DOCUMENT RESUME
ED 248 646 EC 170 424
AUTHOR Areson, Ann H.,.Ed.; DeCaro, James J., Ed., TITLE Teaching, Learning and Development: Volume I. INSTITUTION Rochester Inst. of Technology,r. National Technical Inst. for the Deaf. SPONS AGENCY Department of Education, Washington, DC. PUB DATE Jun 84 NOTE 494p.; For individual papers in Volume 1, see ED 209 907, and EC 170 425-432. For Volume II and selected individual papers, see EC 170 433-436. PUB TYPE Collected Works - General (020) -- Reports - Descriptive 4141) -- Guides - Non-Classroom Use (055)
EDRS PRICE MF02/PC20 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Career Choice; *Career Development; College Students; *Curriculum Development; *Deafness; Models; *Moral Development; Postsecondary Education; Problem Solving; Student Motivation; Theories; Transfer of Training
ABSTRACT Eight papers are presented in this document, the, first of two volumes of papers commissioned for the Foundations development project. The project was designed to examine curricular modifications for deaf students entering the National Technical Institute for the Deaf and to examine career development (personal, social, and intellectual development) needs of postsecondary deaf students. Five statements were formulated regarding student characteristics associated with career development problems. The statements focused on the following areas: preconceptions of careers and majors, limited self knowledge, use of unsophisticated decision ,making processes, lack of coping skills, and an inadequate knowledge base regarding cultures. Fourteen topics which appeared to encompass the problem areas.and general 'statements were identified and papers were commissioned on each topic. An introductory paper offers a conceptual framework for the Foundations project, focusing on the interaction among the student, the teacher, and the curriculum. The remaining papers in the volumecenter on the development of the learner and the learner's processing of experience's and situations; they include: "Theories and Models of puman Development: Their Implications for the Education of the Deaf" (I. Athey); "The Role of Deafness and Education in the Moral Development of Hearing-Impaired Children, and Adolescents" (M. Belenky); "Locus of Control: Review and Implications for Instruction of the Hearing-Impaired Children and
Adolescents" (F. Dowaliby and J. Pegano); ;'Research on Motivation ill , Educational Settings: Implications for Hearing-Impaired Students" (M. Stinson.); "Discovery versus Expository Instructional-Strategies and Their Implications for Instruction of Hearing-Impaired Post-Secondary Students" (R. Blake); "Problem Solving and Decision Making: A Review of the Literature" (M. Steve); .and "Transfer of Learning from One Setting to Another" (D. Dansereau and L. Brooks). (CL) DEPARTMENT Of EDUCATION * . * NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) LeThis document has been reproduced as received horn the person or organization originating it. L I Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality.
Points of very or opinions stated in this docu- ment do not necessarily represent official NIE position or policy. 40
CO
TEACHING, LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT:. CZI Volume 1.
edited by: Ann H. Areso4 & James J. DeCaro
a.
11
"PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY
r TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOLMCES 2 INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)." -
in 1980-and 1981through an agree- The papers,in thesevolumes were deyobloped and the U.S. Departmentof ment between the RochesterInstitute of Technology Project at the NationalTech- Education as part of theFoundations Development nical Institute for the Deaf.
3 4TABLE OF CONTENTS .
VOLUME I
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACE iii
INTRODUCTION: A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR FOUNDATIONS, Ann H. Areson and James J. DeCaro 1
SECTION
I. DEVELOPMENT OF THE LEARNER
Chapter
Theories and Models of Human Development: Their Implications for the Education of the Deaf, Irene Atiley 59
The Role of Deafness and Education in the Moral Development of Hearing-Impaired Children andAdo4scerits, Mary Field,Belenky 155
Locus of Control: Review and Implications for Instruction of the Hearing-Impaired, Fred J..Dowalioy and JoAnne Pegano 18.5
Research on Motivation in Educational Settings: Implications for Hearing-Impaired Students, Michael Stinson 225
II. LEARNING AS A PROCESS ti
Discovery Versus Expository Instructional Strategies and Their Implications for Instruction of Hearing-Impaired Post-Secondary Students, Rowland S. Blake 267
Problem Solving and Decision Making: A Review 'of.the Literat.re, Michael Steve 337
Transfer. of Learning from One Setting to Another, Donald Dansereau and Larry W. Brooks 371
APPENDICES
A. TABLE OF CONTENTS: VOLUME II 495
499 B. ABOUT THE ATHORS: VOLUME I
4 PREFACE
In 1979, after ten yeari ofoperation, the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID), reviewed its experiencein preparing post-secondary deaf students for living and working in a complextechnological society.
NTID concluded that, in spite of a remarkable record ofachievement in educat-
ing deaf students and lacing thr, In jobs, there was more work to be done with students who were entering the Institute, particulcrly in termsof finding more effective ways to promote their personal,social and intellectual develop- sent, normally referred to at NTID as "careerdevelopment".This was substanti-
ated in various reports produced at NTID over the course ofits history.
According to DeCaro and Areson (1982),
For example, in 1977 (Areson), 55% of the.studentschoosing majors' at NTID were judged by faculty and staff,with whom they worked, as not prepared to make sound careerdecisions. White (1978) reported that 60% of.the students who exited the NTID SummerVestibule Program choices in the form of selecting . were unprepared to make career a major. DiLorenzo and Welsh (1981) report that 31% of.all students admitted to NTID from 1968 to 1979 changed theirmajors at least once. Of those students who changed majors, 52% changed tototally new career areas. DiLorenzo concluded that "...many students upon entering NTID are not ready to make a career choice..."in the form of selecting a major. (pp. 4 -3)
A curriculum development team was charged withthe task of, formulating
a curriculum proposal aimed at bettermeeting the devell?mental needs of,
entering deaf students. This curriculum project wan kno a as the"Foundations"
development project. After gatheiing and analyzing data from more than150
faculty regarding problems common to new students, five general statements
regarding student characteristics associated with career developmentproble
were developed. These were:
1. students appear to have a limited knowledge base and frequ tly have erroneous preconceived notions regarding careers and majors; .tt students appear to have alimited knowledge of*elf (e.g. 2. value strengths and weaknessesregarding career clusters, systems,interests);
unsophisticated processesfor decision- 3. students appear to use making; repertoire of copingskills; 4. students appear to lack.a inadequate knowledgebase 5. students appear to possess an 1982, p.5) regarding cultures. (DeCaro and Areson, the problem areasand general Fourteen topics, whichappeared to encompass each topic. They statements wereidentified. Paper* were commissioned on the were comprised of a reviewof the literatureand the implications of the education of deafstudents. literature for NTID'scurricular programming and A'full day was Each paper was critiquedby NTID faculty andstaff. discussions of eachtopic. devoted to formalpresentations and informal development At the end of a year ofstudy and discussionwith faculty, the developing new curriculumand/or team presented aconceptual framework for
revising extant. curriculum. each volume.The framework' The conceptualframework is the introduction to the teacher and theparticu- focused upon theinteraction among the student, placed on students' ler content areal beingstudied. Great importance was and on their pastand present actively reflecting uponthe learning prIcess meaningful interaction0vith peersand experiences. Emphasis was placed on the interpretatimof adults during thereflection4rocess to facilitate of cause and effectregarding the experiences andthe accurate ascription
the experiences. undertaken to addresk While the "Foundations"development project was
population, subsequentinteractions the career developmentneeds of a specific the editors that theideas with other populationsand ,,programs persuaded
iv
6 development of many in these papers can sake apositive contribution to the
others to review, ponder and students. Thus, they are made avaiIablb for use
The particular blend-of concepts orstrategies may differ with various settings or populations. The professional* who arerespunsible for curriculum apply and student development in thosesettings are in the best position to their judgement, creativity andexperience to the raw ingredients presented here.
All the papers commissioned forthe "Foundations" developmentproject
of the are included in twovolumes. Volume I centers on the development Volume learner and tine learner'sprocessing of experiences andsituations.
Il is devoted to the instructional componentof learning and, to two concepts which have bvmd-based implications for an.approach to teaching, learning and development.
ti .6"
1
A.Areson-15 6/6/83:jm 6V INTRODUCTION:
A 'CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR FOUNDATIONS
Ann H. Areson
James J. DeCaro 4 4
44 Abstract
This paper suggests four major processes that should be addressedby "FoundationS" experiences in order to better prepare students to selectand enter a major:
1. Decision-making;
2. Reflecting upon the past and projecting into the future;applying this process- to understanding current experience;
3. Effective studying and demonstrating a given level of competencyvis a vis certain skills and knowledge areas; 4. Coping with conflicts inherent in the transition from thepre-college environment to the college environment.
Simply stated, it is recommended that all "Foundations" experiencesfocus upon the development of student capability to perform the four major processes.
'Specifically, it is suggested that "Foundations" bedesigned using the following principles:
I. a learner-centered curriculum, maintaining adegree of content and Instructor orientation; 2. a high degree of interaction with faculty and peers;
3. a set o: rigorous institutional expectations,explicitly stated;
4. a curriculum and support system planned tooptimize a student's experiencing success provided that expectations arefulfilled;
5. efforts to enhance cognitive, affectiveand psychomotor development will begin at the concrete experiential level and movetoward abstraction and generalization. This document will furnish the rationale for the processesand principles listed above and will provide a historical perspective onthe "Foundations".development project.
The paper is intended to be the conceptualframework for "Foundations" experiences. 2
Antecedents To The "Foundation" Concept
The " Foundations" concept and development project are the culmination of a series of studies and resulting reports, dating from 1976, which pertain tothe early stages of students' career development at NTID. The following sections provide ahistorical perspective to "Foundations".
Report of the 1976 Study Group
In 1976, the Associate Dean for Career Development Programs(CDP) charged a group of faculty representing the various divisions ofCDP with making recommendations relative to the early stages of career development of NTID students. The group was constituted as a result of the Institute's recognizing that problems existed with respect to student progress in these early stages. In 1977 the study groupissued a report (Areson l et al., 1977) that pointed out:
1. students' apparent inadequacies in English, math and career decision making competencies, and
2. the need for students to demonstrate certain levels of competencyin personal/social skills in order to succeed in a major. In addtion, the report indicated that institutionalprogrammatic responses to such problems were inadequate. Further, It was Indicated thatthere wat "...broad support for some form of preparatory program" (p.3) that would:
1. allow students more time and more data on which tobase a career decision; 2. allow for more interaction with students and a more thorough assessment of students' abilities by faculty and staff; 3. allow more time for appropriate skill building. (p.11)
It was further noted that "there was strong sup, ort amongthose interviewed for most of the activities and goals of SVP(Summer Vestibule Program), but 'general discontent with the brief time allowed for these activities"(pp.11, 12).It was felt that, "SVP could be made into a more effective and useful programby allotting more time to those
10 activities which have a direct relationship to the process of entering a major and postpon- ing activities whose nature is not vital to the career decision" (p. 12).
1977 SVP Evaluation Consequently, an evaluation of the 1977 Summer Vestibule Program was conducted to identifyihose aspects of SVP which should be allotted more time and those aspects which could be postponed. Additionally, the objectives and oventilorganizational configur- atIon of the program were reviewed. A SVP evaluation repOrt was tssled..in1978 (White,
1978) and among the recommendations contained in the evaluation report were the following:
0
1. The top priority of NTID1 should be to formulate a comprehensive plan of
.how to improve students' career decision making capabilities such that most students are able to make, easonably sound career decisions at the time they enter a major. 2. Objectives for SVP should be defined and priorities established from an institu- tional perspective (emphasis added). 3. Measures should be taken toseduce students! feelings'ofexcessive pressure to select a major before the beginning of the Fall Quarter.This implied not only a change in attitude about the simmer but also the creationof more realistic options for more students during Fall quarter. 4. The format of Information sent to students prior to SVP should be reevaluated. 5. Greater continuity in faculty/student Interaction should be developedin an effort to foster more trusting relationshipsbetween the two (pp. 5,6,9,36).
The Early Stages of Career Develownent ConceptPapern979) As a result of the above studies and their findings, the CDPAssociate Dee I, Assistant 4- Deans and Directors concluded that "some midcourse. adjustments were needed in our career development programs"(Bishop et al., 1979, p. 2). Data were collected to better define student needs and the inadequate programmatic responses referred to in the 1976
Study Group Report. The analyses of these data resulted in the delineation of fivemajor needs:
1. better preparing students to select a major; 3 2. better preparing students to enter,a major; 3. facilitating students changing majors within their first two years without incurring significant costs to the student or the institution; 4. reducing the time some students are taking to complete a degree; 5. reducing the rate of withdrawals for what might be considered the wrong reasons. (p. 27) The Concept Paper included a proposal(for a Foundations Pr 2gram withspecific content components, i.e., life skills, general education, communication and surveyof technology.
The concept of a."program" was proposed not so much as a prescription but ratherwith the intention thelt it would "serve as the basis for dialogue and studiesfrom which would emerge an appropriate solution for meeting these needs"(p. 17).
Foundations Development Project
In the sisnmer of 1979, "Foundations" development wasinitiated and a two person development team was charged with three goals:
1. to better prepare students to select a major;
2. to better prepare students to enter a major;
3. to facilitate changes of major withoutundue cost to the student or the institute. Articulating a development process was the first task undertaken.The tivelopment process was designed to provide forcollegial debate and contribution. Further, the process focused upon defining the needs,gathering/ralyzing data, constructing a theoretical framework and positing solutions. Kaufman (1972) suggests that needs identification is an analysis of the discrepancy betWeen where one is and where one wishes to be. Such an analysis specifies the distance between these two. He further suggests that an assessment must have at least three critical characteristics:
I. the data must be as valid and representative aspossible of the actual world° of the learner 2. no analysis is ever final orcomplete 3. discrepancies should be identified in terms of ends, i.e.,actual products or behaviors, and notin terms of processes (p. 29)
Following Kaufman's construct, the development processhas attempted to focus, in part, upon determining the natureand magnitude of the discrepancy or distance between: s_
I. environmental expectations/assumptions, and entering students' characteristics;
2. the requisite.processes underlying success in College, and student facility with such processes;
3. technical, general education, and communication conten(expectations for selecting and entering majors, and the skilleand knowledge levels of entering studenti.
Environmental expectations. A student's experience at Nip is influenced to a large extent by the RIT/NTID environment and by the student's ability to cope with and respond to the stresses, expectations and assumptions inherent inthat environment.
In the course of developing "FoundatiOns" experiences, an essential task was the analysis of the environmental dy/roi p mics influencing students.. A major thrust of "Foundations" development has lien, therefore, the Identification and documentation.of those inherent
MY environmental assumptions and expectations. Environmental expectations are being documented through an analysis of: expected community living behaviors, Institute rules and procedures, institutional expectations regar -Con of individual differences and respect for the rights of others; and pions regarding the mainten- ance of social order. Inaddition, the way in LUT are organized to deliver
Instruction and to interact with students is being exas to determine implicit assump- tions about the stUderit. For example, at NTID Mathematics Instruction is generally delivered through a learning center and it is assumed that students can schedule their own time to work on the course and will take the Initiative for seeking assistance.
earners' entry characteristics. NTID was established to serve a special population.
The admissions criteria, as skcified by the Guidelines, describe the target population as follows:
1. Special Help A student should have attended a school or class for deaf students and/or have needed special help because of being deaf.
13 6
2. HearingL-oss Students must have a hearing loss that seriously limitstheir chance of success In college without special support services.There is a general agreement that an average hearicla loss of 60 decibels (ASA) or70 decibels (KSO) or greater across the 500; 1,000;and 2,000 Hz range (unaided) In the better ear is a major handicapto education.
3. Educational background A student's educationl background should show that he or she can probably succeed in a program of study atNTID or one of the other nine colleges of RIT. Students who are admitted shouldhave an overall eighth grade achieve- ment level or above. This meansthat the average score on an achievement test that includes reading, mathand language should be at an eighth grade level.
4. Secondary scschooling The NTID program at RIT is designed forstudents who have finished a secondary educational program. Students can be considered foradmission before completing a secondary programIf their secondary school authorities feel thatthey will gain more from the NT1D program thanby remaining In secondary school. Age and personal/social maturity aregiven special consideration.
5., Maturity A student must show that he or she ispersonally and socially mature enough to enter a program at NTID or oneof the other nine colleges at RIT. This means that students must acceptresponsibility for themselves and their actions and respect the rights of others.The Information is provided through the student's personal referencesand performance In the Summer Vestibule Program (SVP).
6. Citizenship A student must be a citizen or permanentresident of the United States. (RIT Official Bulletin, 1980, p. 14)
These admissions criteria have notchanged since their establishment, i.e.,NTID still strives to serve the samepopulation its founders intended. Anexamination of some (see Appendix, see also keycharacteristics of entering students over the past six years Figures 1 and 2) shows these characteristics tobe essentially unchanged. Notonly has the nature of the entrypopulation remained stable, but thispopulation continues to represent the top 10% of thehearing -im paired secondary schoolgraduates in the United
States (Trybus & Karcttner, 1977). Figure 1:Reading Comprehension Scores National Distribution for Hearing Impaired Students
Scaled Score
9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 111 19 20+ Students' Age
4
(after Trybus & Karchmer, 1977) lb Figure 2:Mathematics Computation Stores National Distribution for Hearing Impaired Students
180
1W
140
120
100
16 11 12` 13 1415 16- 17 11 1920 + Students' Age
A.A.D. /April 1977
(after Trybus & Karchmer, 1977) 9 I Figure 1 shows that the median reading score e its highestpoint, for students aged 20 or above, is 147. This corresponds to a gradeequivalent of about 4.5. In other words? half the students at age 20(or at any younger age) read at less than a nild-fourth.grade level, that Is; below or barely at a newspaperliteracy level. What about the high - achievinggroup? Figure 1 shows that the high point of the 90th percentile line occurs at age184 where a scaled score of 181 (grade equivalent ,8.1) is reached. Thus, at best, Only10%.ofhearing impaired 18-year olds nationally can read at or above anSth grade level. ,0 Figure 2 presents a somewhat brighter picture for mathcomputation, generally the highest score area forhearing impaired.children. In this case, the mean line for hearing children roughly parallels the90th percentile line for hearing impaired children, so that about 1096 of hearing-impairedchildren can do math computations at, the level of the average hearingchild ol the same age. Most hearing impaired children, however, do much less well even here,and the median hearing impaired 20-year old reaches ascaledscore of 177, justbelow an' 8th grade level. A comparable score is obtained bythe average hearing child at about age.13.(Trybus & Karchm er, 1977, p. 64)
Intermsof personal/social characteristics ofentering students, there is qualitative
evidence that suggests a constancyin their nature. The data in the 1971, Mariner et
al. report, when compared withdata collecte. he "Foundations" development team
in,the summer of 1979, show thatfaculty concerns regarding students' personaland Emerton social skills areessentially unchanged over the decade. Furthermore, DeCaro and
(1978) established empirically that thereis a developmental lag in the level of social
reasoning of entering students vis avis hearing students in the same age group.Anecdotal
information gathered since 1977 suggeststhat this particular developmcntallag still
exists among entering students. Given the apparent stability of entrycharacteristics over the past decade, it is
clear that the orivinal purpose andmission of NTID are not redundant.Further, since
the characteristics of enteringstudents have been shown to-be stable and, in alllikelihood,
can be expected toremain so in the foreseeable future, Interventionswill have to occur
at the environmentallevel and/or in developing certainstudent competencies once individuals
have been identified as NTID students.
1 10 Content considerations. in order to able to successfully enter amajor, the learner must be able todemonstratecompetence and knowledge incertain technical, 'specify persona! /social and communicationskill areas. Therefore, It hasbeen necessary to the knowledge and skills that need tobe developed by.stuclents during"Foundations" experiences. A content analysis hasbeen conducted, and the findingsof this analysis documented by analyzing shall be reported separately.The content expectations are being a course In each majorwhich tests, for the first time, alearner's potential for technical success In that major.The analysis focuses onthe identification of not only technical prerequisite skills and knowledgebut also communication, andpersonal/social expectations. of the Study The content analyses werefocused in such a fashion because the report
Group on the Early Stages ofCareer Development suggested fourfactors as being necessary
for student success:
1. mathematical competency;
2. English language withspecific concentration onreading comprehension; 3. the abilitito make careerdecisions; 4. the ability to receiveInformation well enough to be able tounderstand lectures,
questions and directions.
ti Major Processes Students MustBe Prepared To Perform
Due to the nature of NTID andthe nature of he he curriculumoffered through NTID declare the intention (technical disciplines), ahearing-impaired student is required to I, to pursue specific courseof study relatively early inhis/her tenure at R1T. For example, students Os ng to study for mostNTID Associate Degrees must beprepared to declare their Mention by the stagof the Fall quarter of theirfirst year at RIT. Such is the of case at mostcommunity colleges that offercertificate, diploma or AAS programs seeking a Bachelor's study. This circumstance canbe contrasted with that of a learner
Degree in the liberal artswho, more often than not,declares a major and is accepted the Associate, Diploma by a department inhis/her third year. Technical curricula at early in their or Certificatelevels require that studentstake highly specialized courses the time limit generally tenure in order thatthey can complete such curriculawithin certification are not adequately allotted. Unfortunately, manyNTID students seeking such demonstrate prepared to select or enter amajor (Bishop et al, 1979) andoften are unable to the ability to succeed in themajor. For example, theattrition rate from NTID programs (DiLorenzo,.Marron since 1974 has been 40 percentand is projected to reach43 percent provided & Welsh, 1931) in spite ofthe special nature of theservices and curriculum for learners at NTID. Inaddition, DiLorenzo and Welsh(1981) supported the contention arrival at. NTID .when they that students are ill-prepared toselect or enter a major upon stated that:
Paper" (Bishop, et al, 1979) 1. The conclusion ind concern of the "Concept entering NTID, are notready to make career decisions . that many students, upon is substantiated. lack of preparedness toselect a major at entrance to 2. Many students' which they change. NTID is demonstrated bythe wide range of majors to early that they not onlyselected 3. Significant numbersof students recognize the wrong major, butthey are still not ready toselect a career area and elect to spend some timein NCDS. (pp.14-15)
19 1,2
The Report of the Study Group on the Early Stages of Career Development(Areson
et al., 1977) suggested that SVP could bemade more effectiveby 'phasizing those
activities which have a direct relationship to entering a major.' F thermore, the1977
summer SVP evaluation report(White, 1978) suggested that the top priority of NTID
\should be the formulation of a plan to improve student decision makingcapabilities
so that students are able to makesound career decisions at the time of selecting a major.
In addition,- data collected in the simmer of 1979 duringintensive-workshops with faculty
highlighted sixteen problem areas that faculty perceived as needing attentionIn order -- to irnprsve the student's likelihood of success at NTID(see stppendix A). Of the sixteen
problem areas: six were eliminated from consideration in the "Foundations"development
project because the Career Development Programs administrative ,groupperceived them
as broader institutional curricular Issues, i.e.,outside the scope of consideration for
"Foundations". The "Foundations" development project continued toconsider the problem
areas, during development so as not toreplicate the weaknesses or problems inherent
in extant systems. The problem* areas isolated for considerationby "Foundations" (see
Table 1) relate directly to the processes of careerdecision making and preparation to
enter a major. 13
TABLE 1 knthesis of ProblemStaternerojacAl
A. Our students have a limitci experiential andinformation base. (synthesis of original #1 and #5)
B. Our students have a limited knowledge of self, e.g.r
a. strengths/weaknesses re careerclusters b, values system c. Interests
C: In the area of problem solving, ourstudents appear to have a limited repertoire of coping skills and limited exposure tohaving to make decisions in a variety of contexts and settings.(ref. need to enhance process skills and broaden the information base) (synthesis of original #3 and 04)
D. We are unable to provide appropriateexperiences for students who are at various levels of indecision or indecisiveness.
E. There is a gap between students' entryabilities and the criteria for entry into majors, and there is insufficient time toaddress this gap prior to the students' entry to a major. (synthesis oforiginal #12 and #14)
F. There is a lack of a systematic processfor assessing a learner's strengths and weak) nesses re majors and for transmittingsuch Information to the learner and to the appropriate administrative authority re the major.
1Statements 6, 7, 8, 11, 15 and 16 were eliminated at the suggestion of, the CDPadminis- trative group. We chose to eliminate#10, as it is subsumed under otheyproblem statements, e
SZ Studies conducted to date suggest quite clearly that the outcomes expectedof "Foundations" are appropriate and ntEessary: 1. to better prepare students to select a major;
2. to better prepare students' to enter a major.
Approach
Foundations will be characterized by a developMental rather than remedialapproach to education because the developmental level(Belenky, 1980; Athey, 1980) of an individUal' influences his/her interpretation of life situations (e.g., selecting and entering amajor), and since developmental theory provides some broad indicators of how anindividual will react in suchsituations. Belenky (1980) presents a variety of factors that she suggests contribute to the development of social reasoning. Citing Piaget andKohlberg, she
'argues that moral development depends upon having a wide rangeof role taking op' por4inities in a variety'of social institutions andsuggeststhat the opportunity to participate in an ongoing dialogue Is likely to beessential for the development of the individual. She also suggests that hearing-impaired people oftenexperlincea deprivation in social Inter- action (Stokes, 1945; Brunehwig, 1936) and display a lag.inunderstanding the interpersonal dynamics of social relationships (Levine, 1956). Harris (1978), in reviewingfour studies of impulse controlthat utilized standardized assessment (Altshuler et al., 1976; Binder, 1970; Moores et al., 1973; Harris, 1976), concluded that a loss ofauditory input appears to hive a retarding effect upon thedevelopment of impulse control in deaf adolescents.
The findings of DeCaro and Emerton (1978), that mostdeaf students entering the NTID between 1975 and 1977 were operating at thepre-conventional level of reasoning on
Kohlberg's (1969) scale of reasoning are therefore not surprising.Belenky (1981) describes the pre-conventional stage as follows:
22 3. 5
...characterized by hedonismthe good is that which satisfies.onei own needs, interests and wishes. The right and needs and feelings of others will be considered to the extent that such considerations are seen asbenefititig the self. "Tit for tat" suggests the basis for this thinking which has achieved some liberation from adult comtraInt.As adults are no longer seen as omnipotent the Interests of the self can be asserted more fully...Preconventionaladolescents delayed in development are still Under thi infltknce of Internal and external physical stimuli, rather than that of symbolic representations conceptualizing past and future roles and values which have been sharedand self-examined. (p. 8) This description Is remarkably similar to faculty statements characterizing thebehaviors of NTID students (Harmer et al., 1971; Appendix A).
While it is clear tha: the development of the college-agehearing-knpaired person \,\\ lags behind that of his/her hearing peer, it is not altogether clearwhat can or should be done to facilitate development. There are, however,important suggestions that can be drawn from the literature.For example, Irrespwtive of the model used to study human development (Athey, 1980), implicit In eachIs the assumption that there will be Intensive and prolonged Interaction in social settingswith peers and mature adults.
In addition, Schlesinger (1978) suggests that anadolescent must have meaningful, reciprocal, and largely positive interactions with theenvironment, in order to move through the first three developmental steps described byErikson (1%4; 1968). Further, Belenky
(1980) suggests that special efforts should be made to provideyoUrig people with two broad kinds of experiences that can enhance theirdevelopment of moral judgment:
1. extensive, participation in the governance of:"sirly complex and sizable democratic institutions where...conflicts would be fully debit ed_ 2. working with others on an individual basis wher Isuch qualities.as care, responsibil- ity, and understanding are essential and reciprocated(p. 42).
"Foundations" experiences will include meaningful,reciprocal, and positive interaction in social settings with kers and matureadults. Learners will be provided opportunities for Involvement in the governance of complexdemocratic systems where there is human interaction directed at the resolutionof conflicts inherent in such systems.
23 16
First. Pre4jAiii:gandCopina with Conflict , Since many learners come to NTID ill-prepared to enter andselect majors, there A is a need for such preparation to occur atRIT. The environment of, R1T is 3ignificantly Iflifferent 11 that to which most learners are accustom;d. Even those students who have attended the most academ ically stringentof preparatory high schools find the transition to a university setting to beeformidable challenge. Such a challenge iseven more formidable for hearing impairedstudents who may be, for the first time,in an educational setting where the student body ispredominately hearing. An antecedent . to preparing to select and enter amajor is, therefore, the ability to manage or cope with the conflicts inherent in the transitionfrom the pre-college environment to the
RIT environment. The strategies which canLr.used in the resolution of such conflict
are similar to those thathave been isolated for persons making thetransition from one'
culture to another: adherence, substitution,addition, synthesis, and creation(Wasilewski
& Mitchell, 1980). Similarly there are generali'ocial competencies, e.g. role-taking,
knowledge of alternative strategies andthe appropriate, use .of alternativestrategies
(Weinstein, 1969), which can be helpful in resolvingthe conflicts in such a transition.
Such conflicts are often related to differencesin attitudes, patterns of .thought, social
organization, roles and role perceptions,language, use and organization of space,time
conceptualization and non-verbal expression(Samovar & Porter, 1976), i.e., there is
aknowledge and skill component to managing and copingin a cross cultural "type" setting.
The faculty of NT11) (Table 1) haveisolated informational and process skills necessary
to facilitate student success. 1 Foundations experience will attempt tooptimize`the. potential for students' managing
and coping with the conflicts inherentin thr transition-to college by:
4 1
24 17 1. assistinestudents in identifying the differences between their attitudes, patterns o4thought, social organization, roles and role perceptions, use and organization of space, time conceptualization and non-verbal expressions and those thatare expected of students at RIT. ,6,1/ 2. helping students become aware of and gain skill in the appropriate alternative strategies that are available to resolve the differences.
In order to be of assistance to students in this respect, Foundations experiences and . NTID must provide learners with a clear series of expectations regarding social organiza
tion, roles, use and organization of space, use and organization of time and the like.
Second Process - Decision Making
The selection of amajor Is a decision-making activity. Studentdecision making will be a second major process to be facilitated/developed by "Foundations" experiences. , Steve (1980) has suggested reasons, well supported In the literature, why an Individual does not succeed in a decision-making situations 1. He suggests that individuals can fall because they lack theprereqUisite skills to search out, recognize and use relevant information. This is best described by Gagne's (1968) theory of hierarchies of learning and could be termed the "learning deficit explana- tion." 2. Individuals may fall because their Information processing capabilities are taxed beyond their limits. Steve refers to this as the "biological lim ion explanation" which has been described by Simon (1976). 3. He suggests that poor decision making involves the conflict individuals feel in decision situations with important consequences. He refers to this as the "decisional conflict explanation" best described by the model constructed by Canis and Mann (1977). 18 The entering student, In order to be successful, must be able tofunction in many situations under varying degrees of risk, informational andtime constraints. Most, it not all, of these situations requirethe student to make decisions of varying degrees of importance and to recognize, the relativedegrees of importance vis a vis their outcome.
Steve (1980) recommends that certain environmentalmodifications regarding infor- mation and time can be made to foster qualitydec, 'ion- making. He also identifies certain considerations internal to the decision maker, regardingrisk, which also must be addressed to facilitate decision-making. Environmental considerations. With respect toinformation Steve recumrnends that, to facilitate student career decislari-making,"Foundations" should.consider: the type 'of information required in thedecision, the availability of that information, the presentation form of the Information which students mayneed, and strategies to insure c4i that the information is accessible at thetime the decision is made. There will be three principles used in the determination of, careerdecision information to be incorporated into "Foundations" experiences:
1, the information must be useful orreleVant to the career decision of selecting a major; 2. the information must be'available to students In an economic fashionrelatively free of .distractor information;
3. theinformation must be accessible to the student at the time thedecision is being made.
In addition, there must be a corn portentof "Foundations" which seeks to developinformation search, recognition and use skills because:
a. such skills iregeneralizable to new decision situations;
b. the necessary information for mostdecisions is almost never neatly presented to a decision maker.
26 19
With respect to time, the human Is a biologically-limited information processor, and the three principles listed above are a necessary but not sufficient consideration
In facilitating cleVelopment of decision-making regarding selection of a major. There is often insufficient time for students to process the information necessary to make an appropriate selection of a major.
As indicated previously, the Study Group On The Early Stages of Careerbevelopm ent
(1977) recommended that students need more time for making career decisions. It is therefore necessary for "Foundations" experiences to providestudents with more time than-is currently aLs.otted for making career decisions. This can be accomplished, in part, by initiating certain of the "Foundations"experiences prior to students' arriving on the RIT campus. Internal considerations. In addition to time and information,which can be controlled envirorrnentally, there are perceptions and beliefs internal to the decision maker that affect the quality of the decision processes used. These perceptions relate to therisk in continuing a current course of action, the risk involved inchanging a course of action, and the belief that a better solution can be found. Theseperceptions need to be clarified by the individual making a decision and need to bebrought into conjunction with the realities of the decision situation. It is in the articulation,clarification and bringing
Into conjunction of perceptions and "realities" thatthere'Ls a need for intensix.. human interaction. The individual involved in decision-makingshould Interact with a t rson or persons who canobjectively facilitate reflection upon perceptions of risk and the belief in the existence of potential solutions.Such a role can be played by counselors, mentors (Hawkins 1980), peers(Osguthorpe, 1980) or classroom teachers. The concern
Is not so much who is the facilitator but rather thatthe facilitation can be demonstrated 7 20 toxbe occurisystematically. Due to.theiFomplex natureof such facilitation, it will
be necessary to have mature adults play thisrole, and ItIl also be necessary to design
some "formal" experiencesthit encourage reflection. The third major process tobe an integral part of"Foundations" experiences will focus uponreflection. Third'Process - Reflection .Dowallby and Pagano (1931) have pointed out that alearner enters a decision situation
with a multitUde of previous experiencei, and that someof Ahese experiences share characteristics with the current decision situation. Inorder to negotiate a new situation,
the decision maker must first isolate thecharacteristics of past experiences which are
salient to current circumstances. Basedionthe past experiences and the configuration
of the current circumstances, the personwill have certain expectationsregarding his/her
chance of success in meeting thechallenges embodied in the new situation. Theexpectation will influence the amount of effort theindividual, is willing to expend. Th17,1eads to action and a resulting outcome along a succ-scontrition. The outcome will generate
an affective responsein the decisionurnakt,'. .fiJid the accuracyof causal ascription will
depend upon: 1, correct analysis of the decision task,
2. accurate perception of own resourcesrelative to the decisioh task,
3. adequate expenditure of effort.
In order to grow, an individual mustbe able to Identify what he/she didtliat contributed tatte resolution of a decision conflict and to storethat as part of the experience base
to be mobilized in futuresituations (Athey, 1930). The more thelearner engages in
the process just described and the greaterthe range of experiences assimilated, the
greater the probability that,faced-with a situation with different surface stimuli, he/she
will be able to identify shared generalcharacteristi with previous experiences and
apply !earnings-from theie previousexperiences to the resolution of the newsituation.
28 21
"Foundations" will therefore attempt to developstudents' abilities to:
1. reflect upon past experiences anddetermine which of those experiences are related to a decision situation at hand;
2. Isolate those characteristicsof said experiences that are salient tothe decision situation at hand;
3. project a series of expectations'regarding success and willingness to expend effort;
_ 4. accurately assess one's own resourcesrelative to the task at hand;
.5. adequately expend effort(take some action) in accomplishing the task athand.
Here again there will be a need for intensiveInteraction between a decision maker and a facilitator. Suchinteraction will need to be student .centered(Hawkins, 1981), i.e., the primary objective of theinteraction is student development, andthe facilitator must be flexible in order to meetthe student's needs as adeveloping humanbeing.' Several reviews of the literature(Athey, 1980; Belenky, 1980; Dansereau,1980;
Dowaliby & Pagano, 1981:Krift, 1980; Steve, 1980; Whitaker,1980) have indicated the need to assist students inIdentifying the relationship betweencharacteristics of previous experiences and those of currentexperiences. Focusing upon theaffective and cognitive outcomes of priorexperiences will help to establish abaseline for addressing new experiences.
Fourth Process - Studying to be prepare' Upon enteringan institution of higher education students are expected to engage in independentlearning. However, data indicatethat students enrolling at
NTID are weak in such skills. Forexample, Hanner et al.(1971) listed a series of "observa- tions on whichthere was substantial agreement amonginstructors about the.deaf students"
(p. 11). One such observation wasthat students are "not fully aware ofthe effort and
29 22 learning strategies required to be successfulin studies at the post-secondarylevel" (p.
12). This condition has remained substantiallyunchanged--a needs assessmentconducted with faculty 'In 1979 (see AppendixA) uncovered essentially the same concerns.Faculty
In the Advanced Program supportteams and General ,EducationProgramicontinue to offer study skills courses tohearing-impaired4earners. Further, careercounselors offer seminars to students in NTID'scertificate, diploma and associate level programs on such topics as time management,scholastic motivation, studying for examsand coping with differing teaching styles.. Ineffect, co iderable resources have beendirected
at developing students'abilities to learn and sty.
The fourth process to befacilitated by oundations" experiences will be the develop- ment of study skills. Tofacilitate discussion, 4cudying will bebroken into two broad
categories: willingness tostudy and studying strategies.
Willingness toastudy. Willingness tostudy Is dependent upon thestudent's perceiving the goals a need forstudying in order to achievehis/her goals. In an attempt to identify
of entering NTID learners,Stinson (Lang and Stinson,1981) conducted a study in which of twenty students Wereinterviewed. Thestudents were administered a standard set
open-ended questions in order todetermine why they had come toNTID, what were
their concerns upon entry aridwhat was most exciting to them uponentry. The reason
most commonly identifiedby the students for coming was"social" with "academic reasons" being cited second -- the differencebetween the two..wu statisticallysignificant. Further,
it was found th'at enteringstudents felt that attending college wasof real value for their future but were not able toarticulate their career goals verywell. In addition, academically the students expressed concernsabout entering a career andbeing 'successful significant) about establishing but they less frequentlyexpressed concerns (statistically
social relationships or selfmaintenance (funds etc.).Students may be willing to study
3o 23
but may be placing.study In asecondary position as compared tosocialization. Anecdotal information collected from career counselors,faculty and staff tends to supportthis
When a student's willingness tostudy is In question, the student mustfirst know 'whatis required, regarding study, tosucceed at college and must comparethis with his/her own expectations. That is, thestudent must compare and contrastthe study
effort and skills deemed necessaryfor college success with his/her ownexpectations
regarding study, academics, andsocializing, and must identify thediscrepancy between
the two. As a result, the studentwill know 'a discrepancy exists but may notcomprehend
the meaning of the discrepancysince he/she most likely has nothad to demonstrate for the learner the study behaviors necessaryfor success in college. It is necessary opportunity to test the reality ofdiscrep- to experience asituation in which he/she has an ancies identiffeth Such anexperience will need to be processedby the learner (see the
section on deflection) in orderfor him/her to begin tounderstand the magnitude and discrepancies. the nature of thediscrepancies and to take some action to eliminate these Study related skills. A student maybe willing to expend effort instudying but ess the skills to manage may lack certainstudy skips. For example,students may not time demands. In addition, their schedules and prioritizecompeting social and academic understanding relationships students may not posseuadequate skills at Identifying and what they study and cognitively In what they study, selectingthe important material from reorganizing the materials into apersonalized schema (Long, Hein& Coggiola, 1978).
bansereau et al. (1979) describe aseries of six primary comprehension-retention understanding, recall, digesting, and retrieval-utilizationlearning strategies: mood setting, of support strategies foroptimizing expanding and reviewing.They tiso identified a scrim goal setting andscheduling, concen- the internal psychologicalenviromnent of the learner:
3j 24
tration management, monitoring and diagnosing. A learning strategy system, corn posed of instruction in these primary and secondary strategies, was developed and used with college-age learners. The system proved to be effective in enhancing the behaviors and attitudes of participants (Dansereau et al., 1979). Dansereau (1980) suggests that many learners could benefit from such skillsand strategy training courses. He recommends that, if possible, "the skills and strategy programs shouldbe,run in parallel ''dth regular content courses" (p. 88).
Developing studying skills. "Foundations" experiences will include a component
,which focuses upon:
1. assisting students In identifying the discrepancy between study,behaviors needed in college and their behaviors prior to entering college;
2. providing students the opportunity to test the reality of this discrepancy by participating in rigorous academic activities which require study for success and in which they can be successful if they study;
3. facilitating reflection upon experiences (2 above) in order to assist students in focusing upon the effort and skills needed for academic success;
4. providing skill and strategy instruction of the type developed by Dansereau et al. (1979).
Summary
In summary, there are four processes upon which "Foundations" will focus in order to better prepare students to select and enter majors:
1. coping with or managing the conflicts inherent In the transition to the college environment;
2. decision-making; 25
3. the ability to reflect upon past experiences, relatethese to new experiences and take action regarding the new experiences; 4. studying and dernmstrating a givenlevel of competence vis avis certain skills and knowledge' areas.
33 26 Design Principles
There are a variety of orientations thatcould have been selected tocharacterize
"Foundations" experiences: alearner-centered orientation, acontent-centered orientation, "Foundationp", from itsinception, or an Instructor-centeredorientation (Hawkins, 1980). has derived its focus from acommitment to better meet enteringNTID students' needs
In preparing to select and entermajors. It is appropriate, then,that the hallmarks of "Foundations" experiences, i.e. 'ts tenets,be directly tied to fulfillingthis commitment.
"Foundations" will be an integrated set oflearner-centered experiences.'
In the learner-centered orientation,the needs of the student foroverall human and social development areconsidered to be primary(Hawkins, 1980). Chickering (1981) suggests that learning andhuman development are additiveand occur in the context of a student's past history, personalcharacteristics and motives. He statesthat, "this makes information about theknowledge and competencies gained fromwork and life experiences especially important indesigning effective education;.."(p. 16). He suggests
that, "we are tackling thebedrock task of human development..."(p._v 16) when we attempt
to achieve the .end. ofeffective preparation for work. Thisis particularly relevant when identified by Klemp (1977) as necessary one considers aseries of generic competencies
for success on a job:
1. communication skills,
2. information processingskills, conceptualizing skills, 3. ability to learn fromexperience,
4. ability to understand manysides of a complex Issue,
5. accurate empathy, positiveregard for others,
6. giving assistance,controlling Impulsive feelings,
7. define oneself as actor,cognitive initiative, proactivestance.
t'l 3 27
Very often curriculum will sacrifice the development of these generic skills for the development of content area Arnow ledge. "Foundations" experiences will seek to facilitate the development of the seven skills areas cited above. In so doing, student needs and level of development will be considered to be of primary importance. Since education
Is the process of movement from one skill, attitudinal, knowledge, or developmental level to another, students' entering skill, attitudinal, knowledge or developmental levels will be the starting point for 'Foundations" experiences. Since learner-centered experiences focUs upon 'tneeting the student where he/she is" and facilitating movement to where he/she needs to be in order to successfully meet academic challenges, "Foundations" experiences will be designed to accommodate entering students' developmental levels, while providing the conditions to facilitate the attainment of higher levels of development.
The learner-centered orientation will n_21, however, betaken at the exclusion of the other orientations. There will beta degree of content-centeredness in"Foundations" experiences. In a strict content-centered orientation, teachers and st nts would be expected to adjust their behaviors or attitudes to accommodate the reirements of the content disciplines (majors). The majors would, in effect,dictate the skills, facts or propositions that must be acquired, and there wouldbe little room for deviation.
Such an orientation Is the one most often taken by those of us educated intechnical disciplines. Unfortunately, the pre-requisite skill requirements of:disciplineare not quite as unambiguous as one might expect at first glance. While a content analysis can isolate broad and general skill requirements acrossdisciplines, there is debate within disciplines regarding the specific competencies necessary to enter a career area. Since
"Foundations" will be held accountable for better preparingstudents to enter a major, there will be a need for a degree of content-orientatio.-but, since disciplines are not static and there is a lack of clarity regarding prerequisites, itwill be necessary that the content addressed in "Foundations" be common acrossNTID disciplines. 28 In addition, there will alwaysbe a need for those valuableinsights, anecdotes and touches of humanity that can be providedonly by a teacher withexperience. There is, therefore, the need for adegree of Instructor orientationin "Foundations". Taken to the extreme,however, an Instructor considershim /herself to be "the" model for students to emulate, i.e., the uniqueappioach.he or the takes to teaching iscAidered to embody the content taught. The studentis expected to go td 4theteacher in search of wisdom
mils expected to accommodate his or herpersonality or style.
Principles There are four principles that willbe utilized in designing"Foundations" experiences:
1. there will be a set of rigorousinstitutional expectations, explicitlystated;
2. If expectations are met bythe student, success will beexperienced; if expectations;.
are not met, thereprobably will not be a successfuloutcome; There will be a high levelof interaction betweenstudents and faculty, as well
as betweenentering students and olderstudents; concrete, experiential 4. "Foundations" experienceswill be designed to move from a
base toward abstraction andgeneralization.
Wherever possible these fourprinciples will beadhered to In the design, construction,
and implementation of"Foundations" experiences. demands Rigorous exciztaliosxrdex liciAntesst.The college environment places academic expectations. upon students'adaptive skills, in terms ofmeeting both social and Program, Currently, the first experiencemost students have atNTID, the Summer Vestibule provide an accurate andrealistic tests a student'sability to cope socially but does not
sampling of the academicdemands a student will face inthe Fall Quarter and beyond. be established from the Therefore, realistic and accurateacademic expectations will
student's first contactwith "Foundations". ,29 The need for explicit statement of the expectations derives frommost students'
limited experience with inferring rules and correctly Interpretingunstated expectations
from abstract and loosely-connected experiences. Since students' developfrientallevels may require clarity of communication, a minimum set of Institutional expectations will
,be made explicit to the student from the beginning of his/her associationwith NTID.
Experiencing success if expectations are met. Explicit statements ofexpectations
are a necessary but not sufficient condition for optimizing a student's chances ofsuccess.
For example, with respect to acceptable levels of studying, academicsuccess can be
accomplished through the utilization of support systems (e.g., tutoring,meritoring, study
skills instruction, etc.) which will Iptimize the probability that the studentcan meet the challenges of academic college.
Dowaliby and Pagano (1980) has pointed out that a person will attributesuccess
to his/her own actions if he/she has succeeded In a 3:fustian thatwas challenging,
in which he/she expended a reasonable amount of effort and in which he/she expected. to succeed. Although "Foundations" experiences will be designed to optimize success, they will be, challenging and require considerable expenditure of efforton the part of the student. L
A 11421 level of interaction. Many students come to NTID with limited experiences in interacting with adults, peers, and social systems. Communization difficulties with ai hearing Individuals and restrictive environrnents in many schoolsare primary contributors to the reduced frequency of such irtteraction. Liben (1978) suggests that a deprivation
In a student's experience may have serious consequences for development:
Social experience may also be divided into two components. First, social interaction provides the opportunity for transmission of the society's knowledge, traditions, mores, values, etc., through both formal and informal means, for example, zchool and family. St-cond, social interaction provides the opportunity for the child to 'develop social-cognitive skills. Interactions with adults and peers force the child 30
to recognize that others'viewpoints ma; differ from his or her own,thus helping the child to decenter from thesgocentricperspective of preoperationalthinking. (p. 198)
"Foundations." will be designed to encourageand facilitate reciprocal socialinteraction
with peers and adults throughsystems of mentoring, student participation in the governance In addition, of "Foundations"expersiencei and non-didactic approaches to teaching.
major emphasis will be placed,uponfacilitating students' development of competency
in the low major processesuntil they are able to performthe processes with limited
assistance. Concrete to abstract. Learnersentering NT1D tend to bepre-conventional in level their thinking (De Caro and Emerton,1978), and persons at the pre-conventional
are "...still under theinfluence of internal and externalphysical stimuli, rather than
that of.symbolic representationsconceptualizing, past and future rolesand values which 973), hive been shared and self-examined"(Belenky, 1989, p. 8). Colby and Kohlberg
Kohlberg (1969), Kohlberg andDeVries (1969), andKuher, Kohlberg, Langer and
(1975) have shown that there is acorresponding stage in Piagetiandevelopmental levels cognitive for each moral stage. Belenky(1980) has, however, pointed out that mature
reasoning does not automatically assurethat there will be maturityin moral reasoning. 1966; Vernon, 1%7) that the ;She also indicates thatwhile,evidence shows (Furth, 1964; Plaget are not delayed in deafchildren, early stages of cognitivedevelopment, described by operational thought. She suggests the evidence is not so clearfor development of formal
that "if hearing impairedadolescents are unusuallydelayed in achieving the capacity for abstract,lormal thought,that delay could contribute tothe unusually low levels DeCaro and Emerton (1978)" of moral, reasoning in(deaf) college students observed by (p. 22). It remains to be seen ifstudents do lag in theachievement of formal thought; is likel-, however, ancedotal informationwould tend to indicate thatsuch a la
38 31
Parasnls and Long (1978) have reported data which show thatNTID students tend to be more field dependent than their hearing peers.Further, Dowaliby (studypin progress) has found that NTID students are more people orientedandt.desire greater structure in a learning situation than do their hearing counterparts these are traits characteristic of field dependent persons. There Is data(Koran, Snow & McDonald, 1271; Maranty
& Dowaliby,1973a; 1973b) which establishes a trait-treatment Interaction between field dependence/independence and destract/cOncrete presentations oflearning materials.
For example, Koran et al. (1971)suggest' that "...explicit, concrete presentation of the stimulus elements...may provide a behavioral representationfor the learner that he could generate for himself ..." ( _p.226). Concrete models and well Illustrated verbal presentations appear to Serve a compensatory functionfor field dependent learners.
While there are no studies regarding deafness whichlink the constructs cited above to the desirability of concrete vs.abstract instrumentation, the data are considered to be strong enough to warrantaddressing learners In such a fashion as to progress from the concrete to the abstract in"Foundations" experiences. .A variety of concrete and tangible experiences will be designed to provideopportunities for students to take many rolesvto interact with adults and peers, to takereasonable risks, to take an active problem- solving stance and to experience cause-effect relationships.Such opportunities are often missing from many students' backgrounds and are necessaryif the students are to sec :essfully master the four processes putforward in this paper.
t 3ncomItantly, "Foundations"experiences will begin the process of moving toward the abstract and generalizable - withappropriate supports to enable the student to do so.Given the current status of the technical courses in various majors,preparedness to enter translates partially intothe !ibility to manipulate abstractionsand to make generalizations. it would be a disservice tostudents not to attempt to facilitate the development of such abstract reasoning processes. 32 1
There are some hypotheses and assumptions whichhave been made in developing this conceptual framework that will be tested duringthe pilot and implementation, phases.
For example, it is hypothesized that mostentering students have attained the level of concrete operational ,thought but not, formal reasoning--thiswill be tested. Finally, the "Foundations" concept - as`well as the conceptof an NT1D - are essentially .embodiments of the hypothesis that significant interventions canbe made to facilitate the development of hearing-impaired individuals.
lo Conclusion
This document proposes four major processesthat "Foundations" experiences should address in order to better prepare students toselect and enter majors. The paper also proposes some broad principles tobe used in the design of such experiences.The proposal of these procepes and design principles canes asthe culmination of a needs assessment and approximately two years of dialogueregarding several theoretical constructs. This document submitted to NT1D as theconceptual framework around which "Foundations" will be designed.
do 33
Bibliography
Altshuler, K.Z., Deming, W.E.,Vollenweider, S.D. & Tendler, R. knpulsivityand profound early deafness: A crossculturalinquiry. Americal Annals of the Deaf,1976, 121,
1.31-345.
Areson, A., Doe, S., Kadunri,N., Long, 3., Maruggi, E., and White,K. Report of the
--Study Group on the Early Stages ofCareer Development. Unpublishedmanuscript, National Technical Institute for theDeaf at Rochester Institute ofTechnology,
February 1977. 1-
Athey, I. Theories and models ofPitman development: Theirimplications for the education
of the deaf (Foundations literaturereview series). Unpublished manuscript,National Technical Institute for the Deaf at theRochester Institute of Technology, 1980.
Belenky, M.F. The role of deafnessand educational in the moral developmentof hearing
impaired children adolescents(Foundations literature review series). Unpublished
manuscript, National TechnicalInstitute for the Deaf at theRochester Institute
of Technology, 1980.
Binder, P.3. The relationshipbetween verbal languageand impulsivity in the deaf (Doctoral
dissertatlo , Wayne StateUniversity, 1970). DissertationAbstracts International,
1971, 32It1 4B-561.5B. (University Microfilms No. 71-384).
Bishop, M., Crandall, K., Hinkle,We, Peterson, B., Stre im, N. & Vos,S. Early stages of career development: A concept paper.Unpublished manuscript, NationalTechnical
Institute for the Deaf atthe Rochester Institute ofTechnology, 1979.
Brunchwig, L. A study ofsome personalityaspects of deaf children.New York: Teachers
College, Columbia University,1936.
41 34
Chickering, A.W. Integrating liberal education, work,and human development. American Association for tither EducationBulletin, 1981, 33(7), 1-17.
Colby, A. & Kohlberg, L The relationbetween the deVelopment of formal operations and moral judgement. In D. Bush& S. Feldman (Eds.), C_:go nitive development
and social development. Relationships andimplications. New York: Lawrence
Earlbaum Associates, 1973.
Dansereau, D. Transfer of learning from onesetting to another (Foundations literature
review series). Unpublished manuscript,National Technical Institute for the Deaf
at the Rochester Instituteof Techhology, 1980.
Dansereau, D.F., McDonald, B.A., Collins,K.W., Garland, 3., Holley, C.D., Dickhoff,
G.M. & Evans, S.H. Evaluation of alearning strategy system. iA H.F, O'Neil,
3r. and C.D. Spielberger (Eds.) Cognitiveand affective learning strategies. New
York: Academic Press, 1979.
DeCaro, P.A. & Emerton, G. Acognitive developmental investigationof moral reasoning
in a deaf population. Paperpresented at the American EducationalResearch Association
Annual Meeting, Toronto, 1978.
DlLorenzo, L., Marron, M. & Welsh,B. Student, graduate or drc -lout?(Concept paper -follow-up report IV). Unpublishedmanuscript, National Technical Institutefor the Deaf at the Rochester Institute ofTechnolbgy, 1981.
DlLorenzo, L. & Welsh, B. Changing programsand.majors: How many? when?where?
1Concept paper - follow-up report11). Unpublished manuscript, National Technical Institute'for the Deaf at the RochesterInstitute of Technology, 1981.
42 A 35
Dowaliby, F.J. &. Pagano, 3.A. Locus of control: Review and implications forInstruction
of the heariTimpaired (Foundations literature review series). Unpublished manuscript, National Technical Institute for the Deaf at the Rochester Institute of Technology,
1981.
Erikson, E.H. Insight and responsibility. New York: Norton, 1964.
Erikson, E.H. Identity, youth and crisis. New York: Norton, 1968.
Gagne, R.M. The conditions of learning.. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston,1977.
Hanner, B., Badamy, 3., Berry, H., Consaul, V., Rucker, T., Stuckless, R., Titus, 3. & Young, 3. Toward the identification of educationally significant traits of post-
secondary deaf students. Unpublished manuscript, NationalTechnical Institute
for the Deaf at the Rochester Institute of Technology,1971.
Harris, R.I. The relationship of impulse controA to parentlearning status, manual communication,
and academic achievement (Doctoral dissertation, New YorkUniversity, 1976).
Dissertation Abstracts International, 1977, 27, 4682B.(University Microfilms
No. 774410). c Harris, R.I. Impulse control in deaf children: Research andclinical issues. In L.S. Liben
(Ed.), Deaf children: Developmental perspectives. New York: AcademicPress,
1978.
Hawkins, R. Primary monitoring as a teaching strategy(Foundations literature review
series). Unpublished manuscript, National TechnicalInstitute for the Deaf at
the Rochester Institute of Technology,1980.
Janis, I.L. & Mann, L. Decision making. NewYork: The Free Press, 1977.
Kaufman, R.A. Educational System Planning:Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1972.
43 36
Klemp, G.O., 3r. Three factors of success. In D.W. Vernilye(Ed.) relating work and
education. San Francisco: 3ossey-Bass, 1977.
Kohlberg, L., Stage and sequence: The cognitive developmentalapproach to socialization.
In DMA. Goslin (Eci.),Handbook of socialization theoryand research. Chicago:
Rand McNally, 1969.
Kohlberg, I.. & De Vries, R. Relation5 between Piaget andpsychometric assessments of intelligience. Paper presented at the Conference ontheNational Curriculum,
Urbana, Ill., 1969.
