Showing papers by "Georgia State University published in 1976"

Differences among common methods for calculating interobserver agreement.

Abstract: In most applied studies, experimenters attempt to increase the probability that data accurately reflect the subject's behavior by assessing the degree to which two observers agree that responding has occurred. While some authors report this comparison as an index of observer reliability, others report it as an index of observer or interobserver agreement. Regardless of the term used, most authors who report agreement (instead of correlation) use variations of the same procedure. In general, each session is divided into a number of time blocks, the number of time blocks with interobserver agreement is divided by the sum of the agreements and disagreements, the quotient is multiplied by 100, and the result is reported as per cent agreement between observers. Although several variations exist within this general procedure, the most common are variations in the length of the time block and in the definition of an interval of agreement. The present experiment compared the results of computing interobserver agreement by these common methods and variations.

Social Interaction Observed: Some Approaches to the Analysis of Behavior Streams

Abstract: Systematic observation of social interaction, noting the presence or absence of predefined behaviors in an ongoing stream of behavior, can result in an overwhelming mass of data. The central thesis of this report is that a few simple conceptual and analytic tools greatly facilitate the handling of such data. Various ways of representing observational data are discussed, and implications are included showing analyses of mother-infant, monkey- monkey, and human adult-adult interaction.

Ethnographic and Experimental Hypotheses in Educational Research1

Abstract: formulate and test specific hypotheses as to why these changes are taking place. Vocabulary has been shown to be largely a function of amount and type of reading both in school and out. What are people reading? How much is television reducing reading time? Are students in fact spending less time on learning to add, subtract, multiply, and divide? What are they doing instead of learning the rules of punctuation, capitalization, and language usage? What specific activities are resulting in the women's gains in creativity, mechanical reasoning, and visualization? What can we learn about the whole field of problem solving, reasoning, and mathematics from relating specific student activities with specific educational outcomes? Are the newer courses adding valuable insights or just talcing away time from the basic skills?

Self-disclosure in dyads as a function of distance and the subject-experimenter relationship.

Abstract: In a factorial design, 72 subjects answered questions of low, moderate, and high intimacy value at one of three distances from an experimenter who either adopted a neutral manner, induced liking, or disclosed about himself. Argyle and Dean's "distance-equilibrium" hypothesis was supported. When answering questions of low and moderate intimacy value, subjects placed in close proximity to the experimenter spent significantly less time in self-disclosure than did subjects placed further away. Jourard and Friedman's assertion that subjects who liked the experimenter would disclose more when distance was reduced was called into question, while their finding that subjects disclosed more following experimenter self-disclosure was replicated. However, subjects exposed to the positive affect induction, who reported increased liking for the experimenter, disclosed no more than subjects in the neutral condition, and the effect of distance was independent of the relationship effect. The results suggest that modeling, rather than liking or "distance, " accounts for Jourard and Friedman 's finding.

Older women: an examination of popular stereotypes and research evidence*

Abstract: The older woman in our society is socially devalued and is subject to a number of harmful, negative stereotypes that picture her as sick, sexless, uninvolved except for church work, and alone. Moreover, when researchers study the aged, they too often fail to analyze the data for females separately from that of males, thus glossing over the differences and losing valuable information. It is possible, however, using data from studies which have used sex as an independent variable, to demythologize the older woman somewhat by separating the characteristics which are uniquely female from those of males and those common to the sexes. This paper, then, examines stereotypical images of the older woman in three major areas: (1) health and longevity; (2) marital status and family roles; and (3) leisure activity. Several unresolved questions and areas for future research are suggested, and the implications of this analysis for such research is discussed.

The development and functional control of reading-comprehension behavior.

