski and colleagues [Kruglanski, A. W. (1990). Lay epistemic theory in social-cognitive psychology. "Psychological Inquiry," 1(3), 181-197; Kruglanski, A. W., & Webster, D. M. (1996). Motivated closing of the mind: Seizing and freezing. "Psychological Review," 103, 263-283; Webster,…

Replies to commentaries by D. Albarracin, W. Hart, and K. C. McCulloch (see record 2006-10465-004), A. W. Kruglanski and M. Dechesne (see record 2006-10465-005), and R. E. Petty and P. Brinol (see record 2006-10465-006) on B. Gawronski and G. V. Bodenhausen's (2006; see record 2006-10465-003) recently proposed associative-propositional evaluation…

Describes the development of an affective measure of student attitudes toward their advisors, called the Descy Attitude toward Advisors scale (DATAs). Content validity is discussed, along with construct validity and alpha reliability data gathered on 120 graduate students in the fields of education and nursing. A copy of DATAs is appended.…

This paper reviews the reliability of several efforts by educational researchers to determine variables in teacher behavior that influence student attitudes and achievement. In particular, works by Rosenshine (1971), Dunkin and Biddle (1974), and Rosenshine and Furst (1970) are examined and evaluated in terms of research criteria developed by…

Evaluation of the final examination should be part of the course evaluation and should include student perceptions of the exam's nature and the questions' quality. The final examination experience of two groups of undergraduate and graduate students are considered. (MSE)

Analysis of the content of and student responses to college course evaluations suggests that, in general, students are seeking entertainment, comfort, high grades, and less work and are hostile to the necessary routines and rigors of higher education. The commonly used numerical evaluation form is not only unreliable and invalid, it is an…

The research literature on oral achievement testing is reviewed, and advantages and disadvantages of oral tests are described. A number of suggestions are made for improving the objectivity, reliability, and validity of oral tests. The results of a survey of the attitudes and experiences of a selected sample of college students with regard to…

Reports the results of several test-reliability experiments which compared a modified confidence weighted-admissible probability measurement (MCW-APM) with conventional forced choice or binary type (R-W) test scoring methods. Psychometric properties using G theory and conventional correlational methods are examined, and their implications for…

Issues pertaining to the validity of student ratings of teaching effectiveness are considered, and research results are evaluated. The following extraneous variables that affect student ratings but are not under the control or influence of the teacher are examined: class size, initial student motivation, academic field, teacher characteristics,…