Koran,M.L., Show, R.E. & McDonald, F.3. Teacher aptitude And observational learning of a teaching skill. Journal of EducationalPsychology, 1971, 61, 219-228.
Kraft, R.3. The theory of experiential, learning(Foundations literature review series). National Technical Institute for the Deaf at the RochesterInstitute of Technology,
1980.
Kuhn, D., Kohlberg, L, Langer, 3. & Hoan, U. Thedevelopment of formal operations
cr,i logical and moral judgement.GercelystiologyMonographs, 1975.
Lang, H.G. & Stinson, M. Careereducation and socioeconomic status of leaf persons:
Concepts, research and implications. Unpublisixl manuscript, National Technical
Institute for the Deaf at the RochesterInstitute of Technology, 1981.
Levine, E.S. Youth in a soundless world.New York: New York University Press,1956.
Liben, L.S. Developmental perspectives onthe experiential deficiencies of deafchildren.
In L.S. Liben (Ed.) Deaf children:Developmental perspectives.Newi'Prk: Academic.
Press, 1978.
44 37
Long, G., Hein, R. & Coggiola,. D. Networking: A semantic-based learning strategy for improving prose comprehension (Department of R & D PaperSeriesNo. 26).
Unpublished manuscript, National Technical Institute for the Deaf at the Rochester
Institute of Technology, 1978.
Marantz, S. & Dowaliby, F.3. Film versuslecture methods of instruction as related
to imageability. Paper presented to the American EducationalResearch Asiociation,
1973a..
Marantz, S. & Dowaliby, F.3. Individual differencesin learning from pictoral and verbal
instruction. Unpublished report, University of Massachusetts, 1973b.
Moores, D.P., Weiss, K.L. & Goodwin, M.W. Evaluation of raljurin impaired children: report of 1972-1973 (Research Project No. 57, Project No.332189,
Grant No., 0E-332189-4533). Minneapolis: University of MinnesotaResearch,
Development and Demonstration Center in Education .of HandicappedChildren,
1973.
Osguthorpe, R.T. Tutoring special students(Foundations literature review series). Unpublished
manuscript, National TechnicInstitute for the Deaf at the Rochester Institute
of Technology, 1980. n;
Parasnis, L & Long, G.L. Relationships am mg spatialskills, communication skills, and
fielctindependence in deaf students. Perceptual Motor Skills, 1979, 49, 879-
887.
PIT Official Bulletin. Vol. LXXX, No. 3.Rochester, New York: Rochester Institute
of Technology, May, 1980. 38 Samovar, L.A. & Porter, R.E. Intercultural communications:A reader. Belmont, California:
Wadsworth Publishing Company, 1976.
Schlesinger, H.S. The effects of deafness on childhooddevelopment: An Erikson Ian
perspective. In L.S. Men (Ed.) Deaf Children:Developmental unmstives.
New York: Academic Preis, 1978.
Simon, H.A. Administrative behavior: A stud ofdecision-makin oce, all administrative
organization. New York: 'Free. Press, 1976.
Steve, M. Problem solvyig and decision making:A iiview of the literature(Foundations
literature review series): Unpublished manuscript,National Technical Institute
for the Deaf at the Rochester Institute ofTechnology, 1980.
Stokes, W. S n lan ua e structure: An outline ofthe visual communications systems of the American deaf? Buffalo: Universityof Buffalo, 1945.
Trybus, R.3. & Karchmer, M.A. School achievement scoresof hearing impaired children:
National data on achievwent status andgrowth patterns. American Annals of
the Deaf, 1977, 122(2), 62-69.
Weinstein, A.R. The development of interpersonalcompetence. In D. Goslin (Ed.) Handbook
of socialization theory and researeth.Chicago: Rand McNally, 1969.
Wasilewski, 3.H. & Mitchell, 3.D.Martin. Multicultural copingand adaption competencies (Foundations literature review series). Unpublishedmanuscript, National Technical
Institute for the Deaf at the RochesterInstitute of Technology, .1980. ci I Whitaker, U. Experiential learning as ateaching strategy for the career education of
hearing - impaired college students(Foundation literature review series). National Technical Institute for the Deaf at theRochester Institute for the Deaf at the
Rochester Institute of Technology, 1980. 46 39
White, Karl R. A Summary Report of an Evaluation ofNTID's 1977 Sunmer Vestibule
Program: Report #1. Unpublished manuscript, NationalTechnical Institute for
the Deaf at Rochester Institute ofTechnology, March, 1978.
a
* APPENDIX A
Problem Statements Isolated In 1979
4 8 41
Our students have a limited knowledge base and frequently haVe preconceived notions re careers and majors.
I. Work experience limited
2. Sex-stereotypes
3. Majoring in college, liberal arts/tech
4. External influences on choice
S. Expectation/ability don't,mesh 6. Personality Influences (don't like chairperson - watt,.4jor in that dept)
7. Misconception of majors (civil tech. bulldozer drixer)
E. Choice.of majors Influenced by Ideas of salary
9. Limited exposure to career options and role models
14
49 42
2. Our students have a limited knowledge ofself, e.g., a. strengths/weaknesies re career clusters b. values system c. interests
1. External control (peers, parents, etc.)
2. Ability and expectations don't mesh
3. Lack of ability to introspect
4. Help seeking (wrong person, wrongtime, wrong way)
5. Very limited experientialbase/lack of feedback
6. Unwillingness to take responObillty fordecision (seeks a solution, not advice)
7. No developed value ertem -or underdeveloped
8. Black and white way of viewing theworld, values, behaviors
AI
5U 43
3. Our students use unsophisticated. processesfor decision-making.
4441:4 t'Don't consider alternatives, risks, consequences 2. External Influences on decision (peer arents)
3: Accountability - we don't hcbicl students accountable,students won't accept accountability 4..Discrepancy between social expectations and reallimitations of a disability
3. Process students use (If they useone) seems to be based on "today"
.6. Limited information on which tobase a decision
7. Seek decisions from authority ratherthan making decision for self
0 4. Our students lack a repertoire of coping skills.
1. Unwillingness to face problems (transfers, LOA, turn-off when encounter difficulties) (fee of failure ? ?) Inability to transfer what they did in one situation to another(English skills
to photo, strengths in solving problems in past tosolving problem now)
3. Need for immediate response-to\problem
b., Lack of awareness of normal range of problems
5. Locus of control(other,people need to change; they control mydestiny)
6. ?* Students can'tseparite problems (all are intertwined) f
7. Problems with time management and setting priorities' 45
S. Our students possess an Inadequate knowledge base re cultures and their development.
1. Stereotyped Ideas about careers and groups,
Zr Rigidity and low tolerance for retrences
3. Lack of appreciationfor-delicuirre, where theycome from
4. Don't understand-dyntinIcs of a setting
. 5. Severe culture shock upon arrival at NTID
6. Inability to Judge life experiences, to be/non-Judgmental about things they can't always be judgmental about
7. Generalizability - 'transferability - applicability of principles, concepts
53 A6
6. An NTID student's sense of purpose and Identity emanates primarilyfrom affiliation
with a major.
1. Lack of incentive for courses outside the malar or whenin NCDS
2. ,External control on 1.13. (also transit
3. Crash when don't have a major
4. Identificationmay be with peoplein major, not major itself
(
lab
54 I
47
7. There is no centralized body which reviews and monitors an Individual student's
flow as well as aggregate student flow.
1. Only counselor has access to all info but everytime the student changes,
he gets a new counselor
2. LaCk of uniformity /uniform criteria In how departments determine if students can transfer in or out
J. Changing roles of counselors, staff chairpersons leave question of authority/responsibility
up in air
4. No one person is totally aware of any one student's history
5. Our attitude makes it easy for students to change
6. It may be preferable not to have I cet,,.;:,;ed body/big brother
7. When counselors change, info about students is lost - student may make same
mistake again and again
\, 48
8. We lack an institutional definition ofaberrant student flow.
1. Don't have parameters to vary Iranlit's of changes, time limits, etc) Nrnbivalence re LOAS, changes
3. Ethical/Policy Issues - How much time, resourcesis one student entitled to? etc. 49
9. We are unable to provide appropriate experiences for students who fall in the different cells of the matrix.
,) Has Necessary Skills Does Not Have Necessary For Major Skills for Major
Knows what, major he/she. wants and it Is an NTID/RIT major
Knows what major he/she wants and it is not offered at NTID/RIT
Doei not know what major he/she wants
1. How far does NTID's responsibilitygO in providing experiences for all students?
2. We aren't making enough use of Individualizedinstruction, multiple entry
points
3. Low-skill students very frustrated in skill improvement tracks
57 50
10. Students are forced to choose a career direction prior to being readyand able
to do so.
1. External influence on decisiim-making
2. Lack of information
3. How can we measure when students are "ready" for a decision Our structure forces people into choices which may be premature
56 51
11. Students lose an unacceptable amount of time and credit in transferring from
major to major.
1. Lack of multiple entry times
2. Lack of options for students who are undecided or who want tochange majors
in quarter when new major isn't opening
3. Students lose time even in natural changes (Civil or Arch toIndust. Drafting;
C.S. to NBTD)
4. Students "in-between" majors lose motivation to study 52
12. There is a gap between students' entry abilities and the criteria for entryinto
majors.
Our entry criteria may be unrealistically low consideringhow far we have
to move students by time of major(entry and exit) and the amount of time
we have to do it in
2. What are implications of our criteria for multiply-handicapped students
3. Secondary schools' records cannot always be relied upon
4. Need better assessment of skills and transmittal process tostudents for
early discussion of most realistic and most unrealistic Options open tostudents
Y./
60 53
13. There is a lack of a systematic process for assessing a learner's strengths and weaknesses
re majorsand for transmitting such information to the learner and the appropriate administrative authority re the major.
Team concept - good concept, what will happen to it? Could lead to fragmentation
re thestudentsrut
2. Who is responsible for transmitting info to student, to faculty
3. Tests may not be valid with our population
61. 54
ILThere Is Insufficient time to develop processskills and content mastery prior to the student's entry to amajor.
1. Validity of requirements/falserequirements
2. Treating all students as II they allhad same needs
3. Lack of experiential base 55
13. We lack multiple entry points to NT1D and to majors.
Strategies like -rikultiplesections, self-pacing
2. What is pay-off of going to multiple entry - howmany students are we talking
about
3. NT1D-R1T-NTID flow may put students out of sequence 56
for institutional 16. We lack specified Institutional,departnental and major requirements curricular offerings and forcertification of stUdents.
1. The requirements we do have, wedon't enforce .2. Validity of requirements
3. Sequencing of requirements
64 3.Decaro4 7/15/81 tbh SWIION I:
DEMONIC!? OF THE LEAH
6i Theories and Models of Human Development:
Their Implications for the Education of the Degf
Irene Athey b1
Theories and Models of Human Development:
Their Implications for the .Education of the Deaf
Irene Athey Rutgers University
The major purpose of the present review is toabstract from'a broad range of developmental theoriesand models those aspects that pertain to the adolescent and young adult and to integratethese aspects in such a way as to preient a compositepicture of the "typical" or "normal!' person of this age. The models will be scrutinized for indications orpreilictions as to ways in which personswho; by reason of somehandicapping'colettion or environmental deprivation or somecombination of, the two, eithor fail reach or deviate from the expected norm.
The review will be in four sections:
I. Theories and Models
A. Philosophical ,
1. Maturational-biological 2. Environmental: 3. Interactionist
B. Cognitive-Learning .
1. Maturational-biological:Jensen, Gesell 2. Environmental: Pavlov, Watson,Skinner 3. Interactionist: Piaget
C. Language
1. Maturational-biological: Chomsky,Lenneberg 2. Environmental: Skinner, Staats, Luria 3. Interactionist: Bloom, Cazden
fi .D. Personality
1. Maturational-biological: Freud 2. Environmental: Mead, Benedict,Bandura-Walters 3. Interactionist: Erikson, H avighurst
E. Morality
1. Maturational-biological: 2. Environmental: 3. Interactionist:Kohlberg, Maslow
F. Education
1. Maturational-biological: Montessori 2. Environmental: Gagne 3. Interactionist: Cronbach-Snow 67 62 C. Vocational
1. Maturational-biological: 2. Environmental: Roe, Super 3. Interactionist:
II. Composite Picture of a "Normal', and a Deaf Adolescent'
1. Perception of self 2. Perception of the world 3. Achievement motivation 4. Career orientation. 5. Expected behavior
III. Sex, Ethnic, and Socioeconomic Differences
IV. Implications for Instruction and Guidance of Deaf Students
68 63
ti
Section 1
Theories and Models
a
Section 1 will be organized into units corresponding to ways in which the psychology of the human organism has traditionally been divided for study: Cognitive/Learning, Language, Personality,' Morality, and Vocational theories. Additionally, theories of Education that have relevance for the study of adolescence will be considered. Within each unit are found models that exemplify the biogenetic or maturational, the environmental or sociocultural, .and_ interactionist, or those that positsothe-form-or inter- action between the developing organism and the environment. Table 1 summarizes this organization.
In discussing each model, we will begin with a brief general outline of the theory-or model, then proceed to elaborate on those aspects of the theory that pertain to adolescence. THEORIES and MODELS of HUMAN DEVELOPMENT 64
Maturational- Environmental Interaction st biological
A. . Philosophy Lecky
Pavlov . Cognitive- Gesell Jensen Watson Piaget . Learning Skinner
Language Chomsky Skinner -Lenneber-g-- Bloom Luria Cazden
Erikson Personality Mead Freud Benedict Havighurst Hall Bandura-Walters
Kohlberg Morality Maslow
Education Montessori Gagne Cronbach-Snow
Vocational Roe Super 65
Lecky's Self-Consistency Theory Lecky's (1951) theory is based on the premise that human behavior is usually "in character" because all the acts of an individual have the goal of maintain- ing the same structure of values (pp.81-82). Lecky was reacting to the pervasive behaviorism of his day, which tended to study isolated pieces of behavior without reference to a theoretical under- pin,,ing that might provide a broader framework. Prediction of future behavior from this standpoint would rest solely on the frequency with which similar be- havior had occurred and been reinforced in the past. Lecky rejected this notion categorically. A few quotations from his single work, Self-Consistency (1951) give the flavor of his positinn. While the study of character would of course be worthless unless it were based on carefully established facts, it is also apparent that the facts alone do not furnish their own illumination. The central
scientific problem, therefore, is manifestly interpretation. . . Mechanistic theory is itself an interpretation (p.99). The current definition of psychology as "the study of behavior" is as meaningless as a science of physicg described as "the study of motion." What is meant, of couse, is the behavior of organisms, but if the organism is the unit, and we study it descriptively, we thereby suppress the integral character of the behavior itself (pp.100-101). For Lecky,_then,.the structure_ of the Personality is a constellation of values, some of which are close to the core of the self, while-others are more peripheral and more amenable to change. The total constellation changes over time -- more slowly and with more resistance at the center, more readily at the periphery. By selective perception and memory of those events that fit the value system, and by, distortion or abandonment of those that do not, the personality is molded into a coherent unity of ideas, attitudes, values, and beliefs. Self-consistency is thus the overriding principle of personality formation. Change is possible, however, through learning. Learning is problem solving, and the problem basically is the problem of assimilation. To use Lecky's own example, to the infant, food is a problem; it must begin with those foods that are easy to assimilate, and progress tdZmore varied diet by easy stages. "In a word, the organism must learn to solve increasingly difficult problems of assimilation, and develops because it does solve them " (p.114). If learning is problem-solving, then the solutions achieved constitute the organism's preparation for the next.task. The broader the preparation, the wider the variety ofloods,that can be used to maintain the organi:m in its normal state, and the greater its freedom of choice and action, since it is no longer dependent on certain kinds of food. But other learnings are also involved. .The organism Mist also learn 'to defend itself against germs and bacteria, to adjust to changes in temperature, and in general, to live in the environment in which it finds itself, "Stability is a function of preparation " (p.114). There is, of course, a strong parallel between Lecky's formulation and that of. Piaget, who drew heavily on biology in developing his theory. The parallel becomes even more evident as Lecky'elaborates on the learning process. Independence and freedom, insofar as they exist, are thus the organism's own achievement. Assistance can be given by protecting the child against problems too difficult for him, and by presenting new
71
16, 66
problems at the proper time, but the learning itself must be accomplished by the child. He must develop his own repertory of solutions.'Since his:pieparation at any given time is limited, however, and his history marked by,failures as well as by successes, the scope of his freedom is-likely to be rather sharply defined. That is, he tends to select and avoid situations according to his estimate of his own abilities. On the basis of past experience, he predicts in advance whether new situations will be soluble'or insoluble, and consequently, r whether his organization will be strengthened or disturbed if he faces the problem.., As- with-Piaget , -although-the-discust ion started-at-the-biological level with the assimilation of food, it moves quite naturally into the psychological field, since the mechanisms of assimilation (and in Piaget's case, accommodation)are:, the same. Together they constitute the individual's adaptation (Piaget's term) to his envIronment. Piaget would agree with Lecky that "learning;begins with a problem which produces or threatens toproduce an emergency state, and pro- ceeds in the direction of a:state of stability." (p.115), but the terminology would be slightly different. Piaget would say that some event (external or internal) disturbs the equilibrium of the organism, which "assimilates" those aspects of the event that fit the organism's schemata at the moment, as a result of which, accommodation (internal or behavioral) occurs, raising the organism to a new state of equilibrium. Thus, learning has taken place.
We .seeThciiti;fflich Toth i\dufhor-s-owi-ici-the-Getralt-psychorciasts4- concept of "reorganization of the perceptual field." Another interesting point made by Lecky is that learning also involves more economical use of theorganism's resources. A performance that is being learned involves the activity of the whole organism (cf. the globalundifferen- tiated body activity of the infant). After learning takes place, the activity becomes More differentiated and localized. In other words, efficiency as well as level of performance is an impertant ingredientof learning. Conversely, if mastery of the skill or task is accomplished, but the excessiveactivity continues, or an inordinate amount of time is consumed in theperformance, according to Lecky, this signifies a failure in the learning.Of course, there are situations where even after learninghas taken place, the organism for some reason resorts 'to "emergency behavior." ''.ogically, therefore, the evidence would indicate that the process is not roc%anical " (as stimulus-responsetheory- would hold), "but economic, a question of organic efficiency,cooperation, and division of 1.kber. Problems must be solved to prevent the 'too - frequent appear- ance of emergency behavior, whichwould interfere with organic efficiency ", (p.116). Like other phenomenological theories, Lecky's is essentiallyhumanistic, subjective, and individualistic. The organism is conceptualized not as physical system whose behavior obeys the laws of mechanics,but as an orgapiza- tion with the psychological attributes of thinking,choosing, remembering, learning. Hence his explanation of certain psychological phenomena isdifferent from the behavioristic interpretation. It may be remembered that, in a famous experiment, Pavlov subjected his dogs to a learning Situation in which the animal was conditioned to respond to a circle but not to an oval. When the stimulus became ambiguous (the oval gradually became morecircular), the ani- mal's behavior changed abruptly. It began to jerk violently, squealingand biting the apparatus, even after it was removed toanother room.. This condition of acute neurosis often lasted several months.* Pavlov's explanation, showed that the same behavior canbe * Later experiments by Gantt, using sbee experimental evoked years later in some aubjectssimp$'by returningtnem to tne room. 72 67
of course, rests on the hypothesis that the conflicting processesof excita- tion and inhibition are induced simultaneously in the brain. Lecky points out the "curious fact" that the severity of the symptoms in such cases seems to be determined by the lack of expectation-rather than by the shock itself. "The ability to foresee and predict environmental happenings, to understand the world one lives in and thus, to be able to anticipate events and prevent-the necessity for sudden readjustments, is an absolute prerequisite for the mainten- ance of unity.... The apparent stability of the habit system is not to be -interpreted as._due_ to the fixation-of-pathways in the nervous_ systemt_butrather as the reflection of a stable system of values. It follows that to change the habits we must work on the values, not on the habits themselves " (p.122-3). Many of Lecky's statements have a contemporary ring,. especially in the realm of changing ingrained social attitudes toward minorities the Nandi-
, capped. Such attitudes are often at the core of the personality organization to the point where they are a stable feature of theunconscious. It may be difficult even for people who want to change and are able to intellectualize their attitudes to change beliefs at this deep-seated level. By the same token it must be realized that persons who have been members of a minority group all their lives have their own internalized system of beliefs about the world, and their relationships to it, their ability to control it, etc. If realW -4s-A-ConStrUCt as -Pi aget -mint aim, we need-to-examine-tim-eanstrue-t-of particular individuals that are the object of scrutiny. it, as LecRy avers, all behavior is motio.rated by the need for unity, then we can begin tounderstand particular noti.ves or actions as expressions of that main motive, and to see rational why behavior that appears deleterious or even self-destructive, is r. in terms of maintaining self-consistency. Phenomenological theories concentrate on the present. The most important factor in psychological understanding is to perceive the worldthrough the eyes of the individual at a given moment in time. qpntained within the present, however, are the personts interpretation of past 'and future. The way the past is perceived has more bearing on subsequent behavior than thereinforcement history, for example; but it is the future that beco,hes particularlysalient in a teleological theory such as Lecky's. In the case of the adolescent, we need to know about the motives, goals, and anxieties thatcharacterize this period, both for understanding current behavior and forpredicting the future. Self-consistency is the unifying principle that allows the future to be pre- dieted with some degree of confidence from the present. Doran and Adelson (1966) conducted an extensivestudy to eplore. adolescent conceptions of future time and adulthood. The adol6celt straddles the two worlds of childhood and adulthood. The metaphor most commonly used to depict this status is that of the bridge; however, it is in some ways inapt. Passage between the two worlds is not simple andunidirectional. There is a great deal of wavering and backtrackingand general broadening of viewpoint as though the adolesCent weretrying to encompass both worlds in an overall perspective. Adulthood is not just a prospect that the child seesahead; it is a crucial component of daily life permeating allthoughts and activities. A more appropriate metaphor than the bridge isthe-picture puzzle, the future being a crucial piece that is missing. "The color and content of the piece are missing, but the_shapeis,established, and bears an intimate relationship
7,3 68
the future is in to bordering pieces If the piece is really crucial -- as adolescent identity --, the-whole puzzle depends for itsinterpretation and' meaning on what the piece will looklike " (p.22). orient toward There are, of course, many waysin which the adolescent may painted in the future. Is the future concept moregeneral than specific, is it over- ,road strokes with the detailsleft to later determination, or sit on the important specific in some particulars? Where does the young person .of the-future? These- dimension of realityifantasy?flow coherent-Ali-the-view were some-of thequestions addressed by the Doran and Adelson study. plans Two types of questions wereasked: first, direct questions about and expectations, existence of alife plan, types ofoccupational and educe- the tional,decisions to be made; second, indirect questionsdesigned to.prob image, questions about less formulatedaspects and emotional aspects of the Junior high school daydreams, the type of adultmost admired, and so forth. students were interviewedfor this purpose. differences. A major finding cutting across alldimensions was that of sex roles assigned to The authors had hypothesizedthat, because of the different posed for the two sexes would the sexes in this culture,the identity problems -_:"The-nature.. of-hisorscupationsplays acrucial defining_rol e hand, depends,on marriagefor her in a man's identity. The girl, on the other self-definition, by and large, critical defining element; she will take her In assessing from'- the ban -she--marries- and, thechildren she raises." (p.23). hypothesis, one must askfirst, the findings, which didlargely conform to this their inte7pretation'of to what extent did theauthors' ekpectations color in girls' self-perceptions -the data, and second,_whetherthere have been changes of thus- since 1966.. Whatever the answer tothese questions,the-resultS girls in their particular study showed a centraldifference between boys apd extended time perspective, future time. Boys had a relatively pos vire toward intervening steps, and a wit'amore or less coherentand developed notion of toward the desired goals. sarong underpinning ofmotivation and commitment interviews, it usually When the theme of achievementoccurred in the girls' and her goals and aspira- related to the kind of manshe would like to marry be short range, to referto the tions for his work. Her own plans tended to immediate future, the periodof education and workthat precedes marriage. degree of fantasywith Another significantdifference pertained to the forms the core of which the future was invested. The occupational issue choose and preparefor masculine identity-, and theadolescent boy can begin to specific preparation This activity lendsitself-to-rational planning and w.rk. ambiguous task, since - based on objectivecriteria. The girl faces a more it in some relatively marriage lies not in theimmediate future but beyond fact,that the marital roleis tied to undefined time. Moreover, there is the and that she has had noexperience (except the girl's sexual identity, authors vicariously through her mother)in the role. For these reasons, the imbued with fantasy. believe, girls' notionsabout the future are heavily Mere isa markeddiscontinuity between fantasyand realistic planning.* future occupational role maynot *Oue_may ask weatherboys'fantasies about their the boy who wanted to-be adentist be equally unrealistic.Take, for instance, 'Keep Thursday afternoon because "It's a greatlife. You just /aay to the nurse, failing high schoolgraduation re- free, I'm playing go/f.'"Or the boys who are and doctors. quirements, but insist they aregoing to be lawyers /4 69
4or example, girls' daydreams focus largely on physical beauty and glamor, but there is little realistic effort toward change. Can the same be said of adolescent boysand girls in the 1980s? Have 15 years of women's. liberation changedthe feminine view of the future for a large proportion of adolescents?.Does the prospect of being a husbandand father enter into the boys' calculations more thanit did in 1966? Studies are needed to answer thesequestions. 70
Cognitive-Intellectual Maturational- Biological Jensen's Genetic Theory
According to this theory, a person's level of intellectual ability is primarily a function of heredity. Environment is a factor, but only as a threshold variable, in the sense that unless the environment is severely restricted, changes in the environment will not affect development of the intellect appreciably.
Jensen hypothesizes two levels of learning ability. Level I, associative ability, involves both the automatic association of stimuli and responses in the lower cortex (classical conditioning) and learned associations. Digit memory, serial rote learning and paired- 'associate learning are included in this level of intellectual ability. Jevel II, conceptual ability, involves self-initiated transformation and elaboration of the stimulus material, such as occurs in concept learning and problem solving. Level II is the essential intelligence, the overall general factor of4ntellectual functioning.
Level I abilities appear to be evenly distributed across racial -and-sTicTil-rin-e-s-.- -657-Con-firisf, -oh. Level II abilities,lower-- class children's performance is significantly inferior'. Jensen concludes that Level I is a necessary but not a sufficient condition of Level II, and that both abilities are required for successful school achievement. Since class differences are attributable to the hereditary factor, differences in educational attainment would seem to be unavoidable. However, all children should be taught by educational methods that maximize the intellectual abilities they have.
40'
76 71-
Gesell's Theorx_rifDevelnpmentailtages_
Growth, both physical and mental, proceeds ul, sequential fashion, bringing about changes both in form an n. It comes,about as a result of forcesinherent in the organism. ergence of behaviors is determined by biological factors, and the age ich particular skills emerge is highly predictable. All infants crawl b e they wl1k, and babble before they utter words or formulate sentences, due to"powerful stabilizing factors, intrinsic rather than extrinsic, which preserve thebalance of the total pattern and the direction of the growth trend. Maturation,is, in a sense, a name for this regulatorymechanism" (1933, p. 232). Maturation is thus a prereauisite to learning. Given this premise, it follows that learn- ing cannot be'accelerated. "There is no conclusive evidence that practice and exercise even hasten the actual appearanceof types of reaction like climbing and tower building. The time of appearance is fundamentally deter- mined by the ripeness of neural structures" (1929, p.114). Environmental factors simply stimulate, support, and in some cases modifygrowth.
Gesell's theory gives rise to a related concept, thatof "readiness." For any performance, there is an opportunetime when initial instruction should be introduced, if the child is to profitfrom tutoring and practice. The level of maturity at which the childwill have the interest and ability -to-learn a. new skill_will.varydepending onthe maturetionof the_neural pathways involved and the complexity of thmisskillitself. With maturation comes increaseclfspeed and precision, aswell as increased muscular strength. Hence, any performance that reliesheavily on one or more of these factors' is unlikely 51) benefit from early instruction orpremature practice.
Many studies were conducted to testGesell's main hypothesis. Among the most important were the famous twinstudies by Myrtle McGraw (1935), in which one twin was given specificinstruction in various forms of physical activity such as climbing stairs, roller skating,and so forth, while the other was not. In general, the twin who did not receiveinstruction and practice rapidly reached the same 1eve1 ofperformance once the requisite leve' of maturation had been reached. Her results further indicatedthat specific training may be given too early or too late tobe effective, and that practice is definitely most productive when it isarticulated with maturational level. In another study by Josephine Hilgard(1932), two-year-olds were encouraged to learn how to manipulatebuttons and use scissors. After twelve week of such training, these children were _superior to a groupthat had not had such assistance and encouragement. When the latter received training during the thirteenth week, however, they made rapid progress,and at the end of this one week-of practice were asproficient as the experimental group. 'Almost all the studies, of. which the above two arerepresentative, use very young subjects toexamine the development of psychomotorvariables, presumably because these variablesare easier to observe and record, and because growth is more Tepid in youngchildren. It is interesting to note, however, that,even in thesestudies it was revealed that, for some skills, maturation.alone is not enough andthat under certain conditions. training can be advantageous. "Readiness" can refer to a much more complicated state thsn the development of neurrIns;in the case of reading readiness, for example, it includes interestand enthusiasm for reading, 72 reasonably wide experience, ability todo elementary abstractthinking,
a fairly wide vocabulary, ability to discriminate auditory and visual ' forms, and a degree of emotional stability and socialadjustment. It is clear that for the greater part of the range of human behavior,learning involves far more than is implied by the term maturation.
By use of longitudinal studies and film-recordingtechniques, Gesell and Ilg (1949) were able to document the appearanceof specific behavior patterns rather specifically. In the case OF stair climbing, for example, a single pattern was observedin eleven of the twelve children studied. Stich detailed developmental schedules also provided the rationalefor infant intelligence tests, since norms can readily be obta.tnedfrom the inventory of specific behaviors. While it was easier to be precise at the earlier age levels, Gesell was sufficiently confidentin the universal applicability of the biological principle ,of maturation toextend his theory to cover the adolescent years.His theory of adolescence is an integral part of his general theory, presenting a continuouspicture of development from birth to young adulthood. As in his earlier work, Gesell's biologically oriented theory of predetermined maturationdescribes a chrono logical seouence of behaviors that is essentially normativeand "more or less characteristic of the human species" .(Gesell and Ames,1956, p. 22). His descriptions suggest that, in spite of individual differences,twelve-year- olds (for Example) will have specific common characteristicsthat differentiate them-from-eleven-year-olds or thirteen-year-olds.*Growth is thus a continu- ous process of emerging patterns.Yet it is a matter of common- observation_._ that progress is not continuous. Children give the impression of having acquired a skill, only to regress temporarily,before moving forward again. This much Gesell acknowledges.There is a principle of reciprocal inter- weaving at work, he asserts, that causes neuromusculardevelopment to proceedd in a manner that is more adequatelyrepresented by a spiral than a straight line, thus accounting for the customaryoscillations in behavior. Plateaus are a well-known phenomenon inthe learning of complex skills such as typing for example. In the early stages of learning progress israpid, but is fol- lowed by a levelling off and then further growth spurtspunctuated by plat- eaus. These plateaus are usually explained in termsof the need to consoli- date many newly acquired subskills into a continuoussmooth performance. There is also the possibility that theycoincide with a point at which the novelty is wearing off and interest isbeginning to flag, especially as more demands are made on the learner.
Although plateaus and regressions are more easilydemonstrated with the acquisition of simple motor skills, Gesell's conceptof "growth gradient" applies equally to the swings ofbehavior observed in adolescence. This period is marked by well-defined stages ofdevelopment in the advance toward more complex and matureforms of behavior. For Gesell, adolescence is a crucial transition period between childhoodand adulthood, extending from the age of eleven to the early twenties. The more important changes occur
*A caricature of Gesell's theoryshows a five-year-old child mulling over a copy of The Childfrom Five to Ten and announcing gleefully,"Boy, what a stinker I'm gonna.be when I'msix!" 73
in the first five years,which he calls the perind.of "youths," Like 'Erikson, Gesell believes that. theadolescent's central task is to find an identity. The process is initiated by thebiologically controlled changes in glandular secretion, the developmentof primary and secondary sex charac eristics, andgeneral changes in physique andmusculattire. The biological principle extends beyond physical growth,however, to include the development of cognitive abilitiesand even attitudes. Hence, the composite picture at each ageincledes physical, cognitive, affective and social aspects, as may be seen from thefollowing synopsis:
The lOnyear-old is at the apex of thechildhood cycle.This is a period of stability and acceptance of life as it is. The child is confident and soci- relationships with equal- "zest. able. He enjoys family activities and peer Rebellion. and disaffection with parentshave yet to appear. There is physical equilibriui accompanied by abundant energy andenthusiasm for,group projects and team games. Learning proceeds apace. Although children at this age appreciate the relative nature of moralrules, they also have a strong sense of fairness, and demand equitable treatmentfrom both adults and peers.
The 11-year-old, already movinginto the cycle ef adolescence, is suite different. The physiological changes beginning totake place are reflected in violent swings in behavior,in moodiness and episodes of rebelliousness and negativism which affectrelationships with both family and friends.
_ The 12-year-cild,-shb-6renewed balance. Muchof the turbutenr-and unpredictable behavior has disappeared,giving way to more reasonable modes of response. Sociability and enthusiasm are restored,and tolerance and good humor characterize hisinterpersonal relations. The antipathy toward the opposite sex found at10 is reversed; there is strong interest in mixed group activities.
The 13-year-old, by contrasthas become introspective and self-critical,. sensitive to the moods of others, but morecritical of them than forme,ly He has fewer friends, but he is moreselective'and his relationships with them are more intense. He is now a "teen" and keenly awareof his adolescent status. This awareness is intensified by thedramatic bodily changes taking place, changes he may wish toaccelerate and exaggerate or to conceal. Feriods of self-confidence arepunctuated by bouts of self- dental or despair.
The 14- year -old, in turn experiences a returnof the old exuberance and This is a plateau year in which heconsolidates his . self-confidence. relationships with peers and, in general,begins to expaad his interest in people. He is fascinated by differentpersonalities, including his own, and is prepared todiscuss duch matters endlessly. Heroes and public figures claim his attent;nn, andhe specuiltes at length on their experiences and feelings.
Theallyear2old, is beginning to show signs of theindividual identity that will mark the culmination of theadolescent cycle. He can no longer be "readily summed up in a simpleformula" (Gesell and Ames, 1956, p.214). His relatively consistentbehavior is interspersed with rebelliousepisodes than to but these are more attributableto a growing spirit of independence unpredictable mow' changes. He may be a perfectionist(cf.Erikson), but he applies these standards tohimself as well as others. Because of his increased awareness of people and events,there is a greater potential for him to be led by others. into good works or into delinquency.
74) 74 Together with his g -owing feelings of independence, this potential may result in precipitous actions such as running away from home ordropping out of school, aetinns which may lead to irreversible cnnsenuencesthat are 'ater reg-etted.
The l6:year-o1d, has come a long way on the road to maturity. He has the self-control and seif-conf dence of an adult, is socially we11- adjusted and independent. Rebellion is a thing of the past. The search for Jdentity has progressed to the point where the youth is focussing on a future occupatymand, in some cases, marriage plans. -Relationships between the sexes are on a more comfortablebasis than in the earlier years. Although the adolescent period extends into the twenties, the major changes have been completed, and the remaining years are devoted to playing out the scenariosalready established during the period of youth. Hence, the yearly normative descriptions are no longer provided by Gesell beypnd thesixteenth year.
ithough Gesell emphasizes "continuity of tht growth cycle," th above descr;rions are remarkable foi the contrast betWeen children only one year apart. His adoption of the spiraJ.model of development seems to have predisposed him to exaggerate, these,contrasts in an effort'to emphasize the cyclical nature of. growth.. In so doing, he underestimates the range of individual differences atanY? given age, as- we+-- ss the improbability..that Bete -top -men tat ch -an gitvs- fit -n-eat into a schedule based. on the calendar year. Nevertheless, there are impli.:ations to be drawn from histheorizing: The spiral moderPobably has somevalidity and,,indeed, is used by other theorists such is Erikson to explain recurring behavioral phenomena. Gesell believed his theory tohave "Vast social implications -- implicitions for child guidance, for mental diagnosis, for health supervision, for the conduct of education, and for the very arrange- ments of our ways of living (1948, p.10). An obvious implication is that the school curriculum at any level should be based onthe 10sychology of development. It was his hope that the laws of learning would "be reformulated in terms of the biology and physiologyof development"(1946, p.298).The teacher and curriculum developer must have precise.knowledge of the schedule ofdevelopment for every skill or behaVior patter-, to be taught, since instruction and practice that are introduced too early or too late are either ineffective or possibly harmful. (At the very least they take up lime that could be used more profitably.) Disciples of Gesell were fond of using the analogy of the bee pollinating a flower: There is a narrowperiod of timewithin which this possible. "Learning" is almost entirely a matter of maturation. This argument represents the extreme position on the "maturation" end of a theoretical continium. At the opposite pole would be found a doctrine akin to the Bruner postulate that any subject may be taught at some level at any age. The truth probably lies somewhere between these two extremes. However, Gesell's theory has been very influential in counterbalancing the dominanceof behaviorism in America, and is in the direct t7adation ofmaturational theorists from Rousseau to Chomsky and Piaget. 0
75 Interactionist PiiiiiTraniTic Epistemology.
For Piaget, the growth of intelligence is a matter of adaptation to the changing environment. Adaptation consists of two. complementary processes:. assimilation and.accommodation:-- Piaget seems to view assimilation in very much the same way4113the Gestalt psychologists. The organism takes in those kinds' of material (fobd, information, etc.) for which it is biologically suited; but the amoyht andthe way in which the material is assimilated depends on the structures with which it is currently equipped. In the intellectual -sphere; -these-structurea_consist_of schemata, and these schemata develop and become both broader and more(hamJntiice-aa-i- the person groWs-.. ----- The infant, for example, has a very vague). yet global schema of food; with experience this schema will become highly complex.
Growth in intelligence is continuous but the quali- tative changes-are so great that it is possible to discern maturational stages, which are rather broad, subject to individual differences in attainment, yet universal in their application and invariant in sequence.
Sensorimotor period (0-2 years). Intelligence at this stage consists of coordinating motor responses to external and internal stimulation. Building-on---the-reflex-es ..-present-at-birt h-,.- the infant-develops -various- schemata of looking, grasping, etc., which become coordinated into complex responses. The most significant learning that takes place during this period is the understanding of object permanence.
Preoperational period (2-7 years). Once the child has realized that objects continue to exist when they are out of sight and hearing, it becomei possible to substitute for them in thought and action by the use of symbolic representation. The child's use of signifiers to stand for other objects and events is seen in imiginatiye play. The advent of language provides the child with a much broader repertoire of signifiers and frees the child from the need for immediate concrete experience in order to think about an object.
The major characteristic of this period is egocentrism, by which is meant the inability to "decenter," that is to move outside one's frame of.referencelperceptuel or experiential). The concept .of egocentrism led Piaget to develop a series -of- famous "conservation" experiments lthe "mountain" tests the inns. of clay" and "beakers" tasks, among others) showing the young child's inability to relinquish a particular perspective and to reason about changes (or lack of changes) that must of necessity have taken place in changing that perspective. Egocentrism is also manifest in the child's beliefs about the nature of the physical world and human omnipotence with respect to natural phenomena.
Although egocentrismis a characteristic that is fqmd primarily during the preoperational period, psychologists are Coming to realize increasingly that it may also be found in adolescence and adult- hood. In times of stress when personal values are threatened, or simply due to lack of socialization in certain spheres of inquiry, oncertain 76
topics of discussion, the adult may display an egocentrism not unlike that of the preschooler.
Concrete operational period (7 - 11 years). As the child emerges from the preoperational period, certain skills (or more accurately, modes of thought) become apparent: the ability to order objects on argiven dimension such as length, to classify and, subclassify objects on one, two, and three qualities, to conserve number and quantity inspite of physical manipulations, to reason about cause and effect in the natural world, and eventually, in the psychological realm.'' The use of language to represenr.eventtis now-broadened by the-ability to -read and-write, thus enabling the child to learn from vicarious, as well as immediate experience.
"Operations," in Piaget's terminology, refers to the ability to perform intellectual bperations on data, to reason about their relationships. The chief limitation at the concrete-operational stage is that the child must have the objects present inorder to perform these operations. Manipulation in thought comes only ,t the formal operational level.
Mbuss (1975) summarizes the four concrete-operational groupings described by Piaget as follows:
1. Combinativity. Two or more classes may be combined into a single all-inclusive class, c.g., boysand girls = children. This operation also leads to the realization that the class of children must be larger than the class of boys or girls taken separately.
2. Reversibility. Every logical or mathematical operation is reversible. The class of children may be broken down again intoboys and girls. Moreover, children minus boys = girls, and children minus girls = boys. Reversibility is an important index of the child's maturity of thought.
34 Associativity. This operation enables the child to adopt diverse routes to the samegoal. If asked to assembly 13 balls of differ-rat colors, for example, the child realizes that there are many combinations that satisfythe requirement.
4. Identity or nullifiability. An operation combined with its opposite becomes nullified, e.g., driving one mile west followedby one mile east returns one to the point of origin.
Formal operational period (11.15 years). This is the final stage of cognitive development culminating in theability to use all the-intellectual operations of the adult. In contrast to the necessity forimmediate experience of the concrete operational period,formal operations are
8 0 77 characterized by hypothetical and deductive reasoning. Using propos4tions instead of objects, the adolescent analyzes a problem and hypothesizes, several possible outcomes without acting on any of them. Po!Isibility and probability, as well as reality, assume importance. The Jeasoning is abstract hnd logical, hence it can be checked for validity, in addition to being tested against reality. Abstractions Are built on abstractions, and operations performed on operations.
As previously noted, since growth is dependent on the assimilation of, and the accommodation to experience, it is necessa,-ily slow and gradual. The child does not move abruptly from one stage into the next. Similarly, at either end of any particular stage the child is more likely to resemble a child,in the immediately adjacent stage. At the beginning of the formal-operational period, between the ages of 11 and 13, for example, the preadolescent is in transition. It is during the next two years that the adolescen's thinking approximates that of the adult. Hence it is possible to discern two distinct stages within the formal operations period in which the mind undergoes reorganization.
Another consequence Of the gradual nature of intellectual development and its dependence on experience is found in the fact that formal operations may never be reached by some poeple in certain areas. Growth comes about when.new experiences or new information upset the person's mental equilibrium. If the new information is too alien to the person's experience or beyond comprehension,.it oecourse,, be ignored and thus will not upset the equilibrium.' Typically, however, new information does set up a stage of disequilibrium, which will persist until, through assimilation and accommodation, a new level of equilibrium is reached. According to Piaget, a primary-stimulus for disequilibrium is to be found in the conversation of peers who challenge the child's prevailing viewpoint. These socializing experiences are critical to the development of operational thought at each successive stage. An important corollary of this principle is that the adolescent's peer groups will have a profound effect onthe particular direc9ons intellectual development, will take.
An important concept, in Piaget's theory is thatyof decalage. He distinguishes two kinds; horizontal and vert= decalage. Vertical decalage refers to the fact that an individual ma) 'turn at different times in the lifespan'to the same problem, but wa,. use different strategies and modes of thought to,adclress it, a phenomenon also noted in Erickson's theory. Horizontal decalage reflects varying levels of experience in different areas; for example, the concrete- operational child at a particular time may have acquired the concepts of conservation but not that of classification or may understand the conservation of number, but not of quantity.
Similarly, at the formal-operational level, there is increasing differentiation of mental abilities (Elkind, 1971, pp:122-123). Both personal interests and the increased specialization of the secondary school curriculum contribute to this differentiation. 78
title, Elkind (1967) Egocentrism in adolesccice. In his paper by this of discusses the unique form thategocentrism takes at each stage with development. Each stage is treated asbeing primarily concerned of infancy is one majorcognitive task. The major qognitive task this stage is "the conquest of the object,"and the egocentrism of between the object itself seen as thedifficulty in differentiating period, the and the experience of theObject. During the preschool major cognitive task is "the conquestof the symbol," and the egocentrism of this period consistsin a lack of differentiation operations, between symbol and referent. Withthe emergence of concrete and quantities," and the task is that of"mastering classes, relations, here it is the "inability todifferefifItte clearly between mental the egocentrism constructions and perceptualgivens" which constitutes of middle childhood.
The major cognitive taskof early adolescence is"the only enables the conquest of thought." "Formal operational thouglit not conceptu- adolescent to conceptualize histhought, it also/permits him to of adolescent alize the thought of otherpeople ... (this is) the crux The adolescent comes tobelieve that egocentrism." (Muuss, p.43). behavior as he other people areas preoccupiedwith his appearance and others' reactions and to is. This belief leads tothe anticipation of reflects his current the construction of animaginary audience that self also leads to feelings about himself. The prieoccupation with feelings and experiences "the personal fable," thebelief that one's own illustrate "how are unique intheir intensity. Examples abound that audience and adolescent egocentrism, asmanifested in the imaginary for some adolescent in the personal fable, canhelp provide a rationale point for any attempt behavior," and can alsoprovide "a useful starting dynamics of personality." to reconcilecognitive structure and the (though Again, it is socialexperience that modifies The dispel) these elementsof egocentric thought. may not entirely are similarly adolescent comes to realizethat members of the peer group p.490) preoccupied with their ownfantasies. Still, as Looft (1971, "go under- points out,remnants of thepersonal fable may persist or of the theory of ground"; the adolescent"understands the fallacy enjoyment from it in uniqueness, but affectivelycontinues to derive _imagination."
It is perhaps, thepreoccupation with self that and value of human the young person toquestion the basic meaning abstract thought leais toidealism and existence. The capacity for cynicism. Concern euphoria alternating withperiods of despair and comparisons of what cquld with national and globalproblems leads to of the social be with what h.., andto an impatiencewith imperfections unwilling to change. world adults havecreated and seem unable or of harnessing the Political leaders have longrecognized the value "The capacity for idealism and energy ofyouth to particular causes. is clearlypresent in young engagement inmeaningful social activity The challenge to thebehavioral peOple in every country of theworld. develop the forms and means to scientist is to help his owncountry in the strugglefor the enable the adolescent totake a leading role and economic opportunity attainment of a world inWhich peace, freedom, are omnipresent"(Eisenberg, 1965).
84 79 In 1966, Jerome Bruner challnged the Piagetianinterpretation of findings related to the conservation experiments, pointing out that the format of the problem or the language in which it is couched may be directly responsible for immature performance,rather than the lack of reasoning ability as Piaget hypothesizes. Donaldson (1978) has reiterated this argument, citing many recent studies to bolster her contention. Most of these studies refer to the transi- tion from preoperational to concrete-operational thought;however, the same argument, if valid, would apply at other levels. For example,. Donaldson cites a study by Wason and Johnson-Laird(1972) in which adults were given two versions of a task, one usinghighly abstract symbols, the other using familiar material's. Their con - that clusion was that a rule4"proved so recalcitrant when its termsand con4itions were arbitrary has become trivially easy when it is em= bodied in'a real task" (p. 81). Similarly, Kuhn, Ho and Adams (1979) raise a basic issue in the assessment of formal reasoning: "Towhat extent does the absence of a formal-operationallevel of performance reflect genuine absence of the underlying reasoningcompetencies, as opposed to difficulties in dealingwith the format in terms of which these competencies are being assessed?" (p.1133). This question isespecially critical in relation to'the diagnosisof deaf students' abilities as well as in terms of the mostappropri- ate formats fJr the presentation of curricular materials. 80
D. Personality Theories
Hall's Bio-enetic Theopr_
Prior to 1900, theories of human development werebased on philosophical thought, religious beliefs or personalexperience% The child was viewed as a miniature adult, hence there was nodifferentation between childhood and adolescence. 'Growth wasconceived as continuous and quantitative.
Darwin's work on evolution has been cited as thesiligle most important force in establishing child psychology as ascientific discipline (Mussen, Conger, and Kagan, 1974), and wasunquestionably the immediate forerunner to the first systematic,theory on child develop- ment, that of G. Stanley Hall. Hall's classic book on adolescence, appearing in 1904, was the first to draw asignificant distiiction, between childhood and adolescence. In accordance with his theory of recapitulation, which states that each human beingrelives the stages of man's evolution, Hall viewed adolescence as thetransition between the primitive .ancestral child and the civilized man, aperiod dominated by emotional storm and stress that finally gave wayto the emerging rationality of adulthood. In this sense, Hall's is a stage theory. In fact, given the predetermined maturationalunfolding that is their cornerstone, biogenetic theories tendof necessity $ be stage theories. The same phenomenon may be observed,regardless of tne content area, as for example, in biologicallybased theories of language development. The converse, however, is not necessarily true. Theories that are not biogenetic, that tend to place greater emphasis onenvironmental than on biological factors may or maynot be stage theories.
Hence a. corollary of Hall's theory ofrecapitulation in his concept of stages of human development. The first stage of infancy re- enacts the animal stage of the human race. Childhood corresponds to the cultural epoch when hunting and fishi g wereprimary activities as reflectea inthe games of children 4 to 8 yea sold. Youth (8 - 12) reflects a more recent era of savagery. Adolescence, the period extending frompuberty to adult= hood, is dominated by the em tional life,corresponding to a time when the human race was in a turbulent stageof transition from savagery to and Drang" (storm end stress) (2.--civilization. It is characterized by "Sturm The adolescent runs the gamut ofemotions, oscillating between: high level of energy and exuberance and thedepths of lethargy and despair. Selfishness and altruism are found in the same person, asare vanity and self-deprecation. The adolescent craveseolitude while yearning for love and friendship.
Hall assumed that development was broughtabout by physiological factors that were genetically determined. The sequence occurs in a universal and unchangeable pattern,which is largely unaffected by environmental factors. The inevitability of undesirablebehavior calls for acceptance and tolerance on the partof parents and teachers. Corrective measures are of no avail. Only time and maturation can order of the day. correct this situation. Permissiveness and leniency are the
Hall's formulations came to be viewed asextreme, and a considerable accumulation of evidence testifying tothe importance of socio-cultural factors caused his theory to fall into decline. Nevertheless, Hall's work gives us the firstflesh-and-blood picture of the adolescent in
contemporary psychology. . 81
Freud'sPsychoana,yric Theory.
Like Hall and Gesell, Freudemphasized that human development is essentially biological, consisting of aseries of five biologically determined stages that extend from birth toadolescence. Adult personality is largely determinedby the strength of certaininnate drives or instincts, and the ways inwhich the iriividual by dintof experience learns to cop.with these drives in sociallyacceptable ways. Much of this learning (andhence the blueprint for adult personality) is accomplished during thefirst five years. In cases where the instincts are extremelydemanding or the social restrictions repressive, inner conflict, often atthe unconscious level, may ensue,
Oral Stage (0 - 1 year). The basic drive is t4Qvbtainnourishment am hence pleasure through the mouth. Satisfactiofil of this universal need leads not only to immediate contentment onthe part of the infant, but Thwarting of the to long -term security and anoptimistic disposition. instinct, by.contrast, leads to anxietyand frustration and to later manifestations of distrust and insecurity.
Anal Stage (2 - 3 years). Primary gratification at this stageis experienced by eliminating orwithholding feces. The child's ability to control his sphinctermuscles is met with acorresponding, social expectation that he will becometoilet trained. The ensuing struggle between the child's growing autonomyand interest in his body and parental demands for self-controlcr-ries the potential for internal conflictandsubsequent personalitydisorders:
1 Phallic Stage (4 - 5 years). This stage is character'zed byerotic self-stimulation of th'e genital organs. These preliminary sexual stirrings focus attention on theopposite-sex parent as a loveobject. father for the In the case of boys,competition and rivalry with the mother's love is known as th0,0edipusComplex. It is followed by the castration complex or anxietythat the father, being infinitely more little boy's powerful, will avenge thisusurpation by cutting off the so"overwhelming that the boy abandons penis. This.anxiety becomes the desired love object anbegins to identify withhis father, thus resolving the Oedipal conflict. In her For the girl, the Oedipalsituation is somewhatdifferent. hostility and resentment to case, the devlopment of penis envy leads to the father as a suitable the mother (4 r?), and hence to a transfer to be that) since themother is love object. (The reasoning here seems to experience less powerful (or less vindictive?)and hence the girl does not abandon the love castration anxiety, thereis not the same compulsion to continue indefinitely. object, and the girl'sattachment to her father may
The universality of theOedipus Complexhas been generally accepted, 1961) suggests though some anthropologicalevidence (Malinowski, 1927, determined. that the phenomenon is moreculturally than biologically daughter's search for More recently, the mother'slong-erm role in her systematically explored identity, which was ignoredby Freud, has been (Friday,t 1977). 82 Latency Stage (6 - 12 years). Between 6 and 10 ,-)r 11, the child enters a period of relativecalM in which the libido is not active and psychic energy, is focussed on social concerns. The ego, as a mediator between libidinal demands and social regulation., isdominant. Peer groups assume greater importance, and activities arepurs'ued with companions of the same rex. r Genital-Stage (13 - 18 years). The onset of puberty sees areawakening of libidinal interest. Sexbality now assumes its adult form,and the adolescent seeks new sources of gratification. Muuss (1968) suggests that adolescent sexuality manifest itself inthree ways: (1) through external-stimulition-of- the-erogenous tones; (2) through internaltension and physiological need to release sexualproducts (a condition not present in childhood sexuality); and (3) through'psychological "sexual excitation" which may be influcenced by the two formermanifestations of sexuality.
(' nrnburg, 1975, p.27).
The surge of sexual energy at this timeis tied to aspects of physical maturation. The development of genital organsand production by the endocrine system of high levelsof sex hormones, predispose the adolescent to notice and to seek outforms of sexual stimulation that are readily available inthis culture.
As in early childhood,the libidinal drive in its renewed strength may find itself in directconflict with societal mores. Problems that were poorly resolved atthe earlier stage may recur, or newtensions may arise as the adolescent attempts to copewith burgeoning maturity, strong feelings, and parental or societal attitudes. Environmental
Mead's Cultural Theoty
The first major challenge to Halk's storm-and-stress theory came from Margaret Mead, a cultural anthropologist, who studied 'adolescent behavior in Samoa and New Guinea (Mead, 1525, 1935). Finding an absence of stress in adolescence in some primitive cultures she was led to conclude that stress is a function of cultural rather than maturational factors. Stress is caused,by the fact that prolonged eduCation and prolonged dependence reduce choices for adolescent just at the point where they feel that adult privileges are warranted. The conflict inducedsby these opposing forces may, in fact, interfere with the attainment of maturity.