Abstract: Reading comprehension, indicated by motor behavior and multiple-choice picture selection called for in written instructions, was taught to an autistic child using verbal prompts, modelling, and physical guidance. The child was rewarded for correct behaviors to training items; nonrewarded probes were used to assess generalization. Probable maintaining events were assessed through their sequential removal in a reversal design. Results showed: (a) following acquisition, performance was maintained at a near-100% level when candy, praise, attention, and training were removed, (b) absence of other persons was correlated with a marked decrease in performance, whereas their presence was associated with performance at near 100%, and (c) performance generalized to probes and across experimenters. Rewards, which may have been reinforcing during acquisition, did not appear necessary to maintain later performance. Instead, presence of others (a setting event) was demonstrated to have control over maintained performance.

Erratum a comparison of the key-peck and treadle-press operants in the pigeon: differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate schedule of reinforcement1

Abstract: Key pecking and treadle pressing in pigeons were compared under concurrent (key-treadle) and single-operant differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate schedules of food reinforcement ranging from 5 to 60 sec (concurrent procedure) or 5 to 120 sec (single-operant procedure). Under both procedures, the two operants followed the same general law: decreasing response rate and reinforcement rate and increasing number of responses per reinforcement as a function of increasing schedule interval. High correlations were found between key pecking and treadle pressing for the measures of response rate, reinforcement rate, and responses per reinforcement. Regression equations allowed the prediction of treadle pressing from key pecking. More bursting occurred in responding to the key, and key pecking showed a more precise temporal discrimination than treadle pressing. A test for sequential dependencies between key and treadle responses showed significant dependencies not only under the concurrent procedure but also in data created artificially by merging key and treadle sequences from different pigeons under the concurrent procedure and from the same pigeon under the single-operant procedure. It seems likely that the sequential dependencies found were due to the independent action of the schedule on each operant and that behavioral dependencies did not occur with the concurrent training procedure. The key-peck operant does not appear to have any special qualities that preclude its use in discovering general laws of behavior, at least under the differential-reinforcement-of-low-rate schedule. The usefulness of the key peck in other situations requires direct experimental study.

Reducing time limits: a means to increase behavior of retardates.

Abstract: A common assumption in special education is that temporal limits for a task should be expanded so that ample time is provided for completing the work. This study describes the opposite strategy of restricting temporal limits to augment academic performance. Three educable retarded children received token reinforcement contingent on the number of correct math problems answered during daily sessions. A reversal design was used to assess the effects of an abrupt reduction in time limits (20-5-20 min) and a graduated sequence of reductions (20-15-10-5-20 min). The graduated sequence resulted in rate increases of correct responding ranging from 125% to 266% and these gains endured when temporal limits were again expanded. In contrast, the abrupt shift produced interfering emotional behaviors and rate decreases in academic performance of 25% to 80%. The findings indicate that systematically restricting temporal limits for an academic task can further enhance the performance of slow learners already maintained by a token system.

The mastery of language-type skills by the chimpanzee (pan)*

Abstract: Studies of chimpanzee language-relevant skills stimulated by Project Washoe’ are having a major impact upon scientific thought regarding the nature of language, ape, and man. The purpose of this paper is ( I ) to examine certain basic assumptions, methods, and findings of these studies, (2) to examine implications for the definitions of communication and language, (3) t o consider shortand long-term directions of chimpanzee language research and its possible applications, and finally, (4) to survey the results of the Lana Language Project.

Topographic expression of superimposed drainage on the Georgia Piedmont

Abstract: The Brevard zone separates two regions on the Georgia Piedmont that have different drainage styles. Streams on the northwestern Piedmont have trellis drainage, which suggests that they have undergone a different evolution than streams that have dendritic drainage, on the southeastern Piedmont. It is concluded that Coastal Plain sediment covered the southeastern Georgia Piedmont to at least the Brevard zone. Consequent streams developed a dendritic drainage on this cover and became superimposed across buried resistant northeast-trending geologic structures. Trellis drainages, however, developed as a result of subsequent streams being controlled by Piedmont structures on areas of thin or no Coastal Plain sediment cover.

A Study of the Relationships Between Faculty Characteristics, Subject Field, and Course Grading Patterns.

