A group of 261 college juniors, seniors, and graduate students anticipating careers in mental health professions were administered an instrument designed to measure attitudes toward old age (people 65 and older). The instrument consisted of 60 statements regarding old age, and used a six-point Likert-type scale. Items were categorized into 10…

Academic self-concept has been viewed by numerous investigators as an important facet of general self-concept. The Academic Self-Concept Scale (ASCS) was developed as a measure of academic self-concept in college students. The initial item pool consisted of 59 items worded to conform to a four-pont Likert-type response format. On the basis of…

Forty-two students enrolled in an introductory child development course at the University of Kansas participated in a study which assessed student-instructor interaction in a personalized psychology course. Using Keller's Personalized System of Instruction (PSI), the instructor's role was investigated by comparing the number of interactions…

The study included the design and analysis of a teacher education simulation games to teach a typology of small group member roles and compare its cognitive effect with a lecture containing the same information. To analyze each teacher education student's performance in the simulation game, lecture and subsequent tests, both cognitive and…

Six studies were reported questioning the conclusions of Covington and Omelich that pride in success, shame in failure, and positive self-esteem are more closely linked with ability ascriptions than with effort. The research demonstrated that affective intensity is in part determined by the perceived importance of the task. (BS)

A study examined how the SPEAK (Speaking Proficiency English Assessment Kit) Test is perceived by both International Teaching Assistants (ITAs) and instructors at a major midwestern university where it is used as a screening instrument for hiring ITAs. Subjects, 24 ITAs from the social sciences and 24 ITAs from the math-based sciences who took the…

An ongoing distance learning project at the University of Northern Colorado (UNC) in Greeley is described. When the project, the Western Institute for Distance Education (WIDE), is complete, the system will provide access to education courses so that 98% of the state's population will be within 60 miles of a site. At present there are three…

Recognizing that the classroom of the 1990s will be more participatory and interactive, this study compared career ladder and preservice teachers who have stronger interactive qualities with other educators on 15 affective variables of the Canfield Learning Styles Inventory. The study sought to determine which affective variables differed…

The purpose of the study was to determine the effects of rheostatically controlled visual subliminals on the affective interrelations of a learning task of subjects within a classroom setting. Four groups of students were used. Subjects were unknowingly exposed to a rheostatically projected subliminal message for 30 minutes during otherwise normal…

The study investigated the effect of response mode variation (the use or non-use of separate answer sheets) on subject responses (N = 1017) to affective instruments treating both instrument and subject characteristics. Instrument characteristics examined included attitudinal versus personality scale composition, scale items written in first versus…

Several environmental constructs which influence identity are measured by the Erwin Identity Scale (EIS) and delineated. The EIS is an objectively scored instrument designed to measure the student development concept of identity based on the conceptualizations of Chickering and Erikson. Three sub-scales (confidence, sexual identity, and…

Effects of response mode, response format, perceived response style, sex, and anonymity on raw scale scores and extreme response tendencies for two distinct measures of affective behavior were investigated. The two measures were a self-acceptance scale developed by J.R. Phillips and the Machiavellianism IV scale. Where (response mode) and how…

A visual analogue mood scale was developed that included an option indicating subjects didn't understand the meaning of an adjective in an item. The item content significantly affected responses, raising questions about the adequacy of recently proposed affective taxonomies that were based on restricted samples of emotion-descriptive adjectives.…

Cognitive and affective scales for assessing computer attitudes were administered to 2,525 students and educators. Results supported test validity and reliability. Generally positive cognitive attitudes were found, as well as a rejection of negative affective attitudes. (The 14 items are included) (GDC)

Presents a brief overview of the area of attitude research in science education. Highlights the need to evaluate students in relation to the affective domain. Discusses evaluation techniques, problems associated with evaluation, and some existing instruments and their associated limitations. (CW)