Another concept drawn from crosscultbral studies which may be useful in lookin; at adolescence is that of discontinuity. This refers to the abruptness with which the transition from childhood to adulthood occurs. In some cultures, puberty rites may constitute in a single ceremony a well-marked discontinuity,in social status, duties, responsibilities, and privileges. Continuity of cultural conditioning is the rule in Western societies there. gradual training for independence and responsibility starts in early childhood. It is interesting t4 note that discontinuity does not imply'stress at adolescence, nor continuity lack of stress. Continuity and discon- tiuity have been extensively explored in a broad variety of cultures by Ruth Benedict (1950, 1954), as well as their implications for self-concept and social adaptation. 84
The Issue of Contirality2s11pisatalLnuity
Is development continuous or doe:; it proceed in a series of well- defined stages?Starting with Hall, biological-maturational theorists tended to incorporate the notion -of stages in some form, whereas theories el cultural relativism or those that emphasized the importanceof the environment tended to be more impressed by the continuity of development. For Hall, development is "saltatory," that is to say, new,previously nonexistent functions come'into being at adolescence, and other psychic functions undergo reconstruction to ilhe point where "every trait and faculty is liableto.exaggeraeion and excess" (1916, *Margaret Mead and .Ruth Benedict were among the first to discount the notion of necessary stages such AS the period of storm-and-stress posited by Hall..Even more adamant in this respect was Leta Hollingworth, who' was strongly influenced by the earlier works ofcultural anthropologists. .1r1 her book, The Psycholoc.: of Adolescence (1928), Hollingworthemphasized the idea of continuity, and the gradual nature of the changes that occur "The child grows by imperceptible degrees into the . in adolescence. adolescent, and the adolescent turns by gradual degrees into theadult" (p.1). She attacked Hall directly. "The quality of the organism is a constant, which shows itself from thebeginning to the end of the individual life , This. widespread myth -that every child is a changeling, who at puberty comes'forth as a differentpersonality, is doubtless a'survival in folklore of the ceremonialrebirth', which constituted.the formal initiation of our savage ancestors into man- hood and womanhood". (p.16-17). This is a clear reference to Hall's
. doctrine of recapitulation. However, it is the question of continuity, not recapitulation,that is ofinterest here. Hollingworth's position was that the appearance of suddenchanges in social statu.; accorded the adolescent through yarious initiation rites hasconfused us into thinking they reflect some biological or maturational changein the organism. The opposite view, of course, would be that theVarious forms of puberty rites simply acknowledge or reinforcethe biological givens of physical maturation. HollingwOrth thus went further than either Mead or Benedict in rejecting the discontinuity hypothesis. Benedict, for example, although maintaining that developmentis gradual and contihuous by nature, believed that stages can beculturally induced by discontinuities in child - rearing methods oreducational practice. Mead, as we have seen, undertook her stud'es in NewGuinea not to show that the discontinuities of Americanadolesgynce did not exist, but to demonstrate that they were a functl 11 of e culture rather than a necessary accompaeiment of growth. Intere ingly enough, in her later writings, Mead ':-.ended to give me credi to biogenetic inheritance as a determining factor in humendevelopment than she did. in CsEingof_pge in Samoa and other earlierpublications (Muuss, 19e8, p.80'). She was forced tothistconclusion to some extent by the finding, among highly inbred and isolated. groupswith uniform patterns of child- rearing, of "remarkable differences inphysique'and'apparent temperament" (1949, p.133). In fact, cultural anthropology as afield has moved away
* of course, there is no necessary connectionbetween biological-maturational and stage-discontinuity theories on the onenand or environmental and continuity theories on the other. In fact, the two issue's could,in principle, be completely independent. -90 85
from its earlier position of cultural relativism to a broader theoretical position that incorporates biogenetic factors. In the course of these changes, Hollingw)xeh's theory has also come under attack as underestimat- ing the potential fol radical changes of personality in adolescence (Allport, 1937, p.209).
In recent years, stage theories have enjoyed a new degree of almost universal acceptance. The decline of behaviorism, which had dominated the American psychological scenee for nearly half a century, led to a resurgence of interest in aspects of human behavior that are tied to biolrgical inheritance and hence are universal in nature. Chomsky and 'Lenneberg see the,acquisition.of language'as following some prescribed pattern based on the unique neurological potential of the human brain. li.aget views the growth of intelligence as following the same biological laws of assimilation and accommodation as the physical organism; and Erikson, building on Freud's biological model of the personality, has elaborated the latter's concept of stages to incorporate environmental and cultural factors. In brief, we may say that the theories covering every aspect of development that are influential today are those that emphasize discontinuity. Whether this discontinuity is seen as an inevitable and necessary concomitant of the stages seems to be a matter of the particular theory. Piaget seems to be saying that the discontinuity between concrete and formal operatiOnS'is unavoidable, inasmuch as younger children are incapable of using higher modes of thought until their intellectual powers have sufficiently matured, and that this can only happen as a result of vast amounts of appropriate experience. Erikson, on the other hand, while acknowledging that adolescence is a unique and dramatic period in the lfespan of the individual, might be inclined to say that this fact stems from the particular nature of the cultural pressures to which the adolescent is subjected in this society. And this stance would seem to be 'the'one that is generally accepted today. In brief, on the continuity-discontinuityissue,we may conclude that the broad sweep of human development proceeds in a gradual and continuous manner, but that nevertheless pressures or other factors induced by_the culture or the special 4rcumstarees in which an individ_1 finds himself may cause major or minor discontinuities that could have lasting effects.
A corollary ques,..en is whether continuity a,1 discontinuity are beneficial or detrimental in their effects on developmeet. Again, we may suspect the answer lies somewhere it the middle. Discontinuities that are to sudden or too severe may have e.tremely harmful consequences,especially if they occur in the earlier yeais c.f childhood, or immediately following a long uninterrupted period of continuity. On the other hand; the introduction of some kind of discontinuity in the form of a change in educational method, or a shift in the psychological basis of the child's interpersonalrelations with significant members of his immediate circle, may provide the very stimulus that is needed to propel him to the next level of develop.'a This seems to be what Piaget is advocating w!len he suggests that maximum growth and learning takeiplace when the mind is forced into a state of disequilibrium by the presentation of stimuli that cannot be readily assimilated without some reorganization of the existing schemata. 86
In view of the indisputable range of individual differences among children, it seems safe to hypothesize that what constitutes an "acceptable" instance of discontinuity will depend first on the mental state of the child at any given time, and second.on the life history of discontInuities to which he has been subjected. If a child is accustomed to frequent arri abrupt discontinuities, one more may be taken instride; on the other hand, it may be "the straw that breaks the camel's back."This means that adults who have control over what happens to him, must exercise astute clinical judgment and sensitivity to the child's individual needs in making decisions about inducing some form'of discontinuity such as changing the bchool or sending the child to a foster home.
Discontinuties in the Life of the Deaf Student
In general, handicapped students arc more linble to experience discontinuities in their lives and'are less :ell equipped to cope with them. In the case of the deaf person, history of discontinuity begins ;n early childhood. If the child is not born deaf, development will probably proceed on a normal course during the first critical years. The child will leant about object constancies and therhythaN-and regularities of daily events. He will establish a,basis of trust in his interpersonal relations. He may also acquire a fair degree of langugage throughwhich he can communicate with others. With the onset of deafness, everything changes. The parents have a hard time assimilating thistraumatic event.4, and their behavior toward the child undergoesdrastic modifications. It may become rejecting oroversolicitous. Meanwhile, the child is trying to cope with the discontinuities in hispercertual world. He can no longer hear the'sounds he previously heard. When he tries to communicate; he cannot hear the responses to his questions and comments. Gradually, through lack of auditory feedback, his own verbalability begins to decline, and he becomes less comprehensible to f!thefs, thus increasing his frustration.
If the child is born deaf, it may appear as though someof these discontinuities will be avoided, and this may be the case. However, in many cases, a long periodelapses before the parents become aware that their child is deaf, and when they do realizethis unpleasant fact, the same pattern of rejection anddisbelief or overprotection may ensue. In these circumstances, the ahi:i may not evenhave received the experiences needed to establish the most basic cognitiveand affective foundation for laterlearning, as was the case, with the child who becomes deaf adventitiously.
Sooner or later, the par3nts must make themonumental decision regarding the type of education they wish theirdeaf child to receive. Admission to a residential school may represent a formof severe dis- continuity, especially if the child has notestablished trust, autonomy, and inititativey On the other hand, attendance at aregular day school may offer a sharp contrast tothe home, in activities and people, especially if he has been sheltered by thefamily for the greater part from of his previous existence. Often parents, in desperation, switch one form of education ortreatment to another without adequate assessment of the effects of these changes on the child,irrespective of the merits of the treatment itself. 92 87
By the time he reaches the age, of high school and college, the deaf child may have experienced many more forms of discontinuity than his hearing counterpart. On the other hand, he is expected to face the same developmental tasks as everyone else (the expectations may be somewhat modified, but he tasks themselves are essentially the same), while having fewer resources at his disposal and greater impediments with which to contend. It would not be too surprising to find the deaf youth totally ill-prepared to deal with the developmental tasl:s of adolescence with which hearing persons themselves have so many problems. Lack of experience may exacerbate the difficulties inherent in the task of distinguilpshing between fantasy and reality, especially since the "reality" of the deaf person's potential is not readily discernible even to a trained'and objective observer. The process of coming to terms with himself, his abilities and desires, in short of establishing a workable ide,Itity, ray be much more difficult and protracted than is usually the case with the non-handicapped. There is also the opposite danger that the process may not be difficult enough, that the deaf person may underestimate him- self, be willing to settle for too little, rather than engage in the painful,strug9le of carving out an active and meaningful. lifefor himself.
Quigley (1974) points out that, whereas the proportion of,college attendance among the hearing rose 50 per cent in the dpcade from 1960 to 1970, the college population of deaf students in all types of institutions of higher education quadrupled during the same period. The demands for less restrictive admission requirements by minority groups seeking economic and social justice produced increased resources and programs for students who formerly had no chance of being admitted to college. The benefits of changed admission policies and attitudes on the part of universitya,ministrations extended to other minority groups, includ- ing the deaf. .Hence, if going to college is a disruptive experience for the deaf adolescent, we must keep in mind that there are also more of them facing it than formerly. The development of higher education programs for deaf students has produced greater choices than formerly in the range of educational. alternatives available to them. Although, as Quigley, Jenne and Phillips (1968) point out, a system of specialized facilities and programs for a small population can never duplicate the vast array of educational opportunities available to the general population, it Lust be recognized that a sudden increase inhe range of choices both for the group as a whole and for individual meibers can create relative 'discontinuity and confusion, especially where 'he new programs themselves are radical in approach or not grafted on to tl.? prevailing culture. It would seem that improvement in the range of choices must be accompanied by superior orientation and counseling programs.
Parallel to the increased educational programs, however, has come a restriction in the range of vocational opportunities for deaf persons. McCay Vernon hay; listed among the crises* of the deaf the alarming increase in unemployment, the elimination ofman? unskilled and skilled jobs through automation, and the overall shift in the world of work to white colic jobs in industry. These trends, he argues, point to the need for more we adjustment programs that embody a treatment process utilizing aspectsof work to modify behavior (Hoffman, 1972). The Work Adjustment Project at
Vernon, of course, is using the term "crisis" in the usal, no6tthe Eriksonian sense. 93 REI
the University of Minnesota has defined work adjustmentas a "function of the degree of correspondence (agreement) betweenan individual and his work environments."The individual brings to the workplace certain occupational skills and preferences, while the'job carries certain ability requirements and opporteeities for specific formsof reinforcement. The level of correspondence between the abilities of the individualand the ability requirements of the job is referred toas satisfactoriness. The level of correspondence betweee the individual's needsand preferences and the reinforcing systems of the job isreferredto as satisfaction. Both satisfactoriness and satisfactionare prerequisite to occupational success. This definition, while providing a tentative frame of xefeeence, gives rise to several interesting and important questions.
1. With appropriate abilities for certain epecific jobs,can the individual communicate his capacity successfully enough to be judged satisfactory, as he should, or does special provision need to be made?
2. If the joh reinforcers (satisfiers) match the individual's psychological needs, will-they be perceived by the individual, or does some tailoring of the administration of rewards need to be done, so that they will be perceived and the deaf worker will be satisfied with the job? (Lofquist, 1970)
Vernon maintains that, although the central problem in deaf people's work adjustment is communication, the deaf parson's education is, in most instances, a greater disability than his deafness. Whatever the merits of this statement, a study by Adler in 1970 indicated that the vocational development of deaf adolescents differs from that of hearing adolescents. Using a modified version of the Career Pattern Study developed by Super, the study suggested that existing programs for training and orientation to work have little impact on deaf adolescents: It is interesting to speculate whether the reason might be that deaf adolescents are pre- occupiedwith the crises characteristic of earlier Eriksonian stages, and thus ill-prepared to assimilate information relevant to the task of establishing an occupational identity. Some credence may be given to this supposition by Burke's observation (1969) that "the vocational rehabilitation program will uncover a number of hard-core emotional problems that call fer solution before case services can become effective. Thegoal of the program, he states, is for deaf clients to develop a' deeper awareness of t'emselves and thdir impact on other people, as well as a better insight into their own feelings about their relationships with the hearing population.
For the above reasons, counseling with the deaf hat come to be defined as process designed to help the clients accomplish the developmental tasks of the'hearing and to prepare them for a more satisfactory adjustment to life through productive activity (cf. Erikson': patters of industry). The probleMs cannot be solved by the,giving of occupational information or the administration of tests. Some type.of reconstruction of relevant areas of the personality appears to be required (Neff, 1968, italics added). Erikson's theory of the successive acquisition of dimensions of social interection would appear to be helpful in suggesting what these relevant 9a
Erikson's Psychosocial Theory
Early psychoanalytic theory was built on the insights gained by FreUd in the course of his clinical practice with neurotic patients, and thus tended to concentrate on the disturbed rather than the normal personality, and to overemphasize the individual and his relationships with his immediate family, while neglecting the role of the larger. society. For these reasons, psychoanalytic theory came under heavy criticism, especially from sociolo- gists, who viewed the impact of the culture as predominantin personality formation..
Erickson's contributionsto psychoanalytic theory, while firmly based on Freudian principles, have done much to meet these criticisms. Two major modifications of the basic theory deserve special attention. First, by extending the development of personality through the duration of the lifespan, Erikson has provided a correction for the Freudian over- emphasis on early childhood experiences. Second, by elevating the ego into greater prominence relative to the id and superego, he has made the healthy personal4ty the focus of attention/in sharp contrast to Freud's extrapolations to normal persons from the study of neurotics. Moreover, both these modifications provide the interface of the individual with society that was sadly lacking in the original theory. In fact, Erikson's own work with the Sioux and Yurok Indian tribes,carried out it the best anthropological tradition, and his later studies of Gandhi and Martin Luther which introduce the. new wave of psychohistory, are in the main- stream of American social thought of this century, and reveal a sensitivity to the alienatim and uprootedness that have become basic concepts in contemporary sociological theory.
Erikson's theory is epigenetic in the sense.that it conceives the healthy ego as developing through a succession of stages throughout the lifespan. Each.stage imposes a new task, but the social importance of these tasks is such as to make them more in the nature of crises, kihich is the term Erikson uses. Passage through each stage is dependent on the successful resolution of previous crises, and in turn makes a new dimension of social interaction possible. An important aspect of the crises is that they represent a tension between opposite polaritieswhich is not resolved by the complete conquest of the negative polarity.To the contra.y, success is defined as the achievement of a balancethat is slightly in favor of positive over negative, the implicatiObeing that both are ncssary for healthy resolution of the crisis.Ahother feature of the stages is that the crisis is never completely resolvedfor all time. Though each stage has its characteristic problem which becomes the preoccupation of that age,.traces of the problem maybe discerned at both earlier and later stages. For example, the problem of establish- ing an identity is especially crucial at adolescence, but it may erupt again in the form of the mid-life crisis. Helen Lynd (1965) shows that an analogy with the individual lifehistory may be drawn for the long historical view of the human species. People of any age have a kind of temperal centrism which may be as constraining to theoutlook as ethno- centrism. In every age we find the recurring questions: Who am I? and Where do I belong? But it is manifest that the recurrent questionof 91
_self identify is today in the forefront of awareness. In the last quarter of a century we have been forced as a people to assimilate the implications of an economy of potential abundance, the import of instant communication throughout the world, the fall of empires, and the emergence of nations, the horrors of concentration'camps and atomic war, of pollution and carcinogens, and fundamental changes in the Puritan ethic on which our nation was founded. Each of these historial developments have given our search for identity special possibilities, special difficulties, and our own peculiar version of ics importance. These facts are reflected and magnified in the adolescent's search for his Own identity during this period of history.
When a question is of particular importance, as the question of identity is at present, it receives special attention from social scientists who label and codify its different aspects, thus raising public consciousness of the phenomenon.When the object of scrutiny is the self, ready access to terminology and analysis results in increased preoccupation with every aspect of subjective existence. The proliferation of popular terms and cliches, (anomie, escape from freedom, the age of conformity, and so on), may become a substitute for thought leading to a reliance on categories that may sometimes act as barriers instead of a means of access to understanding (pp 13-15).
In figure 1, the successive stages are placed on the diagonal in order to depict graphically the cyclical and recurring nature of these problems so crucial to healthy development. As might be expected from this allegiance to the psychoanalytic tradition, the early stages of Erikson's schema correspond closely to those of Freudian psychology, the difference.being that whereas Freud,by concentrating on the location of the erogenous zones, rooted his theory in biology, Erikson emphasizes the psychosocial. dimension as reflected in the events andclimate of the immediate culture. The first stage bears some resemblance to Freud'soral.] stage where the task is to establish, in Erikson's own words, patterns of basic trust over mistrust. The degree to which these patterns are successfully established depends primarily on the quality of maternal care seen in attending to.the infant'sineeds andproviding him with love and stimulation. Where this is adequate, the infant will develop attitudes of trust and confidence in himself and other people. If caretaking is inadequate or irregular, an attitude of passivity and helplessnesp combined with suspicion and mistrust will become enduring personalty traits. By way of illrstration, Erikson cites the studies of Rene Spitz on institutionalized children, whose physical needs were adeq,ately met, but who lacked the cuddling And playing thatchildren in normal homes receive from their parents. As these children reached early childhood, they exhibited the typical characteristics of apathy and joylessness that have come to be associated with institutionalized children. Additionally, they seemed extremely vulnerable to recurringailPents and diseases, and several of them actually died. Children who survive such early treatment, Erikson hypothesizes, will succumb to a"mild but chronic state of mourning which may give a depressiveundertone to the whole remainder of life" (1959, p.60).
97 92
During the second and third. years of life, which correspond to Freud's anal stage, the crisis revolves around the infant's need toestablish autonomy. The negative pole of this dimension is shame and doubt. While it is the maturation of his intellectual and motor abilities that propels the child into this crisis, it is the way these new powers are encouraged andchanneled by adults that determihes-how the crisis will be resolved. If mobility and exploration are encouraged, if, the child's budding powers are met by ' appropriate challenges, then autonomy will emerge in the ascendance over shame and doubt. On the other hand, if adults are impatient or mete out severe punishment for small misdemeanors, or when thereis no perceived consistency between the child's behavior and adult reactions, thenthe sense of autonomy is blunted, andfeelings of shame and doubt become pervasive. As previously noted, ErikSon does not view completeabsence of the negative pole as the ultimate desideratum. An individual who is incapable of shame or self-doubt is as ill-equipped to function insociety as one who has a weak sense of autonomy.
The social dimension that appears at the third stageis that of initiative vs: guilt. In classical theory, this is the period of the Oeijal struggle Tollowed by identification with the like-sexedparent. In Eriksonian terms, "being firmly convinced thathe.is a person, the child must now find out what kind of a person heis going,to be" (p.74). He identifies with his parents andfantasizes what it would be like to be them. Here Wis helped by his increased mobility, hisrapidly develop- ing facility,with language, and his power to us'esymbols to replace objects. 'Now that he is fully at ease in theuse of these combined powers and achievements, he can use his abundant energy togive free rein to his imagination, which now knows no bounds. He is:,able to move independently and vigorously, and can begin to conceiveof, himself as having the same powers and privileges asadults. The danger is that these wild speculations can be frightening,carrying as they do the potential for dangerand parental retribution. There emerges in response to these threatswhat Erikson calls "the great governor of initiative," namelyconscience., Again, the danger is that adults who inhibit their child's senseof initiative by proscribing or limiting.activity or byturning'aside.his intellectual explorations, may promote the growthof conscience over the sense of initiative.
Freud's belief that the personality formationis accomplished through socialization of the sexual instincts ledhim to view the years of middle childhood as a period of latency in whichlittle of interest to a psychologist 's taking place. By contrast, Erikson sees the age.of6 to 11 years as :xtremely important, a period in which thechild is exposed for the first time to social institutions other thanthe family. The developmental' task of this period is to learn the tools of theculture. In western societies, schools are entrusted with the businessof ensuring that all children are appropriately equipped to contribute totheir society and to profit from the good life it provides in return. In turn, the child, if he hasbeen successful at earlier stages, musters allhis energies.and enthusiasm to learn these basic skills and to meetthe expectations(ofthe societyin so doing. 93
There is a preoccupation at his age with constructing things and doing things, often in cooperation with peers. Indeed, the peer culture assumes new importance as the significance of team work and rules becomes apparent to the child. The'essence of this period is the industry, the drive with whi,:h projects are approaChed. If nurtured through constructive challenges, this sense of ::Idustry will form the basis for lifelong patterns of work. If, however, the elementiry school is a joyless place where the work imposed seems irrelevant to the child's own purposes, where learning the tools becomes a drudgery instead of'a pleasure, there is the chance that academic activities will come to have a negative connotation that will , spill over into later attitudes to work in general. -Although Erikson calls the converse of indury "inferiority," the ramifications of unsuccessful passage of t s stage would seem to extend beyond the usual meanings of this word. Te, the child who experiences repeated academic failure may come to have a deep and abiding sense-of inferiority*. But even the child who is capab e of learning what he is supposed to learn- during this period may, if the climate of the classroom promotes such feelings, leave the elementary school with a strong distaste for school work and negative attitudes to rd-persons-in -authority that7will-be- counterproductive in the workplace.
The period of adolescence, extending from 12 to 18 years, is of especial interest in Erikson's schema. In Freudian theory,'adolescence saw the reawakening of the sexual interest, thistime in relation not to the opposite sex parent but to a partner of one's own age. For Erikson, this is only a-part of the nexus of complex:, interrelated problemsthat constitutes adolescence, and all these problems have'to do withthe young person's emerging sense of identity. 'However, the sense ofidentity is now multidimensional. It embraces physical identity, for with the rajid growth and maturation of his sexual prowess, the youth must wrestlewith his concept of himself as a physical entity, tall or short, strong or weak, handsome or plain: in short, he must develop a realisticbody. image., He must also assess his self-worth and hiscapabilities with respect to the opposite sex. His newly found powers of deductive reasoning and his passage into the world of high school open up vasthorizons of knowledge and a multitude of possible waysof thinking about and reacting to the world. His imagination is now limitless. He can conceive of families and 'societies vastly different from his own, andis often impatient with what he perceives as apathy and hostility in theface of monumental social problems. An importuit aspect of identity at this stagerelates to the young person's idealism and senseof civic responsibility, and hisdecisions as to the ways in which he meetsthis responsbility in terms of his own career and life style.
He engages in endless discussion with his peerson'some of the vital issues posed by his own internal struggles and theintransigeance of the people around him. How well these problems are resolvedwill depend not only on whether he, has_ attained a strongsense of autonomy,initiative, and industry during the earlier stages, but onthe nature of the social milieu in which theseroblems are beingworked out. It is clear that, in some sense, a sheltered environment maylead to an apparently easy resolution of the identity crisis, but this maybe deceptive. The problem
9fI cI 94
may simply reappear with greaterseverity, and at a more inappropriate time in terms of the person's career. For example, a boy whose fatherevinces strong desire for his son to enter aspecific occupation and to follow in his footsteps may find the boy compliant, and yet the son may later feel resentful that he was not given the opportunity toexplore other alternatives, and may end up pursuing some completelydifferent (and, in his father's view;
inappropriate) ling of. work. 7
So many threads are brought together andintertwined to form the budding sense of identity, that it ishardly surprising that the adolescent finds difficulty in resolving each of thesecrises and of striking a balance among them. When societal roles are vague or poorlystructured or are' under- going profound change, the problem is likely to becompounded. The result may be what Erikson calls rolediffusion, that is to say, rather thanbecoming increasingly crystallized, the roles become moreand more diffuse and ill- defined. 'The adolescent moves rapidly from one roleto another, without . fixating or finding pleasure in any single one. In the case study of Joseph Kidd, Robert White descxibes aaPeii-onwithiiiit ,a-personality"-who7 dnrring- his college)caraer, tried out many'different"Mdsks,".only to find himself increasingly frustrated when none of them worked. Only through intensive counseling and a complete change in career plans washe able to achieve a consistent personality that matched hiscapabilities and objectives. Erikson himself has documew:ed a case of severeidentity diffusion in the psychohistorical study of Martin Luther. The case study method used byErikson and other authors seems particularly. suitablefor exploring the dimensionsof both the crisis and its implications for later pers9nalitydevelopment and subsequent achieve- ment, but there is not a wealthof such studies, presumably because,illuminat- ing as they may be, they are time-consuming toconduct and incapable of generalization beyond the particular case.
The crisis of identity vs. identitydiffusion is pervasive in American self-made identities, the society. As Erikson notes, our insistence on simultaneous presentation of ideals andtraditions onthe one hand and(Fs- illusionment and egocentrism on the othermake it difficult for adolescents who are not yc sure of what they are or,what they are going to be, and are trying to "get it all together " tomake these importantlifi Aecisions, ' be or having made them, tostick with them. A danger is th ?.t they will their ideal content to accept the shadowfor the Substance, to espouse as models those who are actually phonyrepresentatfires of a system they have become perverted, to their own ends. To quote Erikson "In order not to cynically or apathetically lost, youngpeople in search of anidentity there must somewhere be able toconvince themselves that those who succeed by shoulder the obligations ofbeing the best, that is,of personifying the other, we have those successful nation's ideals. In this country, as in any track", the types who become the cynicalrepresentatives of the "inside with the "bosses" of impersonal machinery. In a culture once pervaded ideal of the self-made man, a specialdanger ensues from the idea of asynthetic personality, at if you are what you can appearto be, or as if you arewhat you trans- can buy. This can be counteracted onlyby a system of education that "functioning" mits values and goals whichdeterminedly aspire beyond more and "making the grade" (p.94).
it&
100 95
As with earlier stages, thecrisis of establishing identityvhDe retaining the flzxibility todiffuse or switch roles (which is so necessary that of in a changing society) lays thefoundation for the next stage, identity has been early adulthood. Only when a reasonable sense of 'established is real intimacy with theother sex, or with other persons, identity shies away from inter- possible. The youth who is unsure of his personal intimacy either byisolating himself or by seeking loveand fellowship in.rapeated attempts and repeatedfailures. Unfortunately, adulthood have been many youngpeopleofeeling the *he privileges of postponed long enough, become Frustratedunder these circumstances and' only embark on marriage or other formsof intimacy which, in effect, are in a a semblance of the realthing. The premature obligation to act defined way as mates and parents adds afurther strain to the unresolved task of establishing one's ownidentity.
These five stages covering theperiod from birth to young adulthood comprise that portion of Erikson'stheory that has particularrelevance. direct application to ,for-this discussion.- The the present purpose, but theepigenetic nature of the theory suggests that. rior stages must also be consideredin attempting to determine the deaf youth.- problems encountered by anindividual or special group such as 96
Havighurst'EDEElapmental Task Theory. HavighurSt's theory, like those of Erikson arid Piaget, is built around the concept of stages of development and its corollary, the concept of developmental task. Havighurst divided the lifeipan into six stages: (1) infancy and early childhood, (2) middle childhood, (3) adolescence, (4) early adulthood, (5) middle age, and (6) late maturity.
Developmental Tasks and Education In the third edition of his book (1972) Havighurst described a series of 8 tasks peculiar to adolescence: 1. Forming new and more mature relations with agemates of both sexes 2. Achieving a masculine or feminine social role u, 3. Accepting one's physique and using the body effectively 4. Achieving emotional independence from parents and other adults 5. Preparing for marriage and family life 6. Selecting and preparing for an occupation. 7. Acquiring a set of ethics as a guide to behavior 8. Developing a social intelligence necessary for civic competence
1. Forming new and more mature relations with agemates of both sexes - Preadolescence is marked by the self-imposed segregation of the sexes in most of their leisure-time activities.Close personal friendships with a member of the same.sex are the rule, while the opposite sex is either ignored or treated with disdain. The accelerated physical development of girls'at this stage aggravates this situation. The security of the group setting anablessits members to enter gradually into limited heterosexual relationships, so that by high school almost all boys and girls are socializing with the opposite sex in couples or groups. These interactions provide the requisite experiences for learning the'appropriate sexual role.
2. Achieving a masculine or feminine social role -'hough the past decade has seen considerable changes in the definition of sex roles, achieve- ment of such a role Still represents an important item oflearning for most adolescents.
3. Agsptirgi one'spsiuemdusiliebodeffectivel - This may be an especially troublesome task for the adolescent, whose preoccupation with real or fancied imperfections makes it difficult to "become proud, or at,least tolirant, of one's body."The problems of adjusting to rapid growth spurts and increased sexual drive, and the need to impress one's peers with.feats of bravado may make it equally impossible to "use and protect one's body effectively and with personalsatisfaction. Many lifelong problems stem from the failure to achieve thisdevelop- mental task.
4. Achieving emoonal independence from parents and other adults - American society ets great store by independence, yet places many obstaclesin the path to its achievement, among which prolonged adolescentis perhaps the most influential. Though physically mature, the adolescen .st 97
rely on parents for food, shelter, and clothing,sand for money to purchase goods and entertainment. Whether they wish to ornot, adolescents must continue to attend school for many years. For some these restrictions are offset by finding apart-time job, but even where available,this is typically regarded as a temporary solution. For their part, the parents are often ambivalent about severing the .childhood ties and dubious about the adolescwent's ability to make mature decisions and to engage in responsible behavior.
S. 1212k:earin/follarLA.iaeArqlaini - As theadolescent becomes more active socially with members of the opposite sex, the need to conform to parental and societal expectations must be faced. Attitudes toward, and decisions about, marriage and parenthood are consolidated. The choice of a suitable marridge partner assumes major significance.
6.Selecting a.nd for anoccmpation - Modern society offers a broad choice of occupations, many of which require high levels of advanced training. The huge investments ofetime and money entailed in prepar- ing to work in certain fields makes the initial selection a matter of no small consequence to the individualand the society that provides the training and financial support. Choice of an occupation involves matching personal aptitudes and preferences. with the requirements of various jobs, many of which are poorly woerStood, even mysterious., It is not uncommon to find adolescents holding highly fantasized or distorted notidbs about the prestige or financial reward attached to a position or about the responsibilitiesthat accompany it. As Super ( has pointed out, choice of occupation requires both realistic self-concept and the dimensions of the occ.'pation under consideration.
Every society has , 7. Acquiring a set of ethics as ajuide to behavior - prescribed codes that place legal and social restrictions onindividual behavior. Beyond these, however, the cultural pluralism of American socie4 allows ft*a broad rangq of values,attitudes, and life styles. Exposure to these diverse life styles through mass media andthe frequent clash of value systems between generations or different segments of the population have heightened awareness among young people to the possibility of'choice. Ethical behavior is also a function of the level of moral development attainedOphlberg, 1969)
8. Developing a social intelligence - Many social conceptssuch as justice, freedom, and democracy, are highly abstract, and are notfully learned until adolescence. Even when a principle is clearly understood, it may conflict with another principle,and there is no simple resolution to many complex problems that stem fromthis conflict. Controversy abounds'in a cbmplex, pluralistic society, often reachingemotional levels, or even violence. The adolescent must chart a course'througlo a sea of rhetoric,' must learn towithstand arguments that appeal more to emotion than to logic, and to toleratethe ambiguity that accomanies problems that,seem imponderable. Coping with dissension and turmoil, while remaining socially engaged in carrying one'scivic responsibilities, is a major hurdle in the passage toward adulthood. :98
A(ohlberg's Moral Development Theory
Piaget's theory of cognitive developmentis 'comprehensive in scope; it applies to intellectual growth acrossall disciplines andimbraces concepts that are basic to all areasof inquiry, such as space andtime, cause and effect,4Ogical relationships,probability, number, etc., concepts the physical - whichartapplicable to the social sciences and humanities as Piaget's attention early in his career sciences. One area that attracted was that of moraldevelopment in children. As in his other naturalistic studies, he observed children ofdifferent ages at play, asking questions that would clarify their conceptsof rules, justice, and fair play,and probing their responses for elaboration. The all-pervasive characteristics' moral of egocentrism andabsolutism seenin other spheres also pervade the Piaget realm. The attributes of children'smoral development according to are these: transgression accord- 1. YoungAerchildren assess the severity of a ing to its consequences, whereasolder children become more aware of intentalso.
in the act itself --- justi 2. ,Ppnishment is viewed as inherent ig "immanent" .according to youngchildren. Older children come to the realizationthat punishment,evolvesfrom human principles that determineits appropriateness to thecrime.
in young children'sthinking. 3. Distributive justice also appears inexorably in direct proportion tothe External retribution/follows enormity of the crime. Older children are, moresensitive to mitigating circumstances or thepossibility of restitution on the part of the transgressor.
inviolable in the mind of the youngchild, 4. Rules are absolute and of rules and whereas older childrenperceive the relative nature the fact that they can bechanged by mutual agreement.
formulations into Kohlberg (1971) has recastand extended Piaget's the following stages:
I. Freconventional Level rules and labels At this level the childis responsive to cultural in of good and bad, right or wrong,but interprets these labels of action, terms of either thephysical or hedonistic consequences the (punishment, reward, exchangeof favors) or in terms of physical power of thosewho enunciate the rulesand labels. The level is divided inthe following two stages: Obedience Orientation. Stage 1 (7 - 9 years) -The Punishment and goodness or bad- The physical consequencesof action determine its value of these consequences. ness regardlessof the human meaning or deference to power are Avoidance of punishmentand unquestioning for an under- valued irs their own right,not in terms of respect authority (the latter lying moral ordersupported by punishment and being stage 4).
104' 99
Stage 2 (9 - 11 years) - The Instrumental Relativist Orientation. Right action consists of that which instrumentally satisfies one's own needs and occasionally the needs ofothers. Human relations are viewed in terms like those of the marketplace. Elements of fairness, of reciprftity, and equal sharing are present, but they are always interpreted in a physical, pragmatic way. Reciprocity is a matter of "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours," not of loyalty, gratitude, or justice.
II. Conventional Lea
Atthis level, maintaining the expectations of the individual's family, group, or nation is perceived. as valuable in its own right, regardless of immediate and obvious consequences. The attitude is not only one of conformity to personal expectatiOns and social order, but of loyalty to it, of actively maintaining, supporting, and justifying the order and of identifying with the persons or group involved in it. At this level, there are the following two
Stage 3,- The Interpersonal Concordance or "Good Boy-NiceGirl" Ofientation. Good behavior is that which pleases or helps others and is approved by them. There is much conformity to stereotypical images of what is majority or "natural" behavior. L. -dor is frequently judged by intention - "he neans well" becomes ,ortant for the first time. One earns approval by being "nice.
Stage 4 - The "Law-and-Order" Orientation. There is orientation toward authority, fixed rules, and the maintenanceof the social order. Right behavior consists of doing one's duty, showing respectfor and maintaining the given social order forits own sake.
III. Postconventionalikutonomous, or Principled Level
At this level, there is ieiclear effort todefine moral values and principles which have validity andapplication apart from the authority of the groups or persons holding thesoTprinciplesand apart from the individual's ownWintificationvith these groups. This level again has two stages:
slaps - The Social-ContractLegalittic Orientation. This \ level generally has utilitarian overtones. Right action tends to be defined in terms of general individual rightsand in terms f stan- dardswhichhave been critically examined and agreed uponby the whole society. There is a clear awareness of the relativismof personal values and opinions and acorresponding emphasis upon procedural rules for reaching consensus. Aside from what is constitutionally and democratically agreed upon, theright is a matter of personal "values" and"opinion."The result is an with an emphasis upon P emphasis upon the "legal point of view," but the possibility of changing law in termsof rational considerations of social utility (rather than freezingit in terms of stage 4, "law and order"). Outside the legal realm, free agreementand
105 0 100
contract is the binding element of obligation. This is the "official" morality of the American government and constitution.
Stage 6 - The Universal Ethical Principle Orientation. Right is defined by the decision of conscience in accord with self-chosep, ethical principles appealing to logical comprehensiveness, universality, and consistency. These principles are abstract and ethical (the Golden Rule, the categorical imperative); they are not concrlate moral rules like the Ten Commandments. At heart, these are universal principles of justice, of the reciprocity and equality of human rights, and of respect for the dignity of human beings as individual persons. M Like Piaget, Kohlberg believes that each of his moral stages is pre- requisite to all successive stages. Both parental guidance and the social- izing influcence of peers are important factors in moral development.
Kohlberg's description of moral stages has stimulated a great deal of discussion and considerable research. Among the questions raised are (1) the relationship of moral judgment to actual behavior (Fodor, 1973; Saltzstein, Diamond and Belenky, 1971); and the educability of moral) judgment (Turiel and Rothman, 1972).
In a discursive article on Kohlberg's stages of moral development, .Gibbs (1978) has stated that the first four stages, which he calls "orientations," satisfy five criteria ofdevelopmental stage sequences
f in the Piagetian sense, via.
(1) Generality or consistency and a correspondence to analogous structural stages in other domains ofrdevelopment.
(2) A natural upward tendency with resistance to extinction or regression. or (3) Facilitated rates of stage development for' subjects in an experientially enriched environment.
(4) Gradual and consecutive upward movement through the stage sequence.
(5) Commonly in evidence among members of the species from birth to maturity. (p.37)
The fifth and sixth stages, on the other hand, Gibbs argues, are aot stages in the same sense, but "post-conventional," reflecting the emergence of ethical sentiments that may precipitate an "existential crisis" at any time during adolescence or adulthood. This highest level cf morality "entails role-taking the claim of each actor (in a moral conflict) under the assumption that all other actors' claims are also governed by the Golden Rule and accommodated accordingly (Hence) valid ethical decisions require the perspective of an 'impartial spectator' or 'ideal observer'" (p.45). In fact, the "principled orientations" are formal ethical philosophies rather,than natural stages of moral judgment.
Gilligan (1978) has identMed)another problem with Kohlberg's theory -- "the problem of women."The problem is that "the qualities deemed necessary 101 for adulthood -- the capacity for autonomous thinking, clear decision making, and responsible action -- are those associated with masculinity but considered undesirable as attributes of the feminine self" (p.53). Gilligan concludes that developmental theories that find women's development aberrant or incomplete are one-sided, stressing autonomous judgment and action at the expense of the universal need for care and compassion. "The observation that for women, identity has as much to do with connection as with separation (also) led Erikson into trouble largely because of his failure to integrate this insight into the main- stream of his developmental theory" (p.80). 102
Chemslev's Theory of Transformational'Grammar
Syntax is that part of grammarthat has, traditionally received most attentionfrom grammarians. The beginning of the study of children'ssyntactic structures go back to Rousseau, and traces ofmodern theories of generative grammais may be found inthe works of German writers such asPreyei and Stern in the nineteenth century.
Chomsky proposes a theory of syntaxwith far-reaching implications for the behavioralsciences. His transformational, theory is built on a numberof philosophical assumptions, most notably' the notion of innate structuresof the mind. ,(Inc,this respect, Chomsky is inthe direct tradition ofrationalist philosophers going back toPlato.) In language these univerr sals are marifested in thegrammatical form or sentences. They reflect an underlying,biologically based structure whichis shared by all members ofthe species. TNescostructures pre- determine the sequence andtiming of linguis1icdevelopment in the young child,which are the same,regardless of the 'language and culture towhich the child is. etposed.
Chomsky (1968) hasdescribed the process oflanguage acquisition as a,"kind oftheory construction" inwhich "the child discovers thetheory of his language withonly s-!iall amounts of datafrom that language"(p. 284). This "theory o: language" is predictive;that.rs, the child responds tothe linguistic data that he receives soas to formgeneralizations about llenguage which arereflected in his speech. Chomsky emphasizes that the processis much more thall pureimitation, as ma be seen frOm thechild's production of novel sentences. r'.strictions on\ The child's activityis dependent on innate "The the form of grammar. Chomsky ,(1968) statesthat: restriction on the formof grammar is aprecondition for linguistic experience,and it is surely thecrIlical factor the course and result oflanguage learning" in determining meaning, (p. 284).the fact that children can'communicate the most abstract partof language, beforethey have acquir.d the grammar seems tocall for some explanation. Chomsky introduces the conceptof a LanguageAct-fuisition Device, or LAU, which takes thebody of speechutterances to which the child is exposed andsomehow constructs fromit a grammatical theory. which he Thas., the child usesdteI anguage ilmiver!.ols internal'picture of the possessesat.birth to construct an syntactic structuresof language. he learns the ideol theory., that is to say,he approximates anideal speaker- the language '2nd who listener wuo. hasperfect knowledge of
1 o DES`! kd' 103
A carries.around in his head a set of generative rules which constitute the transformational stage,thi: central factor in the; tripartite structure of 'the grammar. The tripartite structure includes deep stlucture, transformational .rules, andsur:face'structure. The deep structure of a language thfough transfcirmational rules, the meaning and interpfetation of ai language, It is abst,ract, and is not repres,entedtin speech. Furthermore, as Chomsky (1968') writes:
The rules that determine deep and surface structure and their interrelation in par- ticular casesmust themselves be highly abstract. They are surely remote from consciousness and cannot be brought to consciousness (p.-283).
The precise nature, of the interaction with the lin- guistic environment that is necessary for the child to Construct this ideal theory and learn the rewrite rules is unclear, as is the degree of "activity", mental or other- wise, that is called for.
We must also bear t the child constf- this idea, .ithout specific instxuctior acquires the knaw1edge at v is not capable ,of complex into 41 achieve- ments in many other doma -mod that this,achkevement is relatively lirdependent of intelligence or the particular course of experience (Chomsky, 1968, p. 264).
Perhaps Chomsky is a little clearer about what language acquisition is riot. Itis.. not a process of imitation, general- ization, and reinforcement, key concepts of the behaviorist theory. There is ample empirical evidence to Osmiss a probabilistic account of language. With respect to imitation it may be noted that: (a). children's ability to reproduce ententes they hear is limited to what they can produce in 1)ontaneous speech (Ervin, 1964);(b) the order in which inflections appear in children's speech is weakly correlated with the frequency of these forms in the speech of the adults they hear (Bellugi, 1964);(c) when children fail to comprehend a sentence they are asked to imitate, the imitation either expresses a. different meaning or no mi'aning at all (Slobin and Welch, 1967);(d) since children reconstruct adult models to make their own grammars, imitation plays no role In the acquisition of new transformations (McNeill, 1970);(e) child- ren often produce regular forms of irregular verbs (e.g. digged) even thoygh they have, never heard these forms in adult
1 0d 104
speech (rvin, 1964)00children omit certain, aspectsof the model's utterance, e.g.his gruffness of voice;and (g) a child can pick up asecond language from otherchildren who are not precise cr accuratein their speech(Chomsky, the object 1959). The concept 'ofgeneralization has .also; been children of some criticism. For example, the wr.v very young classify words into pivot or openclass is more consistent. future than with subtle differentiationsthey will make in the No,Neill (1974), for with..generalizations from pastexperience. example,.cites,r the case of achild whose pivot classcontained members of several adultgrammatical classes(demonstratives, adjectives, possessives,etc.), although none of theseclasses were at that time a partof the .child.'s grammar. psycho- As for reinforcement,the concept plays no part in to linguistic models.External reinforcement is unnecessary explain any part oflanguage acquisition. The child is pro- pelled into learninghis native language by theinescapable fact. of being human;his biological endowmentof innate In the linguistic structuresaqlows of no other outcome. context of hisinexorable progres.4 towardbecoming the ideal pale and insignif- user of hislanguage, reinforcement seems a icant factor. while not all equellytelling,in tutu These criticisms, yorsion seem to present acompelling argument againstShihner' of the St.ilt.v ..11C ..of language learning. Automatic acceptance th't the kind and amountof language exposurethe young,child enjoys is° irrelevantdoes not necessarilyfollow, hoveer. heated discussion among&homsky's followers has In fact, much While agree- ensued around thetopic of geneticdeteminalien. . in language acquisi- ing that somesignificant innate component develOpmental . tion is necessaryif we are to"build a vibble psycholinguistics," Slobin (1966)takes issue vithMcNeill on should be considered "how to determine justwhat sort of things "preprogrammed" and to whatextent a human child is"wired up" with linguistic competence. It seems to me thatthe child is born notwith a set oflinguistic categoriesbut with some sort of processmechanism--a set ofprocedores he uses and inference rules,if you will--that to processlinguistic data. These mechanisms are such that,applying them tothe input data, the child ends upwith something vilic.his a .member of the class ofhuman languages. The linguistic universals,then; are the resultof rather than the .an innatecognitive competence content of such acompetence. The universals may thus be aderivative consequenc.eof, say, the application ofcertain inferencerules
110 105
rather- than constut/e the actual initial information in terms of which the child processes linguis,tic input (Slobin, 1966, p. 87-88).
Such misgpings have led to substantial revisionsof the originaltransformational theory, making way for a now directidn, in which the preoccupation with syntax has given way to an enlargedinterest in the semantic aspects of lin- guistic communication, and the cognitive basis of language learning has come under closer scrutiny(Macnamara, 1970). Some authors would go so far to say that "the Chomskyian revolution is over" (Wolfram, 1975). Another argument that was seen as bolstering the need to ostulate an innate mechanism was -the rapidity with which children acquire language in the early years, a4plie nomenon which could not occur, it was maintained, if languagefolloweJ the same course as other types of learning that depend primarily' on experience. The fact that virtually all the syntactic con- structions found in adult speech are found in thespeech of a --normal six-year-old was pAvotal to the theAis. However, the past decade has seen the emergence of a numberof articles and studies to suggest that the development of syntaxis a much more protracted process than was as.,umod bythe theory of transformational grammar, and that experiencedoes play a role in its acquisition after all, in fat; , there seems to be a hierarchy of difficulty for processing certain vrpesof syntactic structure, which follows thekind f sequence wc find in other types of learning, e.g.fro; th. simple to they complex, from the familiar to theunfamiliar, from the concrete' to the abstract, from thepositive to the neg Live instance. '-,44.14.this we find in concept learning,problem olvi g, and , other ,forms of higher mental" activity. This ev ce has been compiled elsewhere (Athey, 1977) and will onlybe summarized here. In brief, the studies cited may be said todemonstrate that:
1. E en the simplest constructions have many uses,and sole of these are moredifficult than others. The codjunction and; for example, may signifythe joining of similar elements (e.g. bright andshiny), temporal sequence (e.g. he bathedand dressed), comparative degree (e.g. longer and longer), opposition(e.g. war and peace), social convention(v.g. he offered and I accepted) and causality (e.g, fight anddie), among ()thew:. These uses are 'nut explicitly taught, yvt must be learned; such learningis still taking place Shill), 1974). in adolescence (Hutson and IP 106
2. Other coh junctions .(when, so, bilt, or,where, while, that, and if) are very difficult, andintelligence is kicLly related to theircomprehension (Stoodt, 1972).
3. Negatives introduce yet another 'dimensionof difficulty ( eimark and Slotnick, 1970; Katz andBrent, 1968).
4. /Syntactic errors arise where' there is asuppressed noun phrase or verbphrase which the reader or listener must generate if he ;s understand the meaning of the sentence, as in"ThYtollis easy to see" (C. Chomsky, 1972),
5. Children who understandseparate: words or symbols sometimes have difficulty integratingthem into a meaningful message (Denner, 1970)'.
6. Many words in our lexicon,despite" appearances to the contrary, are reallyrelational, e.g. tall means relative to some standard(Donaldson and Wales, 19.70), and relationshlps, comparisons, etc.imply additional . difficulty.
7. The child's understanding oflanguage is closely ' related to his understandingof events around him and of social conventionssuch as use of context, inflection, and concomitant actiow.toinfer meaning (Wolfram, 1975).
This research has led us toquestion the use of transfor- mational grammar' as a basisfor a theory of developmental series of psycholinguistiEs. Pearson (1974-75) conducted a experiments to eestcounter hypotheses derived from, thedeep structure model andthe chunking model, andfound that the results systematicallyfavored the latter.'Basically, this means that thehypothetical memory storage units arelarge components such ascomplete sentences, ratl..2rthan atonistic deep structure componentssuch ailM4p11.11 man" and"short girl" which must be synthesizedif comprehension is to occur. Bransford and Franks (1971)demonstrated the superiorityof the chunking explanationwith adult subjects,thereby empha- sizing the primacy ofsemantic over syntacticfactors 'n mode] fluent readers. On the other hand,' thedeep structur may be moreappropriate where the message tobe understood is so difficultthat it can only beunderstood in small segments. Lan ua e ac uisition inthe deaf child
The hypothesis oflinguistic universals .impliesthat deaf children are born with the sameinnate structures andcapabil- Whatever form of ities for languagelearning as other infants.
112 P 107
communication the child may be" exposed to, the same deep structure will contain both the"kernel sentences" of dis- course and the rewrite rules that permittranslation from deep to surfa'ce.structure, no matter what form thatsurface structure may take. Deaf children, on.this hypothe-sis, are fully capable of learning a complete languagewith its own. syntactic constructions.. The fact thatin Chomsky's theory, grammar. is independent of meaning,*would be to the advantage of the deaf child, because he is equipped with the sameinnate structures For Learning the grammar as otherchildren. There is no theoretical reason, on this mode],why he should not have the same full-blown language system by the ageof six as his hearing counterparts, even though the syntaxof sign language may be less well developed ordifferentiated than the syntax of English._ Differencesbetween deaf and hearing S subjects would then be primarily aIunciton of vocabulary.
Studies investigating deaf students'learning of syntax, such as those of Quigley(1977) and otherS, have concentrated on English syntax. In general, the finding is thatdeaf students follow the sametrder of acquisition of syntactic structures as heariag students,but that there is a time lag and, in many cases, a ceiling to theirlearning. Whether this iseequally true of the syntax of signlanguage, however, has not been studied. Linguists since Chomsky are less sure thatgleaning cln be separated from grammar. Evidence is accumulating to suggest that considerable meaning isderived from syntax. Synia helps'the listener compr.ehend becausehis understanding of sentence structure helps,him to narrow down the possibilities of what is to follow in subsequentparts of the discourse. Moreover, as Carol Chomsky hasdemonstrated, the meanings are lotrfr not always overt; sentenceswith identical surface structures may have entirelydifferent meanings because adifferent clause is suppressed in the two cases. Undoubtedly, eases like these, that are hard toexplain except 'in technical jargon, cad indeed rarely are explained tocisfldren, must be exception- ally difficult for tle deafchild to grasp.
We have already nJted thattheyrocess of learning English syntax is a much moreprotracted affair than was formerly supposed. Hutson, Dormuth, and othershave shown that comprehension of some ofthese structures is still incom- plete at adolescence. Since Quigley's studies haveshown doaf children lagging behind theirhearing, counterparts we Can only conclude that many deaf students arestill struggling with
( grammatical sentence such as * (Hence we may have a perfectly "Colorful green ideas sleep furiously"which is meaningless.") 108
them in adulthood, or alternatively, never learn them at 4.11. At all events, it seems-reasonable to conclude'that instructors and counselors who deal with deaf adolescents, cannot assume the same mastery of language, or,the same degree of compre- hension of spoken and written material that th-ey expect in hearing youth.
Aspreviously noted, when it comes to describing the precise nature of language learning, the theoretical formula- tions of the linguitts are. vague. McNeill, for example, felt a strong need tb-Posit innate linguistic properties to account' for. the remarkable rapidity of language ac'qui'sition, but. he seems to feel that this is all that needs to.be posited. Fraser (1966) has retorted that the "astonishing speed" of 'language acquisition is less astonishing when we considdr that the child is working constantly on acquiring language from the birth to the age of six or beyond. The "mere. exposure? which McNeill discounts. as the medium for learning actually brings .the child into relational communication with adults and other ,children. Fraser also suggests that instead of.arguing,about the .nature of innate capacities, we should get on with the job of.diseoVering what, precisely the language behavior is that the innate capacities and meCianisms are supposed to be explaining, and we might add, what are the effects of different kinds of exposure on different facets of language teaming. In particular, we need to understand more about the correspondence bet'Veen the syntactic structures of sign language and Lngl'ish, and to determine the degree of continuity or discontinuity between them.
Another limitation of thomsky's theory, from the perspec- tive of developmental psycholinguistics, -is its complete neglect or lack of explanation as to how meanings are acquired. To be sure, Chomsky called his. theory a "theory of synIax," implying that it. did not extend beyond syntax. But we have become more aware in recent years of th0 Interrelatedness 9f syntax and semantics, and any acco.nt of language development that failed.to include worAs,and s..,ntences, even comprehension of the structure of paragraphs and stories, would today be considered incomplete. This is trotthe place to consider the implications of schema theory for language and reading in the deaf, but they must assuredly be profeund.
114 109
Lenneberg's Biological Theory.,
Lenneberg (1967) presents a theory based onMitepremise that language has a biological basis and is the manifestation of species-specific cognitive pr6pensities. "A biological predisposition for the development of language is anchored in the operative characteristics of the human brain." Thus, 14nguage is a peculiarly humanluction to which animal com- munication shows no evidence of approximation. Work by Thorpe (1967), Hockett and Altman, 1968), Gardner and Gardner (1969) and Premack (1971), which argues for a continuity hypothesis between animal and human language, might pose a challenge to Lenneberg's position, and the evidence at this Point appears inconclusive.
The resemblance between Lenneberg's ,theory and that of Chomsky is obvious. However, Lenneb_cg, unlike Chomsky, pre- sents a vast array of evidence from genetic, neurological, and psychological sources. First, language appears to be closely' tied to general maturation. Important milestones in language acquisition are reached in a fixed sequence which cannot be accelerated by special training and are largely unaffectedflby such variables as intelligence, parental atti- tudes, or effectiveness in communication. Maturation of the latent language structures brings about a state of readiness, at which time-adult speech elicits a "resonance" which releases the synthesizing process by whicheithe child builds his own language structure. Hence, there is a critical period'for language acquisition (2 to 4 years) corresponding to certain aspects of brain development. At adolescence, there occurs "the phenomenon of cerebral lateralization of function" at about the same time that the capacity for primary language acquisition declines. Cross-cultural research studies reveal the same sequence of linguistic events.
As further evidence of the innate, biological basis of language, Lenneberg points to the universal properties of language: (a) all language s'iave a phonemic system; ) all are concerned with the same.,a'pects of theenvironment; (c) all languages can'be judge] as either grammatically acceptable or unacceptable; and (d) the syntax of languages is basically of the same type, consisting of words or morphemes that fit into functional categories. Language universals are determined. by the limitations set by the cognitive functions characteristic of man. Concept formation is primary; applying lingulstid terms to the categories is a secondary process'. Maturation of coyitive processes comes about through progres- sive differentiation of experience, a traversing of highly unstable states whose disequilibrium leads to rearrangement of the elements of thought, adult thought beingcharacterized 110.
by relatively stable arrangements. The period of disequilib- rium of language is of limited duration, however; it'begins around two years of age and declines with cer bral maturation in the early teens. d'
As previously noted, Lenneberg's theory i founded,on wealth of evidence. from diverse sources-yl-ncl ding observa- tional studies of orphanage children, fieldresearch'in'central Brazil, New Guinea, and-the American southwest, and a large number of clinical-Case studies of (a) aphasia due to brain trauma, and (b) deaf children.
It is also.apparent that linguistic development follows the same sequence of stages regardlessof the language to which the child is expoSed. For example, McNeill (1966) found that'. both English and Japanese children master a generative trans- formational grammar according to certain universal principles. Ervin-Tripp and Slobin (1966) reported that the earliest gram- mar both in Russian and English appearsbefore two years of age. In a further review, Slobin (1964) cited cross-cultural research on early stages of the acquisition of grammar as indicative of the universality' of the stages and the process. Cazden (19,69) has noted that studies of-early language acqui- sitions do in fact show striking simila'itiesin the stages " of development across childrent.with equally strikingdevi- ations from adult grammar. Ervin and Miller (1963) observed that children acquire prelinguistic articulatory controlby the age of 8-10 months, the onset of one -` andtwo-wordutter- ances between the ages of 1 to 2 years, and the use of plurals before age 3. Bi'aine (1963) reported that .5 or 6 months after one-word utterances are established, children show an upsurge of different word combinations used in two-word utterances. ,(The number of different combinations recorded from oneof Braine's children in successive months was: 14, 24, 54,.89, 350, 1400, 2500+ (McNeill, 19703.) Bellugi (1965) found a sequence of three stages, between18 and 36 months in the devel- opment of the interrogative. Ervin-Tripp (1970) .also noted a fixed sequence in which responses to various typesof questions were learned betweenthe a%es of 2.6 and 4.2 years. She fur-. ther reports use of the past tense andthe notion of 4ntention as appearing between the agesof 3 and 4 years. McCarthy (1954, p. 526) observed the use,gf phrases andcompound sentences after 2 years, and the useof clauses by 44 years. Anderson and Beh (1968) concluded thatlexical markers are learned hierarchically during thefirst' end second grades of school. A study. by Eimas, Siqueland,' Jusczyk,and Vigorito (1971) showed that 1- and 4-month-oldinfants can discriminate consonant sounds in much the same way asadults. The peak of discriminakility was found at the boundarybetween voiced and voiceless stops. Carlson and Anisfeld (1969) concluded t.
111
I
from a longitudinal study of the development ofa child4s!7) speech from the .ages of 21 to 33 months that thechild had an internal longuistic system and had acquired the pattetns and sound relations inherent in Englishbefore he had mastered the spiCific sounds.