Abstract: This paper describes an analysis of faculty grading patterns at a large public university. It introduces a methodology to both normalize and stabilize grade data by courses. Using this method, we report on grading patterns for over 1,000 teachers, giving more than 40,000 grades in approximately 2,000 courses. The findings indicate that the academic field of the course is strongly related to the types of grades assigned. Courses emphasizing quantitative and factual learning tend to have assigned lower grades. The higher grades are found in career-oriented courses, such as teacher training. This was shown in separate analyses for undergraduate and graduate courses. For undergraduate courses, lower grades were found in freshman and sophomore courses as compared with junior and senior courses. The academic credentials and personal characteristics of the teachers were only moderately related to grades. Temporary teachers had higher grades in their courses, but such personal characteristics as sex, marital, and minority status were not systematically related to grades given. There was a tendency in undergraduate courses that as class size increased, the proportion of higher grades decreased.

The Correctional Officer as a Behavioral Technician

Abstract: A correctional officer training program in the principles and applications of the social learning model is described. An assessment of the effects of the training program indicated that correctional officers can master the requisite skills of the behavioral technician and can successfully apply these, under supervision, in a systematic behavior change project. In addition, the trained officers, in comparison to nontrained peers, increased both their total number and proportion of positive interactions with inmates. Finally, the trained officers indicated that the techniques they learned assisted them in their work with the inmates, and the inmates indicated that the officers who had received training appeared to have improved in general caliber as well as become less punitive and more concerned with the welfare of inmates. The implications of these findings for comprehensive rehabilitation programming within a correctional institution are discussed.

Heat capacity changes for the lonization of aqueous phenols at 25°C

Abstract: The apparent molal heat capacities\(\phi _{{\text{C}}_p }\) have been determined at 25°C for phenol,meta-nitrophenol,para-nitrophenol,meta-cyanophenol, andpara-cyanophenol and the corresponding sodium salts in water at several concentrations. These values have been extrapolated to infinite dilution to provide the\(\bar C_p^o\) values from which the heat capacity changes for the ionization of the aqueous phenols have been calculated. The observed\(\Delta \bar C_{p_i }^o\) values are virtually identical within experimental error for the phenols studied. The volume data needed to calculate the\(\phi \bar C_p\) values from the experimental data are also reported.

Partisanship in National and State Politics

Abstract: WHILE the American federal system creates the possibility for inconsistent party identification in national and state politics, previous research has shown little inclination among Americans to divide their party loyalties according to government level.1 This note examines the possibility that our search for interlevel inconsistency has obscured more subtle variations in the strength of identifications with state and national components of the same party. The major effort to tap interlevel partisan variation is that of the Center for Political Studies.2 After having asked a set of general questions about party loyalties (including items related to strength of attachment), we addressed the topic of interlevel variation by asking the respondent, "Now when you say you are a (R)(D)(I), are you thinking only of politics here in (state) or national politics, or both?" If the response was cast in terms of "national" or "state" the respondent was then asked, "How about (national politics/politics here in state) are you . . . ," with the remaining appropriate labels inserted. The major shortcoming with the CPS method is that variations in the strength of identification can be ascertained only if the respondent volun-

Computer-Controlled Teaching Instrumentation for Linguistic Studies with the Great Apes

Abstract: A minicomputer has been interfaced with keyboards, visual display projectors, and vending devices, forming a 24 hour/day teaching instrumentation system for linguistic studies with a chimpanzee. Employing visual, geometric word-symbols with a 12-element construction (9 elements and 3 colors) a 4 year old female chimpanzee over a 2 year period has learned 70-80 words which she uses productively in numerous sentences to gain most of her sustenance, entertainment, and companionship (human). The computer evaluates her inputs for proper syntax and mediates in conversations between her and the experimenters. All interchanges are recorded.

Physical attractiveness and personal space.