To show that language milestonesare reached independent of environmental factors, Lenneberg (1967)points out that up to the age of .6 months, deaf babies and hearing babies born
. to deaf parents go through the samesequence of vocalizations as hearing children. Ervin and Miller (1963) also report that/deaf children during the prelingualperiod (0-3 months) make the same sounds as hearing children. Lenneberg (1962) reported a case history ofa child who was never able to speak, but who at age eightwas capable of understanding complex syntactic structures.
MOthers' attitudes toward thefr children aref-notpredictive, according to Lenneberg (1967), of the emergence ofvarious stages in speech development. Children in orphanagesare often below average in speech development at 3, but havecaught up by the age of 6 or 7, when the environment is enriched,providing' the resonance necessary to trigger the 'child's latent language structure is present. Brown, Cazden, and Bellugi (1968) in their obser4ations of parental utterances, foundno evidence of the effect of reinforcement'or communication effectiveness of parents on-the appearance of milestones in language develop- . ment.,
To show that language is also relatively, independent of intelligence, Lenneberg (1964V) draws on his studies of retarded children. Children with IQ's ranging around 50 all possessed langUa&e, though articulation andgrammar were poor, and continued to develop until the early teens, when language development "freezes." Lenneberg, 'Nichols, and Rosenberger (1964) studied 54 Mongoloids ranging inage from 6 months to 22 years over a 3-year period, and found. that 75percent reached at least the first stage of.'anguage development, although no subjects over 14 made progress at all.
The evidence above may be summarized'by the statement that language development is a function of the growth of the human brain. Hence, the maturation of language parallels the maturation of motor skill's and cognitive processes in general. Other authors haVe described the acquisition of language structures in terms reminiscent of accounts of concept for- mation. Glanzer (1962), for example, describes the develop- ment of grammar as a tentative theory which the child must ,validate by testing. Brown and Fraser (1964) concluded that the child constructs his grammar by imitating adult speech
117 x. 112
discuss inducing generalrules, and they in'reduced form and Overgeneraliza- of inducedrules presentedby the the evidence errors (seealso Cazden, tions childrenmake which lead to this stablegeneralization produces 1968). Rearrangement of further-differentiation. book BiologicalFounda- The publicationofLennebei)g's has been hailed as"the event of .recent liana_a_kluiaLt (Fillenbaum, 1971). Carroll(1968) years" in this area review and inter- evaluazas it asban extraordinarily careful knOwn.of the biologicalsub- pretive discussionof what is Bern and Bem(1968, p. '499) strate oflanguage" (p. 117). Lenneberg's presentationis persuasive, find that "in sum, the thrust of his and the weaker spots do not impair major thesis."' (1968), Lenneberghas Maturation. According to Carroll that 'IGesell, McCarthy, andothers added new evidenc, to depen- language developmentis maturationally to show that this position, However, he questionsthe corollaryof dent. learning. that there is. acritical*Tiriod.for language a biologically determinedlower The notion of a would, age limitfor firstlanguage. acquisition accepted by all butthe most I think, be The evidence for a extremebehaviorist. determined upper agelimit... biologically primarily on is not soclear. It rests observations ofthe poorprognosis for in the unharmedhemis- language leaning A phere inaphasics beyondpuberty. would be thatthe apparent counter-theory is due solely loss ofcerebral flexibility accumulation ofwell-formed habits to the establish that interferewith efforts to newhabits of foreignpronunciation...or to learn anynew skill(p. 118). for the of language. 'The evide.nc" Bialslical basis overwhelming but, linguisticuniversals is existence of caution ininferring'that Carroll warns, wemust exercise dependent. There areuniversal these arebiologically which may dependmore on features of otherhuman systems things" thanonbiologically given logic or on"the nature of the universal feature,Lenneberg cites capacities. As one with essentiallysimi- "alllanguages.are concerned fact that a tacitadmission, in lar aspects'ofthe environment," characteristics oflang- Carroll's view,that "someuniversal characteristics ofthe humanenvironment uage mayarise from (1968) organism" (p.118). Bem and Bern rather thanthe human point outthat 1 13 113
it is not biological considerations hick are prompting an increasing number ofpsychologists to accept some of the extraordinary conclusions about,the innate character of linguistic com- petence, but the apparent failure of any cur- rent notions about learning to account for the new linguistic observations in even a remotely satisfying way (p. 498).
In other words, one may be persuaded of the innateness of certain linguistic'competencies without necessarily being committed to the biological hypothesis.''
Localization of.s eech functions. Whitaker (1969) is committed to the biological'hypothesis. He praises Lenneberg for demonstrating the relevance of bl3logy for the study of language, However, he,is critical of his conclUsions concern- ing the localization -of brain function'in language. Lenneberg maintains that clinical evidence based on studies of lesions of the brain is suspect because of the great variety of lesion' types which are difficult to locate andisolate. Whitaker (1970) believes that his own summary of research on the correlation between functions and brain loci makes a "plaus- ible case" in support of the localization position. For example, Lenneberg argues tha% it is not possible to assign a specific neuroanatomic structure to languagecapacity. Whitaker agrees, but points to certain histological differ- ences' in the cortex of the speech areas. The anterior border of Brodmann's area 44 in man is unlike that of any other primate. Penfield and Roberts' (1959) and von 'Bonin's (1949) work also support Whitaker's position.
Cognition and language. Lenneberg argues that linguistic competence is part of a more general cognitive competence,but the nature of this relationship is not made clear, nor is the supporting evidence entirely persuasive. Hoever, a review of other models reveals that the linguists are in no better position in this regard.
Learning. While Lenneberg must be creditA with cssign- ing a role to learning in his account of language developmeht (as opposed to McNeill, for examle), again the nature of the learning is not made explicit. Granted that language emerges "by an interaction of maturation and self-programmed learning" (p. 158), it becomes necessary to specify the principles by which the learning and the interaction proceed.
Resonance. It must also be aomitted that the concept of resonance does not receive asatisfactory explanation in the discussion of language acquisition, nor is there areadily discernible method for verifying such a concept. 114
In summary, we may say, that nativistic models,especially fri.enWeberg's, have made a profound' impact on the study of lan- guage.,It is as yet ,too early to assessthe validity of these models on the basis of researchevidence. In addition, Lenneberg's theoryhas generated controversy concerningthe nature of linguisticuniversals, the localization of brain function, and the continuity 61 humanand animal speech. All these issues remain open, suggestingthe need for further research before.a valid assessmentof'his model"can be achieved.
I!"
at.
120 115
Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs
Many different concepts have been invoked to explain human behavior- - instincts (McDougall), drives (Freud, Hull), valences (Lewin)jahong others. One of the most useful has been the concept of need as developed by Henry Murray, David McClelland, and Abraham Maslow. All these authors have made substantial contributions to our understanding of personality dynamics through their elaboration of this concept, but for purposes of this review, we will focus on the theory of Maslow, since it has been widely quoted and influential in the field.
Maslow (1954) proposes a list of eight basic needs arranged by hierarchy of prepotency. The prepotent needs are more urgent and insistent than the others under conditions of equal deprivation. Until the prepotent needs are reasonably satisfied, the others do not emerge or function as motivators of behavior. These basic needs in order of propotency are: (1) physiological, (2) safety, (3) belongingness and love, (4) importance, respect, self-esteem, independence, (S) information, (6) understanding, (7) beauty, and (8) self- actualization. A person whose physiological needs remain chronically unsatisfied will, in most instances, be totally unconcerned with anything beyond satisfying them. Men these are satisfied, then he can turn his attention to needs at the text higher level. Whileit is true that a few exceptional individualS may reach a state of high altruism and self-fulfilment through self-denial, in general it is true that the most direct way to cultivate a life at, the higher levels is to ensure that the lower needs receive adequate gratification.
Physiological needs. These needs form the starting point for many learning and personality theories. They are unlike other needs in that most. of them can be readily identified, are insistent, can beeasily satisfied by engaging in a certain form of behavior, and are cyclical in their appearance. Some are associated with specifics art:; of the body, while others are morediffuse. Moreover, their recurrent naire is attributable to depletion and regeneration of bodily tissues, or occurs as a function of the release of hormones, etc.
Safety needs. These needs are more often gratified than not in our society. However, their potency is readily apparent under conditions of physical threat or deprivation, during war or riots or terrorist attacks, in the reaction to unemployment or death of a family member, or during ewhquakes or other calamities of nature. Children, who are more vulnerable i this respect, and less able to provide for their own safety needs, mayf: into a panic or be inconsolable in the absence of parents. Even adults.wio lead a relatively sheltered and safe life seem toprefer stability and cling to the familiar in a way that guarantees safety from invasion by the unknown.
Belongingness and love. When food and shelter are provided, the needs for belongingness and love appear. These needs involve not only receiving but giving love. People seek close relationships with other individuals or groups of their own age and persuasion. Many societal ills have been attributed to the-inability to form such relationships, leading to alienation and anomie. 4 self-esteem, to believe in his ownworth Esteem. Everyone needs to have pointed out,"self-esteem comes and integrity. As George Herbert Mead opinions of about through the internalizationof the attitudes and significant others" thatdemonstrkte their esteem. It is not surprising, and esteem therefore, to find self-esteemsrelated tct a person's respect increase for others, and that improvementin the first often leads to an feeling of being able in the second. Self-esteem also comes through a engendered by learn- to cope with theenvironment, a feeling that may be less threatening ing new ways of coping, orby moving into or constructing a or, less, complexenvironment. clinically Information. 'The needs describedfrom this point on are less differentiable in terms of the pathologythat follows theirfrustration. pathology; it This does not mean that theirfrustration does not involve It would appear may mean only thatit has not been recognized assuch. the value system, that some forms ofpsychopathology, particularly of knowledge and for understanding. can result from.the ungratified needs for These needs, too, can It There is almost no research directed tothis point. apparently be lost. There are persons who avoidthe possibility,ofacquiring of frequent early specific information.This can develop at a result punishment 'or derogation forinquisitiveness. succeeding,ones ?mist From another point pf view,such needs as this and understand his history. How be postulated as basicin man in order to of these sorts can we else than by the presenceof instinctual needs other animals? possibly explain the enormousdifferences between man and have some relation to It was pointed out thatthe need for understanding may, andnOneof the others have safety needs, but allanimals have safety needs chimpanzees have a sought informationconsistently. It is possible that understariding, or both, rudimentary form of thisneed or of the need for (Spe, for' and that this helpsexplain some aspects oftheir behavior. need and the need fbrunder- example, Harlow.) Furthermore, We see this primitiive men known to us. standing reflected in thebehavior of the most differentiations is. that One of'the earliest andcommonest occupational particular aspects of of the medicine man orpriest, who can "explain" (He may also attempt tocontrol them, but thisis the environment. In addition secondary and the techniques arebased upon the explanation.) knows how the normalchild anyone who haswatched children grow up and seeks for understanding. accumulates and treasuresitems of information uttered words in the4-year "Why?" is probably oneof the most frequestly thwarted then that thisneed old's vocabulary. How many children are so probably to be understood disappears?A'number of school problems are as the frustrationof this and succeeding needs. understanding of the worldaround Understanding. We need to have some this is an intensecraving. us and ofourselves, and with some persons generally, overlooked as Because this and otherhigher needs have been studies of them. It is, how- basic motivators, wehave practically no that gratification of themis important. Interpretation of ever, clear philosophical scheme is a part the world in termsof Some religious or importance to everyindividual of every known culture. It is not of equal subsequent needs may bp very in the culture;variations in this and the
122 117 large. We have never evaluated the results forthe'individual who is forbidden areas of inquiry and understanding because of political or religious ideologies; hence, we do not know what kinds or degrees of pathology may result.
Beauty. Need for beauty is postulated on the basis of common experience rather than of clinical or laboratory research. As yet, it has not been v demonstrated that its frustration can produce-disease, pathology, or some other disturbance of the fullest possible development of the organism. Until that is done, it can only be included tentatively in a listiof basic needs.
Self-actualization. There is Sufficient clinical basis, not only in Naslow's own studies but also in many reports of therapy for assuming a need for self-Octualization. All that a man can be he must be if he is to,be hap y. The more he is fitted to do, the more he must do. The specific form th'it this need will take must naturally vary with the capacities of the individual. It may or may not be expressed creatively, at least in terms of products which are detachable from the individual. It will probably always be expressed creatively in terms of life style. Effective self-actualization, however, can emerge freely only with prior satisfactionof the physiological, safety, love, and esteem needs, and some of the others.' When it has emerged fully it seems to organize and to some extent.to control these other needs.
i.
123 11'
Roe's Psychology of Occupations
What are the facts that determine occupational choice? Super's theory elaborates on the role of self-concept developmentand differen- tiation and the matching process that must take placebetween this development and the broadening of knowledge about variousoccupations that comes with adolescence. Anne Roe presents an alternativehypothesis that the individual's eventual choice is closely related toearly experiences in the family setting that affect his attitudes,interests, and other personality factors.
By wa?of introduction to her theme, Roe discussesthe nature of man as a social animal. Usually he lives as part of a family group that is loosely integrated into the larger society. While many forces. are brought to bear in the formation ofpersonality, it is in the critical early'years, when the broad parameters of personality are being established, that the family is most influential.
There is no place on earth where life canbe maintained without some work. In every society, even the most primitive,there is somb division of labor. The primary division in most cases is along sexlines, and within this division of labor by sex, furtherdifferentiation is made on the basis, of age. Secondary divisions, such,as family membership, caste divisions, and minority state.' also directly limit the number and kind of occupations open to a L: individual. (Roe does not mention birth order and physical/m.nPalability among these secondary factors, but they would seem to be equallyexclusive.) The rigidity with which these boundaries are perceived asconstraining the individual, will obviously be a powerfuldeterminant of his eventual choice. These No perceptions are acquired in the familysetting and become an inherent part of the complex of attitudesand interests characterizing the individual.
But Roe'shypothesis is not confined to thesedeterminants of vocational choice. In order to understand the roleof the occupation in the life of the individual we mustfirst have some understanding of pis needs. Having dismissed the conept of economic man asinadequate, she searches for a theory of needs, andchooses Maslow's as the most relevant and adequate of the availabletheories.
The application of this theory tooccupational psychology is fairly obvious. In our society. there is no single situation which is potentially socapable of giving some satisfaction at all levels(of Maslow's hierarchy) of basic needs as . theoccupation . . . .
. . . the the physiological needs . . . le safety needs ----need-to-- be a member of c group and togive and receive love for esteem from . . . Perhaps satisfaction of the need self and others is most easily seen as abig part of the the remaining occupation . . . We know too .little about groups of needs to do much morethan note their probable relation to occupations . . . (but) In almost any kind of work, it is more satisfying forthe worker, and he will probably do a better job, if he knowswhat he is doing and why, and where his particularjob fits into the .
119
total picture . . . . The need for beauty, may be related to particular sensory or other capacities
. . . and may also be reflected in many everyday activities of persons who are neither trained nor particularly interested in formal artistic activities
. . . . (Finally) the need for self-actualization seems less likely to have specific concomitants in terms of particular occupations, but its strength may wellbe the key factor in differentiating those who put enormous yet easy and pleasant effort into their' work from those who do not This factor of happy / effort and of the amount of personal involvemen% in the work is probably the most important single factor in success in the work. (Roe. 1956, pp.31-34 italics added).
In relating vocational choice to early family experiences, Roe (1957) advances 8 hypotheses:
1. The hereditary basis for intelligence, special abilities, interests, attitudest and otlyullmojjaznighlmn usually to be nonspecific. There may be a genetic basis for some "factors" of intelligence or aptitudes, but on this there is no clear evidence. Sex, as genetically determined, also involves some differentiation of abilities.-_ It is, neverthe,ss, probable that in most instances genetic elements limit the degree of development rather than direct- ly determine: the type of expression.
.2. The pattern of deit,opecialatpi)ilitiesisrilvelomnaril determined by the directions in which psychic energy comes to be expended involuntarily. The statement applies also to interests, attitudes, and other personality variables. Note the word.involuntarilt. It is intended to emphasize the fact that the things to which the individual gives automatic. attention are keys to his total behavior. The point will not be expanded here, but the relevance of these hypotheses to the relations between personality and perception is clear.,
3. These directions are determined in the first place by the' pjtkatteriofearly satisfactions and frustrations.' This is the developing pattern of need primacies or relative strengths. In the earliest years these are essentially unconscious, and they probably always retain a largeunconscious element. As noted before, we know nothing at all about genetic variability in basic needs ut it can be fairly assumed that.it exists.
4. The eventual pattern of psychic energies,_in terms of attention 'directedness, is the major determinant of the field or fields to which the person will apply himself. This is relevant not 4 only to vocation; of course, but to the total life pattern of the individual. It determines what sort of special abilities and interests will be predominant. 120 S. The intensity of these (primarily) unconsciousneeds, as well as their organization, is the majordeterminant of the degree of motivation as expressed in accomplishment. This implies that all accomplishment is ba ed on unconscious as well as on conscious needs, but it do s not. implythat these needs are necessarily neurotic._ There isaccomplishment which is a free expression of capacity, althoughthis may be relatively rare. Accomplishment on this basis can generally be distinguished from accomplishment on.other bases. The relevance of this hypothesis to eventual vocational performance is evident.
It may not be so evident how the patterns and intensitiesof these basic needs are affected in the first place by the early experiences of the child. The following three 115,potheses are are concerned with this problem.
6. Needs satisfied routine' as the a ear do not devclo into unconscious motivators. Intensity of the need is not a variable, since it is stated that the need is "satisfied."The fact that the satisfaction is gained routinely is important,and it implies the need to distinguish sharply between simple, direct, matter- of-fact need gratification and gratification with fuss andfanfare.
7. Needs for which even minimum satisfaction is rarelyachieved will, if hi her order, become in effect ex un:edor will if lower order revent the appearance of hi her orderneedsand will become dominant and restrictin: motivators. Lower order needs, of course, require some degree of satisfactionfor the maintenance of life. The hypothesis would mean, e.g. that achild whose expressions of natural curiosity were thoroughlyblocked, would cease to be curious. On the other hand, with less effective blocking, hypotfiesis- 8 would apply.
8. Needs, the satisfaction of which is delayedbut eventually accom lishedwill become unconscious motivatorsdependin upon of satisfaction felt. This will depend, amontother things,,mpqn the stren th of the basicneed in the given individual, the length o time elapsing between arousal and satisfaction, and the values ascribed to thesatisfaction
L-7 of this need in the immediate environment.
The last hypothesis is the most significantfor this review. It must be understood that the formsin which need satisfaction will be ultimately sought, in adult life, may notbe obviously related to the basic needs referred to in thehypothesis. All of the well-known mechanisms of displacement.projection, etc. may function here. The problem of tolerance ofdeferred gratification is,linked to such experiences as are impliedin this hypothesis. (p.212 -214) Variations in the,early experiences ofchildren and, in particular, differences in parental handling of children arerelated to adult behavior patterns-and, more specifically, to vocationalchoice. For purposes of 121. discussion, Rqe outlines three major categories of parentalbehavior, each having two subdivisions. It is important to note, however, that Lhe.specific behaviors of the parents are of less importancethan their attitudes toward the child. It should also be noted that this classifi- cation refers to the dominant pattern in the home. The relative effects of maternal and paternal attitudes are not considered,though it would be reasonable to assume that the mother's would be moresalient, given the proportionately greater amount of time she spends withthe child in those \ critical early years.
The three categories and subdivisions are:
A. Emotional Concentration on the Child This ranges between the extreme of overprotection tothat of overdemandingness. Perhaps a sort of mean between these two is the quite tyrCcal anxiety of parents over afirst child, anxiety which, in the same parents, may be muchalleviated for the second child, with resulting considerabledifferences in the personality pictures of the two children.
1. Overprotection. The parent babies the child, encourages its dependence and restricts exploratorybehavior. There' is often concentration upon physicalcharacteristics and real or fancied "talents" of the child. The parents maintain primary emotional ties with thechild.
Homes in which children are;the centerof attention provide pretty full satisfaction ofphysiological and safety needs, and attention to needs for love and esteem,but gratification is usually not entirely routine. The overprotecting home places great emphasis upon,gratification, and generally upon immediacy of gratification, which keeps lowerlevel need satisfaction in the foreground. Belongingness, love, and esteem areoften made conditional upon dependence and conformityand genuine self- actualization may be discouraged. There is likely to be encouragement. of any special or supposedlyspecial capacities, however. The overderranding parent may makesatisfaction of needs for love and esteem conditional uponconformity and achievement, which is frequently oriented tostatus. Needs for information and understanding maybe encouraged, but within prescribed areas, and the same is truefor self-actualization
needs. -
2. Overdemanding. The parents make heavydemands upon the child in terms of perfection of performanceand usually institute quite severe training. In later years they may pushthe child to high achievement in schooland work. In somewhat milder forms we may haye the sortof family status "noblesse oblige" pattern, in which developmentof skills is encouraged but the pattern of skills is aprescribed one. This is very typical of upper class families,with emphasis upon develop- opposed to motor skills. Severer forms ment of conceptual as 2' may blend intorejection or may be cover for this.
12'7 122
B. Avoidance of the Child
Here, too, two extremes are suggested -- rejection and neglect. Care below the minfmum adequate amount has well-documented effects, as studies of orphans have shown. Most other studies have few, if any, children in this group. Parents providing this sort of home do not cooperate in psychological studies. (The author does not suggest that non - cooperation is evidence of this type ef care!) Minimal
- need gratification is provided.
1. Emotional reection'of the child, not necessarily accompanied by overt physical neglect. Lack of gratifications is intentional.
2. Neglect of the child. This may, in fact, be less harmful psychologically than emotional rejection accompanied by physical
care. It shades into the next classification. Gratification , lacks are generally not intentional.
By definition, this group has major lacks in need gratification. . Rejecting parents may provide adequate gratification of physiological and safety needs, but refrain from love and esteem gratification, and frequently seem deliberately to withhold the latter or even to denigrate the child. Neglect of physiological and safety needs, but not beyond necessary minimal gratification is much more tolerable_ than personal depreciation and deliberate withholding of love. If there is no contrast with attitudes towards others in the immediate group there will be stultification of thechild's development in some respects but not distortion of it.
C. Acceptance of the Child
Children in thii group are full-fledged members the family circle, neither concentrated upon, nor overlooked. Parents are noncoerciv, nonrestrictive; and actively or by default, encourage independence. The miniMum amount of social interaction is supplied at one extreme this may be veiny low) and at the other extreme the group approaches the overprotection one.The major breakdown in this group is on the basis of the warmth or coldness of the family climate.
)*C)asual acceptIncc of the child. Non-interference here is largely y default.
2. Loving acceptance. Noninterference' and encouragement of the child's own resources andhis independence maybe intentional, even planned, or a natural reflection of parentalattitudes towards others generally.
Accepting parents offer reasonable gratification of all needs.This is unlikely to be emphasized in the way in which the first groupdo it, although the extremes of the loving subgroup may tend in thisdirection.
Gratifications will not be deliberately delayed, but neither willdelay . be made disturbing.The major difference in the subgroups is probably in the way in which gratifications are supplied,and in the degree of deliberate encouragement and gratification of needs.(Roe, 1957, rp.214-215)
128 123
Hence, Roe is positing that theearliest subdivision of direction of attention, and one which hassignificance for the whole lifepattern of the individual, is thatreferring to persons. The basic orientation learned through interactionwith the parents is towardor not toward people. Depending :Ton which of theabove situations is expvienced, basic attitudes, interests, and capacities will be developeCthatwill expression in thegeneral pattern of the adult's life,.in his activities, in his personal relations, in his emotionalreactions, and in his vocational choice.
Persons from child-centeredfamilies who do not de1.41op primary self-concentration will stillbe quite constantlyaware of the opinions and attitudes of otherpersons towards them3elves and of the needto maintain self-position inrelation to others.
Persons brought up in rejectinghomes may develop intense defensive awareness of others;. if so they will probablyhave aggressive tendencies which may most readily find socially acceptable expression inoccupational terms. On the other hand, theymay strongly reject persons and turn defensively to nonpersons,or they may be unaware of other.personsas different from objects in theenvironment, so far as theirown relation to them goes.
Persons from accepting homesmay have primary interests .in persons or in nonpersons; it will not be defensivein either case, and it will not carry the sal of uncertainty thatmany in the first group show.
It is thus possible to relate these attitudesdirectly to occupational choice. The major occupationalgroups in Roe's classification of occupations is based on two dimensions: focus ofactivity an level at which the activity is pursued, as may beseen in the following table. The relationship is also depicted figurativelyas seenibelow:
Roe's Classification of Occupations
Groups Levels
1. Service 1. Professional andmanagerial 1. 11. Business Contract 2. Professionil andmanagerial 2. 111. Organizations 3. Semiprofessional, small business, IV. Technology 4. Skilled V. Outdoor S. Semiskilled VI. Science 6. Unskilled VII.General Cutlural VIII.Arts and Entertainment 124
I lat .11 %%0011: :11'I I: Nape i1.°1 I antiVI ( :!;() i t
130 Vocational choice in deaf adolescents.
- What are theimplications of Roe's hypothesisfor the deaf? First, her observations about therestrictions placed onvocational choice by the cultural assumptionspervading the home are especially significant -in the context of thefamily with a deaf child. Over and above the usual restrictionsthat are placed on a child bythe accepted values and aspirations of hisracial and social class affiliations, are the limitations on hisvocational sights that are placed on him as afunction of his handicap. These restraints may not be articulated,but be a part of the mutuallyaccepted system of family beliefs. There is, of'course, thealternative possibility that the primary reactionof the parents to their child's disability is one ofdenial, in which case they may over- compensate by ignoring thehandicap or pretending that it presents no impediment to the,pursuit of Any occupation,however unrealistic this stance may appear to be anoutside observer. hoe has done vocational psychology a servicein pointing out that it is not at adolescence that parental attitudes oradvice carry most weight and in in decision-making, but at.theprelingual level o infancy the early years before cognitionis fully developed where the critical variables of attitude to.oneself and, more broadly, to people in general, exert aprofound influence on the occupational choice and eventual life styleof the adult.
Roe's hypothesis is ofinterest in that wemay speculate that, that while othei categories mayapply to the deaf in the same way in they do to the hearing, thebasic attitudes of the parents may than would each, case be-more exaggeratedin intensity and outcome normally be true. For example, we maysurmise, that a mother whose find greater basic tendency is to beoverprotective to her child may child is opportunity and social sanctionfor her behavior if he rejects the child mighttend deaf. Similarly, a mother or father'who they were unable to to be even morerejecting of a child with whom is correct, these attitudes communicate. Presumably, if Roe's theory will have implications notonly for the child'sinterpersonal of work he relationships in home and school,but also for the type should chooses and his success in thatwork. Counselors and advisers home, as well as also consider informationabout the dynamics of the capactities and interests, inmaking vocationalrecommendations. L AO Super's Career Development Theory
When counseling first appeared in schools early in the twentieth century, it was almost exclusively vocational in nature. Later the emphasis shifted to the personal aspects of counseling and counselors found themselves spending most of their time dealing with behavior problems, disciplinary cases, and personal and Family problems. Case conferences with parents consisted primarily in discussing graduation requirements and, as more and more students set their sights on college, the characteristics of various colleges and college admission policies. Vocational .counseling became almost incidental in many high schools, especially those that concentrated on the college-bound population.
One reason for this change may have been the rise in interest during>,the 40$ and SOs in the self-concept. Soper (19631 places the beginning of this trend to coincide with the appearance of Lccky's (1945) treatise and Allport's (1943) rediscovery of the ego in psychology. (Throughout the 20s and 30s behaviorism predominated.) Following the publication of these two works, the self became a focal point of interest for personality theorists,;, social psychologists, and counseling psychologists. Instruments for measuring the self-concept began tolappear,givig iise.to a large number,of studies. By 1961 the body of research literature on the subject was sufficiently voluminous for Wylie to publish 6 book critically reviewing the theoryt.concepts, and studies that had appeared to date.
Meanwhile, investigators'inte'rested in the study of vocational choice had been pursuing their own lines of research, much of it stemming from the availability of the Strong Vocational Interest Blank. Carter (1940) constructed a theory of the development of vocational attitudes as a result of his interest. in adolescence and his work with the Strong, and Bordin (1943) introdueud notion r4. vocational interests as reflections of the self- concept and of occupational stereotypes, also as a result of work with the Strong. In 1951 Lebna Tyler published a paper on the relation- ship of aptitudes and interests in young children, using self - concept theory to explain her results. With the collection of more data on the same children, Tyler (1955) started to build a theory of vocational development around the concept of identity.*Tyler and Tiedeman, as a part of the Scientific Careers Project, developed several working papers summarizing their thinking on the-relationship of self-concept and identity development as reflected in vocational choice. It remained for Super ane his colleagues to bring together the two theoretical strands relating to the self and to vocational choice.
The elements of self-concept theory of vocational development are identified by Super as follows: Self-concept formation. In infancy the individual begins the process of forming a concept of himself, developing:a senseof identity as a person distinct from; but at the same time resembling other persons. This is essentially an exploratory process which goes on throughout the entire courseof life until selfhood ceases. How does this concept of self evolve?
rikson's theory of the adolescent identity crisis, which included a vocational component, appeared around this time. . 1 an // 127
Exploration appears'to be the first phase and a continuing
process. . . Just as the infant plays with his toes, or holds' hiA,hands in front of his face to observe the movement of his fingers, so 'the adolescent tries his hand at wrjting poetry, or admires the skill revealed.by the masterpiece which he has produced in shop. Similarly, the older worker who can no longer maintain the'pace which he had set as'a d younger man tries himself out at new methods of work to which he may be better adapted in view of the physical and 'psychological changes which he senses in himself. The self is an object of exploration as it develops and changes; so, too, is the environment.
Self-differentiation is a second phase in the development of IITFar"--..concel7.14oving his hand in front of his face, noting that it moves as he wills it to, whereas his mother's hand appears to move independently, the baby notes "This is I, that is someone else." He goes on to ask, "What am I like?" and thus begins the'search for'identity. The small boy, son of his father, is aware of the fact that he is smaller, weaker, a milk drinker but not a coffee drinker, and so forth. The adolescent, member of a teenage group, may be aware of the fact that he does not dress as flashily or talk as much as most of his friends. Similarly, the recent graduate working at his first regular job notes differences in his approach to clients as contrasted with that which characterizes his fellow salesclerks, and is conscious of greater.interest in the paper work associated with the job than they seem to manifest.
Identification-is another procesk which goes on more or less simultaneously with differentiation. The man-child, aware of similarities between himself and his father and differences\ R, between himself and his mother, aware hnd also.envious of his father's strength and power, identifies with his father and strives in varichis ways to be like him. As Tyler has pointed out, the variety of male roles in our society, associated, with the viriety and prominence of occupations in men's lives, channels the boy's identifications importantly
although not solely,, along occupational lines... . . This is, 'less-true of the girl-child, whose adult,counterparts more often work at home or, if they go to work, tend to talk 'about it less and seem less involved in their occupations.
Role playing is a,type'of behavior which accompanies or follows identification. The small boy who identifies with his father seeks to emulate him. . . . Whether the role playing is largely imaginative or overtly participatory, it gives some opportunity to try the role on for size, to see how valid 'the concept of oneself . . . actually is
133 128
Reality testing stems as readilyfrom, role playing as role playing does from identification. Life offers many oppor- tunities for reality testing, in theform of children's
. . in extracurricular play . . . in school courses. employment. . . activities . . andin part-time temporary These reality- testing experiencesstrengthen'or Modify self- concepts and confirm or contradict the wayin which they have been tentatively translatedinto an occupational role. r1 Translation of self-conFepts intooccupational terms. The translation proceeds in sevetal ways,although it should be noted that much of thetheorizing on the subject is done by analogy from otheraspects of developmental psychology. and from everyday observation rathbrthan inferentially from carefully collected and analyzeddata. (1) Identifi- cation with'an adult sometimes seemsto lead to a desire
. to play hisoccupational role; this global vocational self-concept, assumed as a whole, maybe just as totally discarded when subjected to realitytesting.' (2) Experience in A role in which one is castlperhaps more or less through chance, may lead'to the distoveryof,a vocational translation of one's self-concepts which is ascongenial as sit. is unexpected. haS attributes which are (3) Awhreness of the fact that one said to be important in a certainfield of work may lead one lead to to look into that occupation;and the investigation may confirmation of the idea that the roleexpectations of that occupation are such they onewould do well in it and enjoy' it. Here the translation. may bemade bit by bit . . . .
Implementation of the self - concepts. The implementation or actualizing of self-concepts isthe result of these processes as professionaltraining is completed . (or the .youth), after a number of rejections,finds the occupational translation of his self-concept asne'er-do-well confirmed and implemented. After a series of negativeexperiences, it takes a great deal of re-education tohelp him develop more positive self-concepts, to find asuitable occupatibnal trans- of himself, and to to n it , lation .of hi favorable, picture into a reality.
These Appear to be the elementsof a self-concePt theory, ofvocational asitesyible hypotheses, but development. They are still not formulated the judging by the researchresults so far, they do suggest and permit formulation of hypotheses lipich tend tostand up4fhen testedvand they.can decision-making be helpful. o counselorsin dealing with the vocational of students (Super et al., 1963,pp.11-14).
whatever occurs Since these elements aresequential, it follows that effect on the out- in the earlier phases(elements) will have considerable Exploratory behavior wouldthus come with respect tosubsequent phases.
434 129 _
appear to be extremely important, and it is for this reason that it has been investigated rather thoroughly by Super and hig colleagues. In particular, adolescence is seen as a period'in which young people explore the world in which they live, the subculture:of which they are about to become a part, the roles they may be expected to play, and the opportunities to play roles which suit their personalities, interests, and aptitudes. It is at the same time a period.in which the adolesCent, through experience and self-examination, clarifieg his self-concept and 'begins to put it into words, finds out what cutlets exist in.society for onwho seeks to play a given role, and modifies.his self concept to bring iinto line'with reality. Adolescent exploration is, in.this view, a pr cess of attempting to develop and implement a realistic self-concept (031)
However, several important questions anise:
.(1) What distinction,*if any,.is the e between vocational exploratory , behavior and otherkinds of exp, oratory behavior?
(2) Who decides whether an act or a/behavior constitutes exploration the individual who is engaging'in it, or a sophisticated and impartial observer?
(3) Is is possible for the individual to engage In exploration with- out his being aware of the fAct? In other words, can exploration be engaged in unconsciously?
(4) Must an intent to explore pe present before an act can be con- sidered exploratory?
(5) Is the.process involved in self-oriented exploration the same as that involved in env ?ronment - oriented exploration?
(6) Does an act which can e shown to have affected a pergon's behavior, that is to ay, to have had exploratory value, automatically qualifas exploration?
(7) Should the term exp oratory behavior be reserved for self-initiated behavior, or can i be used in connection with other-initiated behavior as well ?,
(8) C.n exploration !be a purely mental activity?
(9) Do s random trial-and-error qualify as exploration? (p.53)
As a result of r sing these questions, and in an attempt to answer them, these researche s and model builders come to conceive of exploratory behavior as multidi nsional in nature; a given behavior may be located on several continua: /
1. IntAnded Fortuitous
2. :yStematic Random
3. ecognized or described by Not so recognized or described
' the subject as exploration
4. Self-oriented Environment-oriented
S. Self-initiated Other-initiated. 1 3t) 130
6. Contemporaneous Retrospective
7. otor Mental
8. insic Extrinsic
9. Behavior-modifying Fruitless
10. Vocationally relevant Vocationally irrelevant
It is readily apparent that where anadolescent's behavior stands on -these dimensions will have a profound effect onthe occupational outcome. Explordtion which is goal-directed and planfulprobably accounts for only' 0 a small proportion of allexploratory behavior. In fact, there is aood deal of evidence to the effect that aconsiderable number of young people entering the labor market fofthefirst time engagp in haphazardand unsystematic exploration. Their effortl to make a place forthemselves in the world of work are, for the most part,disorganized and diffuse. This exploratory behavior may alsobe a camouflage for ways ofsecuring group apprdval ordemonstrating masculinity, but the youth maybe only dimly aware of these undercurrents. Moreover, self-exploration and scrutiny poses a threat to the individual'sself-concept (cf. teckY) and hence mobilizei his defenses.On the other hand, explorationof the environment may lead togenuine self-exploration. (The converse is in many cases, is the also true.). Exploration initiated by other people, critical factor that confirms ormodifies a decision (e.g. theteacher or librarian who intercedes atjust the right moment to change acareer), but there is a strong elementdfvchance involved, and self initiated exploration is likely to be much moretimely and productive.Not all exploratory behavior it acted onimmediately. The experience'may be, The stored and 'used in retrospectiveappraisals at some future time. significance of an event is not alwaysreadily apparent at the timeof occurence, since theindividual ,may not have the requisitestructures to assimilate it (Piaget) or it maybe too threatening at thetime to his value system (Leckyl. People tend to.repeat behaviorwhich proves rewarding (rather than threateninglybut the rewards may be internal; in which case the person does not needextrinsic reinforcements such as money or praise. He may even be capable ofdeferring such gratification in anticipation of greater' rewards at alater date. All these dimensions - contribute to the outcomes of the.exploratorybefinvior, and the feelings. the young person has about these outcomes. Ways.. .41 which behavior may be modified as a resultof.exploratory behavior ir7lude:
(1) Increased self- knowledge, abilities; a. more realistic appraisalof one's ilkterests, values, and personalitytraits
. b. more realisticappraisal of strengths andshortcomings 4 c.' increased understanding of reasonsfor behavior, feelingi, .and thoughts and differences from d. greater awareness of resemblances others. 131
(2) Increased ability to relate this new knowledge to objectives
(3) Increased and more specific knowledge of
a. occupational possibilities, their availability, character, requirementi. , . ,
b. expectations of persons who occupy asignificant place in one's life; parents, friends, peer group, teachers; employer, etc.
(4) c. adult mores and expectations
d. 'obstacles to be overcome to achieve one's objectives
e. preferred occupation
(4) 'Changes in self-perception
a. a more realistic self-concept
b. a clearer and better differentiated self-concept
c. a more integrated self-concept
d. an expanded self-concept
e. greater confidence in the self-concept
f. a clearer sense of identity
(5) Changes in interests, values, goals, ccacept of success
(6) Decision to continue with or abandon.a course of study, preference, occupation, or course of action
(7) 'Changes in the way problems are handled or relationships with people
.(8) Greater awareness of the ways in which people or occupations resemble or differ from one another
(9) Greater differentiation of interests and abilities .
(10) Seeing signifl,.ance.in something which previously had little, -or a different, meaning
(11) Change to a voc.tional or educational objective which is morein .line with one's interests, abilities, values, personality,self- concept, and financial means
(12) Clear understanding of the bases on which certain decisionswhich/ are confronting one should be made
(13) Confirmation or rejection of e previously held belief aboutself, others, or some aspect of the environment
(14) Increased awareness of the choices and decisions which are, or shortly will be confronting one
131 ti
132
(15) Formulation, implementation, or both,of plans for attaining one's objectives, or for self - development
(16) Formulation and implementation of plansfor further exploration
(17) Clearer formulation of objectives
(18) Increased confidence in, or commitment to,one's objectives
(19) More realistic plans for achievingthe goals set for oneself
(20) More specific plans for achieving one'sobjectives (pp.59-60)
Factors which facilitate, impede, or inhibitexploration
There area number of factors which determinethe extent to which an adolescent will engAge in exploratory behavior, someof them within the individual (1-10), others in the environmentand more or less Outside his control.(11-16).
1. Ability_to tolerate tensiongtxlambiit. Systematic exploration can occur only when theindividual is able to endure lack of closure and thefeelings, of uncertainty which abcompany it. The person who lacks this abilityis likely to strive for premature closure and to actimplusively.
2. Ability to tolerate frustration. 0As thephrase trial-and-error indicates, trial involves the possibility offailure and hence frustration. The individual who cannot toleratefailure and frustration is likely to stop exploringafter one or two failures and to make do with the information and responsesthat he has; or he may become disorganized'andless flexible, and regress to random trial and error.
studies that the 3. Objectivity. It has been shown in a number of individual's needs; biases, motives, and customaryframes of reference influence his perception of asituation. The data on selective perceptionand perceptual distortion aresufficiently well-known not to require any furtherdiscussion here. These same factors and processes canhe presumed to operate in,and influerice, exploratory behavior, If the individual is to construct a complete and accurate mapof some aspect of his external environment, his perceptionof it, as Baldwin (1955) has 'pointed out, must be determined by theproperties of the situation and not by his own needs, fears, wishes,and so forth. Objectivity implies broad, unselective cognition, openness toexperience.
138 133
AIM
ff
Ability to make judgments or inferences. It is seldom possible for the individual to ad4uaint himself with every possible aspect of a situation. There are, for examples'parts of his environment to which he is likely to be denied access (for example, the operating theatre, of a hospital). In such situations the individual has to rely on what he has read, heald, or seen inthe movies or on TV. His ability to evaluate these sources of information .and to make.justified inferences from them about'the less familiar, remote, not directly accessible parts of a situation, is therefore a. matter of considerable importance.
The need for problem-solving ability is obviously not limited to the situation described above. It enters to a greater or lesser extent into, and influences the outcome of, all but the simplest kinds of exploratory behavior. It includes the ability to interpret information once it is obtained, and the ability to decide which items of information and which aspects of a situation are relevant for goal selection or for goal - directedbehavior.
5. confianc!maliTIIILlituag. Persons who feel adequate to meet most-situations, who anticipate success rather than 'failure but are not demoralized by failure when it comes, who are not uaduly afraid of the unfamiliar the unknown and and who are self-accepting,are more likely to explore,than those who lack confidence and who feel themselves to be inadequate. The relationship between emotional adjustment and duration, quality, and amount of exploration would appear to be worth investigating.
6. Independence. Children who are not hedged in by restrictions, who are allowed considerable freedom of movement by their parents and who are not only allowed but actually enconraged to seek and engage in new experiences are, as the stud Js of Baldwin (1955) and Levy ,(1943) have shown, more likely to show curiosity and to explore than children of over-protective, possetsive, and dominatirg parents.
Whether and how, much a.pe,son will explore is not merely'a matter of how much independence he is alloWed; it is also a matter of how independent he is. The person who is submissive and conforming and who habitually bows to authority will, as Schachtel (1959) says, tend to accept the evaluations of others instead of exploring for himself. Reliance on authority, whether it be that of the parents, or the peer group, or some other agency, tends to limit exploration or to confine it to certain channels. As Ausubel (1954: 200) has put it,
"Unfortunately . . . the development of the exploratory orientation is severely curtailed in the course of age-mate socialization. The adolescent's marginal status and his dependence on the peer society for status permits very little deviation from group values, and hence little opportunity for independent exploration." 3;9 134
(1 There are 7. Knowing, when explonticinjaissmeilLitsisme. certain situations in which continued explorat )nis not likely to yield any-further significantinformation. Know- ing when this point has been,reached is notmerely a matter of insight or judgment; it can also be amatter.of adjustment. There:are some individuals who find itdifficult to achieve
closure: theri is always one further bit ofinformation , which has to be obtained before a decisioncan'be made. The obsessive-compulsive is a case. in point. Persons who wish to achieve absolute certainty beforethey act, who are not willing to accept the fact that anydecision involves some element of risk,:tend tocontinue to explore long after 'they have reached the point of diminishing returns...
:Ideintification with the peer group. Whilb too great reliance on the.standards, values; andexpectatiOnitbof thepeer gtoup R./ can limit or'channel the adolescent's expl ratorybehavior, identification with the peer group can also have beneficial results. .It furnishes him with the backing he needs when facedpwith.cOnflicting demands of the kind described earlier. Given the support, of the peer group and parents who are reasonably permissive and encouraging, vacillation, inaction, and half-hearted exploration can'be replaced by more adequate efforts at exploration,"
9. Defensiveness. Another factor which may curtail or,affectthe outcome ofi4loratory behavior isdefensiveness. As Maslow has noted in an unpublished paper entitled The Needto'Know and the Fear of Knowing, individuals employ a=variety of stratagems to guardWinst finding out thosethings about themselves or their environment which they would rather not know.
Selective perception and perceptual distortioncan'also be employed as defenses; along with such long-recognizeddefense mechalisms as repression, withdrawal, and rationalization, they enable the individual either to avoid exploration or to restrict and distort his findings. Self-concept theory suggests that indivAuals guardagainst discoveries which cast doubt upon the self - picture.'
10. Self-concept. People tend to engage in those activities which enable them to maintain, and even enhance, thepictures which they have of themselves. If this is so, then it can be expected that the person's self-concept will facilitate some kinds of roleuplaying andexploration and impede others.
`Nr
ro 135
11. Outcome of previous exploration. The individual whose exploratory efforts in the past have met with success or resultedin some gratification' is more 1: .ely to explore new situations and new solutions to problems than one whose previous efforts have met failure, derision, or punishment. The latter will tend to play it safe, to rely on the opinions of others, and to be content with the solution or job which is closest to hand or most strongly recommended.
12. Corc'irlintsoeietal demands. While our society expects the au. ,cent to develop and give some evidence of independence, the manner in which independence is to be achieved and the forms it may legitimately take have not been formalized in America as they have in some modern, and certainly in primitive, societies. The result is that the adolescent has no clear set. of expectations to guide him. As MUssen and Conger (195&:491)
have put ". . . the adolescent who must face the problems of transition from childish dependence to adult independence is likely to be impressed, not with the solidarity of 'the
expectations of the adults in this--regard, but with their divisiveness. In one instance, or with one set of people, he is likely to find out independence responses are rewarded. In other instances, or with other people, he may just as easily find that they are punished. The church, the school, -the members of the various social classes, even the adolescent's own parents may have different notions as to the time whenadult protection and guidance should be relinquished in favor of greater individuarresponsibility."
This inevitably leads to a great deal of conflict and ambivalence. When it is borne in mind that societal demands for independence compete with incompatible and well- established childhood dependence responses, it it not-difficult to see why some adolescents are reluctant to explore. While uncertainty and conflict may, and often do, give rise to exploratory behavior (see our earlier ctscussion of Berlyne's theory) ; deeply rooted conflict andvambivalence of the type discussed above arc likely to inhibit it.
13. Psychological support and encouragement. When the parent or other adult whose approval and affection mean,a great deal to him, encourage the individual in his efforts to play various roles or to extend his knowledge of the environment he is ,likely to be more venturesome than would'be the case if this encouragement and support were lacking. Furthermore, certain
* Not,included in this report 136'
roles,are difficult to sustain Unless one has the encouragement and approval-of one's parents or some valued adult. Such support and encouragement also help to moderate the conflict described in the preceding section.
'14. AvayaplooLjtq__.nilabilitofrolesattities'toelore. There are several factors that can limit the individuals's opportun '*es to play certain roles and to explore. One of these is r economic status. As HoIlingshead (1949) has shown, stu; cs from certain socioeconomic levels are not invited or do .00t feel'free to participate 4n certain school and extracurricular activities. Socioeconomic status also influences.the types of occupations the individual will become acquainted with through Aservation, heresay, and contact with other adults. They will tend to occupations located at the same level as the father's occupation.
Different social classes encourage different expectations, values, and aspirations. Thus the boy from a working class family may not only be disinclined to try out the role of scholar, but may find it difficult to sustain if'he did. Working class families do not typically buy their children encyclopaedias and chemistry sets and send them 'co camp. The reason for this is not only financial, but also cultural; their values and expectations, and hence the interests and activities which they regard as appropriate for their children, are different.
Role7typing and child labor laws and trade union practices are two.other factors which may, limit opportunities for role-playing and exploration. The person who has' been cast 'in a certain role, such as bookworm, clown, or tebel, may find it difficult to break 'out of the mold, and opportunities to try out other roles may be withheld' from him. Child labor laws and trade union practices limit the kinds of work experience which it is possible for adolescents to get.
15. Maturity Adolescents who are perceived by adults as mature and responsible are ikely to be. given opportunities for role-playing and exploration which are denied their less mature peers.The maturity ascribed to them may be based on little more than size or the presenceof certain secondary sex characteristidi. Be,that as it may; it has been shown that as adolescents grow older: job opportunities which were originally denied them because of their size and youthful- looking appearance now come their way more frequently.
16. Urgency. There are situations which, by their very nature, limit the amount of exploration that may be engaged in. Included in this category are situations in which there is an element of urgency, in which decisions must be made almost immediately, or within specified interval of time. 0 137 ,
The Deaf Adolescent: Putting It All Together
What do ;kite models from the various categories; when considered as a group, tell us about the deaf adolescent?What infprmation can be gleaned that might- help us improve our'understanding of his or her
functioning? ,
At the outset a word of caution is appropriate..Deaf adolescents are individuals. At all costs we must avoid stereotyping these youth. It would be especially ironic at this time to develop aticture which came to be accepted as a delineation of "the" deaf person, just when the public at large is beginning to discard such stereotypes, and to show a greater sympathy and understanding tqward deaf people.
However, psychology in general and developmental psychology in particular aim at achieving scientific status. This means that it deals in generalizations, in statements that can be made about groups, and the larger the group, i.e., the broader the generalization, the more satisfied the psychologist. Case studies of individual people or single units such as a family are of interest to the psychologist mainly to the extent that they confirm,existing hypotheses or suggest new ones. Theories and models, by their very nature, are intended to refer to entire groups, or even to human nature 'in general.Therein
lies their strength and their weakness. On the one hand, everyone, . by virtue of being human, shares the same needs, drives, and character- istics to some extent; and by virtue of being a member of a given society, everyone shares to some extent the same socialization processes, or learning ways of satisfying those needs in a culturally acceptable ,manner. So we can hope to gain considerable insight from an examination of models of human development, because they are intended to apply to all human-beings; there is, on the other hand, the consideration that variation among deaf individuals can be expected, just as it can in the population at large. At the same time, we might ask ourselves whether the range of variation on any gi4en characteristic is as great among the deaf as it is among the hearing. This is an empirical question that must be determined separately for each variable.
. To return, then, to the models, we might begin by considering some crucial questions, which may have implications for our entire discussion. These questions arise from the phenomenological models, of which, Lecky's was selected as the prototype. In essence, these mbJels place the person, P, at the Center' of his psychological field. At birth the field is totally undifferentiated, because the infant is completely unaware of anything except his own sensations, which he does not separate into inside or outside his body. His first major task,- which is both cognitive and affective, is to learn about the regularities in the environment, whether these be patterns of hunger followed by satiation, wetness followed by dryness, pain followed by relief, etc. Piaget maintains that these regularities are the basis for learning about object constancy, and Bence the foundation for all later growth of concepts; principles, and higher thought processes. Erikson believes that these regularities provide the foundation for,the establishment of patterns of basic trust, trust that one's needs will be taken care of, `131
trust that one will survivein spite of one's vulnerability. Cognition and affect, at least at this stage,proceed hand in hand. These learnings represent, for the phenomenologicalpsychologist, differentiation of the psychological field. Two questions immediately come to mind. Is the course of learning thesefundamental patterns different or in some way deficient for theinfant who is born deaf? Does learning follow the same course but proceed moreslowly? To answer_these questions, it would be necessary to examine the research that .hasbeen done on deaf babies, and to 'compare their course ofdevelopment with what we know about those not so hdndicapped. Research with infants has many built-in,problems, and hence there has not been as much as wewould like. Only in recent years, for example, have we come torevise, as the result of research findings, certain former beliefs that wereuniversally 'held,(e.g., the new-born baby's world of "booming,buzzing confusion" as described by William James).
Cruickshank (19) sees the phenomenological model as auseful one . for understandin the dynamics of allhandicapped children. Because certain avenues of experience are cut off fromthem, and especially if they are overprotected bytheir parents,the pheonomenological field of these children tends at any age to berelatively undifferentiated. In infancy this is particularlycritical. Growth (or differentiation)' proceeds apace; learning isgeometrical. Subsequent learning is built on the foundation oflearning in infancy.
If Cruickshank is right about the relativelack of differentiation, - what does this mean in terms of theadolescent? In many ways, it may mean that he does nothave the background of information tofully understand events and their implications. He is not worldly wise (or even street wise) because,in Piagetian terms, he does not have the structures to which he canrelate new experiences. If his reading is poor (as is very often thecase), he does not compensate for the gaining lack of information-gatheringexpertise at the spoken level by his knowledge from print. We must assume, therefore, thatthis lack of differentiation not only persistsinto adolescence, but is compounded year after year to thepoint that the deaf adult isprobably functioning in the society at a much lowerlevel than his basic abilities would predict. Lack of di,gferentiationit shouldbe pointed out, will extend ;cross the cognitive,linguisticliersonality,.social, and vocational Spheres.
A critical question related tothe prelingually deaf infant has to in do' with the degree of trustthat is possible for him tq establish relation to his surroundings. Does the deprivation of one sourceof information, namely hearing, seriouslyaffect the infant's ability to discern those'regularities onwhich trust is tined? On the other hand, does the fact that he must rely moreheavily on people than wouldbe the make him case with a hearinginfant to anticipate and meet his needs even more trusting(to the point of overdependency)than is necessary This question is to establish thatcrucial balance Erikson speaksof? significant not only on its own terms,but because the attainmentof this first developmental task setsthe stage for subsequentpersonality development and'uture behavior. 139
It will be remembered that Erikson postulated a recurrence of the developmental crises at various periods of the life cycle. Presumably, this question of when to trust, whom to trust, and how much to trust is a recurrent theme, one that Must be perpetually reassessed by all individuals at.different ages and in different contexts. Too much trust can lead people into situations that are not only inimical to their interests, but may even be dangerous. By contrast, a person who cannot trust enough.may become fearful, avoid situations that couldbe, beneficial to him, or even become' a recluse. This problem is becoming recognized as fairly widespread among the elderly, who become so traumatized by media reports of muggings and other forms of violence that they dare not venture out of doors.and become prisoners in their own homes; While it is important that all pL,A ie a society learn to take reasonable precautions to avoid potentially .vnt situations and to care for their own safety, these precautions need to be made on the basis of statistical probabilities. Itsmay be that many people who feel vulnerable overreact and hence deprive themselves of beneficial experiences. This may be especially true of handicapped persons who are afraid of many physical and social situations which they could handle quite well if they felt comfortable enough to take the risk. It'is well 'to remember, however, that such attitudes and behavior patterns are the,,. outcome of the treatment the person received in infancy, and may not be -amenable to easy or rapid change.
Trust is the basis of autonomy. If the person cannot trust others, he cannot learn to trust himself, to have confidence in his personhood, to feel that he is important in his own right.A sense of autonomy is probably the single most important component of a fully developed, mentally healthy personality, and certainly the basis for later achieve- ment, even for motivation to achieve. It is the foundation for a sense of initiative, for the work ethic, for a sense of identity, all of which undergird the eventual life style.
The critical task of the adolescent period is to establish a viable identity, one that is possible in terms of the' individual's capabilities and limitations, and one that can bring continued, long-term satisfaction. Adolescents, under the best of circumstances, have problems with this task partly because, as we have seen, it is an enormously complex under- taking in this society. If deaf adolescents are experiencing,'fevere problems in coming to grips with the tasks, of this period, witaust seek the roots of the problem at previous levels of the life cycli.. That is the precise nature of the difficulties_they are experiencing?Are their problems substantially 'elated to their interactions and communications with other people? If so, can the reason be found in attitudes of too much trust or overdependency, or is the tonvorse true, that they are unwilling to expose themselves to rejection or ridicule, and in effect, lack even the minimal level of basic trust?What is the effect of these attitudes on their sense of self-worth and autonomy? Do they lack the initiative to make and implement plans on their own behalf? Does their vision of the future include ,taking care of and providing for themselves, perhaps even for others, and if so, how realistic is this vision? 140
It is becoming increasinglyapparht, however, that the period of all, in most critical terms of its effectson future behavior, is the perio0, encompassing the yeais of middle childhood, tWatstage that Erikson calls "industry vs, inferiority." This is the time 'in whichthe child learns not only the "tools" of the society, butmore. importantly, the work ethic, that pride and joy in work whichcan sustain him through piriods" of drudgery and tedium in pursuit ofa long-range goal. If these atti- tudes are not established at this time, the gildmay well become a shirker, an "artful dodger," possiblyeven a permanent liability to the group or society at large. -This may be the timewhen the welfare drome is born. syn., What happens in schoolis, therefore,'extremely ential in determining influ-, 'the child's attitudenot only to subsequent school- "ing but to workand life in general. This places a,specialresponsibility. on the shoulders ofelementary school teachers. of this Teachers of deaf children age should be particularlyalert.to signs of such their charges, since attitudes-among passivity is often citedas prevalent among deaf persons, even those who havethe capabilityto attend college. fancied defect Real or. or weaknesses are likelyto be cited as a rationale for'. such attitudes
. What of the cognitiveand linguistic the deaf adolescent? accomplishment and potential of Academically we know thathe lags behind hishearing counterpart. His reading level is likely toebe fourth grade,or lower. Reading is sucha highly complex skill that there are many poisiblereasons for this lag, and theproblem must besought in a constellation offactors rather than ina single cause. Each problem compoundsthe others, Furth maintains that deaf youngsters are fully capable ofdeveloping concepts' to the same extent as hearing students, thoughthey may take longerto accomplish the same level of mastery. This may be true ifa narrow definition of mastery is used. Experience suggests, however,that deaf students, even those, who understand the denotativeaspects of particular concepts are likely, through deprivation of experience,to lack the enriching connotations' ofwords, aspects that permitmore esoteric skills of detecting nuances, reading between the lines,and other higher level cognitive skills that makeup reading comprehension.
Concepts are important not only to reading butto all subject matter areas. The lack of differentiationor connotative aspects of concepts affects the student's understanding of science andmathematics, social studiesand literature. The comprehension problempervades every aspect of school life% A person who cannot readis not a fully functioning member of this society, and even fairlyyoung children'are quick to discern this fact. Almost invariably, among hearing as well as deaf children,a reading problem eventually becomes a social problem. The child's burgeoning self-concept and feelings of self worth'suffer a severe set- back. Depending on other factors in the.home or schoolenvironment, the child may become withdrawnor timid; may even be emotionally disturbed, or may turn to antisocial forms of acting out or' delinquency. Deaf students may be spared invidious comparisons by being kept ina group where all the,members are at the same level of achievement,but this is only postponing the inevitable' shock and self-revelationwhich must come when they are exposed to the world of the hearing andenter into competition for jobs and otherbenefits of society.,
146, 141
Linguistically we have seen thata deaf child , that has its may learn alaaguage own fully developedsyntactic just ascompletely system, which hemay learn as a hearing dhildlearns the However, it islikely to be syntax of English. a differ . syntax,and this Problems oftransition at may pose a later da..e. On the other hand, itseems that the deaf schooier should fully as learn tocommunicate as poisible ina age that is not master but 'which only easier forhim to -- teaches in theconcept of syntactic (inductively and structure, nonexplicitly, inthe sameway that all children learn syntax). This accomplishiaaat to imperfect and would seemto be preferrable partial learningof a syntactic system,that more complex anddifficult permits onlyvague and imprecise of communicated understanding, information. In either appears from the case, unfortunately,it experimentalevidence that have avery good understanding deaf studentsdo not of English affect their syntax, and thatthis does reading abilityadversely. children do nottalways As we haveseen, even hearing have thedegree of syntactic attribute tothem, but the understandingwe 1.` problem is even more severein deaf children. When syntactic understanding(is imperfect. imperfect, thenunderstanding is The words thatcarry the burden are the nouns and of meaning ina sentence verbs (concepts)and the syntactic in conjunctions, structures embodied adverbial phrases,etc. One has only difference inmeaning between to look at the two sentencesthat are identical 'for thesestructural items except to realize theirimport: I will not go unless hecomes. I will not go until, hecomes.
We haveno measures of how in listening much comprehensionis being lost and readingas a result,ofIleficiences both ings. in theseunderstand- As noted inour discussion of of syntax Chomsky's theory,even if knowledge were perfect,a significant proportion of.themeaning of a message is carried bysemantics and link.ed to.syntax pragmatics, whichare inextricably in any,case. Imperfect as 1. of syntax a deaf child'sknowledge_ may be, it is probablyin the semantic that ti/ is most severely aspects of language disadvantaged. His concepts or so/it appears. But meanings are improverished, are also conveyedin the relationships of wotds,'intheir positioning, in the choiceof a particular preference toa close synonym, word in in the degreeof emphasis par icular modes ofexpression, conveyed by . di ficult for the deaf distinctions whichmay be particularly child tounderstand. ,
S. -/ In the pragmatics of language,the deaf advantage.. Research person may have the in recentyears has drawn attention /proportion of to the Information ina message that is /verbal conveyed throughnon- means such as bodilyposture and movement, / proxemic facial gesture,and variables,e.g., distance maintained transactions. during interpersonal Being deprivedof the aural the deaf aspects of communication, person may relymore heavily on these However, these nonverbal concomitants. aspects mayconvey a distorted message, even the opposite message to what isbeing stated; and in reading,they are totally and hencecannot be'used absent, as an alternativesource of meaning.
1 4 7 142
Lenneberg's theory must beconsidered at this point,because its ramifications for the deafare quite clear (if somewhat depressing). If there is indeed a critical period for languagelearning, and that period comes '10 an end with early adolescence, thatwould suggest that there is little hope that the deaf child who hasnot acquired.the primary- languagd. by then is capable of ever becominga fluent user of the language. Of course, the primarylanguage may be sign language, and the child may be fully conversant with this language, and thatis a most desirable outcome. On the other hand, signlanguage, though picturelque and colorful in its terminology and expressions, doesnot contain the elaborate differentiations and richness of the Englishlanguage. A person living in a culture where the primary language is FLnglishwho is in possession of a sparser language must inevitablyhe at a disadvantage. The fact that he does not know or may noteven care about what he is missing does not change the stark fact that heis. missing a great deal. On a more cheerful note, however, there issome recent evidence to suggest that Lenneberg may have been mistaken in his assumptionof an upper age limit for learning a first language. A critical test case was "the girl in the attic" reported by Victoria Fromkin. At last report, the girl, who had been isolated from allhuman contact from a.Very early age, was making progress duringher adolescent years in mastering the basics of Englishand was communicating effectively with her peers.in high school. We should probably adopt a compromise position, neitheraccepting Lenneberg's hypothesis uncritically nqr rejecting itout of hand. The truth may be that, while it is not$impossible to .learn a first language at theage el' puberty, it is extraordinarily difficult, and the learner cannever hope to achieve the same level as someone who learns thelanguage in the normal war. Maturational hypotheses notwithstandingthere is'. much to be said for earlylearning, provided it isnot coerced or made into a traumatic experiencefor the child.
°N. What is the emotional andsocial status of the deaf 4 adolescent, according to the modelswe have examined? 'Much depends, ofcourse, on the kind of childhood he hasexperienced, and the demands thatarc being made on him as a person moving.toward the responsibilities ofadulthood in our society. As Mead pointed out, much ofthe "sturm and drang" of adolescence is culturally°imposed. We send mixed messages toour youth to the effect that they are neitherchildren nor adults, too big to be treated as children even while theyare engaging in childish behavior, and yet too young to be givetheresponsibilities and privileges of adults. For the deaf person, adolescence may be a smooth andunevent- ful transition from the dependencystate of childhood to the continued dependency of adulthood. Or it may be particularlystormy for a number of reasons, such as severe discontinuity between the demands of child- hood'and adolescence, belated realizationof the need for autonomy and self - determination, accumulated frustration with attemptsto communicate his needs to.people who have the Bowerand means to affect his life, and .a variety of other factors. A third possibility is that the student takes the transition period in stride, and isable to cope with the tasks and problems withas little trauma as many hearing, adolescents. Research is needed tt) determinewhether a significantlyeater pro- portion of deaf youth experienceadolescent problems than hearing youth. f43
Developmental theory has providedus with one model of growth in the moral sphere, namely that of Kohlberg.His theory is close* tied to a Piagetian conception of cognitivedevelopment, and is therefore a stage theofY. Accordingo Kohlberg, most adolescents are at Stage 3 cm--41, both of which fall in Level II--Conventional Role Confortity. The orientation is either "Good Boy"or "Authority and Social-Order Maintaining." The questionnow arises; if moral development is closely tied to cognitive development and dependent on it, does the well-recognized cognitive lag in deaf children entail a corollary delay in their moral growth? If so, we would expect to find many deaf' adolescents at the LevelI--Premoral level. This level incorporates Stages 1 and 2, the obedienceand. punishment orientation (egocentric deferenceto superior power or prestige) or the naively egocentric orientation, in whichright action is that which satisfies the self's and others' occasionalneeds. .Few or no studies have been conductedto test this hypothesis, so i s validity currently rests on observation and other fragmentary evi 41'once. Erikson has also remarked On the idealistic yearnings of adolescents.'Because they.have reached the period of formal operationsand are now able to conceive of better worlds, they become. impatient withthe-imperfect world of their immediate experience and scornful ofadults'who'do not have the wit or will to thange it. ,This frustration frequentlyleads to acts of rebellion, or even violence. Whether such a phenomenon is found equally among deaf adolescents is uncertain. There is some evidence that deaf adults are becomingmore aware of and more assertive about the r rights, but again, novmuch.evidenceas to whether this new awareness is shared by deaf youth.
Finally, on the occupational front,we know that adolescence is a pekiod of searching for 'roles, examining one's self concept, and determining the values and interests thatcan best be satisfied in one or more types of career. This is part of Erikson's Search for Identity, and it implies a certain degree of self differentation,as well as the motivation to seek out information pertainingto specific vocations. Again, the deaf student may not have reached this stage by the time he is adolescent, a fact that couldpose problems for those concerned with helping him define and implementa vocational choice. It should be noted that Erikson has remarkedon the length of time it. often takes an individual to settleon an occupational choice. He has called this period a "moratorium," because itseems as though the adolescent has entered a period of inability to makea decision, a period of relative inactivity, as far asprogress toward a career and life style is concerned.
When an individual has experienced difficulty in negotiating earlier stages, it sometimes happens that this moratorium extends into the twenties or even thirties. Does this phenomenon occur more frequently among deaf persons?Hdw many of them go from one job to another, without ever settling on a particular line of work, and to what extent is this due to external factors (unwillingness of employers to hire, lack of opportunities to develop skills, etc.) and to what extent a function of developmental lag, i.e., a late or extended moratorium?
143 144
We seem to have painted a very gloomy picture of the deaf adolescent, and we should'hasten to add that it does not apply to all of them. Itis possible to meet young deaf people who arc alert, knowledgable, socially adept, and oriented toward a realistic vocation, and they provide us with an interesting test of the theories and'hypotheses.delineated l.re. We can only try to interpret the theories and. toinfer what they mean for the atypical. adolescent.. The picture is very complex. Where there is one kind of deficien0, this ips likely tethave implications, ,for.otiiir types of deficiency, This is whyve, end up with such a negative picture. On the other hand, a study or those deaf students who seem to be adjusting to 'their handicap and coping with the demands and expeCtations of a frequently unsympathetic world present a challenge to these theories, as well as a potentially *awarding source of study.
WYK 145
Bibliography
S
Adler, E. P. (Ed.), Research Trends in Deafness, - Stateof the Art. Department of Health, Ed. and Welfare, Washington, D.C., 1970,
Adorno, T. W.,Frenkel-BAnswik, E., Levinson, D. J., and Sanford, R. N., The Authoritarian Personality, New York: Harper and Row, 1950.
Allport, G. W., Personality. New York: Holt, Rinihart, and Winston,, 1937.
Allport; G. W., The ego in contemporary psychology. Psychological Review, 1943, 50, 451 -478.
Anderson, S. A., and Bell, W. The reor!Anization of .verbal memory, in childhood. Journal of Verba: ;rnjng and Verbal Behavior,. 1968, 7, 1049-1053.
Athey, I. Language, reading, and the deaf. In Reynolds, H. N. and Williams, C. W. (Eds.), Proceedings of theGallaudet Conference on Reading in Relation to Deafness. Washington, D.C.: Gallaudet College, 1978, 260-297.
Ausubel, D. Theor and P?oblems of Adolescent Development. New York: Grune and Stratton, 1954.
Baldwin, A. L. Behavior and Development in Childhood. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1955.
Bellugi, U. The emergence of inflections and negation systems in the speech of two children. Paper presentedat the meeting of the New England Psychological Association, Boston, 1964.
Bellugi, U. The development of interrogative structurein children's speech functions. In Riegel (Ed.), The Development oflmgatikeFur. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1965. V
Benedict, R. Patterns of Culture. New York: New American Library', 1950.
Benedict, B. 146
Bem, D. J., and Bem, S.L. Nativism revisited:, A review of E. H. Lenneberg, Biological Foundations of Behavior. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of-Behavio7TT968,
Bordin, E.S. A theory of interest's as dynamic phenomena. Educational and Ps tholo ical Measurement, 1943, 3, 49-66.
Braine, M. D.S. The ontogeny of English phrase structure: The first phase: Language, 1963, 39, 1-13.
Bransford, J., and Franks, J. The abstraction of linguistic ideas. Cognitive Psychology, 1971, 2, (10), 331-350.
Brown, R. W., and Fraser, C. C. The acquisition of syntax: In U. Bellugi and R. W. Brown (Eds.), The Acquisition of Language,. Mono ra hs of the Societ for Research in Child Development, 1964, 29.
Brown, R. W., Cazden, C. B., and Bellugi, U. The child's grammar from I to III. In J. B. Hill (Ed.), Minnesota Symposium on Child'Psychologx. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1968.
Bruner, J.
Burke, D., Vocational rehabilitation and emerging mental health needs of the deaf. In Altshuler, K.Z. and Rainer, J. D. (Eds.). Mental Health and the Deaf. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare,, Washington D.C., 1969. ,
Carlson, P., and Anisfeld, M. Some observations on the linguistic competence of a two-year-old. Child Development, 1969, 40, 569-575,
Carroll,..1. B. Man is born to speak. Contemporary Psychology,- 1968, 13, 117 -119.
Carter, H. D. The development of vocational attitudes. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 1940, 4, 185-191.
Cazden, C.B. The acquisition Of noun and verb inflections. Child Development, 1968, 39, 433-448.
Cazden, C. B. Suggestions from studies of early language 'acquisition. Childhood Education, 1969, 46, 127-131. 147
Chomsky, C. Stages in language development and reading exposure Harvard Educational Review, 1972, 42, (1), 1-33.
Chomsky, N. A. Review.of B. F. Skinner, Verbal Behavior. Language, 1959, 35, 26-58.
Chomsky, N. A. Language and mind. Psychology Today= 1968, 2, 280-286.
Deaner, B. Representational and syntactic competence of problem readers. Child Develomeat, 1970, 41, 881-887.
Donaldson, M. Children's Minds. Glasgow: Fontana', 1978.
Donaldson, M., and Wales, R. J. On the acquisition of some relational terms. In J. R. Hayes (Ed.), Cognition and the Development of Language. New York: Wiley, 1970, 235-268.
Douvan, E., and Adelson, J. The Adolescent Experience. New York: Wiley, 1966.
Eimas, P. D., Siqueland, E. R., Jusczyk, P., and Vigorito, J. Speech perception in infants. Science, 1971, 171, 303-306.
Eisenberg,
Elkind, D. Egocentrism in adolescence. Child Development, 1967, 38, 1025-1034.
Erikson, E. H. Identity and the life cycle. In Klein, G. S. (Ed.), psychological Issues. New .:ork: International Universities Press, 1959, 18-171.
Erikson, E. H. 'Young Man Luther. New York: Norton, 1962.
Erikson, E. H. Gandhi's Truth: On the Origins of Militant 4 Nonviolence. New York: Norton, 1969.
Ervin, S. M. Imitation and structural change in children's language. In E. H. Lenneberg (Ed.), New Directions in theStuctaie. Cambridge, Mass.: M.I.T. Press, 1964.
Ervin-Tripp, S., M. Discourse agreement: How children answer questions. in J.R. Hayes (Ed.), Cognition and the, Development of Language. New York: Wiley, 1970. "148
Ervin, S., and Miller, W.F. Language development. In H. W. Stevenson (Ed.), Child Psychology. Chicago: University of Chicago Piiii7M37Fi: 108-143.
Fillenbaum, S. Psycholinguistics. In P. H. Mussen and M. R. Rosenzweig (Eds.), Annual Review of Psychology. Palo Alto, Calife: Annual Reyiews, 1971. Pp. 251-a08. Fodor, E. M. Moral development and parent behaviorantecedent in adolescent psychopaths. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 1973, 122, 37-43,
Fraser, C. C. Comments in response to McNeill's "Thecreation of language by children." In J. Lyons and R. Wcles.(Eds.), Psycholinguistics Papers. Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh Press, 1966.
Freud, S. The Standard Edition of the Complete Psychological Works. Strachey, J. (Ed.). _London: Hogarth Press, 1953-
Friday, N..My Mother, Myself,,1977.
Gardner, R. A., and Gardner, B. T. Teaching sign language to a chimpanzee. Science, 1969, 165, 664-672.
Gesell, A.
Gesell, A.
Gesell, A.
Gesell, A.
Gesell, A. and Ames, L. B. Youth: The Years from Ten to Sixteen. New York: Harper, 1956.
Gesell, A. and 11g, F. ,Infant and Childin the Culture of Today. New York: Harper, 1943.
154 I
Perry,. W. G.,Jr./Forms of Intellectual and Ethical Development in the College Years. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1968.
Premack, D. Language in chimppnzees? Science, 1971, 172, 808-832.
Quigley, S. P. The deaf student in colleges and universities. In Hardy, R.'E. and Cull, G. (Eds.), Educational and Psychosocial Aspects of Deafness. Springfield, ti C. C. Thomas, 1974, 95-117._
Quigley,'S. P., Jenne, W. C., and Phillips, S. B. Deaf Students in Colleges and Universities, Washington D.C.: Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf, 1968.
Quigley, S. P.
Roe, A. The Ps cholo of Occu rations. New York: Wiley, 1956.
Roe, A. Early determinants of vocational choice. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 1957, 4 (3), 212-217.
Saltzstein, R. D., Diamond, R. M. and BeIenky, M. Moral judgment level and conformity behavior. Developmental Psychology, 1971, 7, 327-336.
Schachtel,
Slobin, D.
Slobin, D.
Slobin, D. and Welch, C. A., Elicited imitation asa'research tool in developmental psycholinguistics. Unpublished paper, Department. of Psychology,University of California, Berkeley, 1967.
'Stoodt, B.D. The relationship between understandinggraMmatical
conjunctions and reading comprehension.' ElementaryEnglish, . 1972 _ALM. 502-504.
156 150
Gibbs, J. C. Kohlberg's stages of moral Iudgment: a critique. In Stage Theories of Cognitiveand Moral Development: Criticisms and'ApPlications. Reprint No. 13. Harvard Aducational Review, 1978; 33-51.,
Gilligan, 'C.
Glanzer, M.. Grammatical category: A.rotelearning,and-,word association analysis. Journal .of Ver'cl Learning And Verbal Behavior, 1962, 1, 31-41.
Glass; A. Deafness and its effects. In. Hardy, R.E. and Cul!, J. G. (Eds.),'Educatfonal andPzychosocial As ects of Deafness. Springfield, Ill.: C. C. Thomas, 1974,.63 -80.
Hall, G. S. Adolescence. (Vols.1 and 2). New YOrk: Appleton, 1904.
Havighurst, R. L. Developmental Tasks and Education. (3rd ed.). New York: McKay, 1972.
Heist, P.
Hilgard.,...J. R. Learning andmaturation in preschool children. Journal of Genetic Psychology,1932, 41, 36-56.
Hockett, C. F., and Altmann,S. A. A note on design features. In T. A. Sebeok (Ed.),AnimalCommunication. Bloomington: Indiana University Press,1968. Pp. 61-72.
Hocking, I. Chomsky and his critics. New York Review of Books, 1980, Oct. 25,27 (16), 47-50.
Hoffman, P. R. Work evaluatiOn: an overvu?. In Cull, J. G., and Hardy, R. E.(Eds.), Work Evaluation andWork Adj went for RehabilitationServices. Springfield,. I11..' C. C. Thomas, 1972.
-Hollingsh.nd, A. B. Elmtown's Youth: The Im act of Social Clas A onAdolescents. New York: Wiley, 1949.
IR llingsriorth, L. S., allEIXF.122121L52191tALIcamstat. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1929.
Hutson, B. A., andSnub, J. Developmental study of factors involved in choice ofconjunctions. Paper presented at the AmericanEducational Research AssociationConference, Chicago, 1974.
156 151
Jensen, A. R.
Katz, E. W., andBrent, S.B. Understanding connectives. Journal of Verbal Learning and VerbalBehavior, 1968, 7, 501-509.
Kohlberg, L. Stage and sequence: the cognitive developmental approach to socialization. In Goslin, D. (Ed.), Handbook of Socialization Theory, Chicago: kind McNally,. 1969.
Kuhn, D., Ho, V., and Adams, A. Formal reasoning among pre- and late adolescents. Child Development, 1979, 50 (4), 1128-1135.
Lecky, P. Self-consistency. New Yotk: .Island Press, 1951.
Lenneberg, E. H. Understanding language without the ability to speak. Journal of Abnormal and Social 1962, 65, 419-425.
Lenneberg, E. H. (Ed.). New Directions in the Study Of Language. Cambridge, Mass.: M.I.T, Press, 1964 (b).
loy, Lenneberg, E. H. The Biological Basis of Language,1967.
Lenneberg, E. H., Nichols, I.A., and Rosenberger', E. F.' Primitive stages of languagedevelopment in mongolism. In Disorders of Communication. Baltimore: Williams 6 Wilkins, 1964. P. 42.
Levy,
Lofquist, L. The general requirementsof work. Journal of I !habilitation, 1970,2, 28-36.
Looft, W. R. Egocentrism and social interactionin adolescence. Adolescence, 1971, 6 (24),487-494.
Lynd, H. M. On Shame and the Searchfor Identity, (2nd ed.). New York: Science Editions Inc., 1965.
Malinowski, B. 152
Maslow, A. H. Motivation and Personality.. New York: Harper Bros., 1954.
Maslow, A. H. The need to know and the fear.of knowing. Unpublished paper.
McCarthy, D.. Language development in children. In L. Carmichael (Ed.), Manual of Child Psychology. New York: Wiley, 1954.
McGraw,A.B. A Study of Johnny and Jimmy.. New York: Appleton-
.. Century, 1935.
McNeill, D, Developmental paycholinguistics. In Smith, F. and Miller, G. (Eds.) The Genesis of Language. Cambridge, Mass.: MIT Press, 191
McNeill, D. The development of language. In P. H. Mussen (Ed.), armichael's Manual of Child Psychology. Vol. 1. (3rd ed.) New York: Wiley, 1970.,Pp., 1061-1161.
Mead, M. Coming of Age in Samoa
. 1
Mussen, P. H., and Conger, J. J.
Mussen, P. H., Ccinger, J. J. and Kagan, JChildpevelopment and
' Personalit . (4th, ed.) New York: Harper and Row,' 1974.
Muuss, R.iTheories of Adolescence.(2nd. ed.). New York: Random House,
Neff, W. S. Work and Human Behavior. New York: Atherton Press, 1968.
Neimark, E., and Slotnick, M. S. Development of the mderstanding of logical connectives. Journal of Educational ) sychology, 1970, 61, 451-460.
Newcomb, T.
Pearson, P. D. The effects of%grammatical complexity.on children's comprehension, recall, and conception of certain semantic rela- tion. .Reading Research Quarterly, 1974-75, 10 (2), 155-192. Penfield, W. and Roberts, L. Speech and Brian Mechanisms. Princeton, N. J.: Princeton Univertsity Press, 1959.
158 '153
Super, D. E., Career Development: Self-Concept Theory. New York, College Entrance Examination Board, 1963.
Thornburg, H. D. Development in Adolescence. Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth, 1975.
Thorpe,
Trent, J. W., and Medsker, L. L. island High School. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 196
Turiel, E,, and Rothman, G. R. The influence, of reasoning on ,
behavioral choices at different stages of moral development.u. Child Development, 1972, 43, 741-756.
Tyler, L. E.,The Psychology of Human Differences. Second Edition, New York, Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc.
Tyler, L.E., The development of "vocational interests": I. The Organization-of likes and dislikes in ten-year-old children. Journal of Genetological Psychology, 1955, 86, 3344.
Vernon, M. Crises of the deaf. Journal of Rehabilitation, 1971, 1, 31-39.
Von Bonin, C. Architectonics of the precentral motor cortex. - In P. C. Bucy (d.), The Precentral Motor Cortex. -Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1949.
Wagon, P. C. and Johnson-Laird, P.N. Psychology of Reasoning: Structure andContent. London: Batsford, 1972.
Whitaker, H. A. On the REEiresentation of Language in the 'iman Brain: irol21theliturcanuaeand the LinguistAllasilsfAftEsia. Working papers in phonetics. No.12-, University of California, Los Angeles, 1969.
Whitaker, H. A. A model for neurolinguictics. Colchester, England: University of Essex, Language Center, 1970.
Wolfram, W. Extended notions of grammar and comprehension. Paper presented at the Preconvention Institute on Reading Comprehension and Syntax, International Reading Association Conference, 1975. The Role of Deafness and Zducatio4
ti in the Moral Dm lopment of Bearing-Inpaired Children and 'Adolescents
Mary Field Belenky
160 157
It is remarkable that such an extraordinaryvariation on the human experience as thatof deafness has been gene- rally ignored in the ongoing 'study of human development. Knowledge from research on such variations can make major contributions towards revealing universal processesof development. Knowledge, from studies of development in'
more al...Unary populationscould be more fully utilized to P illuninate the developmental issues of those who share this particular variation in experienCe. In this paper the processes of moral development of those whohave hear- ing impairments will be explored by addressing several over- How does early and profound deafness , arching question,. affect the development of moral judgement throughout the life span?What is the relationship betweenthe develop- mentot symbolization.-- not speech Cle development of mind'and the development of morality? How can the devil - opment of moral reasoning bebest supported and promoted in those who are hearing impaired?This exploration leads to a deeper appreciationof the role that dialogue plays' in the development ,of all humanbeings. Although there is little research thathas directly studied moral development in hearing impairedpopulations, concern with issues of ethicaldevelopment has been a central focus in developmental psychology for severaldecades. It is the work of Piaget that hasbrought about a paradigm shift making this outpouring of research indevelopment and moralization possible (Gardner,1973; Loevinger, 19761. 'The underlying premise of thedevelopmental paradigm is that meaning-makint structures pass through a numberof:discrete stages which can be seen asintra-psychic and self-other organizations;that each new stage is more complex., and gives the individual moreadequate and equili- brated ways of conceptualizingthe environment and the self; that the stages are achievedthrough constant interaction between the maturing individualand challenging experience, in the context of physical andinterpersonal support. Development in all domains --cognitive, ethical, and ego-identity -- is seen as progressingfrom the.Self to- ware. the world; fromegocentricity toward allocintricity; from the simple ta thecomplex; from the diffuse tothe differentiated and toward theintegration of.differenti- ated components;. from the concreteto the abstract;from the impulsive to therational; from the dualistic 'tothe relativistic; from dependencetoward autonomy and inter- dependence. With the availabilityof-this theoretical framework, Ameritan psychologistshave turned their atten- tion from an almost exclusive concernwith the impact of the environment or stimulus onthe seemingly, passive child. Now, serious attention canbe paid to the ways of his in whichthe'active child constructs meaning out or herexperience in the world. Piaget.(19324965) conducted one earlystudy on The Moral Development of theChild before confining his atten- tion to the developmentof logical structures thatorgan- ize thinking in alldomains. He depicted two moralities that children hold: 1)the heteronomous -- orthat emana- or ting from adultauthority, and 2) the autonomous -- that which is self-chosen. The youngest children concep- tualize rules as toeingsacred and untouchable,created and imposed by adults, and aslasting forever. 3e.ng.good is equated with obedience tothe will ofadult'authority. Wrong is to have a willof one's own. Little doordinatiqn conception of is' found, however,betwilen the young child's unable the rules with his.actuol practice. Since they are the behavior to, subordinatetheiractions to intentions, of immature. children seemsimpulsive and.unpredictable. external to the,mind While the youngerchild sees rulei as the older child comes, and incapableof being transformed, made between equals to thinkof rules as mutual agreements Pia- which maintain andenhance games andthe social order. experience of cooperation get believedthat it is through the This among peersthat the ethic cifmutual respect evolves.
162 159
"leads, in the domain of justice, to the develop-
ment of a conception Of equality which is the idea at' . the bottom of distributive justice and of reciprocity." (p. 329). This is an achievement of particular conse- quence to Piaget with his overriding concern with the development of logic, as he seesthe notion of justice as "the most rational of all moral notions" (p. 197). % Indeed, he argues that "the important norm of,recipro- city (is) the source of the logic of relations (which) can only devel4 in and through cooperation" (p. 107). Kohlberg (1969; 1981), expanding on Piaget's work, .periodically interviewed a group of males from their adolescence on for oymertwenty years, asking them how they would best resolve a series of hypothetical moral dilemmas. From their responses, Kohlberg delineated a ,series of six qualitatively distinct and hierarchically arranged stages of moral reasoning that arise in an nvariant sequence.Kohlberg's description of moral development, like Piaget's, focuses on the development of conceptions of rules and, ultimately, on the evolution of universal principles of justice. Each stage represents an increasingly adequate mode of resolving dilemmas posed Dy competing claims and rights of individuals who are conceived of as equals. Kohlberg groups these six stages into three broad levels: preconventional, conventional, and postconvent- ional -- or principled judgements. Y'ung children reasdn at the precon4mtional level in which right and wrong are defiTied -n terms of physical'consequences to the self. Those who reason at Stage 1 have a punishment and obedience orientation. Good is equated with obe-. dience and avoidance ofpunishMent by powerful author- ities. Stage 2 is characterized by a naive hedonism. The good is that which satisfies one's own needs and feelings of others will be considered to the extent that such considerations are seen as benefitting the self. 160
"Tit for tat" suggeststhe basia for thisthinking which As has achieved someliberation from adult constraint. of adults are nolonger seen as omnipotent, the interests the self can beasserted more fully. While preconventional reasoning is ordinarilytranscended in earlyadolescence, there ia 'some evidence(to bediscussed in Areater detail) which suggest thathearing impaired studentsentering col;- lege are stilltypically at these early stagesof develop-
delayed in development . ment. Preconvention*/ adolescents are stillunder theinflue;Ice of internal and external physical stimuli, ratherthan that of symbolic represen- tations cOnceptualiiingpast and fdture 'rolesand 'values which have been sharedand self-examined.The adolescent who continues toconsider only his or her ownimmediate Is, by needs at wishes whenresolving moral conflicts delay grati- definition, egocentric,impulsive, unable to either long term 1) fications or tocoordinate actions'with plans or sharednorms,and values. defirld by a At the conventionallevel, Stage 3 is which pleases "good boy" orientationwhere good is that self in their good and, helps othersand which keeps the regard graces. Sharing in the valuesof those whose good and one seeks,becomesimportant' because one',s self esteem and emerging Adentity,aredependent on being accepted well liked. Conforming,to-iroup pressure and expectations 3 while age mateswho is typicalof' adolescents at Stage at the are stillpreconventional or those who reason conformity behavior moreadvanded stages exhibit little (Saltstein et al,1972). Shared values areincreasingly lives of thosewhom held becas.:se they serveto enhance the towards. one cartsabout and has come tofeel responsible important because CommitMent to communitystandards becomes well as enhan- conformity is" seenas.benefitting others as the conventional cing the self,Amage. Moral reasoning at abstract thought level reqUires anincreased capacity for individual's'thinking to and role - takingwhich allows,the and outwards stretch outwardiinto another's perspective
164 161 toward the future. With such a capacity, one's actions can become guided by a concern for others as well asby shared goods and values. At this juncture, both 4he con- cepts "should" inA "love" enter the vocabulary and 'become central to the moral dialogue. Indeed, it is at this point in the developmental progression thatvocabularies'and dialogue themselves seem central to the moral process -- although these must have been present in more rudimentary form from the very' beginning. At Stage 4, the individual is able to takg the per - spective of the society. Norms, laws, and 1 gitimate authorities are now respected,. as it is nownderstood that these are essentialfunctions:for 'maintaining the social order. . Is At the postconventional stages, universal principles
-evolve. as-the-standatd for asse&sing_societal_nofms, Icon -t_ - tracts, and constitutionalagreementi,.aS well as for guiding individual' moral. choice. Principles derive their value through appeal to logicalcomprehensiveness, uni- versality and consistency.They'are principles of justice, of reciprocity and 'equality, of humin rights. Principled thinking is notably rare.' It appears, if atall,in very late adolescence or during the adult yea's. Gilligan (1977, 1979,.1982) has generated a,critique of our current understanding of moraldevelopment as shaped by Piaget's andKohlberg's pork. She argues thatKphlbergq (1969).basi.c research on moral development, lim%e muchof Piaget's (1932/1965) and much oUtheempirica1 research on adolescent development(Adels6n, 1930), has bech conducted largely on male samples, and that this tendency toselect male samples has resulted in a description of thelife cycle that primarily depictsmale experience, male standards, and the evolution ofthose personal qualities that have been relegated to that.,sex..Gilligan arguesthat when one studies women making seriousmoral)ehoiCes across the life span (Belenky,1978; Gilligan, 1977, 1979, 1982, Gilligan and Belenky, 1980), one finds a differentconception of 162 morality unfolding -- one that iscentered on relationships, ,care, and responsibility.While women's conception of mor- ality more typically centers owissuesofIreiponsibilities, the moral conception Piagetand Kohlberg described is or- ganized around issues cfrights. The rights orientation seeks justice for individualsin an egalitarian context. The responsibility orientationseeks mercywhiA recognizes the inherent inequalitiesbetween persons and the need.to be cared-for4nd tocare. The responsibiIity'orientutton------7- rejects the notion that justiceshould be blind and argues for always knowing the contextfor moral choice. Undoubt- edly, an integration of these twoconceptions -- the mor- ality of responsibilityand the morality of rights -- pro- vides a fuller understandingof the human potential, and the highest stages ofdevelopment might ultimately befound to reflect ahigher degree of differentiation andintegration of conceptions of both selfand other; individuality and interdependence; agency and communion;and rights and re- 4sponsibilities. Both of these orientations tomorality should be keptin'view when considering the role of deafness and education in the moraldevelopment of the hearingimpaired. The DeCaro's and Emerton(DeCaro and Emerton, 1978 DeCaro, Emerton, and DeCaro,1983) have conducted the only ibLu.4y to assess levelsof moral reasoning in thehearing im- pail:ad. They studied moral judgmentsof students at a selective, technical collegefor the deaf.A handwritten administered to the entire form-of_Kohlberg's instrument was - ^eV-- freshman class in 1975 and to44 randomly selected subjects in 197'. Both groups of freshmen werescored predominantly Preconventional moral rea- at theprfconventional level. soning is:infrequentin all the other collegepopulations that have been studied todate. To rule out thepossibility that such low functioningcould be attributed todifficulties in 1977 who in writing, theyrandomly selected 10 freshmen were administeredthe handwritten formas,before.' These students were alsointerviewed in person by anadult who was
166 163 highly skilled in manualforms of communication and who is widely regarded as being in excellentcommunication with heaving impaired students.Manual and oral modes of comncu- nication were used simultaneously inthese interviews, which were recorded byvideo tapes/ and then translated into stan- dard Englith and transcribed. The stage scores from the written and interview data that werecollected from these 10 students were similar. As a group, their scores also closely paralleled the profilesobtained from the previous samples. Four years later, extraordinaryeffort was made to locate andre-interview all ten of these subjects.Again, both handwritten and face-to-facevideo recorded interviews were collected. All four data sets -- the written and interview versions from both 107and 1981 -- were scored simultaneously and blindly by an expert scorerfrom'the Harvard Center fOr MoralEducation. In 1977, all 10 were reasoning at the preconventionallevel. All were scored predominantly at Stage 2. Only four showed some strongevi- dence' of Stage 3 -- the first appearance ofconventional moral reasoning according toKohlberg's scheme. Four years later, all showed asubstantial amount of Stage 3 conven- tional moral reasoningwith only four still using a great deal of thoughtcharacteristic of Stage 2. The gain was clsnificant at the .001 level and suggeststhat delayed development can be overcomerelatively late in the lifecycle. While the progress of thesestudents seems important and promising, it isthe case that their moraljudgement scores are compared with studies ofheafing college students. It is possible that thesedepressed scores are anartifact of the dilemmas thatmake up the Kohlberg interviewand that these students haveactually made greater progressthan indicated. To be scored at Stage 4 or higher onKohlberg's scheme, the interviewee must indicatethat he or she has takenthe perspective of thesociety as a whole. Young adults who feel excluded from the hearingworld may not take a societalperspective
16 164 . depicted as occurring when the moraldilemma is adults'may, however, usemuch larger society. These same that are more complexreasoning whenresolving dilemmas is- depicted as occurringwithin the deafcommunity. It hopedthattheDeCaro_'_s_and_._Emerton-will--adcl..such-dilemmas-- sample, rulingout in subsequentfollow-ups of this same the importance that source ofbias, Levine (1981) stresses their ownenvironments. of studying thehearing impaired in Lif we_re_to movebeyond negetive stereotypes. inter- Be that as it may,the elaborate.video recorded
unprecedented , views used bythe DeCaro's andEmerton are This is surprising, in the studiesof the hearingimpaired. reviewing the as Vernon(1967) and Furth(1964, 1966), in intelligence in research literature onthe development'of considerable evidencethat the the hearingimpaired, found * systematically verbal natureof most psychologicaltests subjects.When children are disadvantageshearingImpaired their level ofcognitive assessed bynon-verbal means, the tion.is--more-like7that-of-their-heiitiiit-peers.That able to avoidwritten subjects ofDeCiro's'and Emerton were hearing impairedand tests *which areproblematic for many were able .tochoose the modeofcomMunitation'inwhich-they_ helped themdemonstrate were mostproficient, undoubtefily However, theKohl- ehe complexityof their moral.:Agement. and leaves tiergmeasure does rest on alinguisti.c_dialogue How much doesmorality manyquestions to beconsidered. that presupposes itself depend on adialogue between persons adolescents', ---a-thared-symbol-system7_,Are_hearin,Jr9paired or dothey just.perform actually delayedin itoral'development poorly on theKohlberg instrument? comparing hearingimpaired The.available.literature4 repeatedly suggests adelay and normallyhearing children, development among thehearing impaired, in psycho-social DeCaro's andEmerton's find-. lending somevalidity to the children areconsistently charac- ings. Hearing impaired egocentric thantheir terized as moreimpulsive and/or
168 165 . normally hearing peers(Altshuler,.1963, 1974; Harris, 1978; Hefferman, 1955; Hoemann, 1972;'Levine,1956; McAndrew, 1948; Meadow, 1980; Rainer et al, 1964 Rodda,1974; _Schein, _1968-,_ 1975;.Schlesinger and Meadow, 1972) . The literature that reaches this consensus onthe psycho - social immaturity ofthe hearing impaired has been mostly. generated on samples of childrenand adolescents. When adults are studied, they arefrequently from clinic populations in which one might expect 'tofind a disp.--por- tionate amount of psychologicalproblems. Furth (1973) summarizes the relatively few studies onnon-clinical pop- ulations ofhearing impaired adults, who ore,otherwiie nor- mal. This literature depicts theseadults.-as highly gre- garious, active, responsibleparticipants in a closely knit, stable community of the deaf. Through the use of sign, all members Ofvthis community areable to be in good communi- ---_::_liTcail;on:wift4ConinettIke.-'=-These-ctumeunitieszlitiveze4irth array of socialorganizations that effectivelywork towards meeting the needs of a groupthat has been consistently handicapped by the natureof their relations with the broader community.That hearing impaired adultstend to be full, responsible participantsin community life suggests that even though moraldevelopment may be delayed, itis t.ot truncated. Furth suggests that therepeated finding of a high incidenceof pathology among deafchildren and low incidence ofdisturbance among deaf adults maybe ac- counted for by a developmentallag that has no lasting conse- quences forthe emotional life of theadult. Levine (1981) observes that as a groupthe hearing-impaired areremark- ably resilient andsuccessful in coping with adultdemands despite daficultchildhoods. -The longitudinalfindings for of the Decaro's andEmerton also provide some support Furth's hypothesis. p Lacking other studies onthe moral developmentof hear- , rely on a myriad ing impairedchildren and adults, we must of findings thatprovide only indirectevidence for dis-
1 6 3 166 in hearing impaired corning patternsof moral development reviewing the literature populations.Lickona (1976):in development as conceptualizedby Piaget and Kohl- on moral . berg, comes to theconclusion that there arethree factors development, that generally promotemoral growth: cognitive liberation froli thecoercive constraintof adult euthority$ and social interaction.We will look at theimplications of each of thesefactors in respect tohearing impaired cited have used Kohlberg s children: All the studies to be scheme as an index ofdevelopment unlissotherwiseindicated.
Cognitive Development and MoralReasonin Colby (1973), Kohlberg (1969),Kohlberg and DeVries (1969), Kuhn, Langer, Kohlberg, andHaan (1977), and Tomlinson-Keasey demonstrated that foreach moral and Keasey(1974) have calstage_or -"stageidentitiad,there.....14.4.._corretp.mdfunslogi ---aubstage-as-defineti_by_Pi age t . The se cogni tivestages but not sufficientconaftiiii werefound to be a necessary, Mature moral reason- for the occuranceof the moral-stage.) However, mature ing requires maturecognitive functioning. automatically assurematur- cognitive functioningdoes not ity in moralreasoning. (1967) have gath- While Furth (1964;1966)4nd Vernon stages of,cogni- pred-considerable evidencethat the early not delayedin'hearing tive developmentPiaget describes are the .impaired childrenwhenassessed-by-non-Verbaltesti; formal evidence is not soclear for normaldevelopment of If hearingimpaired operationalthought in. achieving the cap'city adolescents areunusually delayed in -contribute for-abstracti,formaEthoughti-thatdelay-could reasoning in theCollege- tothe_unuqually lowlevels. of moral and Emerton. students observedby the DeCaro's Liberation fromAdult Constraint development tobe con- The secondcondition for moral child who beginslife sidered is the processby which the 'erson amonggiants, comes to as a verysmall and powerless lity for framingand resolv- have a senseof equal respons;
Pio -1_61 ins moral problems and of equal worthin making moral claims. Because parents are usually the mostimportant authorities in the lives of children, the researchliterature...Jon the impact of parentaldiscipline techniques on children's moral development will be examined. Hoffman and Saltstein (1967) looked at.the relationship between parent'sdiscipline' and their children's maturityof moral judgement.They distinguished three types of discipline: 1)Power Assertion -- or the exerciseof physical power over the child; 2) Love Withdrawal, defined as the expression.cif-inger-spd thp withholding of affection; and 3)Induction,which primarily involves pointing out the consequencesof 'the child's be- havior for others.They defined two levels of moral matur- .ity: ..the.highexternals whoconceptualized moral issues in terms of rewardi andpunishment vs. those who had intern- alized moral values. Their definitions correspond closely toPiagetl-s-two-style-s-of-moraljudgement--end_to-Kohlberg2s preconventional and conventional levelsof moral reasoning. High intIrnalization of moral vtques wasstrongly correlated with inc,xtion as a disciplinarytechnique. Parents using high induction point out theharmful consequences of the child's behavior and encouragediscussions about the range of motivations and issuesinvolved. Morality based on the 'fear .of external punishment wasassociated with power asser- tive techniques such as usingphysical punishments andwith- drawal of privileges. These findings were generallycorro- borated in reviews of theextensive literature on child-7 rearing-practices-lBaumrinccD.,'1980_and Hoffman,1977). Holstein (1968) studiedfamilies as they actually discussed hypothetical moral dilemmas..Children who were-m'ost_ad.vanced.. in moral reasoning onKohlberg's scale had parents who en- couraged a dialogue on the rangeof issues involved inthe-dilemma. These parents wereeffective. in drawing outtheir childen's opinions which appearedto'be valued even whenthe opinions departed from those of theparents. The parents whofailed to generate adialogue and who demandedhigh conformity to their own opinions had theleast morally mature.chiltren.
1 71 -168
Parikh (1975) replicated Holstein'sstudy in India, obtain- ing similar results. Haan, Smith,.and B1ock.41968) analyzed. differencesein_peraeptionseof-parentalrelationships among large samples of college studentsand Peace Corps volunteers who were at variousstages of moral judgementas measured by Kohlberg's interview. They found that the'principled students Weremore apt to describe their parentsas being neither permissivenor laissez-faire, but as being actively involvedein-ehetr-lives-eand-ase-argument-at-iere-e-e'ev-en'cOnee flictinducing-efor thorough and oftenheated discussions of all 41fferences and decisionsNwre customary in their families. Conventional level studentsdescribed their families as harmonious, with littleparent-child conflict. They depictedtheir parentias using clear rules, reinforced by rewards and punishments rather. thanencouraging discussion aroundevalueedifferencese.--livesteatudiese-suggest that parents' willingness to reduce thepoweie differential between themselves and their children, along withtheir ability to sponsor productive and rational discussionsabo etqal conflicts are important factorsin fostering -moral de- vellooment in children.
Several studies suggest thatparents of hearing impaired ehildren are more-likelyto-use-powereassertivedisci aline techniques than are parents of normallyhearing children (Chess, 1975; Collins, 1969; Cos's, 1970;Mindel and Vernon,. 1971; Schlesinger and Meadow, 1972). Schlesinger and Meadow (1972) describe motliess..._ofe.hearingeimpairedechildreneas more controlling, didactic, and intrusive. They are less --likely-- to- -deli gateedec isioretakingresponsibilitiesetoethe....- child. Phyeical punishments and restraintsam much more likely to be seen as effective. The early need of a parent, to intervene physically persists 'late into childhoodas discussion and explanation, or inductive techniques,are extremely difficult withouta shared, effetive system for communication between parent and child. That adult constraint remains guile an important factor in the lives ofhearing impaired children may be anotherimportant factor accounting for the delay found in the developmentof moral. reasoning. 172 ,r 169
Social Interaction and MoralDevelopment Piaget (1932/1965) argued that thedevelopment of moral reasoning "presupposes long reciprocal education of the children by each other" (p. 318), as the notionof justice "requires nothing more for itsdevelopment than the mutual respect and solidaritywhich holds among the childrenthem- selves" (p. 198). Kohlberi, not discounting the importance of peer relations, argues thatmoral development depends on having a wide range of role-takingopportunities in a variety of social institutions. That the development of these stages of moral reasoning is tied to the,expanding capacity for,sodial role-taking has been richly demonstrated by Selman (1971). Aollos and Cowan (1973) assessed the impact of social isolat on on the development of logical capacities and on ro e takingabilities in young children. They selected Noryiegian children from farm,.village, and townfamilies ----whcrwere-othervi-se-matched_for_socio-economic status) _family si;e and child rearing practices. Hollow and Cowan argue that the child en in the different social settingsdiffered primarily in the opportunity to be involved inverbal and social interaction with peers. The farm children performed as well or better on thelogical tasks but had lower role- taking scores than the village and townchildren, who did not differ one from another.-The Norwegian study suggests that social isolation had a retardingeffect on the develop- met of the capacity for role-taking, acentral aspect of psycho-social development. The importance of social inter- ti acti-on was further supported by-Keasey---(1971) who-demonstra ted a relationshipbetween moral maturity (MMS) and high social participatlon. The more mature st.dents were most likely to be chosen as leaders andfriends by their peers. Thrower (1971) compared adolescents who hadbeen raised in insti- tutions with those placed in fosterhomes as well as those who remained in theirown disturbed family.Those raised in institutional settings werestill at the very earliest stages of moral reasoning, whilethe other groups were closer to the expected levels of developmentfor their age. Thrower
173 170 described the social relations in theorphanages as highly fragmented, with little Communicationamong the children themselves or between the children andthe staff;'. These chil- dren consistently Trailed at _role-takingtasks which present- ed the control grol:ps no difficulty. These findings lend strong support to the importance of socialinteraction in moral development. Hearing impairedchildreq,suffer_a-degreeof social.iso------latiotrtharliOutebe unusualto find '.in other groups. Stokes (1945) and Brunschwig.(1936) conducted.studies which showed that deafchildren have fewer playmates andengage more in solitary play than do their hearing peers.Accounts of hearing impaired adults whose childhood experiences.were confined to the hearing community are riddled withdescrip- tions of. isolation and loneliness, even in the midst of their own families. Until recently, educators of the hearing im- paired were aural modes of-ConiiiiiiiCatiOn;"Gesfurela-n-d signS were pro.- hibited and sometimes even reading and writing were discour- aged,:as these were thought to inhibit the development of oral skills (Meadow,.1980,4loores,_1978). Even with exten- sive oral training, the speech produced by most prelingually' deaf people is typically hard to understand (Nickerson, 1975). The difficulties involved in lip reading make the comprehen- sion of spoken words most problematic (Lowell, 1959). Given the -poor- Iinguage base-,-deafness-from-an-early-age is-asso-. ciated-with-serious-problimsinlearning to read and write (Furth, 1966; Brooks, 1978). Signed language is the most efficient and easily learned mode of communication available to the hearing impaired. If Sign is not available, these children hive severly limited access to language and social discourse. Schlesinger and Meldow (1972) observed that mo- thers of deaf children, having been warned of the dangers of introducing' their children to sign, used gesture to communi- _satewith thiir children only slightly more than mothers of hearing children. Only 4 out of the 40 mothers in their sample decided to learn sign so they might communicate easily
174 171 with their own children. Typically, sign was learned sur- reptiously from other children when a child was placed in special schools for the deaf or later in life when access to the deaf community is gained. Reich and Reich (1973) found' that the average age for learning to sign was 13.7 years for those attending day - schools and 7.11 years for those placed in residential programs. loemann (1972) found that eight to eleven-year old children in a residential school were only beginning to acquire sign. The major exception to these trends has been the small proportion of deaf children born to deaf parents. These children, growing up in a sign -rich environment, easily learn a mode of communication at the same age oreven earlier than'hearing children acquire lan- guage (Schlesinger, 1978). Being unable to produce under- standable speech, unable to comprehend much of the spoken language, unable to read and write well, unable to sign, the bearing-impaired-child-experiancii-a n7unprecedented degree of social isolation. Such isolation was poignantly illustrated by a college student who had attended his father's funeral. Although this student was literate and written messages were possible, no attempts-were-made by_ relatives or friends to communicate with him. He returned to college without know- 4-tr, even the cause and circumstances of his father's death. If social participation is an important coniributor.tomoral development, it would follow that development would be de layed in those who do not have access to 'an efficient lan- guage and who are excluded fromthe give and take of an on- going dialogue. The importance of the early access to language and the introductionof sign as an effective mode of communication for hearing impaired children is suggested by studies com- paring deaf children 'born to deaf parents with those born to normally heuring parents. These studies have generally agreed that the children born to deaf pprents tend to be more ad- vanced in many aspects of linguistic competence, academic achievement, and/or psychosocial development (Brasel and Quigley, 1975; Corson, 1973; Harris, 1978; Meadow, 1968;
ti 170 172 Schlesinger and Meadow, 1972; Stevenson,1964; Stuckless and Birch, 1966; Vernon andKoh, 1970). Schlesinger and Meadow (1972) found deaf childrenof deaf parents to havehigher and ratings on their measuresof responsibility, maturity, debate over whe- independence. Although there is continued ther access.to sign accountsfor these striking differences, to there are -several studiesthat suggest that easy access language is at least oneimportant condition for many as- pects ofdevelopment.' Harris (1978),in one of the few of 'studies exploring therelationship between the age exposure tomanual communication andsubsequent'development,' axposed to sign, found that the youngerthe age the child was have the greater theimpulse control. Impulse control, we argued, is an importantindex of moral maturity. Meadow (1972) found that hearingimpaired children with goodlan- than guage skills, weremore likenormally hearing children were thosewith poor skills, in termsof being happy, enjoy- creative"- ,imagination. ing interaction,compliance,,masterv,and Without access to languagethe child would havedifficulty referring to concreteobjects that were notimmediately and present. Collins (1969), Heiderand Heider (1940), Schlesinger (1972)found that thecommunications'of deaf topics with,a children were almostexclusively confined to child has a limited ..t em] referent. Without language the metaphorical capacity todepict and share withothers such internal events such asthinking and ideas,motivation and intentions, values andcommitments. They lack the meta- share conceptions phoric capacity toenvision, depict, and (1978), impulse con- of the future as. well. As Harris argues ahead in a carefuland trol depends on thecapacity to plan organized manner so thatgratification ofimmediate needs achievement of long and wishes canbecome secondary to the judgements seldomdraw term goals..Preconventional moral thought as thismoral view is con- onabstract metaphorical self and to theconcrete con- fined to the feltneeds of the Conventional andprincipled sequencesof action on theself.