Abstract: Summary Experiments in the laboratory and on a sidewalk examined the influence of sex and physical attractiveness on personal distance In the laboratory 30 male and female college students approached posters showing attractive or unattractive target persons, and subject-poster distances were measured with a tape On a sidewalk an attractive or unattractive male or female interviewed 102 adult male and female passing pedestrians, and interviewer-S distances were recorded by a camera on a rooftop Ss in the laboratory approached attractive targets more closely than unattractive ones, but on the sidewalk attractiveness had no effect

Research on Efficacy of Special Education for the Mentally Retarded

Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter discusses about the research on efficacy of special education for the mentally retarded. A review of the studies of special educational intervention for the educable (EMR) and trainable (TMR) mentally retarded children is described. In the chapter, published studies and government project reports as well as selected unpublished doctoral dissertations are discussed. The chapter discusses descriptions, general results, and conclusions of the studies. The studies are viewed from a chronological perspective in order to assess methodological changes that have occurred over the past 40 years. Included are studies that span the period from 1936 to the present time. The chapter deals with some of the key experimental variables that need to be considered in attempting to assess the methodological soundness of the studies. It suggests some future directions of research on efficacy. Three general classes of variables are discussed in the chapter, with specific recommendations on techniques for reducing uncontrolled sources of variance. The variables discussed include teacher selection, standardization of curriculum, and use of measuring and evaluation instruments.

The Pleasures of Youth: Parent and Peer Compliance Toward Discretionary Time

Abstract: In the past, research into an adolescent's leisure time has almost exclusively focused on furnishing a record or checklist of activities. This investigation evaluates attitudinal dimensions of leisure, peer identification, and parental accommodation as it relates to patterns of leisure present in an affluent adolescent subculture. Two factors emerged from the attitudinal study, representing achievement and egalitarian dispositions. Patterns of peer and parental compliance were measured against these dispositions. Parental and peer influences were found to affect the outcome of an adolescent's attitudes. Differences between sexes and between early and late adolescence were also discovered to influence levels of compliance with parents and peers, thereby affecting an adolescent's leisure attitudes.

Making an academic curriculum relevant to business requirements

Abstract: A number of recent articles and dis-sertations (e .g ., (1), (5), (9), (10)) have attempted to assess the relevancy o f the course offerings of our colleges an d universities in the area of business dat a processing. Pollack (9), for example , tested statistically the hypothesis tha t the business data processing educationa l requirements of industry differ from th e education offered in institutions of highe r education" and concluded, based upon dat a obtained from a national survey of businesses and institutions of higher education , that the differences between the cours e offerings and employers' requirements wer e statistically significant at the 0 .0 5 level. Gorgone (5), on the other hand, i n a study restricted to data processin g managers and faculty members of publi c higher education institutions in the stat e of Indiana, found general agreement betwee n the two groups for the four data processin g positions covered, but felt that curriculu m changes may not be keeping up with changin g industrial needs. Most studies that have been done i n this area mention the lack of meaningfu l communication between the industrial community and the faculty members responsibl e for curriculum development. Abbey (1), i n particular, stresses the need for a close r relationship between the two groups wit h professional exchanges and student an d faculty internships. At the graduate school level, th e question at the center of the issue appear s to be the relative emphasis accorded theor y and application. A graduate program shoul d provide a solid base of knowledge i n theoretical areas of Computer Science. However, if the student is aiming towar d a career in industry, this represents onl y a portion of the training needed t o function effectively in industry. Th e typical graduate program emphasizes th e development of very tight, very efficien t algorithms of relatively limited scope. These are invariably developed in a concise scientific programming language. This is a valuable and desirable portion of a student's tools, but should no t be elaborated on to the exclusion of othe r necessary concepts and understanding. A full appreciation of the systems approac h to problem solving, communication requirements , and implementation consideration s should be instilled in the students expecting to pursue careers in business. A s stated by Abbey (1), "The DP community …

Human capital production: life-cycle production with different learning technologies

Abstract: This paper investigates the human capital formation process when the learning situation is not neutral but is instead biased either to the market or to the production process. In the case of a production bias, human capital is more productive when generating additional human capital than when generating market activity. In the case of a market bias, the reverse holds. Implications from the model are used to explain the occurrence of different shaped earnings profiles of equal net present value as well as income profiles of unequal present value.