1 76 173 moral judgements, however, require considerations of complex phenomena seen from many perspectives. Some sort of shared symbol system must be available if such notions are to be captured and communicated. The social iialation and the lack of interpersonal interaction experienced by hearing impaired ehildr2n seem to be further exaferbated by the kinds of school experiences that have been pr6vided for them until recently.Thrower's findings of depressed moral development scores in childien reared in institutions may have serious implications for the hearing impaired, as a large percentage of such children have been educated in residential settings. Schools for hearing impaired have been described as overwhelmingly domi- nated by the teachers,. while the children remain highly pas- sive (Craig and Collins, 1970; Furth, 1973; Hawkins,-1966). Craig and Collins (1970) found that 80% of the classroom communication was teacher generated, while only 37. was ini- tiated by the students. Even when students did'initiate com- munication the teachers typically failed to respond.. Even given these problems, the current practice of, mainstreaming children with hearing impairments into regular schools may actually prolong the period of social isolation that deaf children experience. If the teachers and students in regular. schools do not take responsibility for learning sign, the mainstreamed child may-not learn an effective system for communicating until she or he reaches adulthood and finds a way into the deaf community. If the opportunity to participate in an ongoingdia- logue is essential for the developmentof moral reasoning, how deaf children communicate may not besignificant, as long as they do;'Oral speech is only one possible form of com- munication, although speech and languagehave been tradi- tionally. equated. Freiberg (1977) has demonstrated the importance for b.:_nd children offinding alternative routes for functions that ordinarily requirethe use of vision. Once other paths are found, developmentproceeds well. With- out such a rerouting,development is likely to be seriously truncated. The give and take of interchange anddialogue, 171 174 in whatevermode --. made possible bythe use oflangUage -- experience that isessential is likely tobe the central for,moral development. that deaf childrenwho The precedinganalysis suggests environment, withrahigh rate of are rearedin a sign-rich opportunities fordialogue, 'social interactionand extended development of may be morelike hearingchildren in their 1982; Belenky,Glinchy, Gold- moral reasoning. We (Belenky, have found thathearing berger andTarule, forthcoming) environments with adolescents andadults who grew up in dialogue may havedevelop- markedly limitedopportunities for those of the typicalper- mental patternsthat are more like of the 150 son wholshearing impaired. The small number still at thepreconventional level womenstudied who were by Kohlberg andGilligan, of moraldevelopment, as measured their families were un- had a numberof factors in common: unequal distributionof usuallyhierarchical, with a very and between theadults and the powerbetween the parents family members. children. ..There waslittle discussion among things out"together, Without recourse to"thinking and talking For one rea- physical coercion wascommon intheir families. adolescents and womenseldom son 'oranother, thesehearing As childrenthey were seenbut hadfriends while growing-up. the'freedom fromadult not heard. As childrenthey lacked participation that constraint andthe experiencesof social development. Growing Lickona argues arenecessaryfor moral danger for cognitive r. up inisoiation,seems to. pose grave condition necessaryfor development aswell --the third adolescent andadult women moral growth. These few hearing the preconventionalstages .in our studywho were still at primitive conceptionsof of moralddyelopment also had very themselves as knowers. While the natureof knowledge and of from the wordsof authorities, they viewedtruths as emanating in their ownabilities to receive, they hadlittle confidence Memorizing andreturning remember, andrecite Authwords. minds, the way onelearns words of teachers was,in their . ie believe that theythemselves had the eventhough they did not sense ofconstructing capacity to learnfrom words. They had no 178 truths from their own experience, through the use of their o%41 minds. They had little sense,of +'heir own voice'as a tool for mediating and communicating eXperience with others. / Vygotsky (1962 and 1977) and Luria.(1961rand 1979) de- monstrate-that_many exterior dialogues_are a_ necessary pre- cursor to inner speech and an awareness of one's own thought processes,. Without conversation -= listening to others and the-drawing,out-of-Ones own voice r- the -individual_ fails.to develop a se'*se that she, herself, can think. Luria! (1961) traces the long process that the young child undergoe
before the child'siactions can become subordinated to and. , guided by the verbal commands of others. Only later isthey/' child able to represent directions and commands to her own self. With the development of a sufficient symbol systeM I the child can talk to .herself. Through inner speech the indi- vidual can make plans, reflect on and revise them, and then act in accordance with such plans. With inner speech the in- dividual's behavior is no"longer controlled by immediate stim- uluS. 'Our data showi how hearing adolescent and adult women continue to develop a sense of their own voice and their own mind well into the adult years. Only at the highest stages of moral andepistemological development is the c7 ^27,tualized as beingfully capable of and responsib... for the construction of knowledge. It is only then that the cap- acity for dialogue appears to be fully developed. Moral gro'lth can continue And accelerate through the adult years for those whose developmental progress ha's conformed to normal patt:rns and for those who have serious delays to overcome. The accumulated evidence .corroborates Emerton,et al's (197.9) conclusion that, developmental delays experienced .by those who are hearing impaired may be more a function of the ways the deaf are educated than ofdeafness itself. Children with early and profound hearing loss typically experience serious and continued social isolation; areoften subjected 176 A discipline techniquesby to nonrational,powerassertive often discouraged'from parti- their teachersand parents; are in both cipatinginthe giveand take ofon-going dialogues. in. the acquisitionof the school And home;and ire delayed Tobe.disadvantaged higherstaies of cognitivefunctioning. implicationi'fOtooral devel- in these respectshts.seriout -OpMent-andrould-account-for7the-developmental-delay All_of theseseem' to be servedin the hearing' impaired. through. participation conditions- that areoften ameliorated *community during adulthood,. in the sociallife of the deaf /timid be reversed earlier All seem to'beconditions that well designed..social and through thesystematic,prOvision of and more adequate educational experiencesthat sponsor fuller begun to. document- modes offunctioning. Kagan (1973) has in which thedevelopmental effects a varietyof circumstances Hiswork'suggests of seriousdeprivationhave,beerirversed. adaptable andresilient than that the humanorganism is more for developmentaldefi- had heretofore-beenthought possible The longitudinal cits tolemade up late intohelife span. document theability of findings of. theDeCaros and Elberton the developmental adolescenti andadults to greatly overcome -experiences that -childrenwho Are deaf. delays imposed by the \ understand the commonly share. Increasing17,.educators Communicatioh-availabie to" portance ofmaking'all,m6des.of brought aboutextensive edu- the hearingimpaired, and have experiences for supporting cational reforms,providing more for dialogue,hopefully thus the diVelopmentof the capacity developmental d.lays; preventing andovercoming such moral levelopment Integrating theunderstanding abOut and Piaget,suggests that achieVed byGilligan, Kohlberg, providemany,opportunities special effortsshould be'made to of two broadtyPes,of.social for dialogtiewithin the contexts aim at.promotingthe rights experience. The first would described t/Kohlberg and orientation ofmoral reasoning as participation, inthe Piaget. This shouldinvolve extensive democratic insti- governanceof fairlycomplex and sizable
LSO 177
tutions where the central moralconflicts would be fully debated and where taking a community orsocietal perspective is encouraged.''Challengingintellectual study should be thesiexPeriences to insure that the quality -integrated with 9 of participation and thegoVernance structure itself would be on a high level, and toencourage the students to explore -the Moral; societal, andphilosophical implications of their experience. The second kind of experience would aim at pro- moting the responsibility orientation as depicted byGilligan. This thouldinvolve working with others in a morepersonal context where such qualities as care,responsibility, and understanding are'essential andreciprocated.rSprinthall (1980) and his colleagueshave designed a series of such programs whichcc-bine experience in peer counselingand peerteaching with high-level academic study inthe social scienhes: These programs have had amajor impact in moral and ego developmentof the adoletcent participani.s. These two kinds of experiences shouldstimulate the developmentof an expanded conception bothof universal, impersonalrelation- ships,and of particularrelationships involving the most o personal of commitments. As the complexity ofmodern soc ety incrctpes, the.easy accessthat children have toboth of these kinds of experiences appearsto decrease. Access for children with special handicapsis likely to be even more at the center problematic. Placing both kinds of experience of a serious academiccurriculum is likely to behumanizing for both our children andfor our institutions. -178
Adelson, J. (ed.l. New York: Wiley, 19807--
Altshuler, K.Z. Personality traits and depressivesymptoms in the deaf, T. Wortis(Ed.), Recent Advances inBiolo ical Psychiatry, Vol. 6. New York: enumress, p.
Altshuletilt.Z. The social and psychologicaldevelopment of the,deaf child: problems,their treatment and prevention, American Annals of the Deaf,-1974,117, p. 365-376.
Barker, R. Ai ustme.nt to h sical handicaps andillness. New York: Soc aLScience esearcFi ,ouncil,1953.
Baumrind, D. New directions insocialization research, American Psychologist,1980. 35, 7, p. 639-652.
Belenky, W. P. The role of dialogue inhuman development and in the reductionof family violence. Paper present- ation, Teachers College,Columbia University, 1982.
Belenky, M. F. Conflict and development: alOngitudinal study of the impact ofabortion decisions on moral judgements of adclescent andadult women. Doctoral dis- senation, Harvard Unive%sity,1978. J. M. ielenky, M. F.,Ciinchy, B.. Goldberger, N., & Tarule, The still small__evelorvoice:tinentofwomen'was oo s, or com,ng. BT-ROWT-T-Newor : as c Belenky, M. F., Tarule,J..M., & Landi, A. M. (Eds.) Education and develo.el of scht2kliftinnon
ado scents. Washington, D.C.: TeacherCorps, 1.979., tAiliribri-through the Moral Educationand Research Foundation, Harvard University.) Brasel K. E. and Quigley, S.P. IblinflsjInceoggsrly lan ua e and communicationenvironFifti-fifitTiVaiiiiliTillint Iirraraelp375.1-"-B1Eirdcii."TFCaretraflWrirfro nois,
Brooks,,P. H. Some speculations concen-ingdeafness and Learning to read, in Liben,L. (Ed.) Daf children: develo mentaLaapectlms.. New York:AcademiE-Trieis,
. Brunschwig, L. A studyy of some ersonalit as ects of deaf children. ewoiErnic erg o ege, o uma-- WaireTili37-1.936.
Chess, S. Behavior problems of chldrenwith congenital rubella, in D. Neiman(Ed.) Needs of emotional)dis- turbt4traptiTalrigsh421n. New or : Newor UETVers ty coo o ucat on, 1975.
Colby, A. Logical operational limitations onthe de- velopment of moral judgemert. Doctoral dissertation, Columbia University, 1972. 182 179
Communication between desfchildren,of Collins , J. L. pre-school age and theirmothers. Doctoral dissertation, University ,vf Pittst.urgh,1969. Comparing deafchildren of oral deaf Corson, H. J. with parents anddeaf parents usingmanual communication deaf children ofhearing parents onacademic, social, dissertation, and communicationfunctioning._ Doctoral 1973. University of Cincinnati, t.
Craig, W. andCollins, J. Analysis of communicative interaction in classesfor deaf children. American Annals of the Deaf,1970, 115, p.-79-85.
DeCaro, P. A. andEmerton, R.-G.A cognitivedevqlopmental investigation of moralreasoning in a deafpopulation. Research asso- Paper presented atAmerican Educational ciation meeting,Toronto, 1978. ERIC *154-572. A longi- DeCaro, P. A.,Emerton, R. Go, andDeCaro, J. J. of the developmentof ethical tudinal investigation Paper reasoning in apopulation of youngdeaf adults. the Education presented at the NorthAmerican Conference on Canada, June, 1983. of the HearingImpaired, Winnipeg, T., and Bishop, M. Development ef Emerton, G., Hurwitz, Hearing social maturity indeaf adolescentsand adults, in Bradford, L., andHardy, 'P., and HearingImpairment, (Eds.) New York:CruniTirrEratton, Inc., 1979. blind. New York:Basic Fraiberg,,S. Insights from, the Books, 1977. Research with thedeaf: impliCationsfor Furth, H. G. 1964, language and cognition. Psychological Bulletin, 62, p. 145-164. Thinkinwithout lan ua e: sycholagical Furth, H. G. Tee Press,1966. implications o ea-ness. ew or a s choloical Furth, H. G. Reafn.s and learnin a ornia:' a swort approach. BelMont7 a
Gardner, H. .1L2M;JLJrlLa!MiLUOIIVILELEE11111or Knopi,1973. Eitylticira----1----ITIC-ifibient.liew In a differentvoice: women'sconceptions Gilligan, C. Review, of the self andof morality. Harvard Education 1977, 47, p.481-517. man's life cycle.Harvard Gilligan, C. Women's place in Educational Review,1979, 49, 4, p.431-447. teal theory In adifferent'voics.1psycholo Gilligan, C. niversity and women'sdeVirriiiii7E. CarlibraiTNirvar ress, 1831 180 study of- Gilligan, C. andBelenky, M.F. A naturalistic in R. L. Salmand& R. Yando(Eds.) abortion decisions, clinical-ievelo mental New directionsfor childdevelopment: ass, . . . iiiVEE:loey. Sal, Francisco: Jossey- deafchlldren and 'Lang' age used bymothers of Goss, R.N. American Annalsof the Deaf, _mothers ofhearing children, 1970; 115, p.93-96. of N., Smith, M. and Block,J. Moral reasoning Haan, background, political-socialbehavior, family youngadults: Journal of Personalityand and personalitycorrelates.
Of impulse control toparent Harris, R. I. The relationship manual communicationand academicachieve- hearing status, of the Deaf, ment in deafchildren. American Annals 1978, .p. 52-66. action: from ateacher's note- Hawkins, F. P. The logic of Elementary ScienceAdvisory enter, book. Denver, Cocoradb: T5EI. study of fiftypreschool chil- Hefferman, A. A psychiatric suspected deafness,in Caplan, dren referred tohospital for roblems of earlychildhood. New York: G. (Ed.)Emotional Basic Boo s, psychology of Heider, G. M. Studies in the Heider, F. and Mopograohl, 1940,52, p. 232. the deaf, No.1. Euchological of communicationskills in Hoemann, H. W. The development 1972, 43, deaf and hearingchildren. Child Development, p.990-1002. and re- Moral internalization:current theory Hoffman, M. in experimentalsocia In L. Berkowitz(Ed.), Advances search. ca erntress, psychology (vol.10).. New York: Social isolationand cognitive Hollos, M. andCowan, P. A. taking,abilities in logical operatiLnsand role development: Child,DeVelopment, 1973, three Norwegiansocial settirls. 44, p. 630-41. r"" of thedevelopment of Moisteirk, C. B.Parental determinants University ofCali- moral Judgement. Doctoral dissertation, fornia at Berkeley,1968. early development. Cross-culturalperspectivei on Kagan, J. 1973, 28, 11, p.947-1102. .A.m.ericat.._IPsci, factor in themoral Social participationas a Keasey,.C. B.' DevelopmentalPsychology, development ofpreadolescents, 1971, 15, p.216-222. the cognitivedevelopmental Kohlberg, L. Steak and'sequence: socialisation. .In D.A. Goslin(Ed.) Handbook approacN to Chicago: Rand, 1969. of socializationthmny and research. Rd Kohlberg, L. Moralization, in T. Lickcaa(U.) Moral, develo ment and behavior. New York: Het,Rineii nston, New York: Kohlberg, L. ThtepasottalEinarallemlopmEni. Harper and Row, 8
Kohlberg, L. and Mayer,R. Development as the aim of eduCittibn,lHarvard EducationReviewv-42,,Wa.
Levine, E. S. Youth in a soundless world. New York: New York Univer
Levine, E. S.The ecology of earl deafness. New York: New York UniversityPress', 195 .
Lickona, T. Research on Piaget's theoryin moral development, in T. Lickona (Ed.)Moral development andbehavior-. New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston,
Loevinger, J.Ego development: nce tionsand theories. San Francisco: .ossey- ass,
Lowell, E. Research in speech reding: Some relationships to language development andimplications for the classroomteacher. Proceedings of the 39th meetingof the American Instructors of the Deaf, 1959, p.68-73.
Luria, A. R.Thgpgecst±peechinttlamrmal and abnormalbiffiV1-6f7,--NiVTOWTWIFIIiiiiiiEtT196IT---
Luria, A. R. The makinof mind: aersonal account of University Soviet s cholotx. am r ge, ass: 4rvard rLCbb, of Luria, A.R. and Yudovich,F. S eech and the develo ment ng an : engurn, mental roce ses inthe child. esex,
study of the deaf McAndrew, H.Rigidity and isolation: a and the blind, Journalof Ablormal and SocialPs chologv, 1948, 43, p. 0 0.1111.. Meadow, K.. P. Early manual communicationin relation to the function- deaf child's intellectual,social, and communicative 29-41.. ing. American Annals ofthe Deaf, 1968, 113, p.
Meadow, K. P. Sociolinguistics, signlanguage and the deaf (Ed.), Ps cholin uistics andtotal' tub-culture. In T. O'Rourke communication: the stateof the art. as .ngton, . merican
Berkeley: Uni- Meadow, K..P. Deafness andchilddExEiamt. versity ofCaliTTifiri7111817-- 180 182 0Mindel,E. D.and Vernon,M. The row in silence: the deaf child and his famil SilverprAClirr'llifaidirriii5Erition Brifirtrar7T
Moores, D. F. Educaglmlhe'deaf: eaholo les and ilslices. Boston: Houghton, . in,
Nickerson, :11. Characteristics of the s eech of the deaf. (ne ort No. 3016). CamBaaii-71174.7"-Tat erane ialRETT1175 Parikh, B.Moraljudgement development intriti-relid,on to lamily-tnviromental-factors-in India and the United States. Doctoral dissertation, Boston University, 11i75. iRreitteit-brthe -Ffe Press, 1965. rat pu 's e calErg:igen Paul, 1932.)
Rainer, J. D. end K. 2. Aitshuler. Comprehensive mental health services for the deaf. New York: New.or syc..1117171TIM MiTaaiBirUFniFsity 1966.
Reich, P. and Reich, C. A. A follow -up. study of the deaf. Unpublished manuscript, University of Toronto, 1973.
Salt stein, H. D., Diamon, R. M., and Belenky, M. F.Moral judgement level and conformity behavior. putlustrtal anh2lax, 1972, 7, 3, p. 327-336.
Rodda, M. Behavioral disorders in deaf clients. Journal of billtiaaLLILJILItt.ad* 1974, 7, p. 1-13. Schein, 3. D. Deaf students with other disabilities. American Annals of the Deaf04975; 120, p. 92-99.
Schein, J.'D. The deaf communit : Studies in the social.'Ir chologLALlug7617RighlTiT6n, 'a airdirriae' genres, 1966. SChlesinger, H, S.Meaning and enjoyr.:Alt: language acquisiqon of deaf children. 1n T. J. OcRouiko (Edo), lucholin uist$' and.Total Communicat!on: The Stateofthe Aq,1ThiFington 11FirErargyiairrartfit7=rrrir27172=. Schlesinger, H. and Meadkw, K. Sound and signiehildhood deafness and Mental healtl. BernIVT-tirUFINiFETETEf CiatroThrrirres1711727
Selman, R. L,. The relation of role-taking to the development ofmoreljudgement in children, ChilLpsylluTent, 1971,42 Sao 79-91. Spinthall, R. A. Psychology for secondary schools: the saber-tooth zurriculum revisited?.Ameicallteslamilt, 1980, 35, 4; p. 336,347.
Stevenson, E. A. A study of the education achievementof deaf thiliren of deaf parents, CaliforniaNews,'1964, 80, 143. Stokoe, W. .Si.jujjinture:r.... an- outline of communication s sterfif-4f-the-Atitifirdi4if.---B4ffilTST-UWI.7.---
vesitf Bultalo, i943. .
Stuckless, E. and Birch, J.The influenct of early manual corn-
, , munication on the linguittic.development. of deaf children. American Annals of the. Deaf, 1966, 111,p. 452-460.
,
_:. Thrower, J Effects .of-orphanage- and-fostercare on-develop.- Ment of moral 'judgement. Doctoral dissertation, Harvard University, 1971. .
of Genetic Ps ch4t22, 19670,16, .p.* 13.
Vernon, N. and Koh, S. D. Early mat.. .,:omMunicktion:and deaf children achievement. American Annals of the Deaf, 115, 1970, p. 527-536.
Vygotsky, L. S. Itateli andAanguage, Cambridge: M17 Press-, 1962.
I , Vygotsky, L. S. The maktud mind: the, develo ment of hi her s cholore="7Bcessei=MWESe: 'arvar' versity Ress,
'tt - ..... 6
Locus of Control:
Review and I._plications for Instruction
of the Rearing-Impaired
II 6 Fred J. Dowaliby
and
.JoAnne Pegano
.fr
4e 187
Background and Introduction
psychological constructwithin the Locus of control(LOC) first emerged as a 1960's.Since then, a vastnumber of context ofsocial learningtheory in the early literature reviews havebeen performed. As, a empirical studies,position papers, and result, a great deal isknown about LOC. the psychologicalconstruct Julian B. Rotterand colleaguesoriginally formulated self-perteved lOetis-of"control-distributes- Luch-rthat and related theorywhich states that may beidentified.'"Internals' are thosewho two distinctlydifferent types of persons their own behaviorsand hence assume ascribe the consequencesel their activities to control is thus internalin the sense that responsibility for them.Their perceived locus of their own behaviorsand associated they believe thereis a causalrelationship between internals believe thatthey can `change(or control) their consequences.It follows that changing their ownbehaviors: rewards and punishments by appropriately of their behavior toforces "Externals," on theother hand, ascribethe consequences influence. fate,luck, and powerfulothers are outside of themselves,i.e., beyond their external loci ofcontrol.Individuals examples of suchoutside forceswhich represent do not recognizethe causal link heding such a viewof the world are notaware of or thereof. between theirbehaviors and the consequences the unfortunately therelevance of LOC to While the researchis suggestive, 6 beginning to receiveattention. The instruction of thehearing-impaired is only now generalizability of the findingsderived from authors are confident,however, in the NTID and otherhearing-impaired student studies using normallyhearing subjects to have to besupported by empirical populations. But, arguments tothis effect will reported herein. evidence beyond thatprovided by the studies 188
This review was motivatedby the results of a survey ofNTID faculty which
suggested, among other things, thatfaculty perceive their students asbeing relatively
externally oriented in comparisonwith older student populations.The implication was that this relatively externalorientation is at least partially responsiblefor some of the unique difficulties ofhearing-impaired students.Should this suspicion be confirmedby the research literature and by our-own investigatir, we shall-be on-the-road to devising
more productive waysof managing our students' experienceshere at NTID.
Procedures and Organization
Two computer searches wereperformed yielding a bibliographyof the most recently 60 published 125 titles and abstractsrelevant to our purpose.Of these, approximately studies and were procured andread in detail. Reiterativeexaminations of these and other cited references resulted in thefinal reading of approximately180 primary and secondary publications. Fifty eight of these areexplicitly cited in detail in thisreview. Clearly, this review is notintended as a comprehensivediscussion of the area. they Rather, articles werescrutinized and selected on thebasis of our perception that pertained most directly to instructionof the hearing-impaired. The studies Included in this paper areorganized according to a seven-category The first two system which wasdeveloped and refined as readingand analysis progressed. the start of t e paper so categories, "Dimensionality"and "Correlates," are positioned at .rstanding as to provide thereader with the conceptualbackground necessary to unc questions are organized specific research questions.Studies addressing specific research and "Change- under the followingcategories:: "Instruction," "Deafness," "Disabilities," LOC research for our ability."Prior to the final section dealingwith the implications of theory own work at NTIDis a section in which we discussthe contributions of attribution
to a more elaborateand refined conceptualizationof the construct.
190 189
Review of Studies
Dimensionality dimensionality of the LOC construct Most of the studieswhich have focused on the for all have factor analyzed someversion of the RotterScale (Rotter, 1966). The model 23 of these studies is aninvestigation reported by Mirels(1970) who factor analyzed the Rotter Scale items administered to over300 college students.This analysis yielded two 'llarr The first factor orthogonal factors, andthese were the samefor males and females. stressed "importance of abilityand hard work," and the second,while equally reflective of personal responsibility, wasinterpreted as a measure ofbelief in personal "political efficacy." This separation ofcontrol over personal events andcontrol over public events was deemed anadvance in clarity. Two replications of Mirels'factor analysis were reportedby Viney (1974).. In these different labels for the two studies, Australian students wereused and, despite slightly labeled factors, similar factorpatterns were discovered.Factor I in these studies was "soeial responsibility." "personal responsibility"and Factor II wasconceptualized as and hard work" Obviously, these labelsconform to the Mire lsdistinction between "ability and and "political efficacy" inthat these factors suggest aboundary between public priyate control. (1973) provided another replicationof Abrahamson, Schludermannand Schludermann and revealed still a 'third Mirels' findings. This study wasexecuted on a Canadian sample intermediate stage factor, "control overone's likeability," which seemsto represent an between public and private events. of responses producedby the Joe and Jahn (1973)hypothesized the restricted range artifactual conclusion of original forced-choice formatof the Rotter Scale yielded an researchers devised aLikert-type version of unidimensionality.As an alternative, these 190 findings, psychology. students.Consistent .with.Mirels' the scale andadministered it to 28$ revealed, and' there wat nod)fierenCe between the personal andpolitical, factors were in the Aistralianstudy, the labels here werealso males and females.As was the case success" and factorH reconceptualized so thatfactor I become"primary determinants of factors as those that these areessentially the same "political efficacy".We may conclude Abrahamson, et al. adduced by Mirels,Viney, and factorl analyzed theRotter Scale.Their analysis Kearneyand Kearney (1977) also assumptions of "luck"and "powerfulothers" as salient was consistent_with the Rotter "powerful others" was female members-ofthe sample, categories.However, among the 1) ability to influencepolitical persons and discovered to comprisethree subconcepts: when powerful other; and3) ability to dealwith criticism events; 2)ability to become a distinction' betweenpersonal d tendered by authorityfigures.Once again, we see a
public control. performed byKleiber, Veldman,ande Three factorsalso merged in analyses similar to thatemployed by Joe andJahn the 23 forced- Menacker (1973).In a procedure 46 4 -pop'Likert-type items.Tnese choice items ofthe Rotter'Scale were converted to three interspersed with 40filler items. Onceagain items wererandomly reordered and 2) externality; and3) internality. factors emerged:1) luck an chance; of the RotterScale,-Collins 4) identified Using anotherLikert-type conversion and defined in terms9( dominantworld perception four factors.These four factors were injustice; 3)predi-tability vs.unpredict- reflected 1) difficulty vs.ease; 2) justice vs. a ability; and 4)political responsivenessvs.unresponsiveness. dichotamiel found bythese studies wereemployed The personal andpolitical control externals with respect (1975) to compareinternals and by Ramaniah,Ribich and Schmeck 1967). and Attitudes(Brown and Holtzmann, to performanceon theSurvey of Study Habits
.192 1 9 1
internals were found to When the dimensionof interest was thepersonal control scale, political control scale was have more effectivestudy habits; however,when the and internals.This scrutinized, thereappeared to be nodifference between externals multidimensionality since, ifLOC did reflect a single anomaly supports thehypothesis of internal-external difference toappear across bipolar characteristic, weshould expect this speculation is that LOCprobably reflects a scales.It seems clear thatthe more fruitful constellation of reasonablyindependent dispositionsand attitudes. (, by dimensionalityresearch is that LOC -The mOst compellingconclusion suggested certain situationaldemands may dimensions are situation ordomain- specific and that However, before weconclude that thenext elicit responsespeculiar to that situation. their internal-external step is to attempt to mapa typologyof situations according to techniques used.All of position, we should notesome limitationsof the investigative 23-item scale.The resulting observed these studies employed someform of the Rotter limited to the contentexpressed by thoseitems: factors, therefore,will necessarily be reported a "powerful Given that fact, it is notsurprising that five ofthe studies surveyed The difficulty liesin the others" factor sincethis factor is implicitin certain items. dimensions. This constrainingnature possibility that no items tapother equally important jointly with thesubjective nature offactor of the techniquesemployed when viewed summative approach. selection and interpretationrecommends a conservative studies is thatwhatever labelling and The common finding amongall of the reported employed, individuals werenoted to be other methodologicaland conceptual devicr were orientation to causalexplanation tends toward characterizable accordingto whether their displacement ofresponsibility on to oneor the taking of personalresponsibility or to the
more externalcauses. 192 alluded to will bediscussed in thesection on The situationalcharacter of LOC of the will examine,particular applications attribution theory.First, however, we character- interaction of LOCwith other cognitiveand affective constructvis-a-vis the and task conditions. istics underspecified instructional
Correlates between other measuresand LOC areincluded Studies which reportrelationships reported pervasive will not includesuch commonly under thisheading.This summary and age (LOCshifts towardinternality effects as sex(males more internalthan females) performance correlates discuss only thosepsychological and with increasedage). We will directly related tovarious aspectsof instruction. shown to investigated, "traitanxiety" h,..s been Among dispositionalcharacteristics for example,adminis-7 related to LOC.Lichtenstein andKeutzer (1967), be c;.Asistently the Anxiety Scale to alarge' groupof adults in tered Rotter'sI-E Scale andthe IPAT between the I- A simplecorrelation of .41 course of asmokins controlresearch program.. indicating'. Aternals tobe more pronethan internals to E and IPATSr:ales wasobserved, debilitating anxiousreactions tosituations. reported consistentfindings. Sixty low-achieving Hountras andScharf (1970) 1 -E Scale andthe TaylorManifest Anxiety freshman males wereadministered Rotter's internals in traitanxiety. that externals werehigher than Scale. Again,results suggested ir, the caseof state anxietyby Weiner This samerelationship hasbeen demonstrated relatively internaland had that successfulstuder is were arid Potepan(1970), who found low test anxiety. be abilities havealso beendemonstrated to Certain cognitivedispositions and relationship betweenLOC andfield- related to LOC. Two studiesexamined the
1 9 4 193
of field- (1971) employed therod-and-frame measure dependence. Lefcourtand Telegdi variables.Significant interactions dependence and theRotter 1-E Scale asindependent of cognitive of verbalproductivity and two measures wereobtained on two measures highest on all field-independentsubjects scored activity.As was expected,internal subjects would score expectation, thatexternal, field-dependent measures.The converse Rather, thetheoretically incongruentgroups lowest ofall, was notsupported. scored lowest oneach measure (external/field-independent andinternal/field-dependent) aptitude-by-treatment This findingisreminiscent of the of"cognitive activity." the complex the section oninstruction and indicates interaction(ATI)1 studies reported in
nature ofLOC. with a series of68 tested male andfemale subjects Chance andGoldstein (1971) time on this testindicatesfield-independencer)and embedded figures.Short disembeddir that while all field-dependence. Results indicated longer discoverytimes indicate decreased the most, internals'disembedding times subjects improvedwith practice, require a field- have an easiertime masteringtasks that suggesting thatinternals will
independent style. "mental or verbalability."Powell and Centa Another set ofstudies focused on with greater mental that :nternalLOC is associated (1972) investigatedthe hypothesis administered Rotter'sI-E Scale, theHenman- ability.Twenty-three Lcdergraduates were of Control(ALOC) (College Level), andthe Adult Locus elson Tests ofMental Ability although modestrelationships intepreted assuggesting significant 54 Iles.Results were at -.51)and the MentalAbil0' between each ofthe LOC scales(which intercorrelated
Scale.
aptitude and one ormore relationship between oneor more 1 whenever the (see Berlinerand An ATI exists different methodsof instruction ,instructional outcomevaries with Cahen, 1973). 194
Brecher and Denmark(1969) reported similar conclusions.Eighty-four female uency test. As subjects were administeredRotter's 1-E Scale and Thurstone's worms expected, mean fluency scoresof internals were significantlyhigher. In a related study,Penk (1969) reported findingswhich demonstrate such a relationship betWeen level ofverbal abstraction and degree ofinternality.Bialer's 1-E Scale and nine experimentaltasks, including inkblots, wordassociation, object sorting, category width preference, etc. wereadministered to small groups ofchild4n.Results indicated that internals werehigher on vocabulary, object sorting;McGaughran's open- public sortings, and ,Rappaport'sfunctional sortings.In addition,internals showed quicker reaction time for word associatesand a facility for Moran'sobject-referent word
associates. Finally, a setof findings have beenreported which suggest arelationship with mental efficiency.Gozali, Cleary, and Gozali(1973) hypothesized that internals use achievement. A largz specific identifiabletest-taking strategies which result in higher ability test group of universitystudents were administeredRotter's I-E Scale and a verbal constructed from ETS' itempool, with test itemsordered for difficulty.This verbal ability test was administeredandrecorded by computer, allowing the use of response but not latency or "time onitem" as a dependent measure.As expected, internals externals used time in a waysystematically related to itemdifficulty. Prociuk and Breen (1974)reported consistent findings.College students were administered th Levenson Internal, Power iulOthers, and ChanceScales and .che Brown- the Powerful Holtzmann Survey of StudyHabits and Att Ludes.The two external scales, Others and the Chance Scales, wereboth related to ineffectivestudy habits and attitudes. Another study, DuCette, Wolk,and Friedman (1972),hypothesized that internals are The IAR and the more active andefficient in both using informationand in creativity.
196 1 9 5 Consistent with Pattern Meanings Test wereadministered to 40 lower-classmales. efficiency for findings of other studies,results indicated greatercreativity and creative
internals. consistent findings.It has been The studies reviewedhave yielded theoretically anxiety reactions, befield- shown that externalt are morelikely to have debilitating and have less dependent, be lower inmental ability, verbalability, and efficiency, all-of these effective study habits andattitudes while internalstend to relatively excel in
areas. singly orin We will turn now tostudies which haveshown how LOC, either in interaction with othercharacteristics , acts as adeterminant of performance quality
various contexts andunder a variety of taskand instructional conditions.
Instruction instructional outcomes hasbeen exam- The relationshipbetween LOC and various that LOC is an importantinstructionally- ined in several studies.Mel is clear evidence psychological, and relevant variable whichoperates differentlywithin various social,
environmental contexts. children's LOC and Shaw and Uhl(1971) studied possiblerelationships between (SES) white and blab< reading scores for lowerand upper-middlesocio-economic status reading ability only amongwhite upper-middleSES groups.Locus of Control related to that externals were poorer children. Inther words, only amongthis group was it the case for this finding was readers than i iternals.The authors speculatedthat a possible reason SES groups may haveproduced that different operativevalues for reading across demonstrated in a numberof differential expectationsfor reading success.It has been influence on instructional areas thatexpectation for successdoes exert a strong
19 / 196
relationship is responsiblefor the successful achievement,and so it may be that this by Shaw and Uhl.linen we qualified relationship betweenLOC and reading ability noted expectation of success come to ourdiscussion of attributiontheory, we will show how reciprocally causal manner. relates to the notions ofinternality and externality in a children. Messer (1972) investigatedLOC and generalacademic achievement among compared with LOC in thisstudy. School grades and tests ofacademic achievement were This It was found thatinternals had higher gradesand achievement test. scores. Such a finding relationship held even when1Q and cognitive impulsivity werecontrolled. the demonstrates that LOC is notrelated to either impulsivity orIQ and is consistent with predictive validity of LOC. Thisfinding Shaw and Uhl (1971)qualification regarding the determinant of achievement. also indicates thatLOC is an independent investigation with entering Nord, Connelly, and Daignault(1974) performed a similar and potter's I-E Scale MBA students. Anadmissions test forgraduate study in business admissions test.were were administered,and data on coursegrades, LOC and the as demonstratingthat the admissions exam was collected. Results were interpreted performance on th& admissions examwere unrelated to.LOC.However, both LOC and showed differentialpredictive related to courseperformance.Moreover, the results A This observed differenceallows an utility of these measures,depending on the course. (ATIs).1And, in fact, inference of the presenceof latent aptitude-treatmentinteractions inVestigatedlals involving LOC. several studies have beenreported which have structure and b'OC on Arlin (1975) studiedthe interactive effectof task and class internals tended to favor open,low- pupil attitudes. On astudent attitude questionnaire, provided with such anenvironment, expressed structure teachingenvironments and when experience. When theinstructional experi- more positiveattitudes -to the instructional there was no difference ence occurredwithin a traditionallystructured environment, between internals and externals. 197 findings.College Parent, Forward, Canterand Mot-ding 0975) reported similar Scale, then engaged in a2-hour minicourse on students wereadministered Rotter's 1-E The condition defined as"high computer programmingtaught in one of two ways. while thz. "low discipline"condition discipline" provided a greatdeal of externr.: structure, differential effects of these twoconditions allowed self-pacing andimposed no rules. The better under the low between LOC groups were asexpected: internals performed achievement under high teacher discipline condition, andexternals demonstrated greater
discipline conditions. College students were Another similar studyis reported by Richand Bush (1978). Rotter's 1-E Scale.Students evaluated classified as internals orexternals according to styles, by completing aquestionnaire following high and lowfaculty-control instructional of lecturing, directing, orproviding each class session. Highcontrol was defined' in terms physical participation,either information, and lowcontrol in terms ofstudent verbal or hypothesized, students ininstruc- independently or student-to-st.ident.As the authors LOC style (ie.,external students/high.control tional conditionscongruent with their own pos. t'veevaluations than students .in and internalstudents/low control) made more their own styles(external students/lowcontrol and situations judgedinoongruent with
internal students/highcontrol). Giat, and Cherney(1974) lend additional Finally, conclusionsreached by Allen, and 37 males in acollege support to the congruenceposition.Subjects were 51 females The format allowedstudents to control PSI (personalizedpsystenof instruction) course. LOC and trait anxiety were pacing and selection ofreas ofinstructional materialt. immediately beforeoral exams. From assessed during the firstclass, and state anxiety internal LOC studentslearned more effici- the results, theresearchers concluded that 198
performed higher on awritten final ently, were less anxiousduring oral assessments, and
exam thanexternal counterparts. relevance of theLOC construct to The studies reviewedpoint directly to the predictability of academicachievement from LOC. instruction.Three focused on the three, with internalsconsistently outperform- Reliablerelationships were indicated by all demonstrate that congruence ing externals. TheAll studies extend thisbasic finding to structural aspects of theinstructional situation are of the learner'sLOC and certain highly and learned more important. For example, it wasfound that internals rated most discipline, or faculty in instructional.situations which werelow in either. structure, deal of structure,Maximize their control.Similarly, externals,who prefer a great and controlled environments. performance potentialitiesin highly structured relatively homogeneous The studies which wehave examined so fardealt with been found to be asalient exp/--- tory mainstream populNions. But LOC has also student populations a'he construct for theachievement relatedbehaviors of special
following studiesdemonstrate.
Deafness demonstrate that therelatively impover- Studies relating deafnessto LOC primarily directly connected both to ademonstrated ished linguistic experienceof deaf students is performance deficits.Three studies arereviewed external orientationand to perceived which pertain directly todeafness and LOC. students, categorized aseither "young" Bodner (1976) assessedLOC among 228 deaf correlates of externalityin a hearing or "adult."it was previously notedthat behavioral condit'i'ons of the linguistically-isolateddeaf who arevin fact sample aporoximatedtthelife The mean ages for the youngand as well as inbelief, dependent onthe external world. 109
,a-dblt groups, respectively, were 11.4and 20.3, with 84 classified as"young" and 144 as Bialer-Cromwell Children's Locus of "adults."A total communication version of the Control 6cale was administeredvia videotape. Preliminary psychometric analyses resulted in the conclusion that theinstrument had unacceptable validityfor the young
group and low reliabilityfor the adult group. However,reliability for adults in the upper
25% of the reading level distribution wassufficiently high to allow comparisonof the deaf
subjects to hearing norms.The preliminary conclusion was thatthe high-reading deaf students were significantly more externallyoriented than hearing norms. Givenwhat we
know about relative performances ofinternals send externals in instructionalsituations,
the implications for theeducation of the hearing-impaired areclear. The above finding was supported byBlanton and Nunnally in a set of twostudies
which employed two differentmeasuring instruments (Blantontic Nunnally, 1%4). The
first used the Bialer-CromwellChildren's Locus of Control Scaleand found that deaf children attributed, to asignificantly greater degree thanhearing controls, the responsi- bility for events to external ratherthan personal or internal ises.The second study Bialer-Cromwell Scale and employed the Locus of EvaluationScale in addition to the
reported consistent findings. Theinteresting assumption underlyingthe second study was that hearing.:7irrnent resultsin relatively little experiencewith evaluational and be affective words.The smaller affective vocabulary ofdeaf students is presumed to directly connected to relativeimmat 'city in social-emotionalgrowthoince it is hypothe- sized that social growth ishighly lependent on the use ofjudgemental affective others for. the evaluation of categories. Therefore, deaf students' dependence on performance results in greater externality. 200 Disabilities disability toLOC. A relate the generalconcept of The followingfive studies to correlatesignificantly cognitive disabilitieswere found variety ofphysical as well as groups tend toexhibit a with normalcontrols, disabled with externality.In comparison orientation. significantly greaterdegree of external Intellectual Achieve- (1978) employedboth the Hallahan, Gajar,Cohen and Tarver LOC and the (1AR), an academic-specificmeasure of mentResponsibilityQuestionnaire Twenty-eight learning Scale, a global measureof the sameconstruct. Nowicki-Strickland administered theseinstruments. disabled (LD)and\/8 normal (matched) teenagers were external' than the controls,although norelationship LD subjects weresignificantly more aspect of thisfinding suggests measures.The multivariate was foundbetween the two pervasive thanpreviously control orientationis even more that the effectof disability on
1$ suspected. between LOCand learning also examinedthe relationship A secondstudy which used the Boersma (1979).These investigators-also disabilities isreported byChapman and other scalesbecause it, believed by someto be animprovement over 1AR.The 1AR is Results indicated for each ofpositive andnegative events. yields twosubscores - one However, no regarding positive.events. that LDsubjects wererelatively external finding, and onethat may negative events.An additional difference wasobserved for negative andfewer is that LDmothers had more offer anexplanation ofthe discrepancy, leigng perhaps to the child'sbelief that, if he ,s po.tytive reactionsto theirchildren, Similarly, ifinteraction withthe mother it must bebecause ofchance, etc. succ ssful, that all in the child,he will likely, assume tends to produce asense ofintrinsic inferiority
failure it attributableto his owndeficiency. (1%5) comparedblind children disability, Landand Vineberg In the areaof physical children were Residential andnonresidential blind with sightedcontrols onLOC. 201
equalized /for Scale was employed,and groups were examined.The Bialer-Cromwell moreexternally-oriented than mental age.Results indicatedthat blind subjects were found, however,between residentialand nonresiden- sighted controls.No difference was
tial blind subjects. . toward various typesof disabilities MacDonald and Hall.(1971) investigated attitudes (211 male and268 female). and LOC for alarge group ofundergraduate students Rotter 3) cosmetic; and4) emotional. The Disabilities included:1) internal; 2) sensory; 0 interaction betweenLOC and typeof Scale wasemplOyed and results indicated an Consistent withexpectations, externals disability in termsof 'ratings ofself-impact. debilitating than internals.In contrast, internalsrated rated physicaldisabilities as more debilitating relative tophysical disabilities. emotionaldisordirs as being more disabled vs. normal Finally, Lipp, Kolstoe,and James(1968) Investigated physically a functionof. LOC. A majorfinding was that subjects' denials ofperceived disabilities as extreme difficultyin perceivingslides of physically disabledsubjects demonstrated They, in effect, with viewing slidesof normal persons. disabled personswhen contrasted This result wasinterpreted asi denial of blocked perception ofother disabled persons. other studies.Contrary to theinvestigators' disability, consistentwith findings from less denying oftheir disabilitiesthan expectations, externaldisabled subjects were td less explained in termsof externals'being accustomed internals. Thisphenomenon was by the loss ofcontrol implied byphysical perceived control andtherefore less threatened
disability. thus f. r gives us reasonto believethat LOC is All of the research wehave examined features of thein!tructional process.This being so, responsive to avariety of situational of changes in that LOC maybe manipulablein consequence we are'eta the speculation suggests thatsuch change ispossible. these features, and,In fact, research
20j 202
Changeability whichidicate that certainexperiences A number ofstudies.have yielded findings changes in LOC. These findings are and/or environmental'conditionscan produce experience FOUTds (1971) hypothesized that agrowth group consistent withLOC Theory. sessions were would increase participants'internality. The of 8 weekly 41/2 hour sessions of personalresponsi- explicitly intended toprovide an environmentin which acceptance volunteered to participatein this experi- bility was encouraged.Thirty undergraduateS from a psychology course.All subjects were mental group whilecontrols were selected although only theexperimental group administered Rotter's1-E Scale pre and post, risk and openness,and "straight participated in thesessions. The sessions encouraged nonverbal and psychodramaexercises which talk" was urged.The sensory awareness, experience wereperformed in asupportive made up thelargest part of the group shift toward experimental groupevidenced a significant environment.As expected, the must be indicated for thecontrOl. group. This finding internality. Nochange in LOC was fact that theexperimental subjects were cautiously interpreted,hoWever, in view of the selected. The factthat the experimentalsubjects had volunteers whilethe controls were change, and thedesire for change is a volunteered meansthat this groupalready desired
necessarycondition of its occurence. (1973) demonstratedthat LOr, changes may In anotherstudy, Nowickiand Barnes The Nowicki-StricklandScale for Children was result from astructured camp experience. these administrations and post.During the weekintervening between administered, pre fl structured campexperience.Significant shifts inner-city teenagersparticipated ie a this finding isconsistent with otherresults toward internality wereobserved. Once again,
although the authors notethe lack of propercontrols. changes in LOC. asa functionof induced success Several studieshave investigated
Y) 203 isthat sincecontrol and/or failure. The underlying assumption inthese studies manipulation of successand orientation is closelylinked to performance expectancy, failure perceptionsshould result in a shift inorientation. Problem-solving styles havebeen characterized along aninner-outer continuum style is defined in terms analogous to control orientation.Outer directed problem-solving directedness is characterizedby of reliance on concretesituational cues, whereas inner that manipulating attempts to deduceabstract relations, It has been demonstrated task cues so that success and failurein problem - solving situations aswell as manipulating either. internal or externalstrategies tasks will be perceivedby subjects as requiring results in a shift incontrol orientation. children's MacMillan and Wright(1974) reported. findingswhich indicate that the experimental task is problem-solving styles change onthe LOC dimension when performed either successfully orunsuccess- preceded by a similartask on which the child assigned to success orfailure fully.Second, fourth, and sixthgraders were randomly solving task.It was assumed problem-solving conditions,followed by a simi -mance.Greater externally- that outer directednesscould be inferredfro, iftnrt) were observed following oriented behavior andperceptions (as adduced ..
failure conditions. (1968) reported that62 undergraduate Consistentwiththisfinding, Gorman directly following thefailure McCarthy supporters scoredextremely high on externality Because there are no.Introls otherinterpretations at the 1%8Democratic Convention. however, is consistent with may be possible,and caution must beexercised. This finding, induced failure. MacMillan and Wright(1974) in terms of the effect of findings. Of 88 undergraduates Brecher and Denmark(1972) also reported consistent 66 were used ascontrols, and the remaining who were administeredthe Rotter 1-E scale, 20.4 consisted of condition. Theexperimental condition 22 were assigned tothe experimental previously (three concerning theirperformance on.a strong negativefeedback to students The before theycompleted the 1-E scale. weeks) administered examimr ediately had ever seen,that that the exams werethe worst she instructorreported to this group had failed with and that more than onehalf of the class she would notbe returning them, significantly greaterexternality for the the rest doingpoorly.The results indicated perceptions of failureevidently exercised astrong experimental group.Once again, introduction of failureapparently can influence on controlorientation.Furthermore, the 'Likewise, we shouldexpect that be sufficient toprovide a shifttoward externality. shift in the internaldirection. successwill be related to a induced success/failure areparticularly 'intriguing Two aspects ofthe findings on unequivocal and easily the variablesmanipulated are and suggestive.In the first place, suggest that anindividual's LOC isquite malleable, replicable.Secondly, these findings, experiences having apredictable effect. with relevantprecipitative features in the the effect ofsalience of structured Several studieshave examined availability of internal expected to producebelief in the learning situationwhich would be instructions onLOC. examined the effectof experimental control.Eisenman (1972) they had to verbal conditioningstudies wherein College studentsparticipated in three Fifty subjects had begun eachof 30 sentences. guess withwhich pronounanother student Fifty other could lead toexcellent guesses. were toldthat their"clinical sensitivity" that of their,choicinvould bepurely chance, and subjects were toldthat the correctness A'third group offifty subjects guesses wastrader study. the distributionof their random As administered the Rotter1-E Scale,both pre and post. servd as controls.AU were congruent withthe LOC occurredin directions hypothesized, changesin subjects' increased internal (i.e.,"clinicalsensitivity") instructions experimentalinstructions. The
206 205
No shift internality, while external(i.e., "random") instructions increasedexternality.
was 1»dicated forcontrol subjects.
Pedhazur and Wheeler(1971) reported consistent results. Fifty-three minority children identified as externalsread a story which made perceivedinternal control more increase in salient. Post administration of theBialer Scale for LOC indicated an internality. While propercontrols were lacking and subjects wereminority children and consistent with other findings. hence not representative,the results are nonetheless Johnson and Croft (1975) also revealedsimilar findings.The relationship between (PSI) course was the primary LOC and performance in apersonalized system of instruction college focus here. LOC wasassessed by Rotter'sI-E Scaleboth pre and post for 179 Standard PSI features were present,such as studentsenrolled in a personality course. individual contracting and pacing,explicit structure, and explicitlyfo4mulated criteria. toward Although .LOC was notrelated to courseperformance, significant change increased the salience of theavail- internality was observed. ThePSI features probably studies. . ability of internal controlin a fashion similar tothat in the previously discussed which give rise to Taken as a set, these studies suggestessentially threp conditions the need for a non- predictable changes in LOC. The Foulds (1971) study suggests induced success/failure threatening, supportiveenvironment. The findings from the of learning.It studies are fascinatingin their simplicity andadherence to basic principles become more external in theirLOC. was shown thatsubjects who experience only failure be seen as an extii ctiontrial.The This makes sense in thateach instance of failure can :ffort seem to individual's belief in theavailability of success andhis consequent that internality may be systematically decrease overtrials.Conversely, it was shown interpreted as revealing an increased by the induction of success.This finding has been instance of success seems to actlike a opposite side to the failureeffect. That is, each 206 belief in internal reinforcement trial,with systematic incrementsin the individual's for change seemsto be control appearing overtrials.The third condition necessary stated, subjects knowledge of and beliefin the availability ofinternal control. Otherwise between theirbehaviors and must be awareof band believe in thecausal relationship manipulable by changingenvironmental results.Such awareness hasbeen shown to be cued in such a waythat demands forinternality become salient. would probably notproduce shifts, Simply instructingsubjects in these matters th'at specific experiencesof however.The preceding findingsdo- sukgest, nevertheless, orientation in eitherdirection short duration canproduce predictableshifts in control along the LOCcontinuum. demonstrated Further study in thechangeability of LOCorientation given the of special interestfor relationship betweenachievement performanceand LOC is theoretical elaborationand instructional research.Such future studywill benefit the theory. refinement of the LOCconstruct asprovided by attribution
Amendments and Contributionsof AttributionThe foundation for explainingperfor- While the internal-externaldichotomy affords a of the dynamicsof control, it mance differencesin terms of theindividual's perception differences.In fact, with has been argued tobe inadequate as atotal account of these folloWing positive affective respect to suchphenomena as shifts inexpectancy of success makes predictions in experiences, the sociallearning theory constructof locus of control substantiated byresearch grounded in the oppositedirection from thosethat have been of the control constructoffered by attribution theory.Basically, the reconceptualization affective experiences,which attribution theory isintended to account forthose transient orientations of individuals asthey though transient,nevertheless influencethe control
20& 207 respond to the immediate demands of variouslystructured situations.Where locus of control as formalized by Rotter refers to arelatively stable dispositional characteristic of indiliduals, attribution theory suggests 1) that situational features accountat least in part for these apparent dispositions,and 2) that contextual variations can account for someof the predictive failures of social learningtheory. In educational research,Bernard Weiner's work ,has en most influentialin recasting the control construct in termsof responsibility attributn.Rather than there being a single question regarding theperson's disposition to locate caes either internally or externally, two questions areraised:1). Is control located internally or externally, and
2) Is the causal explanation providedgrounded in stable conditions of either person or environment or is it grounded in some moreephemeral condition of person or environ- ment?Questions for research probe therelationship of these attributions to general motivational and other effectual predispositionsand to' the effect, of contextual manipu- lations. Weiner arguesthat reconceptualization ofthe control construct in line with these kinds of questions can yield a total theoryof motivation which will enable us toexplain classroom success and failure.By providing such a motivationalexplanation, he also asserts that 'it is possible toderive concrete recommendations for classroompractice. In the process of reconceptualizing the construct,Weiner (1979) argues that "locus of control" is not a single construct.Rather it is to be measured alongthree axes or that dimensions. Causal attributions occur always alongthese three dimensions, so causality 1) may be either internal orexternal to the individual,2) may be attribt red either to stable or to changingconditions (a causal explanation atthe unstable end of t axis is not an explanation that will beinvoked in dissimilarsituations), and 3) a person's intentions may or may not beperceived to affect consequences. Weiner argues that each of the threedimensions has a primarypsychological 208 expedtancy of connection: stability isconnected to and predictiveof the magnitude of in.some success following success -if a person accustomed tofailure achieves success likelihood that his expectationsfor future situation and attributesit to luck, there is little self-esteem.Since self- success will beraised; internality isposited to be linked to to external esteem is necessary tothe preservation of theperson's integrity, attribution perceived controllability is causes is sometimesnecessary in theinterest of survival; attribution to the internal directly linked to task evaluation.In concrete 'terms, a success which necessarily lead to and stable factor ofability yields feelings of competence perceptions of control. expectancy of success,positive evaluation of thetask and of a cognition-emotion sequence: The model whichWeiner proposes is in terms is generated by an outcomein an achievement I) An immediate emotional response situation.
2) This outcome is attributedto some cause. is processed to form arelatively stable self-perceptionand 3) This causal information
a stable set ofexpectancies. act on performancein future achievement 4) EXpectancies for future performance
situations.
settings by providingdifferent emotional Weiner concludes thatmanipulation of classroom perceptions since thechain is begun with experiences can mediatechanges in these causal
an emotionalresponse. between causal ascriptionand affect A series of studiesexploring the relationship increase the tendency (Weiner et al. 1972)demonstrated that stable,internal ascriptions is true of ascriptions to for self-rewardand self-punishmerivand that the converse studies it was furtherdemonstrated that unstable, external factors.In this series of
2i 209
ascription, i.e. expectancy expectancy of successIs mediated primarilyby the stability of attributes failure tohis of success is notlikely to change immediatelyfor a person who Concomitantly, ascription of successto internal, ownrelatively stable lack ofability. and greater expec- staNe, and controllablecauses (effort)leads_to greater self-reward from these studies is thattask difficulty(an tancy of success.An interesting conclusion mediating the tendency to external and uncontrollablecause) appears to be a salient cue Tasks of intermediatedifficulty expend effort and therebyrisk the loss of self-esteem. expenditure meets with success, seem to elicitthe greatest effortexpenditure. When this becomes typical effort. expectancy for futuresuccess increases,and immediate effort achievement situations Clearly the desirablestate of affairswould be for persons in typical effort andability.It seems that the wayto to ascriberesponsibility to their own students with moderatelydifficult tasks, ortasks accomplish thiswould be to provide the situation so thatthe which they can perceiveas moderatelydifficult and to structure cognition-emotion sequence,this success will outcome will besuccessful.In terms of the be attributed tosome cause. elicit a positiveemotional response.That response will that perceived causewill be the Now, if a reasonableamount of efforthas been expended, between the positiveemotional effort.That in turn will lead to aperceived connection expenditure, which leadsto theprediction of state associatedwith success and effort effort, and finallywill lead to theactual future success giventhe expenditure of condition of actual successin fairly expenditure of effortwhich is at least a necessary
structured achievementsituations. and Goldstein(1976) have As noted at the startof this section,Weiner, Nierenberg, make contrastingpredictions argued that sociallearning theory andattribution theory Success experiences weremanipulated in a regarding expectancyof success in generals that expectancy of success study involving 126male undergraduates.It was demonstrated 21,0 of control are not is related tostability of perceivedcontrol but that perceptions significantly related toeither expectancy of success or tonumbers of prior, successes. stable attribution of control totask 'ease, and What this means isthat a person may have a since we can notalways count on this will not increasehis expectation of future success which are attributed toexternal tasks to be easy. Nor will alarge number of successes and failure causes increase expectancyof success.Hos/ever, if one thinks that success of self action, are under selfcontrol and that this controlderives from stable features Success alone is not asufficient then success will beexpected in future situations. one. The nemati condition to insure expectancyof success although it is a necessary of expectancies of success arepast success and sufficient,conditions for the promotion combined with attribution tostable, internal, andcontrollable causes. attribution of causal A number of studieshave investigated therelationship between other characteristics of the responsibility to stable, internal,controllable causes, and
person. that response to failureand responsibility Diener and Dweck(1976) provide evidence While mastery- attribution differs forhelpless children andmastery-oriented children. and formulation ofremedial strategies, oriented children engagein self - instruction by their own lackof ability, .They make helpless children verbalizethat failure is caused Mastery-oriented children, onthe other uncontrollable, stable, internalattributions.. and thus formulatealternative responses. hand, believe inthe efficacy of their own effort (1962) revealed a high corn'ation A study by Crandall,Katkovsky, and Preston responsibility attribution.The nom between valuing achievementand internal, stable is an excellent predictor important finding inthis study was thatresponsibility attribution is possible tomanipulate responsibillq of achievementbehaviors.If, as Weiner claims, it provide positive emotional responseslinker attributions by changingclassroom settings to
212 2 1 1
r. implication, it is possible topromote appropriateachievement toresponsibility, then by behavAors relationship between studentratings of a Ames and Lau(1979) investigated the internality was related topositive course andattribution pecceptionsand discovered that while the reverse was truefor courseevaluations independentlyof grade received, positive 7 valuation wasalways accompanied externals. Forexternally-oriented students, corroborated by Stebbins andStone (1977). by a high grade.This finding was f),e- attributions were foti4diin a study Relationships between successand stable internal Students were found tomake attributions toothers' by Arkin andMaruyama (1979). Successful students attributedothers' outcomes that weremirrored to self attributions. as often asthey did their own.The reverse was,, outcomes tostable and internal causes true ofunsuccessful students. failure seems tobe attributed tointernal factors In general, successmore than interesting study bySimon and Feather(1973) (Lugenbuhl, Crowe andKahan, 1975)0 An of the a weightedcombination of properties demonstrates thatthis tendency represents Simon and Featherdiscovered that variableand person andproperties of the task. invoked as causeswhen outcomesviolate external factors aremost likelyto be examination and who expectations. Thus, astudent who believeshimself prepared for an in writing, and yetfails, is likely toattribute expends a considerableamount of effort such as luck. Thiscould explain thefindings his/her failure to anexternal variable cause in light of Weiner'ssuggestion thatdifferent reported ahove,especially when viewed attribution formation. settings might provideopportunity for differential that both theaffect-laden experienceof self- Ames, Ames, andFelker (1977) found for success andfailure arehighly evaluation and theattribution of responsibility, is based on acompetitive or anoncompetitive dependent on whetherthe reward structure 21.2 Ira found. In thisstudy, both self and otherjudgments were situation.Differential effects on or achievement puzzlesin either acooperative pairsoffifth gradeboys solved situation, 'failure wasself-punished, strong competitive situation.In the competitive themselves to beless competent negative affect waspresent, and(Kailure subjects felt framework ofattribution theoryis than their partners.Once again,the theoretical of this sort of with self-esteem.A primary outcome confirmed sinceaffect is associated of cause to lackof ability. With repeated negative experiencewill be attribution depressed stable self-perception,and will lead to occurrences,thiswill become a behaviors. expectancy of success,and adecrement in achievement effect of situationalstructure onresponsioility One final studydealing with the generalized, Phares and}Nilson(1972).Theyfound that atibution was carriedout by the cues are with greaterforceinsituations where usalexpectancies operate it was fouhd thatthe provision ofexpliCit cues ambiguous. In highlystructured situations ph Ong of Where the cues forthe appropriate depresses individualresponstetendencies. subjects revert togeneralized dispositions. responsibility areambiguous, however, appears to.be of responsibilityand motivation This approach tothe problem There is hope thatif the environmentis potentially fruitfulfor classroompurposes. experiences withachievement manipulated in waysthat associatepositive affective capitalize onstudents' controllable situations, and ifthe reward systemis structured to self-esteem andexpectancy of should see anincrease in the skills andabilities, we
competencerequisite to actual success.
211 2 1 3
Summary and Implications
of the control This final section will berestricted to a discussion of theimplications for research and practice construct, particularly asreformulated by attribution theorists, conclude fronitour searchof the in the teaching ofhearing-impaired students. We can literature that theexperienced-based intuitions ofNTID faculty are corroborated, Hearing-impaired students doexhibit a relatively greatertendency toward externality, and externality is related to poorerachievement and less effectivestudy habits and populations must be attitudes.While conclusions specificallyregarding hearing-impaired qualified in view of the smallnumber of reported studies, it issuggestive .that no studies likely to exhibit report results contradictoryto the conclusionthat such students are more the limited number of studiesrelating hearing- an externalorientation. Moreover, despite relatively large number of studiesthat impairment tocontrol orientation, there exists a findings, despite grouped under the rubricof "special populations."The consistency of concerning hearing-impaired variations of impairments,adds force to the arguments
students. hypothesized greater externalityof We can easily understandthe reason for this hearing-impaired students particularly-when we take account ofthe situational contin- In fact, as well as inbelief, gency of controlirientation proposed byattribution theory. others than is a deaf persons are moredependent on the externalworld and on powerful a consequenceof the physical normally hearing person.Not only is such dependency Handi- handicap itself, it is alsopromoted by the typical formsof social interaction. would be defined asoverly=dependent in a capped persons arerewarded foe behaviors that have a special problem evenwhen physically normal person.And the .hearing-impaired Their compared with otherhandicapped and otherwisedisadvantaged populations. 2 1 4 communities leavesthem isolation from thedominant communicative modein human judgment of their actions.The one study we more dependent onothers for evaluation and 11 of evalua41.on" and itsrelationship to the range discovered dealingwith the "locus of of controlorientation affective vocabulary encouragesus to thinkthat the manipulation factors will yield onlyequivocal results. rut attention tosituational and affective given in social learningtheory . We take as ourstarting point theformulation of LOC to regardcontrol over outcomesto either as a relativelystable disposition of persons prime determinantof internar or external causes.We Conceiveof this predisposition as a within the context ofattribution theory and achievement outcomes.However, the studies original paradigm. lead usto believe thatsituational and even SRfstudies within the moderate the relativelystable control affective characteristicsfully cross with and .0- view, 'we should beable to devise somefeasible predisposition.Taking this point of Consideration of transientaffective and strategies forinvestigating LOC at NTID. productive of changethan a focus solely on situational factorsshould be ultimately more
what has been defined as arelatively stablepredisposition. investigation of thedistribution of the Preliminary study, then,should focus on the of control forNTID students.Such a study stable predispositionalcomponent of locus of a psychometricallysound should include, but notbe limited to,the development This would formthe instrument for assessingLOC amonghearing-impaired students.
basis for comparativestudy. different fromthe :'otter Scaleand other The proposedinstrument would be attribution theory w,uld °entail ourcharac- traditional instrumentssince its grounding in characteristic. Thereader will terizing the stablecomponent of LOC as aunidimensional concluded in favorof the multidimension- recall that social-learningtheory researchers for such aconclusion is thattraditional ality of the construct.We suspect that the reason 2 1 5 and the stable componentsof control social-learning theorycombines the transient with perceptionof the orientation. Since Ithas been demonstratedthat LOC does shift moods, we proposethat the variousfactors demands ofenvironmental cues and transient We can'speculate that separating be .distInguishedin thepsychoMetric instrument. that these transientcomponents transient fromstable componentsunder the assumption will enable us toihvestigate the act asmoderator variables onthe stable predisposition along the affective responsesrelated to fluctuations environmentalcontingencies and internal-external continuum. formulate some tentativehypotheses regardingNTID Given thisframework, we may evaluations will supportthe faculty's students. We may supposethat our psychometric externally oriented.This orientation wewill hypothesis that NTIDstudents are relatively Simultaneously, we areled to look forfeatures of suppose ispervasive and stable. that provide cuesthat provoke externalcausal instructional contentand organization will fluct'uate withdifferential perceptions. We wouldsuspect tt)atthe stable component that the situation. Finally, we must suppose perceived demandsin the educational which they appear tosignal externality or perception of these cues,that is the degree to the situation.This implies internality, is related tothe student'saffective response to external attributionsin a learning that a student highin externalitywill make more anxiety, andthreatens the self- situation which iscontrolled by theteacher, provokes confronted with cues that this samestudent, when esteem.Conversely, we r .ay expect responsibility within acontext designed tomaximize which demandperception of personal make (relative tohis own predispositional self-esteem and minimizeaffective threat, will should provoke greater attributions.This, in turn, responsetendency) fewer external and a shift towardrelative activity and time ontask so as tomaximize achievement
internality. 216 those However, when thinkingalong the above lines, we mustalso keep in mind locus of control anddemon- studies .which investigatedthe instructional relevance of stable personality aspectsis strated that congruencebetween instructional technique and externally-oriented student in an critical in achievement.It will not do to simply place an ultimately prove environment whichdemands personal control.Such a strategy would between person andenvi-on- disastrous because theaffective aspect of the interaction match externally-orient.edstudents merit would beoverlooked.Nor will it do simply 'to externality, although such a with learning environmentswhich allow and encourage What is dictated is an strategy mightinitially produce greaterachievement effects. demanding internality aregradually incremental approachwhere environmental cues
introduced withinsituations that produce positiveaffect. psychology. Such an approach isconsistent with other findingsin educational congruence/accomodation model with Aptitude-treatment interactionssimilarly support a trait anxiety, andachievement other nonability measures,such Ps cognitive style, instructional tecnnique. orientation, characteristicswhich also interact with directionisan Ln terms of futureinstructional research, then,one possible look at such investigation of a seriesof matching/mismatchingstudies which would We would expect tofind some variables in combinatoryeffect with locus ofcontrol. positive affect, would'also optimal level ofmatching which, whileproducing the requisite would allow for thetesting of other promote change.Multivariate studies of this sort conjoint influence of univariate hypotheses aswell as provide a groundfc. testing the
several variables. theory impacts mostforcefully on Clearly, this approachsuggested by attribution Strategies which simply the issue ofchangeability of perceivedlocus of control. only equivocal resultswhen pervasive and manipulate task outcomeswill necessarily yield 2 1 7
n strategies do notand cannot is desired,since such relatively stablechange in perception learner expectation,perceived demonstrated crucialaspects of take accountof the the actualresponsibility simple input-outputmodel neglects effort, andself-integrity. A responsibility onthe learning, andplaces the entire students dohave for their own did producereported shifts in analysis,if such strategies educator. In the final manipula- be totallydependent onenvironmental perception, inreality thelearner would tion and thewhims ofhappenstance. 218
References
Abrahamson, D., Schludermann, S. and Schludermann,E. Replication of dimensions of locus of control. Journal of Consulting and ClinicalPsychology, 1973, 41(2), 320. Allen, G. J., Giat, L. and Cherney, R. J.Locus of control, test anxiety, and student
performance in a personalized instruction course.Journal of Education;.) Psycho-
logy, 1974, 66(6), 968-973. Ames, C., Ames, R., and Felker, D. W.Effects of competitive reward structure and
valence of outcome on 'children's achievement attributions.Journal of Educational
Ils.ychology, 1977, 69(1), 1-8.
Ames, R., and Lau, S.An attributional approach to the validity ofstudent ratings of
instruction. Contemporary Educational ply c hob:my ,1979, 4, 26-39.
Arkin, R. M. and Maruyama, G. M.Attribution, affect, and college examplerformance.
Journal of Educational Psychology, 1979, 71(1), 85-93. Arlin, M. The interaction of locus of con' classroom structure, and pupil satisfaction.
Psychology in the Schools, 12(3), July £:15.
Berliner, D. C., and Cahen, L. S.Trait-Treatment Interaction and Learning.In (Fred N.
Kerlinger (Ed.) Review of Research in Education 1.
Blanton,R.L. and Nunnally, 1 C. Evaluational language processes in the deaf.
Psychological Reports, 1964, 15, 891494.
Bodner, B. and Johns, 1 A study of locus oi controland hearing impaired students. Paper presented at the National Convention of the A.G.Bell Association for the Deaf,
Boston, Massachusetts, Arm 23-26, 1976.
Brecher, M. and Denmark, F. L.Internal-external locus of control andverbalfluency.
clyiological Reports, 1969, 25, 707-710.
22 2 1 9
Brecher, M. and Denmark,F. L. Locus of control effects of aserendipitous manipulation. psysticjlogIcallpteReports, 1972, 30, 461-462. Manual. The Brown, W. F., andHoltzman, W. H.Survey of Study Habits and Attitudes Psychological Corporation, NewYork, 1967. reinforcement and Chance, J. E. and Goldstein,A.. G. Internal- external control of
embedded-figures performance.Perception & Psychophysics, 1971,9(1A). control, and mother Chapman, J. W. andBoersma, F. J.Learning disabilities, locus of attitudes. Journal of EducationalPsychology., 1979, 71(2), 250-258.
Collins, B. E. Four componentsof the rotter internal-externalscale: Fief in a difficult
World, a just world, a predictable work, and apolitically responsive world.Journal
of Personality of SocialPsychology, 1974, 29(3), 381-391. determinants of Crandall, V. 1., Katkovsky, W. andPreston, A. Motivational and ability 1962, 33, young children'sintellectual achievementbehaviors. Child Development,
643-661. changes in Diener, C. L, andDweck, C. S. An analysis oflearned helplessness: continuous Journal of performance, strategy, andachievement cognitibns followingfailure.
Personality andSocial Psychology, 1978,36, 451-462. The Journal of DuCette, 1, Wolk, S. andFriedman, S.Replications and refinements.
Social Psychology, 1972,88, 297-298.
Eisenman, R. Experience in experimentsand change in internal-external cal Ps cholo ,1972, 39, 434-435. controlcores. 3ournalof C Clinical experience. Foulds, M. L.changes in locus of internal-externalcontrol. A growth group
Comparative Group Studies,August 1971, 293-300.. following politicaldis- Gorman,. S.B. An observation of alteredlocus of control
appointment. PsychologicalReports, 1%8, 23, 1094.
221 220
Goza li,H., Cleary, T. A.,Walste.";7\G. W. and Cozali, J.Relationship between the internal-external control constructand achievement. Journal of Educational
Psychology, 1973, 64(1), 9-14.
Hallahan, D. P., Gajar, A. H., Cohen,S. B. and Tarver, S. G. Selective attentionand locus
of control in learning disabled and normalchildren. Journal of Learning Disabilities.
April ,1978, 11(4), 47-52.
Hountras, P. T. and Scharf, M. C.Mainfest anxiety and locus ofcontrol of low-achieving
college males. The Journal of Psychology,1970, 74, 95-100.
Joe, V.C. and Jahn, 3. C. Factor structure of the rotterI-E scale. Journal of Clinical
Psychology, 1973, 29, 6648.
Johnson, W. G. and Croft, R. G. F. Locus ofcontrol and participation in apersonalized
system of instruction course.Journal of Educational Psychology,1975, 57(3), 416-
421. Kleiber, 13., Veldman, D. 3. and Menaker,S. L.The multidimensionality of locus of control. Journal of ClinicalPsychology, 1973, 29, 411-416.
Kearney, M. J. and Kearney,3. F.Multidimensionality of locus of control infemales.
ERIC, ED 147 713, January, 1977.
Land, S. L. and Vineberg, S. E.Locus of control in blind children.Exceptional Child,
Jan., 4965.
Lef court, H. M. and Telegdi, M.S.Perceived locus ofcontrol'and field dependence as predictors of cognitive activity.Journal Consulting and ClinicalPsychology,
1971, 37 (1), 53-56. Lichtenstein, E. and Keutzer, C. S.Further normative andcorrelational data on the internal-external (1 -E) control ofReinforcement Scale. Ps tty Jclogsaillemn,
1%7, 21, 1014-1016. 221 Denial of disability andinternal control of Lipp,L., Kolstoe, R. andJames, W. reinforcement. 3ournal ofEducational x, 1968,au, 72-75. and failure. Lugenbuhl, J., Crowe, 13.,and Kahan, 3.Causal attributions for success
Journal of Personality Psychology, 1975, 31, 86-93. control and perceptionof ..knald, A. P. and Hall,3. Internal external locus of 338-343. disability. 3ournal ofConsulting and ClinicalPsychology, 1971, 36, of three ages as a MacMillan, D. L. and Wright,D. L.Outerdirectedness in children 3ournal of Educational function of experimentallyinduced success andfailure.
Psychology, 1974,4 6(6),919-925. control to academicperformance. Child Messer, S. B. Therelation of internal-external
Development, 1972, 43,1456-1462. control.Journal of Consulting and Mirels, L. Dimensions ofintanal versus external Clinical21ystjalolo , 1970, 34(2),226-228. Locus of control andaptitude test scores as Nord, W. R., Connelly,F. and Daignault, G. Psychology, 1974, predictors ofacademic achievement.Journal of Educational
66(6), 956-961. experience on locus of Nowicki, S., Jr. andBarnes, 3.Effects of a structured camp Psychology., 1973, 122,247-252. control orientation.The Journal of Genetic interactive effects ofteaching Parent, 3., Forward, 3.Canter, R. and Mohling,3. and satisfaction. strategy and personallocus of control onstudent performance 764-769. Journal of EducationalPsychology, 1975, 87(6), control and needachievement. Pedhazur, L. and Wheel br,L. Locus of perceived
Perceptual and Moto Skills,1971, 33, 1281-1282. locus of control scale. Penk, W. E.Age changes and correlatesof internal-external Reports, 1%9, 25, 856. 2;2 Role of outcomeseverity, Phares, E. 3. andWilson, K. G.Responsibility attribution: Journal of Personality,1972, situational ambiguity,and internal-externalcontrol.
40, 392.-406(b). and mental ability.Psychological Powell A. and Centa,D.Adult locus of control &ports, 1972, 30,829-830. habits and attitudes,and college Prociuk, T. 3. andBreen, L. 3. Locusof control, study Psychology, 1974, 88,91-95. academic performance.The Journal of Internal externalcontrol of Ramanaiah, N. V.,Ribich, F. D. andSchmeck, R. R. attitudes. Journal of reinforcement as adeterminant of studyhabits and academic o
ResearchinPersonality, 1975, 9,375-384. comments on mycomments. Psychological Rapoport, A.Reply to Dr. Harris 1969, 25, 857 -858. congruent teacher-studentcharacteristics on Rich, H. L., andBush, A. 3.The effect of Research Journal,1978, 15, 451-457. instructional,outcomes.American Educational external controlof rein- Rotter, 3. B.Generalized Expectanciesfor internal versus 609, 1966. forcement.Psychological h, Whole No. and academicachievement. The Shaw, R. L. andUhl, N. P.Control of reinforcement Journal of EducationalResearch, 64(5), January1971. attributions for successand failure atuniversity Simon, 3. G., andFeather, N. T. Causal Psychology, 1973, 64,46-56. examinations. Journalof Educational control-and theattribution of responsibi Stebbins, P. and 'hone,G. L.internal-external conditions. Journalof CounselingPsychology, lity underqi,zstionnaire and interview 1977,24(2), 165-168. perceived locus ofcontrol two replications.Journal Viney, L. L.Multidimensionality of 1974, 42(3), 463-464. of Consultingand 223
Journal of Weiner, B. A theory of motivation for someclassroom experiences. Educational Psychology; 1979, (1), 3-25. of Weiner, B. and Heckhausen,H. Causal ascriptions andachievement behavior. Journal
Personality & Social Psychology,1972, 24(2), 239-248. control) versus Weiner, B., Nlerenberg,R. and Goldstein, M.Social learning (locus of attributional (causal stability)interpretations of expectancy of success,Journal of
Personality, 1976, 44, 52-68.
Weiner, B. and Potepan, P. A.Personality characteristics and affectivereactions toward
exams of superiorand failing college students.Journal of Educational Psychology,
1970, 61(2), 144-151. Research on Motivation in Rducati I Settings:
Implications for Rearing-Impaired Students
Michael Stinson
22 6 "t
227
Research on Motivation in Educational
Settings: Implications for Hearing-Impaired Students
A foremost concern in educationis the creation of learning environments
that are optimally motivating. Encouraging the development of particular
motivational tendencies in students is itself animportant educational goal.
Gardner (1965) has stressed theimportance to society of having individuals
who are committed to achieving excellence. It is only this way that indi-
viduals and society can achievetheir full potential.Another goal is the
promotion of a humanistic orientation;i.e. an orientation in which the student
is friendly, able to support others,empathic and tolerant of individual
differences (Aronson, Blaney, Stephan, Blaney,Stephan, Sikes and Snapp,
A poorly motivated 1978). Iraddition, motivation is crucial forlearning.
student will learn little, even ifability if high (Welber& and Ugoroglu,
level where education is not in press). Furthermore% at the post - secondary
compulsory, lack of motivationis often important underlying reasonfor with-
drawal (White, Mete I).
Research on the importance ofmotivation to education has beanrestricted
to a few populations,such as non-handicapped studentsfrom miedle class
backgrounds (See reviews of thiswork by Ball, 1977; Johnson andJohnson,
1974; Maehr, 1976; Slavin,1977; Weiner, 1979.) In cettrast, other populations
of students such as thosewith physics! disabilities homreceived considerably
less eeearrh attention. For example, a recent reviewof research on deafness
by by Meadow (1975) does notinclude a single study on therelation between with motivationand educations! achievement. The present paper is concerned 228
secon- the motivation of hearing-impairedstudents, particularly those at the
dary and post-secondary levels. Research in this area might suggestinstruc-
tional approaches that can increasethe motivation of students, and conse-
quently help them educationally.
The type of motivation thatis most strongly elicited in classwill
depend upon which one is rewardedand encouraged (Slavin, 1977; Veroff,1969).
performance If the teacher emphasizes thecomparison between the student's own
and that of other'children, he maybe encouraging motivation tobe competitive.
If the teacher emphasizes to thestudents how well they areperforming relative
motivation to be autonomous. to their previousachievement, he may be encouraging
Finally, if the teacher emphasizes"team work" and the sharing ofrewards,
he may be encouraging motivation tobe cooperative. Each of these'orientations
discussion will show. Further- has ',a benefits anddrawbacks, as subsequent
more, it seems thateach orientation deserves aplace.in the educational
program. variety of techni- The reader should notethat each orientation permits a classrooms with an autonomous ques to motivatestudents. For example; two
motivational orientation may havequite different: effects. In one class
responsible the material is intrinsicallyinteresting and the student is would expect a high level for monitoringhisprogress. In this class one material is of intrinsic motivation amongstudents. In another class the In Otis class one would dull and the teachergives a grade for each lesson. (Intrinsic motivation will expect a lower level ofintrinsic motivation.
be defined later.)
0
22 229
r4th him Individual differences are alsoimportant., A student brings
that will influence to the classroomcertain personality characteristics
The manifest res..- his, interpretation of aparticular motivational stimulus. Motivation ii not viewed as ponse itself, however,is situation specific. predictive of behavior a general personalitycharacteristic that is highly in a vide variety ofsituations (cf Mischel,1973). in understand- Figure 1 (page 5) identifiesdimensions that seem important be concerned vial these ing studeht "salvation. Subsequent discuogion will dimensions, with the effects ofautonomous-, competition-end cooperation-
reviews oriented classrooms beingemphasized. The first half of the paper have implications for research on normallyhearing students that seems to
"understanding the motivation ofhearing-impaired students,
Research on NormallyHearini_Eudents
Orientations in Clessroome WithDifferent Motivstiohal
Autonomy - oriented Classrooms and reward are not Classrooliss in which thecriteria for achievement autonomous orien- related to other students',performance seem to encourege an is an example o such tation to achievement. Individualised instruction
a situation(Slavin, 1977). an orientation toone's One advantage ofthe classroom that encouregee
attending to competitionis t:at it may own individualefforts rather than learning (Covington an Beery, be a particularly healthy wayto engage in
students taking chargeof certain aspects 1978). An emphasis is placed upon responsibility for theirgoals, of their own learning. Students take on more at which they will performance standards, levelof aspiration and the pace 230
Figure 1. An Overview of DimensionsPertaining to
Motivation in the Classroom
Components of Determinants of the Motivational Mot ivat Risponse Response
Subjective reactions of Classroom orientation 1. the student to the class- a. Autonomous room situation(e.g., expectations for success- b. Competitive ful completion of a c. Cooperative L task) 101141.
Characteristics the Behaviors that increase student brings to the or decreaselearning
classroom situation persistance) . (e.g., self-esteem)
causality. Note. Arrows indicate hypothesizeddirection of
230 231
'in setting goals for themsel- learn. Covington and Beery (1976) suggest that ves, students needappropriate standards of achievement forevaluating their performance. One criteria that is oftenappropriate is that of exceeding one's own previous performance.
In order for such acriteria of performance to be aneffective means for motivation, the student needs tohave the ability to establish realistic realistic goals (Covington and Beery,1976). When the student works toward a goal, he takes on personalresponsibility for success. "If the student falls
since short of his goal, blame morenaturally goes to insufficient effort the task was manageable. By the same token, successis seen as the outcome of skillful effort (p. 109)."Research indicates that if students are encour- improve. aged to engage in such goal-settingbehavior, academic performance can using this approach, mathe- In a mathematics classfor fifth grade children matics achievement increased threegrade levels (Alschuler,1969). that in order for indi- In addition, Covingtonand Beery (1976) suggest
vidual goal setting to serve as aprimary motivational force,students need
of rewarding themselves. to be able to accepttheir limits and to be capable complex task Students need to realize that at anypoint in learning to do a 'IStudenta must be helped well, there are limits intheir ability to perform. or their ability to accept theftlimitations without devaluing themselves students must be willing to accept to learn (p. 94)". At the same time,
their success when them achieve orexceed the goals they setfor themselves. significant extent on a capacity The pursuit of achievementdepends to
for positive self-reinforcement. 232
The manner in which students assumeresponsibility for certain aspects
(Weiner, of their own learning hasrecently received considerable attention
research has focused on the per- 1972; 1979). For example some motivational 1979; Dweck, ceived causes of academic successand failure (Fyanr an'l Maehr,
Davidson, Nelson 6 Enna, 1978; Simonand Feather, 1973). Simon qnd Feather
important (1973) suggest that studentsperceive "amount of preparation" as an
determinant of success on college exams. When the student engagesin setting
his own goals, the student is morelikely to attribute responsibilityfor
his learning outcomes tohimself as opposed to 'task difficulty orluck.
Students' expectations for themselves seem tobe important motivational
and determinants of academic performance.'Grades students expect to obtain
particular course the minimum grade thatstudents will be satisfied within a
(Battle, 1965a; are significantpredictors of actual grades in that course expectations predict Uguroglu and Walberg,1978). A possible reason that persist at academic grades is that studentswith higher expectations will junior-high tasks for longer periodsof time. Battle (1965b) found that
school students who expect todo well in mathematics andEnglish generally
to do well. persist longer at these tasksthan those who do not expect Classrooms The autonom -orientedclassroom and intrinsicmotivation. learning environment encouraging an autonomousorientation seem to create a intrinsic that enhances intrinsicmotivation. Deci and Ryan (1980) define Intrinsically motivation as a need for competenceand self - - determination. that are performed motivated behaviors are,operationally defined as those (Deci and Ryan, 1980). in tin Absence of any apparentexternal contingency
reward is assumed to beimplicit When the task isintrinsically motivating, the
232 233 in the task itself. It seems important to include activitiesthat are intrin- sically motivating in the educational program. Experience with intrinsically motivating activities may enhance one'sability to learn independently.
When the student is sensitive tothe inherently interesting properties of an activity, this motivation mayprovide the impetus for learning independently.
Whether or not a task will be intrinsicallyinteresting depends in part upon the individual's perceptions of that task, aswell as certain inherent pro- perties of the task itself. The reader should note that, of course,there are many appropriate classroomactivities that have little intrinsic interest
(20,ci, 1979). For these tasks the notion ofintrinsic motivation has little applicability (Deci and Ryan, 1980).
When the classroom fosters(a) feelings of competence and (b) a sense of self-control, intrinsic motivationis enhanced. Deci, Nezleck and Sheinman
(Note 2) hypothesized that the extent towhich teachers believi in dealing with their students in a way that encouragesautonomy influences theintrinsic motivation of their students. Teachers who encourage auton uld be expected tm have students withhigher intrinsic motivation and percived competence than teachers who are morecontrolling. Deci et. al. Note 2) conducted a study of 610 4th-6thgrade children in 35 classrooms to comparestudents with autonomy- and control-orientedteachers. They found that children with autonomy-oriented teachers were moreintrinsically motivated; furthermore, children with autonomy-orientedteachers perceived them asproviding more encouragement of personalresponsibility and internal control.While this
evidence study dealt with elementary schoolchildren, there is considerable demonstrating that it is possible toalter the intrinsic motivation ofcollege students (Deci and Ryan,1980). 234
oriented classroom. Techni ues for enhancin:motivation in the autonom
motivating. Goals explicitly As noted, goals setby students themselves are An instructor stated by theinstructor also influencestudents' motivation.
for students. An example of anonspeci- can setnonspecific or specific goals best". Specific goals specify fic goal is theinstructor's statement "Do your student on a particulartask. One a certainlevel of performance for the set a performancegoal that is higher way ofproviding a specific goal is to For example, thestudent is than the student's ownprevious performance. similar to those in aprevious set, asked to do a setof arithmetic problems Rosswork (1977) conducted astudy but to get more ofthe problems correct. specific goals lead tohigher performance with 6th grade childrenand found that Of course it is not than non - specific goals on avocabulary-learning task. college students. clear whether thesefindings are applicable to explicity identifies what Thus, in settingspecific goals the teacherd 4 establishes the level ofproficiency it is the studentsshould learn and ins geared toward theseobjectives they must reach. Furthermore, teaching absolute standardstend to foster (Covington and Beery,1976). In addition,
If there is awell-defined standard /a positive interpretationof failure.' standard tends tomotivate the students of performance,failure to achieve the teacher's evaluative commentsfocus to try harder. "In contrasts when the standards, failure itself without referenceto external only on the performance __...... 1976, p. 104)." tends to lower motivation(Covington and Beery, instructors can specifygoals "Contract grading" isanother way that grading, the requirementsfor for their students. In one form of contract students are asked to attaining each grade level areclearly specified and
23 4 235
sign a contract indicating the grade they aretrying for. A study of college
business students found that those in a classwith contract grading spent
almost twice as much time per weekin class-related activities than those
in a traditional class. Furthermore, the students perceived themselves as
having greater control over the grade(Home 1970; Polcynski b Shirland,
1977) they would receive in the classwith contract grading. The two findings
may be related. Under contract grading, students may feelthat more effort
is required to achieve a high grade, butthey are willing to exert themselves
because they have greater personal control overthe likelihood they will
attain their goal (i.e. the designatedgrade.).
A training program developecrbyDeCharms (1976) instructs students in
using goal-setting processes.The emphasis of the program is toteach students
challenges rather than as threats. Students learn to v." to perceive goals as They also set realistic goalsbased on their own probability of success.
receive training in planning their work andin accepting personal responsi-
bility for their actions. As a result of thetraining, the performance stan-
dards of the students are broughtinto line with their ability toattain
them. DeCharms' research on the effects of thetraining found that inner-
1 city children who received training: (a) Had a greater sense of control
academic achievement. of their own achievement;and (b) had a higher level of 'ntive It would be interesting to seewhether the training would alsobe e
with hearing-impaired collegestudents.
Competition-oriented Classrooms
In the classroom with acompetitive orientation, onestudent's receipt
receive the same of a reward deminishes theprobability that another will 236
structure. is an example of acompetitive reward reward. "Grading on the curve" of A's hard to make an"A" and the number If one studentworks especially that other performance reducesthe probability is fixed, thenthat student's A'i (Slavin,1977). students willalso receive information. Social- Grading on the curveprovidessocial-comparison students how motivating becauseit informs comparison informationcan be If, they could bedoing (Veroff,1969). well they aredoing or how well are information thattheir test scores after an exam, somestudents receive information as they mayinterpret this higher than thoseof their peers, society (Snyder,1972). If students a rewardthat is valuedin American they may performed betterthan themselves, learn that manyother students (Veroff, 1969). goal for futureperformance translate thisinformation into a classroom, it information isprovided in the Thus, whensocial-comparison level effort and fordetermining one's constitutes a meansfor evaluating
of achievement. information effect ofsocial-comparison Harackiewicz (1979)compared the provided goal. In to anexperimenter with that ofinformation pertaining did better than given statingthat the student the former case,feedback was given was thatthe latter case,the feedback the averagestudent; in the Students receiving experimenter providedgoal. student hadattained the perceived coor.petence. showed higherlevels of the social-comparison feedback condition this result isthat thesocial-comparison Oneinterpretation of In indicating that thestudent was competent. provided moreinformation children were moresatisfied Felker (1979)found that a relatedstudy, Ames and successfully they learnedthey hadperformed with theirperformance when 237
in a situation where the reward was based on competition thanwhen they had performed successfully in a situation where the reward wasbased upon cooper- ation or individual effort.
It would seem that in order for teachers toeffectively manage classrooms with a competitive orientation, .hey wouldneed to be aware of the motivational processes in the situation. In this situation, the relationshipbetween one's self evaluation of abilities and actual academicperformance is influ- a; enced by the student's perceived standing inrelation to peers; i.e. the students' ..eption of their own competence is based upon thecomparison of abilities with peers (Rogers.,Smith, and Coleman, 1978). Furthermore, when students perceive their peers asexpecting themselves to be motivated, they are more likely to expend effortin the classroom than when they do not perceive their peers asexpecting themselves to show high motivation
(Mitchell and Nebeker, 1973).
There is considerablevariation among students in theirreactions to a competitively-orientedclassroom (Crandall, 1969; Halperinand Abrams,
1978). For example, Halperin and Abrams suggestthat women students who enjoy challenging situations and who tend to assumeresponsibility for their own performance havehigher expectations concerningtheir own performance in a course than do women students who do notenjoy challenges and who tend to avoidresponsibility. particular mai- An important considerationfor the teacher is whether a
., vational approach facilitates learning. Social-comparison information seems
McClintock and Van Avermaet (1975) most facilitative whenthe task is simple. 238
feedback comparison ofothers per- compared the effectof social-comparison self-comparison feedback(comparison formance with one'sown) with that of previous performance) for twotasks: of current performancewith one's own paired associatelearning. For the simple (a) crossing-outnumbers, and (b) social feedback conditionthan under task, performance washigher under the paired-associate learning the self feedbackcondition. On a more complex, under soci, Ind self task, howlver, there was nodifference in performance
In this situationand in simil circumstances comparisonfeedbadk conditions. Johnson, 1980), onefinds that a in other studies(e.g. Johnson, Skon and result in optimallearning. A competitive situationdoes not necessarily about winning and too competitive classroom cangenerate too much concern situation seems to have much anxiety aboutlosing. Thus, the competitive Masters and Mokros high-magnitude reinforcer.. an effectsimilar to that of incentives sometimesretard pei- (1973) have pointed outthat high.-magnitude rein- students becomepreoccupied with the fOrmance on learningtasks because If a task iscomplex, and ifsocial- forcer and distractedfrom the ;.ask. magnitude incentive,students may comparison feedbackconstitutes a high - from learning the cuesand actions perform poorly becausethey are distracted
that are necessaryfor the correct response. In Of with a competitiveorientation. Negative consequencesoclassrooms be overly concerned it is possible forthe sent to acompetitive situation in relation to the gray,norms. Veroff (1969) suggests about his performance dominates the student's the social-comparison that excessive concernoccurs when dock not treatsocial-comparison basis for esteem. Such a student
238 239 information objectively and does not use theinformation-to discover ways to improve his performance.
Another unhealthy response to social comparison occurswhen the competi- tive situation generates considerable anxiety in thestudent. Such students \- are concerned about doingpoorly relative to peers; furthermore, theybelieve that one possible consequence of doing poorlyis that they will receive disap- proval either from peers or from theinstructor (Veroff, 1969).
Covington and Omelich (1979) suggest that many studentsadopt certain strategies so that they will not suffer too muchhumiliation in situations where they perceive themselves as failing. Students are most likely to adopt such strategies when there is grading on a curve. Grades are threatening because they signal success or failure,and the possibility of failure is always eminent. In the competitive grading systemsthe rewards are fixed so that for one studentto4feel successful, others must ex,eriencefailire.
Given this situation, the optimal strategyis to put a limited amount of effort into an academic task; however, do not trytoo hard, for it isimportant
"It to have excuses. Students are afraid that if they trythey will fail. is difficult to imagine a strategybetter calculated to sabotage thepursuit
evidence of personal excellence0. 178)." Covington and4Omelich provided hypothe- to support their contentionsin a study of students' responses to a Student's tical achievement situationinvolving failure on a college exam. Students viewed were asked oimagine themselves as having failed the test. of dissappoint- themselve as most incapable andexpressed the greatest amount extensive preparation for the sent inhemeelves when the failure followed
for their failure they were exam. However, if the students had,an excuse
2 3 j 240
not as dissappointed in themselves. In a related study, Snyder and Katahn
(1970) found that students expressed dissappointment in themselvesfollowing
feedback that they had done poorly on an exam.
Another drawback of the competition-orientedclassroom is that it is
the situation most likely to discourageintrinsic motivation. Deci, Betley,
Kahle, Abrams and Porac (in press) have reported resultsin support of the
hypothesis that the focus on winning induced by the competitivesituation
reduces intrinsic motivation.
ealin with the roblems venerated ba com etition-oriented classroom.
It has been pointed out that acompetition-oriented classroom sometimes inter-
feres with learning', It is also clear, however, thatstudents need practice
so that they can learn to dealwith competitive situations where their per-
formance is important to them and where itwill be evaluated. The Scholastic
Aptitude Test is one example of such asituation. Another example is applying
for a job when there is more then oneapplicant. In order to deal effectively
in a competitive situation, students need toview the competitive situation
objectively. They need to treat the situation as onethat will provide infor-
mation rather than as an anxiety provoking event. Students can be more objec-
tive if they realize that they often have achoice between engaging in a
competitive activity or a non-competitive one. lurthermore, they need to
realize that one's achievement incompetition is inly a part of one's self,
and the evaluation of one's self is alsoinfldenced by other considerations.
Teachers can take steps to reducethe most debilating effects of compe-
tition. Anxiety over the possibility of receiving alow or failing grade
can be reduced byproviding students some degree of control overthe grades
24 241 they will receive and a guarantee againstreceiving a failing grade. One way to institute this guaranteeis for the teacher to establish a minimum grade, say a C, which is assured formeeting the basic requirements (Beery and Covington, 1976; Harrison,1969). This procedure might mean establishing a minimal level of mastryacceptable to the teacher.
Anothet technique a teacher can use forpresenting social-comparison information is to provide students a relative lowlevel of performance against which to compare themselves. Snyder (1972) compared the performance of stu- 4 dents in an introductory psychology course whenthe standard of comparison for evaluating performance was eitherhigh, medium or iv,. 3tudent's receiving the low comparison level (in which902 of the subjects exceeded the standard) showed the highest performance. Snyder (1972) suggests that the students who received positive reinforcementregarding their performance may have been more highly motivated tocontinue to learn the material. On the other hand, when the the standard of comparison washigh, students may have become discouraged and not continued to payattention and study.
An instructor can also takedeliberate steps to reducethe level of anxiety that students experience in acompetition-oriented classroom. The procedures involve retraining students sothat the student attends more fully to the task at handrather than worrying about failure(Beery and Covington,
19; ).
Cooperation- orientedClassreas
In the classroom with acooperative orientation, an increasein the performance of any student in the groupincreases the probability that the
An example group will receive` areward which will be shared by allmembers. 242
of such a classroom situationis one in which there is a groupproject and
the teacher assigns theSame grade to all members of the group participating
in the project.
A major benefit of thecooperative situation is thatit:facilitates
learning on problem-solving tasks. On the whole, studies comparingperformance
on such tasks havereported higher performance for thecooperative petting
than for those oriented to4ard autonomy orcompetition (Johnson, Skon and
Johnson, 1980; Johnson andJohnson, 1975). Johnson, Skon and Johnson(1980)
suggest three factors that canaccount for superior performancein the coope-
problem-solving strategies rative setting: (a) Students develop superior from the inter- in group work; (b) the mediumand low ability students benefit
action with the high abilitystudents, and (c) group workfosters motivation compe- to achieve. In a study comp;ing each of these factors in autonomy-,
, Johnson had tition-, and cooperation-orientedclassrooms, Johnson, Skon and
problem-solving tasks. The cooperative situation - students perform three together as a consisted of groups of studentswho were instructed to work other, and to ensure that group to sharematerials and ideas, to help each members were responsiblefor each member was involved. In these groups the The quality of the agreeing on the answers and forlearning the material.
of class- problem - solving strategiies students ued was observed for each type the cooperative room. They found that studentsused superior strategies in
among students. Students at condition. A key factor vas thediscussion
all ability levels seemed togain insights from thecooperative discussion. perceptions of more In addition, cooperativeinteraction seemed to generate did the other two conditions. support and encouragementfor achievement than
242 ?43
Not all research on cooperative settings,however, indicates that this
setting yields mare positive gotivationaleffects than autonomy- or competition-
oriented settings.' Ames and Felker(1978) suggest that when there is group
failure, evaluations of individuals areharsher than in autonomy- orcompetition-
puzzle oriented.settings. Furthermore, when student.s were successful on a
task, they were moresatisfied with their performance in competitiveand
1 autonomous conditions than in thecooperative one. Most of the studies dealing
with the effects of cooperationin the classroom have used children assubjects
(e.g. Johnson, Skon and.Johnson, 1980;Slavin, 1978, Ames and Felker, 1978).
However, the findings fromthese studies appear applicable tocollege settings.
Experiments on the effects of cooperation uponcollege students' performance
with children on laboratory' tasks areconsistent with the findings obtained
(Laughlin, 1978). 4 Aronson et. al. (1978) havedeveloped a procedure forcreating a cooper-
ative orientation in the classroom. The key ingredient in their approach
students treat is to create a learning processin which it is imperative that
each other as learning resources. The learning process is structured so
that individual competitivenessis incompatible with success;furthermore,
the process is designed so that success canoccur only aftercooperative
"Jigsaw Classroom" behavior has occurred. The process has acquired the name
since it is h ghly reminsicentof a jigsaw puzzle. Students form groups
'and each student in the groupis responsible for teaching partof a lesson.
LI, Students are tested for knowledgeof all the material, but only onestudent
Consequently, both interdependence presents the materialfor a particular part.
this procedure and active learning arerequired. "Evaluative research on 244
increase student'sliking indicates that acooperation-oriented classroom can willingness to use classmates aslearning resources. of school,self-esteen and material as well as theydo in tradi- Furthermore, studentsmaster classroom
tional classrooms. procedure for creating acooperation- Slavin (1978) hasalso developed a used. In this procedure,stu- oriented classroom inwhich student teams are of students atvarious dents are assignedto 4 and .5member teams consisting during study periodsto help each levels of,ability. Students work together Feed- Students, however, take testsindividually. other learn thematerial. and as social-comparisoninforma- back is given in two ways;as a team score, of the same abilitylevel. tion where students arecompared with others
in this setting andin a competition-only In a comparisonof performance 'treatment in- (1978) found thatparticipation in the team c' condition, Slavin pe,ceptions of increasedmutual creases time spenton the taskand leads to however, did not make adif- concern and peersupport. The two treatments, achievement of thestudents in anEnglish ference with respectto the academic
unit on languagemechanics. normally hearingstudents has raised a The discussionof research on implication* forunderstanding themotiva- number of issuesthat seem to have will consider The remainderof the paper tion ofbearing-impaired students. the psychologicalcharacteristics of these issues andreview research on suggestions concerningthe moti- hearing-impaired students Anorder to make
students. vational determinantsof hearing-impaired 245
Research with Hearing-ImpairedStudents:
m lications forClassrooms with DifferentMotivational Orientations
Autonomy-oriented Classrooms classrooms? Are hearing-impairedstudents motivated in autonomy-oriented
with hearing-impairedchildren suggest that settings Two studies conducted ArP Elliot and Vegeley oriented toward autonomousachievement can be motivating. practice upon performance (1969) investigated theeffects of motivation and information.: Pennies were placed of a task requiringsequential coding of that the faster childrencould on the codingsheet so that it was apparent This manipulation can be code, the larger thereward they wouldreceive. reward was not related viewed as an autonomous onesince the criteria for condition the performance to otherchildren's performance. In the no reward normally hearing of the hearing-impairedchildren was lower than that 0 the however, theperformance of the hearing- children. In the reward condition, .: of the normally hearing impaired children increased tothe same level as that that the hearing-impairedchildren's children. This set of results suggests motivational factors; deficit in performance mayhave been partly due to rapidly overcome otherwise these children would nothave been able to so indicates thathearing-impaired the performancedeficit.Although this research achievement, children can be motivatodby an autonomousorientation toward performed at a the question remainsof why thehearing-impaired children is that the lower level in thecontrol condition? A possible explanation standard of performancethat deaf children did notimpose upon themselves a hearing students didspontaneously impose was motivating,while the normally
such a standard uponthemselves. 246
predis- hearing-impaired boys'motivational Stinson (1974)investigated achievement standards. The criteria for position towardautonomous achievement significant previous performance.There was no was based uponthe child's own hearing-impaired and normallyhearingb6s difference in thetendency of the standard moderately difficulttasks when the (8-13 years ofage) to select orienta- particular instance,the motivational was autonomous. Thus, in this
tions of the two groupsseemed, similar. assumption concerningthe motivation 5.19cational goals. An important "' simply toward goals, evenif the goal is of students isthat students work students, is ,going tomotivate the earning a goodgrade. If the instructor There students perceive asimportant. there must be somegoals that the students in the extent towhich hearinOmpaired areindividual differences Heath-Lang (1978)compared perceive the goalsof a course asimportant. work experiencewith hearing-impaired hearing-impaired studentshaving full-time which they valued in terms of theextent to students withoutthis experience of the English course. For example, one certain instructionalgoals in an important to me". "Language classes arevery items in thequestionnaire was, English experience consideredthe goali of She found thatstudents having,woik
instruction morevaluable. teacher that the mannerin which the It hai alreadybeen pointed out For example influences theirmotivation. ..stablishes goalsfor students particular task can level of performanceon a goals thatspecify a certain It seems goals, such as"get a goodgrade". be moremotivatinr than general extenthearini- useful todetermine to what that it wouldbe instructionally given general versusspecific goals. impaired students aremotivated when 247
Another issue for researchis to determine whether the goalsthat students
When students sethigher set forthemselves influence academic performance. consequently goals for themselves, do theydevote more effort to the course and show higher performance?
'Expectations for performance. The expectationsiofhearing-impaired students reflect, to some extent,their actual abilities, as is the case for their normally hearing peers. A study by Rutledge(1954) suggests that well as normally tasks on which hearing-impairedstudents generally perform as those hearing peers, their expectationsfor success are generally similar to
students of their peers. On the other hand, ontasks on which hearing-impaired
generally do worse than theirnormally hearing peers, theirexpectations
for success tend to becorrespondingly lower. that it is possible Research with normallyhearing students indicates
performance so that these to change students'expectations for their own level of skill; expectations are more congruentwith the student's present increased motivation furthermore, these changesin expectations can lead to
hearing-impaired students, Mckee,Stinson (DeCharms, 1976). With respect to to change self- and Blake (Note 3) found thatit is possible for students reflect their actual estimates of their ability sothat they more accurately
'communication course at theNational Technical ability. Freshmen enrolled in a
secondary institution,rated their communication Institute for the Deaf, a post - a, indicated that ability before and after the course.Correlational analyses
significantly from pre- to post-course the accuracy ofself-ratings increased Self estimates of ability measures in eachof several communicationmodes. in a course, but the two are not identical toexpectations for performance
processes are related(Diggory, 1969). 248
performance. Studies Self-estimates of ability arerelated to academic
indicate at students'opinions with hearing-impairedhigh school students for substantialvariance in predic- about their ownacademic ability account Erickson, CrittendenNandStevenson, tions of academicachievement (Joiner, importance of self-esteemfor hearing- 1969). This conclusionconcerning- "the drawn for normallyhearing students impaired students issimilar to conclusions (Joiner et. al., 1969;Brookover, in studies involvingthe same variables
Note 4). especially, to identify There is a needfor further workin this area; students establishpositive but techniques that canhelp hearing-impaired
realistic expectationsfor themselves. students in theautonomy- Potential difficultiesof hearing-impaired that hearing-impairedstudents generally oriented classroom. There is evidence and Tench, normally hearingstudents (Garrison have lowerself-esteem than (See, however, thereservations about 1978; Schroedell andSchiff, 1972). DeCaro, 1978). Level of self-esteem this conclusion, e.g.Garrison, Teach and all kinds ofsituations (e.g.Zajonc influences the waypeople interprete students with highself-esteem may treat and Brickman,1979). For example, future study, whereasstudents with low failure asinformation useful for anxiety provokingexperience. self-esteem mayregard failure as an hearing-impaired sudentswith A study byMcCrone (Note5)" suggests that In the study,the distracted by afailure experience. low self-esteem are high school studentswho problem-solving performanceof hearing-impaired unsolvable disrupted by priorexperience with an were severeunderachievers *es .rho were at ahigher level the performanceof students problem. In contrast, 249 One inter- academically was not disrupted bythe prior experience offailure. pretation of this finding is thatthe underachievers hadlower self esteem
Thus, their ability and they experienced moreanxiety following failure. to perform wasdisrupted. predisposed toward an autonomy- In order for students tobe motivationally oriented classroom, it may becritical for them to believe thatpersonal
(Veroff, 1969). effort is an importantdeterminant of the outcome of events important, they may not If students do not believethat personal effort is relationship between theirefforts exert themselvesbecause they do not see the and goal attainment. searing-impaired students In general, thepublished descriptions of responsibility for their ownactions describe them as having lessof a sense of
Meadow (1976) describedhearing-impaired than do normallyhearing counterparts. concluded that they tend students as dependent, andBordner and Johns (1978) to have anexternally-oriented locus of control. students In spite of the apparentunwillingness of hearing-impaired been successful inmain- to accept personalyresponsibility, those who have assuming personal responsi- streamed college settings seemto recognize that perhaps more so bility for performanceis essential for college success, hearing-impaired student. than for normally hearingstudents. A survsy of for success. attending regular collegesincluded question about reasons 7 (b) taking Among the mostfrequent answers were(a) being self-compdtent, (c) having good study habits the initiative ingetting special help, and Having a sense ofresponsibility seems (Quigley, Jenne andPhillips, 1968).
to be implicitin each of these factors. 250 of support servicessuch In the mainstreamedclassrooms, the provision dependency. It is not as interpreting,notetaking and tutoring may foster achievement as beingdue to clear to what extentmtudents perceive their due to the helpderived their own efforts andskills as opposed to being of tutoring as enexample from support services.Consider student perceptions Does use of tutoringreduce the perceived of a researchquestion infthis area. in order to benefitfrom importance of studying? Students may believe that they may not study tutoring it is also necessaryto study. On the other hand
as hard whenthey know they caneasily get help. motivational orientation Classroom settings thatencourage an ,..atonomous training to enhancepersonal would seem to be wellsuites for deliberate
the development ofappropriate instruc- responsibility. There is a need for determine the extent towhich tional procedures, as well asfor research to
of responsibility. such proceduresenhance one's sense
Competition-oriented Classrooms competitive setting?On the basis Are deaf studentsmotivated by the "yes" (Stinson, 1974;Meadow 1972; of a few studies, the answerseems to be that the motivation maybe of Bodner b Johns1976). These studies suggest comparisons betweentheir an "unhealthy"kind: Students are sensitive to they are afraidthatlif they do ownperformance and thatof others because rejected by the group. Furthermore, not met_ groupstandardp they will be unduly importantdeterminant of self esteem. groupacceptance/rejection is an especially those in group Given this orientation,evaluation situations, Burdick and Teevan,1969). settings, provokeanxiety (Birney,
25 2 5 1
hearing - impaired and normally Stinson (1974) comparedthe responses of competitive standard in which thecriteria hearing boys in' asetting with a reference group.The normally for performance wasbased/ upon the norms of a challenging socialcomparison task hearing boys morefrequently selected the select the easy task. The behavior than did thehearing-impaired who tended to reflect a motivationaltendency to avoid of thehearing-impaired boys may
challenging socialcomparison situations. hearing-impaired children engage Research by Meadow(1972) suggests that Hearing-impaired students in social comparisonconcerning their deafness. morerejecting of them and are in day schoolsperceive hearing persons as deafness than thosein a residential rated by teachers asless adjusted to by day schoolchildren between school. More frequentunfavorable comparison schoolmates may explainthe difference. themselves and theirhearing family and students treatcompetitive situations The extent towhich hearing-impaired providing or (b) anxietyprovoking may depend upon as either(a) information hearing-impaired student mayfeel anxious the situation. For example, a has an instructorwho grades on the when he is in amainstreamed class that in a social The student mayfeel relaxed curve andwho is a hardgrader. which all theparticipants are situation having acompetitive element in
hearing-impaired. hearing-'mpairedstudents, Even if thestudent identifieswit... other Research normally hearing peers as acomparison group. he may still use necessarily perceivingthemselves as members has shown thatindividuals not will still use itfor cross-groupcomparison of particular social group Thus, even ifthe hearing-impaired (Epps, Perry, Rate,and Runyan,1971). 252
other hearing- student performs at a levelwhich is more comparable to that of
impaired students than to that ofnormally hearing students, he maystill
told they use them as acomparison group. Even when people are repeatedly
continue to use higherperforming are performingbelow group norms, they often
persons as a reference group(Dreyer, 1953). hearing- In addition, Emerton,Hurwitz and Bishop (1979) suggest that with respect to their impaired people may sometimesperceive a double message
status in the "hearingworld".On one Land, the placementof hearing-impaired people students in the same educationalenvironments as nr.:Ikally hearing
students are expected to compete conveys theimpression that hearing-impaired hearing-impaired students with normally hearing peers.On the other hand, negative attitudes rometimes perceive normallyhearing persons as having Such a stance conveys a sug- toward deafness (Schroedel andSchiff, 1972). capable of competing gestion that hearing-impairedstudents are not viewed as
with normally hearingstudents. capable of competing The extent to whichstudents perceive themselves as that is being compared. with normally hearing peers maydepend upon the skill in which they perceive Conversations with students atNTID suggest that an area
lecture information. Although themselves as less competentis the reception of hearing-impaired students better interpreters are used extensivelyto help still not comprehend as follow the classroomlectures, these students may Although it much information as donormally hearing peers(Jacobs, 1977).
hearing-impaired students to be awareof difficulties is appropriate for that they overestimate in understanding lectureinformation, it is possible
hearing students. If the perceptions the compreht ''n skills of normally
259 253
'difficulties of the hearing-impairedstudents exaggerate their own relativ for a in lecture comprehension, thisperception may lead to expect t ons at which level of performance in theclassroom that is lower than the level be other areas they ara capable ofperforming. On the other hand, there may where they do not perceive themselves asless capable than theirnormally generally hearing peers; for example,hearing-impaired drafting students may
perceive themselves as just ascapable of successfullycompleting their assign-
ments as are their normallyhearing peers. himself as The extent to which ahearing-impaired student perceives
hearing students may depend capable of competingsuccessfully with normally
in part upon whether he believesthe world at largeprOvides opportunities viewed as one to satisfy needs forachievement. This perspective may be Meyerson (1963) defines dimension of the hearing-impairedperson's life space. is meaningful and relevan the life space as thepsychological environment that hearing-impaired person's life space to the individual. He evaluates the in education, social in terms of the extent towhich a person participates with normally activities and work with fellowhearing-impaired individuals or assumed to vary in the extent hearing people. Hearing-impaired students are world at large or to thedeaf to which their life spaceis oriented to the characteristics and background community, depending upon avariety of personal
considerations, it seemsimportant to study factors. In view of the above in mainstreamet classes. the social comparisonsof hearing-impaired students There is a need for Techniques for competition-orientedclassrooms. in settings where the procedures that can makestudents more comfortable 254
stu- criteria for achievement involvecomparisons of the student with other
feel dents.The following techniques mayhelp hearing-impaired students these procedures seem more` comfortable andlearn more effectively; moreover,
particularly applicable tomainstreamed classrooms and forthe preparation
of students to participatein such classrooms.
Covington and Beery (1976), theteacher calstablish 1. As suggested by to the a minimum gradefor the course. This could provide some assurance grade in hearing-impaired students that theywill not get a low or failing
hearing peers. spite of the fact they maybe competing with normally
create a setting wherethe standard for 2. The course instructor can It is evaluation is fair to the students,handicapped and nonhandicapped. performance on the basis of important that the teacherevaluate student's form the quality of the content,not in terms, ofwhether the presentation For example, if theteacher is is Standard or nonstandard(Harris, 1978). is distorted, nonsigning, and the student usessigns and his or her speech
the student's response? It does the teacher downgradethe evaluation of if they believe their utterances seems that studentswill be more motivated
will be treated fairlyby the teacher. mainstreamed class thatcontains other hearing- 3. Students are place in a (1978) suggest that when aclass impaired students. Strang, Smith Rogers students, the handicappedstudents contains both handicappedand nonhandicapped depending upon are free to comparethemselves with eachreference group, comparison. On the other which one is more appropriatefor the particular these students hand, if there is no reference groupof hearing-impaired peers,
hearing students, evenwhen it may must usc thl referencegroup of normally
not be appropriate.
2 54 255
of strategies for sue- 4. Hearing-impaired students can be made aware , hearing-impaired cessful learning inthe'mainstreamed classroom. For example meetings involving a tutor, students can be informedthat they can arrange 0 such meetings are helpful the course instructorand the student and that
in identifying material to bestudied prior to exams. Opportunities can
with inexperienced students be provided whereexperienced students can share in the mainstreamed the strategies they havefound successful for coping
increase the confidence ofhearing-impaired classroom. Such information can hearing peers. students that they can ceopetesuccessfully with normally
Oration- oriented Classrooms motivational effects of There are no knownstudies dealing with the As noted, research cooperative settings uponhearing-impaired students. cooperative setting can with normally hearingstudents suggests that the (a) Increased time spent have positive motivationaleffects, including: enjoyment of learning in learning, (b) greaterpeer support, (c) increased techniques with hearing- and (d) higher self esteem. The use of cooperative cooperation-oriented impaired students needs tobe evaluated.Membership in impaired students; (b) somehearing- classrooms can consist of(a) only hearing - An obvious variablefor study impaired and some normallyhearing students. and normally hearingstudents would be the expectationsof the hearing-impaired of the communicationbarriers. for cooperating witheach other in spite the class and the nature Perceived ability to worktogether may depend upon
hearing-impaired and normallyhearing students of the task. For example when much of thecommunication can may havehigher expectations of success 256 possible, howerver, evenwhen much of the be nonverbal. Cooperation may be Technology communication is verbal. For example, aRochester Institute of
having successful classsessions where social work instructorhas reported required to workin small normally hearing andhearing-impaired students are
groups.
Conclusions andRecommendations
conducted on themotivation of Since virtually noresearch has been motivational determinantsof hearing-impaired students,the discussion of however, speculative. It is possible, hearing-impaired studentshas been quite the moti- knowledge, to makesuggestions concerning on thebasis of present The first suggestionis to provide vation of hearing-impairedstudents. classrooms withdifferent motivational students with abalanced exposure to competitive and cooperative.Second, it seems orientations: Autonomous, capacity to recogniseclassroom situations desirable to fosterin students a and to be.able todirect their efforts with differentmotivational orientations
accordingly. to the provisionof a balanced exposure In mosteducational settings, that the competitiveorientation different motivationalorientations implies autonomous andcooperative orientations will receive lessemphasis while the al., 1978). The educational system will receive moreemphasis (Aronson, et. competitive (Madsen through collegeis largely in our societyfrom grade school providing a balanced exposureto thedifferent and Shapira, 1970). The idea of 1978; Garibaldi, is not a novel one(Aronson, et. al., motivational orientations
rote 6). motivational orientationsis important A balanced exposureto different for adaptingsuccessfully because it may helptt.: etudentdevelop strategies
25 6 257
at work, to various school andwork settings. At school, and subsequently motivational orienta- the individual will encountersituations with different
facilitative way to perform a taskis to adapt tions. In general, the most orientation. In one's way of responding tothe predominant motivational 0i competitive addition, there does notseem to be any reason why autonom
the same cl seroom.research and cooperative techniquescannot co-exist in be part of the classroom suggests that eachmotivational orientation can
each (Blaney, N., Stephan,C. procers withoutdepletion of the benefits of
Rosenfeld, D; Aronson, E.b Sikes, J., 1977). z.
Students vary in the extentto which they respondto classrooms with Providing students prac- different motivationalorientations (Veroff, 1969). of increasing student's tice under each motivationalorientation may be one way first, many students do sensitivity to each orientation. For example, at
in a cooperativesituation, buf. with not directtheir efforts appropriately Another approach practice,.they learn to do so(Aaronson et. al., 1976).
different situations for fostering appropriatemotivational responses to student is very anxious would be through counseling. For example, if the might go through a series in the competition-orientedclassroom, the student task relevaAt factors of exercises that providetraining in attending to
during test performance(Wine, 1973).
M.Stinso-11 (7/9/80)kap 25 258 Reference Notes
of NTID'S 1977 summer A summay reportof ac- evaluation 1. White, Karl R. March 1978. Vestibule program(Report #1). of intrinsicmotivational R. Experimental exploration 7. Deci, F, L. 6 Ryan, sychology. (Ed.), Advances inExperimental Social P process, In Berkowitz, L.
New York: Acedemic Press,1980, 13. measured M. S., 6 Blake,R. S. Percieved versus 3. McKee, B. G., Stinson, the students. Paper presented at communication abilityof deaf college Educational ResearchAssociation, Boston, Annual Meeting ofthe American
April 1980. ability and school D. b Joiner, L. Self concept of 4. Brookover, w.rErinson, Office Cooperative ResearchProject 2831). U.S. achievement III (Report of College of Bureau of Educationalresearch Services, of Education,Mich.:
Education, MichiganState Univ., 1967. ziyoruance experimentalinduced expectalcies on 5. McGrone, W. The Effects of helplessness, An investigationof learned An selecteddeaf adolescents: RIT Film 6129. 1977, unpublisheddoctorial dissertation, situation asaffectef by gEou2 Behavior in a levelof aspiration 6. Dreyer, A. 1953, dissertation, Universityof Minnesota, comparision. Unpublished doctorial individualization, andblack students' Cooperation, competion, 7. Garibaldi, A. of the American Paper presented atthe annual meeting problem solvingattitudes.
Psychological Association,September 1977. 259 References
Aronson, E., Blaney, N.,Stephan, C., Bikes, J. and Snapp,M. lbgAigsaw
1978. classroom. Beverly Hills, Calif.: Sage Publications, academic Alschuler, A.The effects of classroomstructure on achievement and
performance. Educational Technolgy)1969, 20 19-24. Academic Press, 1977. Ball,S.,(Ed.) Motivation in education. New York: A Review with Bates, John A. Extrinsic Reward and IntrinsicMotivation: Fall, 1979, Implications for the Classroom. Review of Educational Research,
49, 557-576.
. , :Journal of Battle, E. .Motivationaldeterminants of academic competence.
Personality andSocial Psychology, 1965, it;634-842i of academic task persistence. Journal of Battle, E. Motivational determinants
Personality and Socialbycholoax-1965; 2(2), 209-218.
Birney, P. C., Burdick, H., & Teevan, r. c. Fear of failure. New York: Van
Nostrand, 1969. Blaney, N. T., C. Stephan, D.Rosenfield, E. Aronson, and J. Sikes. Intedependance Educational Pkychology, 1977, 69, in the classroom: A field study, Journal of
1V-128. J. Personality and hearing-impairment. A study in
locus of control. Volta Reviex, 1977, 72, 362-372. Crandall, V. C. Rev differences in expectency ofintellecual and academic
motives in children. reinforcement. In C. Smith (Ed.) Achievement-related
New York: Russel Sage Foundation,1969.
Covinnton, M. U. & Berry, R.Self-worth and School Learning,. New York: Holt,
Rinehart and Winston, 1976.
Covington, M. U. & Omelich, C. L, Effort:the double-edged sword in school
achievement. Journal of Educational Psychology,1979, 21(2), 169-182. Rev York: Irvington, be Charms, R. Enhancing Motivation: Change in the Classroom.
1976. L. and POrac, J.When trying to win: Deci, E., Betly, G.,Kahle, J., Abrams, Personality Ging socialUntmlay competition and intrilicsalvation.
in press. 259 Bitg 260
Deci, E.L. & Ryan, R. Expertmental exploration of intrinsic motivational
process. In Berkowitz, L. (Ed.).Advances in Experimental Social Psychology.
New York: Acedemic Press, 1980, 1/.
Diggory, J. Self-evaluation: Concepts and studies. New York: Wiley, 1969.
Dreyer, A. Behavior in 1 leyelgfAspiratignkituatiQn as affected by group
comparison. Unpublished doctoral dissertation. University of Minnesota, 1953:
Dweck, C. S., Davidson, W., Nelson and Enna, B. Sex differences in learned help-
lessness, the contingencies of evalutative feedback in the classroom, and an
experimental analysis. Developmental Azsolagy, 1978, 14, 368-276.
Elliott,L., & Vegely, A. Effect o'f reward or speed of coding for normal
and hearing-impaired children. Psychonamic Science, 1969, 15, 73-74
Emerton, G., Hurwitz, T., Bishop, M. Development of social maturity in deaf
adolescents and adults. In L. Bradford and W. Hardy (Eds.) Hearing
and hearing is %irment.' New York: ;rune & Stratton, 1979.
Epps, E., Perry, A., Katz,,I., and Runyon, E. Effect of race comparison
reference and motives on Negro cognitive performance. Journal of Educational
Psychology, 1971, 62:3, 201-208.
Fyans, L. J., Jr. & Maehr, M. L. Attributional style, task selection, and
achievement. Journal of Educational psycholoa, 1979,a 009499-507
Gardner, J. W. Self-renewal. New York: Herper & Row, 1965.
Garrison, W. M. & Tesch, S. Self-concept and deafness: A review of the research
literature. The Volta Review, 1978, 80, 457-466.
Garrison, W., Tesch, S., & DeCaro, P. An assessment of self-concept levels among
postsecondary deaf adolescents. American Annals of the Deaf, 1978, 123, 968-975
Halperin, M. S. & Abrams, D. L. Sex differences in predicting final examination
grades: the influence of the past performance, attributions, and achievement
motivation. Journal of Educational Psychology, 1978, /2(5), 763-771.
26() 261
Harackiewicz, J. The effects of reward contingency and performancefeedback
on intrinsic motivation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,1979,
32, 1352-1363.
Harris, A. The development of the deafindividual and the deaf community.
In. L. Liben (Ed.)The development of the deaf individual and thedeaf
New York Academic Press, 1978.
Harris, R. Impulse control in deaf children:Research and clinical issues.
In. L. Liben (Ed.) Deaf children: A dextllardgperspectives.New
York: Acedmic Press, 1978.
Harrison, R. Classroom innovation. In P. J. Runkel, R.Harrison, & M. Bunke'
(Eds.), The changing college, classroom. San Francisco : Jossey.,Bass, 1969.
Home, L. How to use contingency contractinginthe classroom. Champaign, Ill.:
Research Press, 1970.
Jacobs, L. The efficiency of interpreting inputfor processing lecture information
by deaf college students. Journal of Rehabilitation for the Deaf,11, 1977.
Johnson, D. W. & Johnson, R.'T. Instructional goal structure: cooperative,
competive or individualictic. Review of Educational Research,1974, 44, 213-240.
Johnson, D. W. & Johnson, R. T. Learningtogether and alone. Cooperation,
Competition and individualization. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice:. Hall,
1975t, and Johnson, D., Skon, L..& Johnson, R. Effects of cooperative, competive
individualistic conditions on children'sproblem solving performance. American
Educational Research Journal, 1980, 17,83-85.
Predict Joiner, L. M., Erickson, E. I., Crittenden,J. B., & Stevenson, V. M.
ing the acadimic achievement of theacoustically-impered using intelli-
gence and self-concept ofacademic. ability. Journal of Special,Educafiion,
1966, 3, 425-431, 262 Laughlin, P. Abilty and group problem-solving. Journal of Research and
Itilelament in Education,1978,12,114-120.
Mc Clintock, C. G. & Van Avermal, E. The effects of manipulating feedback upon
children's motives and performances: a propositional statementand empirical
evaluation. Behavioral Science, 1975, 20, 101-116.
1 Maehr, M. L. Continuing motivation: an analysis of a seldomconsidered educational
outcome. Review of Educational Research,1976, 46,443-462.
Masters,J. C. & Mokros, J. Effects of incentive magnitude upondisrimination
learning and choice preference in young children. Child Development, 1973,44,
225-231.
Meadow, K. P. Developmental problems of deafness duringthe school years. In
H. Schlesinger and K. Meadow(Eds.) Sign and sound. Berkley, Calif.:
University of California Press, 1972.
MeadowK. P. The development of deaf children. In E. Heatherington, J. Hagen,
P. Kron and A. Stein(Eds.) Review of child development research(Vol. 5) Chicago,
Ill.: University of Chicago Press, 1975.
In B. Bolton Meadow, K. P. Personality and social development ofdeaf persons.
Baltimore, (ed.) Psychology of deafness fox rehilitationcounselors.
MD: Un. ersity Park Press, 1976.
Meath-Lang, B. A comparitive study of experiencedand non-e:,erienced groups
of deaf college students:Their attitudes toward languagelearning.
Teachini{ English to the Deaf,1978, 9-14.
(Ed.) Meyerson, L. A psychology of the hearingimpaired. In W. Cruichshank Prentice-Hall, 1963. Tracholoxv gusizajonal glair= andyjaatt New York:
Mischel, W. Toward a cognitive sociallearning reconceptionualization of
personality. Pschological Review, 1973, 80,252-283. , 263 academic Mitchell, T. R. &Nebecker, D. M. Expectancy theory of predictions on
effort and performance. Journal of Applied Pi...askol.c2a,1973, 57, 61-67. grading comvined as an Polczynski, James J. Expectancy theory and contract
effective motivational force forcollege students. Journal of Educational
Research, May - June 1977,/2(5), 238-241. Deaf students incolleges anduniversities. Quigley, S., Jenne, W.,and Phillips, S. 1968. Bell 'Associationfor the Deaf, WashingtonD. D.: Alexandar Graham the relationship between Rogers, Carl, et. al.Social comparison in the classroom: Journal of EducationalPsychology, academic achievementandfself-concept.
February 1879, 70, 50-57. academic task withvarying Rosswork, S. G. Goal setting: the effects on an Psychology, December 1977, magnitudes of incentive. Journal of Educational
62(6), 710-715. children as comparedwith those of Rutledge, L. Aspiration levels of deaf and Hearing disorders,1954, a, hearing children. Journal ofSmell
375-380. deafness among several Schroedel, J. G., & Schiff,W: Attitudes towards 1972, 12, deaf and hearing populations, Rehabilitation Psycholla,
59-70. CompetitivebehaviOr of kibbutz and Shapira, A. andMadsen, H. C. Cooperative and 1969, 40, 609-617. urban children inIsreal. Child Development, failure at lizayersity Simon, J. & Feather, N.' Causalattributions fo.sucCess and
Psychology, 1973, 64,46-56. examinations. Journal of Educational and pratical review. Slavin, R. Classroom reward structure: an analytical 633-651. Review of Educational Research,Fall 1977, 47(4),
comparison among equals: effects on academic Slavin, R. Student teams and Journal of EducationalPsychology, 1978, performance and studentattitudes.
12.(4), 532-538. level feedback on classroom -'elated verbal Snyder, C. R. Effects of comparison Psychologz, 1972, 63(5),493-499. learning performance. Journal of Educational 264
Snyder, C. R. 6 Katahn, M. The relationship of state anxiety,feedback and
ongoing self-reported affect to performance incomplex verbal learning.
The American Journal of Psychology, June1970, 83(2), 237-247.
Stinson, M. Maternal reinforcement and help and theachievement motive in
hearing and hearing-impaired children. Developmental Psychology, 1974,
10, 348-353.
Strang, L., et al. Social comparison, mulitiple reference groupsand the self-
concpts of academically handicappedchildren before and after mainstreaming.
Journals of Educational Psychology, August1978, 70(4), 48/-497.
Uguroglu, Margret E. 6 Walberg, HerbertJ. Motivation and Achievement: A
Journe1,1979, 16, 375-389. Quantitive Synthesis. American Educational Research
Veroff, J. Social comparison and thedevelopment of achievement motivation
N%w York: In C. P. Smith (Ed.),Achievement-related motives in children.
Russell Saga, 1969. Pp 46-101.
Walberg, H. J. 6 Vguroglu, M. E. Motivation and educationalproductivity:
theories, results and implications. In Fyans, Jr. (Ed.). Achievement
Plenum, 1979. Motivation: Recent Trends in Theory andResearch. New York:
Weiner, B. Attribution theory , achievement,motivation and_the_educatindal:process
Review of Educational Research,1972, 4 ?. 203-215 (a). Journal Weiner, B. A. A theory of motivation for .wireclassroom experiences.
of Educational Psychology,1979, 71, 3-25. analysis of achievement Weiner, B., 6 Peter, N, V. a cognitive-developmental
and moral judgements.Ityllmental Psychology,1973, 9, 290-309. factors in Zajone, R. 6 Brickman, P. Expectancyand feedback as independent gocial Psychology, 1969, 11, task performance. Journal of Personality and
143-156.
26'q SECTION II:
LEARNING AS A PROCESS
26o Discovery versus Expository Instructional Strategies
and Their Implications for Instruction of
Rearing-Impaired Post-Secondary Students
Rowland S. Blake
k 269
A' Historical Perspective
"...to really possess knowledge oracquire an idea, the learner mustdiscover by
himself or through his own insight."(Quotation in Ausubel, 1978, p..529)
This reflects the views of manyeminent individuals who haveargued for the virtues discovers a concept or of "discovery learning."Discovery learning occurs when a person of principle among concretephenomena or examples rather than being given a statement that concept or principle.It focuses on the learner andthe learning process, although exponents .of this methodhave typically been educatorsencouraging teachers to promote discovery through their teaching.This method is thus not only alearning method, but an instructional one as well, since theteacher consciously withholds pertinentinformation to promote discoVery by thelearner often providing certain cues orprompts to the learner in order to promote learning. The discovery method has found proponentsfrom very early times. In hisdialogue in order to help him with the slave boy, Socrates engagedin posing questions to the boy discover certain principles of geometry. Other pruininent proponents of thediscovery method have beenRousseau, Montes- method grew sori, Dewey, and Bruner(Kornbau, 1977).Advocacy for the discovery especially in the wake of the Progresc.iveEducation movement, whichviewed traditional teaching as authoritarian and heavilyabstract.At that time the commonimage of teaching tended to be that of theprofessor standing at the front of theclass, dispensing truth in the form of factual informationand generalities within the contextof a lecture. In reaction to that perception oftraditional methods, other approachesutilizing labora- tory work, concrete experiences,and problem solving tasks wererecommended.Focus was turned onchildren's individual needs and theircapacity to discover things for themselves. This trend received anadditional boost from the growing cryfor increased 270
in the post-Sputnik era.The scientific scientific competencefor American students and students wereencouraged to laboratory at schools andcolleges grew in prominence
engage in discoveryexperiences In order tobe "scientific." learning in recenttimes has been The most prominentadvocate for discovery learning than probably any Jerome S. Bruner. Hehas done more topopularize discovery that discovery learning cangive, other educator. He arguespersuasively for the benefits but which ultimately are advancing a number of argumentswhich tend to be philosophical,
subject to empiricalverification. experi- Probably one of Bruner'sgreatest contributionshas been to provoke overt The decade of the mentation in order toestablish the validity ofthe discovery method. 1970's. In recent 1960's saw a fair amountof experimentation,which lasted into the waned, probably due tothe relative lack Of years, experimentalinterest in the topic has More recent research onthe discovery conclusive researchfindings on the question. the utility of the discoverymethod as a method has shifted awayfrom the question about interactions - -the various con- unified approach, and hascentered more on establishing valuable, for example, forcertain types ditions under which thediscovery method may be of learning tasks.Before...mining of students, certain typesof content, or certain types first define as accurately aspossible just such research studiesand their results, let us
what the discovery methodis.
r4 271
DiscoveriAtethod 42412_pc sitoryMethod
expository methods differ,it is first In order to understandhow the discovery and of learning behavior andspecifically, what a necessary tounderstand various categories "rule" is.
Domains and Categoriesof Learnitavior and/or In an effort to definedifferent types of learningand to formulate learning educators Instructional strategies foreach type or category oflearning behaviOr, various
have developed taxonomiesof learning behaviors. processes), Bloom (1936) dividesbehaviors into the cognitivedomain (intellectual affective domain (attitudes andvalues). the psychomotor domain(motor skills), and the some of Each of the drains canbe broken down furtherinto types of learning. Here are Gagne, 1970, the most prOmi:lent typesfound in the cognitivedomain (adapted .torn
1977):
Categories of Learning inthe Cognitive Domain eJLearning Category Example the first per- Memorized knowledge St ~ting that Gutenberg was sof to usemovable type to print a book
Jisczimination .nguishing printed b's from d's
Concept Identifying a 742 as a jetaircraft of 3.14 Rule Calculating the square root
Problem solving Formulating a Nile forpredicting unemploy- ment level fromeconomic indices
G 272
types orcategories:4 We are most interestedhere with the last three share certain A concept refers to aclass of objects, things, orevents which enumerating the attributeswhich attributes or characteristics.The verbal statement definitions found in the define the concept is called a"definition," in the same sense as mastered the concept is not dictionary.The standard testof whether a person has whether he or she whether he or she can statethe definition or nameof the concept, but student is shownsomething and can identifyexamples belonging to theconcept class. The of the concept. must indicate "Yes,this is an example," or"No, this is not an example" of two or more concepts,e.g., A rule involves theinaeraction or manipulation certain class plural byadding calculating the volume of asphere or making the noun of a "principle" in the literature. the suffix s.Such an operation isoften called a "rule" or Applying the rule to aspecific Sometimes the more lay term"procedure" is used. the rule is correctly instance is often called"rule-using,;"An example showing how "example" of the rule. A applied, generally in astep-by-step manner, is called an the manipulation, statement describing arule, listing what mustbe done at every step of
is called a "rule statement" orsometimes simply a "rule." decide whether an A concept is really aspecial type of rule.For a person to class, he or she must make surethat the instence is a member orexample of the concept For example, instance exhibits thecharacteristics or attributeswhich define the concept. the questions, (a) Doesit have airfoil- to decide if a 747is a jet aircraft, one must answer propulsion?I :! the shaped wings?, (b) Doesit fly?, and (c) Doesit have jet engines for aircraft.This process of answers are "yes,"then one concludesthat a 747 is a jet rule, though matching attributes of theinstance and the definitionis itself a procedure or rule results in a it may often be executedin a split second.Applying such a matching is not an example."Other than binary conclusion, "Yes,it is an exam?le," or"No, it result in many possible concept rules, mostrules do not have abinary output, but can
outputs, depending uponthe specific instance. 273
rule that the term"rule statement"(or It is because a conceptis a special kind of well as rules.In the research "rule" for short) isused in conjunctionwith concepts es methods of instructionthe term literature dealingwith the discoveryand expository either a concept or arule. This "rule" generally is usedto refer to therule statement of otherwise stated.When the designation usage willbe followed inthis paper, unless rule, not a concept. "rule/principle" is used, itwill refer specifically to a the highest categoryof behavior in Problem solving behaviorIs often regarded as in which the studentis required tosolve a the cognitive domain.This refers to situations rules and then applyingthe rules in problem by selecting,combining, and/or generating solving behavior thusInvolves "rule-finding" such a way as to solvethe problem. Problem qualify as problem solvingbehavior in the strictest and "rule-using"behavior. In order to have known one or more ofthe rules beforehand sense of the term,the student must not speak of "practice (although the teacher mayknow them).Thus, though we may solve (e.g., mathematicalproblems), if exercises" or "problems"which the student must is not really problemsolving but the student knowsthe rule for solvingthe "problem," it
rule-using behavior.
Expository Method to the thenprevailing system of Since the discoverymethod arose in reaction characteristics oftraditional instruction, it may beuseful to first definethe principal
expository Instruction. can take manydiverse forms, but one Admittedly, expositoryinstruction may an least in contextof this discussionof might characterizeexpository instruction, at surlies the studentwith all the necesscry methods, as instructionin which the teacher The emphasis is onthe conveyanceof Information or contentthat is to be learned. Other terms thathave been relatively complete,well organized anddefined content. and "teacher-centered" applied to this varietyof instruction are"didactic," "deductive,"
instruction. 27t 274
explicit statements of the Such Instruction has typicallyprovided the student with would be concepts or.principles tobe learned (i.e., the "rules").Definitions for concepts Students may, for provided as well as proceduresfor performing a task orexercise. example, be required to solve a setof algebraic formulas, butwould first be given the expository rules by which suchformulas could be solved. The usual sequence in In instruction would be first, apresentation of the rule, thenmanipulation of examples. instructional literature, this sequenceis sometimes referred to as"ruleg."Teacher-
presented examples may or may notbe followed by practiceexercises, examples that the included in the more student must manipulate, butsuch practice exercises are generally
effective forms of expositoryinstruction.
Discovery Method Just as expository instruction cantake many forms, the term"discovery method" There has been a lack of has been applied to many differentvarieties of instruction. Defini- agreement in theeducational literature on the definitionof discovery learning. learned, tions tend to focus on thenecessity of the studentdiscovering what is to be without being given theexplicit information or content by theteacher. The student is and he or she seen as receivinglittle or no guidance whilewrestling with the material discovers must "go beyond theevidence" to discover something.Just what the student includes depends upon the specificinstructional or experimentalsituation, but frequently examples presented to thestudent. the underlying but unstatedrule which is illustrated in the In some cases, the studentis actually required toformulate and state verbally definition of the concept or statementof the principle, but regardlessof whether that verbal formulation is required or not,the student must typicallybe able to apply the rule problem, or by identifying a new in new situations, e.g., bysolving a similar mathematical
example of the concept that wasIllustrated by the previouslyencountered examples. 275
learning, for example,"inductive" Other terms have beenused to refer to discovery discovery," "egrule" strategy, method, "heuristic" method,"activity learning," "guided "learner-centered instruction,"and even the term"problem-solving." less familiarity The term "inductive"method- tends to be usedby persons who have and is perhaps best toavoid with the theory and research-literature of discovery learning, The term because of additionalmeanings beyond the conceptof discovery learning. logic. "inductive" Is used in philosophy toidentify inductive logic asopposed to deductive well articulated or defined as Even in philosophy inductivelogic is nowhere near as deductive logic. mental Some psychologists also usethe term to refer toInductive processing, i.e., a Although this meaning process of arriving atconclusions from a restricted setof data. clearly outside the domain of this does have some relationship todiscovery learning, it is instructional paper to explore themental processes of learners.Rather, the focus is on it is strategies, what the teacher cando to facilitate learning bythe student. In any case, generalizations about the internal difficult to accurately assessand describe and draw techniques that cognitive processing ofindividuals or groups.It is easier to describe the the learning an instructor usesIn an effort to getstudents to learn, and to assess rather than outcomes. Admittedly,Bruner was hopeful offocusing on learning processes learning outcomes. He orother educators could, of course,posit all sorts of learning behaviors and the processes; butwhat can effectively bedescribed is the set of teacher outcomes of stimuli presented to thestudent (these areinstructional van tbles) and the the instructionwhat skills orknowledge the student is able toder onstrate. Research on of discovery method thus tends tofocus on the instructionalvariables and the outcomes Instruction, rather than the process. Another term used to refer todiscovery learning is "egrule," anabbreviation for given examples before "example- rule." This simply meansthat learners are first 276
then examples wouldbe formulating or seeing therule stater -nt.A sequence of rule,
termed "ruleg." synonymously withdiscovery learn- The term"problem-Solving" is sometimes used the rule-statementbut must ing. In one sensethis is true, sincethe student is not shown problem solving, however, discover it; the "problem"is to discover therule. This type of complex and requiresthe is not the usual kindof problem solving,which typically is more known to the student student to discover orfind many different rules,often each of them strategya new rule--tosolve the problem. in isolation, andcombine them together in a certain information, butis guided In "guided discovery"the learner is not provided other devices to find therule.In a "pure" by the instructor withhints, questions, or
discovery situation, nosuch help would be given. discovery method is usedand ways in In analyzing the sensesin which the term discovery method in which it Is operationalizedin research designs, itis possible to define
terms of twovariables: I. Amount of guidance
2. Sequence of rules andexamples the teacher, but is In a pure discoverymode, the student isgiven no guidance from instruction the studentis provided expected to discover theunderlying rule. In expository including, of course, therule. all of the context tobe learned andconsiderable guidance, actually vary from none or aminimal In discovery learning,the amount of guidance may forms. Rule statementsfor the amount to asubstantial amount. Guidance can take many guidance to help thestudent master rules and concepts mayin one sense be regarded as the form of prompts or cuesdesigned to the rules and concepts.Other guidance may take certain inherent patterns.In some help the learner focus onrelevant stimuli and see and placement of cases the patterns canbe highlighted simplyby the spacial relationship the form of the information in theinstructional materials.Guidance may also take 277
approach the instruction7t1, task in a instructions or directionsdesigned to help the learner questions, or a variety ofother certain way. Objectives,advanced organizers, inserted focus his or her atter)ion on devices can also be given asguidance to help the e'tudent can als )be important ;nformation orskills.Feedbaa0 or praise or encouragement
regarded as forms of guidance. the differences between exposi- The second variablewhich frequently characterizes is given the tory and discoveryinstruction is the sequence inwhich critical information the student, specifically, the sequenceof rules and examples.In expository instruction, After that, the student is first givenrules, then examples whichillustrate the rule. rule in student is generally givenpractice exercises in whichhe or she must use the examples and/or specific instances.In the discovery method,the student is first given rule. Upon practice items whichillustrate the rule, from whichhe or she must induce the the formulating the proposed rule,the student would generallybe given either feedback or
rule-statement to confirm thediscovery. Given all of the variablesmentioned above, research onthe discovery method is tends to be expectedly diverse.. Thepractical effect of this is thatthe body of research of the research includesthe somewhat inconclusive. However, a significant portion the manipulation of rules Andexamples and their sequence, sothat in this portion of research literature it is morepossible to reach some conclusions. It is important to keepin mind that the discoveryh.ethod has generally been alternative to exposi -,ry addressed in the theoretical andresearch literature as an instruction are thus instruction, and therefore inopposition to it.The two varieties of the treated as two polar concepts,and much of the researchdealing with them compares claims two. Much of the research appearsto be motivated by adesire to substantiate the
and superiority of the discoverymethod. 278
somewhat In actual instruction,and even in researchdesign,itis sometimes actually a difficult to distinguish the twoapproaches in a pure way.Much instruction is examples-rule- combination of the twoFor example, take the sequenceof instruction, discovery method, examples. The first partof this sequence, examples-rule, reflects the approach. whereas the latter part ofthe sequence, rule-examples,reflects the expository the rule, feedback orthe actual rule is Even In a discoverymode, once the student infers expected to apply the rule to newsitu- often given the student,after which the student is strictly speaking, to talkabout a ations instances. At that point it is inaccurate, If, moreover, the studentis discovery mode, since therule has already beendiscovered. 'instruction' sequence will probablybe given no practice Items forapplying the rule, the
faulty and not result instudent mastery of the rule,i.e., application of the rule.
Another reason pure 'polar typesof instruction are notprevalent is because even in student can be given in his discovery learning there Is a rangein the amount of guidance a have in fact included a or her attemptto discover the rule.Many research designs characteristics of expository "guided discovery" treatment,which shares some of the has even charged that instruction.One critic of discoverylearning, Ausubel (1978), instruction. While being awareof guided discovery learning issimply a form of expository discovery learning and expo this relative indeterminacyof boundary between expository instruction, it is still useful tolook at the researchcomparing discovery and it is most apt to be instruction.If there is to be any usefuleffect of discovery learning, detected in experimentswhich distinguish the twoapproaches. Rationale for the DiscoverMethod advanced in support of learning Ausubel (1978) summarizedthe following arguments
by discovery: I. All real knowledge is selfdiscovered. discovery. 2. Meaning is an exclusive productof creative, nonverbal 279
3. Sub-verbal awareness is the key to transfer. subject-matter 4. The discovery method is the principalmethod for transmitting content.
5. Problem-solving ability is the primarygoal of education. training in 6. Training in the "heuristics ofdiscovery" is more important than subject matter.
7. Every child should be a creative andcritical thinker.
8. Expository teaching is "authoritarian."
9. Discovery organizes learning effectivelyfor later use.
10. Discovery is a unique generator ofmotivation and self-confidence.
11. Discovery .s a prime source ofintrinsic motivation.
12. Discovery enures "conservation of memory.". (p. 520) Ausubel argues that these claimsfor the benefits of discoverylearning are untenable both logically and pedagogically(Ausubel, 1978, pp. 520, 529-553).Many, of
Ausubel's arguMents are theoretical in nature,appealing to logic or educational philosphy to refutetile claims. Some of his arguments seem to lose their powerbecause he takes a rhetorical stance against overstated orexaggerated claims by advocates ofdiscovery learning,. however, in all fairness toAusubel, the claims for discoverylearning have often been couched in far more philosophicalrhetoric without basing their claims onempirical evidence. Many of these claims for discoverylearning, of course, are basicallyphilosophic 11.
Arguments 5, 6, and 7, for example,reflect the value placed on each childbecoming a critical and creative problem-solvingindividual.This view reflects a valueorientation toward thinking, discovery andproblem- solving. While Ausubelundertakes to refute the psychological and educational validityof such claims, claiming that theundue preoccupa- tion or obsession with mal6ng theindividual student a critical thinkeringnores the importance of teaching the student thebody of knowledge of a particular subjectmatter. 280
learning which i'effect amore empiricallybased Certain other claimsfor discovery
position cat`1., summarized inthis manner: results in betterretention ofinformation. 1. Discovery learning tranrIer. 2. Discovery learningresults in better intrinsically moremotivating for learners 3. The use of thediscovery method is
than expositoryteaching. enhances the student'sproblem -solving ordiscovery 4. Engaging in discovery
skills. to empiricalverification, has not Hypothesis 4, citeddirectly above, while open which include transfertasks are often been addressedin research.Some experiments
probably aiming atMeasuring this type ofeffect.
Research Finding!,
method and expository Research studies to comparethe effects ofthe discovery In their summaryof a conference on instruction have ingeneral beeninconclusive. (1966) indicated oneof the majorproblems discovery learning,Keislar and Shulman contributing to theinconclusiveness of theresearch: literature anddeliberation,- of Examination of boththe exhaustive'reviews of the The question asstated is not theconference lead to aninescapable conclusion: experimental treatment,the amenable to researchsolutions becausethe implied ,..J imprecise tobe used meaningfullyin an discovery method, isfar too ambiguous
experimental investigation.(p. 191) implementation of adiscovery approach isundoubt-' Disagreement aboutthe mrning or factors to theinconclusiveness of th0research. Thus, edly one of themajor contributing designed and conducted,have yieldedresults empirical studies, evenwhen meticulously
which are difficult t1 compare.
2 7d 281
however. Even when there is an Other factors contribute tothis state of affairs, experimental definition of thediscovery method,' there is often a poorresearch design, (two or leading to lack of controlof experimental variables,confounding of variables the same more factors which may a.aunt for differences,bo: which are used In separated), or obscuring factors treatment, and whoseeffects cannot, consequently, be
which are present in bothexperimental treatments, e.g., teacher'sstyle. Despite the difficulties, it ispossible to draw at least sometentative c,:lusions about what the researchindicates.There are some trends whichpoint to certain advantages of one or theother method and may serve asthe basis for further experimentation andfrt the initialdesign of instructional strategiesfor an instructional the question system.Let us first look at researchfindings about nl?in effects, ignoring about whether certain types ofstudents or content or other factorsmodify the effect of
the instructional method.
Effects of Discovery Method andExpository Method research on discovery There are two main dependentvariables which have figured in
learning: immediate retentionand transfer.In a few experimentsdelayed retention has been another fairly been one of the dependent measures.Time spent in learning has
prominent dependent measure, while,motivation or affect has beeninfrequently examined.
Here is a summary of thefindings of research on each of thesevariables:
Immediate Retention
Some studies show no significantdifferences between thediscovery approach and Taken the expository. Many studiesactually show the expositoryapproach to be superior. expository approach tends to besuperior as a whole, onecould at least conclude that the to the liscoveryapproach in terms of immediateretention. For advocates of discovery
learning, this is obviously adisheartening conclusion. 282
Transfer between the discovery ana Here again, some studiesshow no significant differences tends to favor thediscovery, m.xpository approaches.However, in this area, research conclusive, but a fair approach its being moreeffective.This is certainly not entirely transfer tend to possibility. Studies measuringthe effect of theinstructional method on "transfer" tasks alike.Some be inconcluSive becausethe studies do not always treat instances as the transfertask (rule- studies use the applicationof a learned rule to new the transfer task. using); others use the discovery of a newrule from a set of examples as
Research findings on transfereffects tend to favor theinitial experimental of a treatment most approximatingthe conditions of transfer.In cases where discovery tends to be more new rule constitutesthe transfer task, theinitial discovery treatment requires beneficial than an initialexpository treatment; in caseswhere the transfer task treatment the application of analready discovered orexplicated rule, the expository that the tends to produce betterresults on the transfertask.This strongly suggests the initial nature of the transfertask should be stronglyconsiderrd in deciding what objectives should instructional treatment ormethod should be.Carefully articulated
serve to specifytransfer as well as immediateretention requirements. learning on transfer tasksyields In general, examinationof the effects of discovery This finding has, in the most promising resultsfor the advocates ofdiscovery learning. incorporated into the hypothese, fact, emerged from earlyresearch literature and been
and experimental designsof subsequent research.
Time for Learning Except for a few isolatedexperiments, the expositoryapproach shows a clear and
consistent advantage over thediscovery approach in termsof time required for learning; has students simply learn fasterwith the expository approach.This rather clear finding
"26 283
research question aboutthe discovery led some experimenters tosuggest that the real and transfer- approach is "not whetherlearning by discoveryenhances learning, retention, learners who are capableof learning ability, but whether:(1) it does so sufficieitiy, for the vastly increasedexpendi- concepts and principlesmeaningfully without it, to warrant consideration, the discovery ture 'of time itrequires; and (2) in viewof this time-cost substantive content of anintellectual method is a feasible techniquefor transmitting the or scientificdiscipline" (Ausubel, 1978, p.529). Motivation or Affect Proponents of the discovery Very few studies addressthis dependent variable. and interest for thatmethod. approach, of course,hypothesize greater motivation the few However, because of thepaucity of studies addressingthis issue, and because variable, one cannot conclude that either existing studies do notadequately measure the method is superior on thisvariable.
Amount of Guidance discovery treatments which vary A number of studies comparethe relative merit of (an independent variable). Ingeneral, the in the amount of guidanceprovided the student than discovery approacheswith "guided discovery" approachesresult in better learning approach less guidance or no guidance.Thus, discoveryapproaches which resemble or than expository instruction i- termsof the degree of guidancetend to be more effective
discovery approaches withless or no guidance. Verbalization of Rule is having a subverbal awareness Hendrix (1947) hypothesizedthat the key to transfer :,squiring the rule, of a rule and thatverbalization of the rule is notonly unnecessary for (Hendrix, 1947) but is also harmful forthe transfer of the rule.She conducted a study subjects who were not requiredto which reportedly supportedthe hypothesis: discovery better (after about two verbalize their generalizationsretained their generalizations
2&j 284
required to verbalizethe rule.However, weeks) than the discoverysubjects who were that some aspectsof Ausubel (1963) takesissue with herconclusions, pointing out reported in her studymake her conclusions measurement,evaluation, and controls
somewhat tenuous. of the Hendrixhypothesis in a study he Schwartz (1948)suggested a refined form effort to conducted: "A recentlyformed concept may be destroyedby the unsuccessful hypothesis: subjects verbalize it" (p. 63).Schwartz's experimentalresults did support his able to apply the rulein another who were able to orallyverbalize the rule correctly were (but not all) were situation, while of the towho incorrectlyverbalized the rule, most
unable to apply therule correctly in anothersituation. the effects of writtenverbaliza- Hanson (1967) found nosignificant differences in college students, althoughthe analysis tions vs. no verbalizationsfor eghth graders and verbalization group.It is significant to note for college studentsalone favored the no elementary mathematics course,while the that college students weredrawn from an Ability to verbalize may,in fact, eighth graders were drawnfrom a higher ability group.
be a mediating factorin such experiments. given the experimental In an experimentby Retzer (1969),before subjects were the specificationof domains and task, they completed aprogrammed unit involving Retzer' found no quantifiers and werethus prepared to giveprecise verbalizations. and thus no supportfor the Hendrix hypo- significant differencesbetween treatments, yielded no supportfor the Hendrla thesis. An experiment bySowder (1970 also Sowder study and the Hennix study is hypothesis. A noteworthydifference between the ' e rule, while in theSowder study, that Hendrix requiredprecise verbalizationof
vernacular statements wereaccepted if not inaccurate. 1962) obtained results that supportthe Other experimenters(Guthrie, 1%7; Kersh, experiments, students had tospend extra time Hendrix hypothesis.However, in these learning the rule until itcould be verbalized uponrequest. 285
While it is difficult to interpretwith finality the diversefindings abOut the effects it appears that studentswho are of verbalizations onsubsequent applications of rules, accurate perception ofthe equipped to verbalize a rule,and who actually have attained an have not gained an accurate rule, have no difficulty infurther applying it. Students who perception of the rule, or areunable to verbalize it, seem tohave difficulty in applying inhibition, the rule later.This can possibly be explainedby the concept of retroactive (verbalizing) interferes with the i.e., that the involvementof a student in a particular task
memory of an earliertask. merely show that a Ausubel (197) suggeststhat "more probably these findings
relatively clear and consolidatedsubverbal insight is more functionaland transferable verbally expressed than an ambiguous, inept,unconsolidated, and marginally competent
Idea" (p.536). Ausubel cites studies whichindicate that verbal insights are more 1959) and transferable than subverbal insights(Spiker & Terrell, 1955; Weir & Stevenson,
studies showing that knowledgeof underlying` verbal principlesenhances problem solving the articulation of a (Ewert & Lambert, 1932; Gagnier& Smith, 1962). He argues that rule and providing a label forthe concept or rule helps the,student to remember it and
apply it in new situations. 1Relationshiof Methods ant, Learner Characteristics ¶initive conclusions about the As individual researcct'rdies have failed to yield d' superkwity of the discovery methodof instruction over theexpository, attention has been
increasingly turned to seekingfor interactions with variouslearner and content variables, of content are most in an attempt to ascertainwhat type of learners or what type beneficially taught by the discoverymethod or the expository method.First, interactions
with learner variables will bediscussed. 286
Mentali abilities or IQ 'affectstudents' Much research fails toestablish that mental Many studies(Anastasiow, performance under expository ordiscovery learning conditions. 1965; Ray, 1961;Robertson, 1°7.3) have 1970; Barrish, 1970;Fowler, 1931; Krumboltz, instruction, discovery vs. found no significantinteractions between IQand method of high IQ's showed superior expository.One study (Sobel,1956) found that subjects with compared to the expositorymethod. For learning results under thediscovery method, as differences in performancebetween subjects of lower IQ,there were no significant and Strickland (1969) foundsimilar discovery and expositorymethod treatments. Maynard interactions was significant benefits forhigh a.pity rubjects, althoughthe strength of the students, the expositorymethod and comparatively weak.Again, among low ability
discovery method yieldedequivalent results. between sex, IQ, andinstructional Babikian (1971) found athree-way interaction disco eery method, method; high IQ boysperformed better thanhigh IQ girls under the method than the expository. with high IQ girls doing nobetter under the discovery Nevertheless, high IQ boysstill did not perform aswell in the discovery treatment that on a transfer test,high IQ condition as in theexpository.Babikian also reported discovery approach thanthose having subjects performed betterhavirig received the
received the expositoryapproach.
Fieli:Teenclence/Independence the instructionmethoddis-covery or Some researchershave investigated whether Field-independent individuals expositoryinteracts withfield-dependence/independence. abstract relevant stimuli orattributes are characterized asbeing analytical and able to tend to approach a situationin a more from a field of stimuli.Field-dependent individuals particular stimuli or attributesanalytically; global fashion and areless able to extract also to be their strength is toapprehend the whole situationin an integrated way and
more sensitive topeople and social situations.
2 S,1 287
approach is better forfield- Some researchers haveposited that the expository of the learning task dependent students, sinceit provides a moreanalytical treatment learners are rather than requiringstudents to analyze It.Likewise, field-independent approach to learning,since they are able to posited to performbetter under the discovery analyze the learningsituation and perhaps evenneed that challenge. & Kahle, 1977) Of two studiesexamining this hypothesis, oneof them (Douglass 1977) did find failed to find evidencefor the interaction, whilethe other (McLeod, with the discoveryapproach and evidence that field-independentstudents learned better However, in the latter field-dependent studentsbetter with the expositoryapproach. seeing examples in study the treatmentvariables were confounded,the expository group seeing examples in concrete,manipulable symbolic representationand the discovery group conclusions-about the interactionof instruc- form.It is, therefore,impossible to draw field-dependence/independence. tional methods and I
Aptitudes and interests the relationship betweenwhat they One 'study (Tallmadge& Shearer, 1969) examined (discovery vs expository) andthe type of called "learning styles,"Instructional methods administered a learning task or ,:ontent.To measure "learningstyle," the experimenters tests of arithmetic, battery of aptitudeand interest tests totheir subjects, e.g., the Kuder VocationalPreference mechanical, clerical,verbal, logical reasoning, etc.; artistic, literary, socialservice, battery of tests (mechanical,computational, scientific, found no significant etc.); and a variety ofother aptitude measures.The experimenters and Irner interaction between theinstructional method(discovery vs. expository)
aptitudes and interests. 288
Creativity Torrance's Test ofCreative Thinking One e?perimenter(Barrish, 1970) administered hypothesis that highdivergent ("divergent thinking") In anexperim nt to test the while low (creative) subjects would learnbetter using the guideddiscovery method, expository method. Theresearch study divergent subjects wouldlearn better under the research is inconclusivein failed to support thehypothesis.At this point, therefore, instructional method,discovery establishing a relationshipbetween creative thinking and
vs. expositoryinstruction.
Hermann in an analysis ofvarious experiments ondiscovery/expository instruction, significant factor affecting (1969) tried to determine whetherthe age of learners is a that it is whether the discovery orthe expository method issuperior. Hermann indicates incomparability of the difficultto, draw anydefinitive conclusionsbecause of the because of the experimental tasks frbmelementary school to highschool to college, and school children, namely, two. small number of studiesdealing with elementary
Anxiety, between Research by Tallmadge andShearer (1971) yielded asignificant interaction learned better under student anxiety and themethod of instruction:low anxiety students anxiety students performedbetter under the expository methodof instruction, while high examined in other the discovery method.While such an interactionis not explicitly had found repeatedhints in the studies, Cronbach andSnow (1969) indicated that t, ey variables literature about an interactionbetween anxiety andinstructional treatment exactly what this (cited in Tallmadge arShearer, 1971). Itis difficult to interpret
generalization might mean. 289
Relationship of InstructionalMethodsand ContentCharacteristics method may interactwith the There are a number of waysIn which the Instructional content. These areeach discussed here. Difficulty of Learning Task examine the relativeeffects of the An experiment byDanner (1974) attempted to lessons.The study discovery and expositorymethods by givingstudents two different the main effects,but post( hoc found no significantdifferences on these treatments, difficult than the other.A further analysis indicated that oneof the lessons was more beneficial for the analysis -f the dataindicated that theexpository method was more more beneficialfor lesson of relativelyhigh difficulty, whilethe discovery method was reasoned that "it seemslogical that the moderatelydifficult lesson.The experimenter they differ primarily inthe the two methodsmight interact with levelof difficulty since by a learner would vary amount of directiongiven and the amountof direction needed with the level ofdifficulty of the task"(Danner, 1974, p. 83). in his review Mechner, on the otherhand, takes a differentposition on this question difficult for most membersof the target of programmed Instruction;"If the concept is members o! the population, EGRULE is moreappropriate. If the conceptis easy for most (Mechner, 1967, p. 97; target population,then the RULEG sequenceIs more appropriate" extent Mechner'sconclusion is quoted in Hermann,1969, p. 64).It is not clear to what
e d onempirical evidence. studies on language An analysis of theresults of Daliner'sstudy (197h) and of If the learning taskis teaching (to be citedlater) suggests the followirigreasoning. rule, and if the difficult and it wouldbe difficult for thestudent to discover the of the rule statement of the rule Issufficiently understandable,then the introduction approach, which should benefit the studentIn mastering thetask, and the expository method.If starts out with therule, shouldbe,relatively more effective than the discovery
2b/ 290
above, but the statementof the rule is the learning task isrelatively hard, as is the case little positive benefit also difficult tounderstand, then introducingthe rule may provide would do as well or to the student inbringing order to theexamples, and the student rule:in this case the better simply having theexamples rather than adifficult, confusing approach. discovery approach wouldprobably be more beneficialthan the expository Difficulaaf Transfer Task complex, the A number of studiers suggestthat as the transfertask becomes more the expository methodfor discovery method gainsrelatively more effectiveness over study by Scandura preparing the studentfor the transfer task(Hermann, 1969, p. 61). In a scored equally well on"routine" (1964), discovery andexpository groups of students better on "novel" trarsfer problems, butdiscovery group studentsscored significantly performance ofthe transfer problems.In another studyScandura found that the to a much greaterdegree expository group of students ontransfer tasks was disrupted task became more complex.He used than the discovery gmupstudents when the transfer ti solve a problem" and the term "complexity" torefer4lo "the attention to detail required to be modified" the term "novelty" as"the degree to whichthe R-algorithm had to
(Scandura, 1964, page 156;quoted in Hermann,1969, page 61). "complexity" per se, rather,the This suggests that theunderlying variable is not learning task.A degree of similaritybetween the transferproblem and the original in cases 4/herthe transfer number of investigatorshave, in fact, fo nd this tobe true: expos44y method results inbetter task is similar to theoriginal learning :ask, the dissimilar to the originallearning task, transfer, while in cases wherethe transfer task is in better performance on use of thediscovery method on the initiallearning Task results 1967; Pease, 1975,- the transfer tail((Breauz, 1975; Guthrie, 1967;Ktu'sch & Wittrock, example, that where thetransfer task is rule- Singer, 1977).Breauz (1975) found, for inhibits using, rather than rule-finding orrule formulation,then the discovery approach 291
the transfer task is not adiscovery task, then the performance.That means that if requires applying discovery method on theinitial task is not desirable;if the transfer task In examining theeffect the rule initiallylearned, then the expositoryapproach is better. psychomotor tasks, Pease(1975) dis- upon transferof a "guided" vs.discovery strategy for testing on the covered that the mosteffective transfer occurredwhen the condition of receiving the transfer task was similar tothe initial learning strategy,i.e., when subjects task, or initially discovery meshed initiallyused the discoverymethod on the transfer "guided" subjects received a"guided" transfer task. implications in interpretingthe designs and resultsof _ These results have great guided learning earlier experimentsexamining the transfer ofskills under discovery and with transfer, transfertasks have conditions.In most of theprevious studies concerned and thus discovery treatmentsubjects been administered underthe condition of discovery, doubts about have generally had anadvantage in the transfertask.This raises serious than for the whether the transfereffects of, the discoverymethod are really greater expository method. tasks, one of Ire the Pease (1975)experiment, incidentally,there were two transfer The results did notindicate that which was judged to be morecomplex than the other. learning method. Thus, the complexity of thetask played a role orinteracted with the transfer task, but ratherthe similarity of the critical variableis not the complexity of the the transfer t sk tothe initial learning task. what conditions and inwhat type of The real .nstructionalquestion, then, his "Under This should strongly transfer task noes theInstructor want the student toengage?" discovery--should be used in suggest what typeof instructionalmethod--expository or situations, it is likely earlier instruction. If thestudent is expected toapply rules to new results.If the that the expositoryapproach which teaches thoserules would yield better problem solving, then thisshould be student is expected to find newrules or engage in . 292
the discoverymethod. This is, facilitated by providingthe student withearly exposure to purported, though of the discoveryapproach have in fact, preciselywhat some advocates discovery (,1967) concluded thatthe merits-of a not explicitlytested. Kerschand Wittrock requires of approach accrue fromwhat the method approach for anexpository ("directed") acquire facility inproblem solvingthrough students: thediscovery methodhelps students approach, while theexpository methodhelps students the discovery(problem solving) applying rules. apply rules to newsituations by givingthem practice in contention represents oneof the The fact thatresearch shouldbear out this importance of practice,that a studentshould engage strongest piecesof evidence for the This she is expected toperform at a latertime. in practicing thetype of skill he or importance and ultimatelyis expected tohave principle, it would appear,is of profound- expository or thediscovery approach toinstruction greater consequencethan whether the strategy fails togive the studentpractice in is used.If either an expositoryor discovery restricts the practicerequired of thestudent, performing the requiredskills, or severely immediate task or thetransfer task isbound to be then the student'sperformanCe in the experiments whichhave restrictedstudent practice severely retarded.It also means that with the this would moretypically be the cast and manipulationof examples--and test of the is defective andnot an adequate expository treatment--then that experiment relative merits of thediscovery and expositoryapproach. the experimentalresults of The importance of pra-tice isfurther-emphasized by ,i.e.,, practicingio mastery and Chambers (1971). He conct dedthat "over-learning transfer than doesdiscovery. Over- beyond, has aconsiderably morepowerful effect on condition for transferof a discove'redprinciple-- learning also seems tobe an important during over-learningbut because a not becausethe principle is apt tobe discovered available for to make thediscovered principle certain amountof practice is necessary transfer" (pp. 57-58).
2,90 293
Previous Knowleks examining the performanceof students Egan and Greeno(1973) conducted a study conditions and tried to analyzethat perform- under discovery andrule-using (expository) .. without mastery of the ance in termsof component skills.They found that students the rule-using component skills had -moredifficulty with thediscovery approach, while skills. in this sense, a method was effective evenwith students nothaving the component rule-using (expository)method compensated forstudent "deficiencies." produced significantlybetter Alterman (1958)found that the inductive method only with students ratinglow on results than the expositorymethod on the transfer test This is consistent with preliminary background tests,and only on the transfertest. having to expectations, since in that casestudents with littlebackground would be higher level of discover new principlesin new ma :trial.Students demonstrating, a task test and the transfer background knowledge performedbetter on the initiarlearning Conclude that for students with test after receivingthe expositoryinstruction. One could expository method resultsin better learning limited backgroundknowledge or skills, the the,objective is to preparethem for later skill in than the discoveryapproach, unless
discovery tasks. Category of Learning inCognitive Domain and discovery learning useexperi- Most of the experi7ientscomparing expository is not possible to draw mental tasks that are cont pts orrules/principles. At this point, it of learning in thecognitive genes--"izations about inteactions between the category expository or the discoverymethod domain and the instructional method,i.e., whether the rules/prin- is more effective with one orthe other of thelearning categories-concepts or
ciples. with situations whererules are not The problem-solving categoryby definition deals "discovery" ariculated or known; hence,problem-solving tasks mustbe approached by 294
problem-solving tasks canbe ;'ttacked by rules or methods.To the extent that such discovery or expository heuristics, they becomerule-using tasks and canbe subject to
teaching methods. task is a problem-solvingtask, then the It has already beennoted that if the transfer be the discovery method. favoredmethod on the initial task seems to generalizations and therefore are not Memorization tasks do notinvolve rules or It is possible, however, to ordinarily subject to thediscovery vs. expositorymethod issue. with the use isolate items to be memorizedin order to facilitatetheir, memorization, e.g., through arranging themin patterns Of objectives, glossaries,italics and other prompts, or Inasmuch as these devices maybe which may serve as ahelp in their memorization. methods may have regarded as forms of"guidance," the issue ofdiscovery vs. expository been exarnined in conjunctionwith memoriza- some implications.Such devices have not and tion tasks in the litergture on,discovery vs. expositoryteaching methods, however,
therefore no conclusions canbe drawn in this regard.
Domains of Learning k3 done in the Most of the research ondiscovery ys. expositorymethods has been Singer and Pease(t979) did use a cognitive dothain, as alreadymentioned. A study by discovery instruction.They used psychomotor task in theirinvestigation of expository vs. a "guided!!(prompted) instructional three treatments--adiscovery instructional strategy, instructional strategy (i.e., a"expository" instructionalstrategy), and a combination task was to executgta sequenceof strategy (first v...1 promptsand then without). The pre-determined sequence. Theguided hand/foot manipulations ofhandles and peddles in a better in learning theinitial task, learning and combinationlearning subjects performed the one-day delayedretention but the discovery -learningsubjects performed better on and combination methodsubjects test.On a transfer task,the discovery learning performed the best. 295
with other researchusing cognitive tasks. Such experimentalresults are consistent fact,that the cognitive Examination of theexperimental, treatments suggests,in psychomot)r component.In an component of thetasks was moreirpportant than the experimenter does, infact, admit thatthe ":93eri- earlier study byPease (1975), the extensive"cognitive effortin the learning mental tasks used in thisstudy certainly involve development of motor skillsto manipulatethe compon- of the sequencealong with the cognitive task was not ents" (p. 86).It is worthy of note,however, that the corresponding task--memorizing an invariant a concept orrule/principle, but a 1 memorization
sequence of responses. discovery method did notnecessarily result in In Pease's earlierstudy (1975), the transfer was greatestwhen the more efficient-transfer, contrarytorexpectations, Rather, the method of learningin the initial testing method of thetransfer task was similar to
sequence. the literature onerrorless vs. trial In an article by Singer(1977), the author reviews psyc4omotor domain. He speaks of "trial and error"learning as and error learning in the "prompted" or "guided"learning (which is "discovery learning" anderrorless learning as him to suggest thatthe instructional analogous to expositoryinstruction). His review led A underlying the instruction:a prompted strategy be chosenaccording to the purpose achieve a high levelof skill in the learning method should befollowed if the purpose is to will be executed in the task (as opposed to atransfer task) or if theeventual performance take place, then adiscovery presence of prompts.If transr_tc. other skills must
approach would be betterloll ed.
Content Areas discovery or the expositorymethod An attempt was made todetermine whether the That is a difficult thing todo, first of is of special benefitin particular subject matters. the actual nature othe experimental all, because it's oftendifficult to determine 296
Written reportsindicate that a material from thewritten reports ofexperiments. is drawn fromthe content areaof significant portionof experimentalmaterials deal with numberseries which reflectcertain mathematics. Some of these tasks be found inexperiments are arrangements 'systematic arrangements.Other materials to opposites, Someexperiments or groupsof words which expresscertain relationships, e.g., student to deciphercryptograms; these aregenerated use codingexercises, requiring the according to varioussystematic rules and/or by taking words andscrambling the letters substituting letterssystematically for otherletters. word relationships, Most of these typesof ,experimentalmaterialsnumber series; manipulation of numerical orlinguistic symbols, but at a and codingexercisesinvolve the mathematical tasks are of ahigher level, requiring rather rudimentarylevel. Some of the clearly drawn fromtechnical the calculation ofproducts or sums.Other material is involving the reading of fields, e.g., a taskinvolving orthographicprojection and a task 1969, for obliquereferences to content calipers, a measuringinstrument (see Hermann, areas.) involve a fixed sequenceof pressing The few psychomotortasks used in experiments other controls by handand feet. and manipulating varioushandles, pedals, and the above experimentaltasks can be It is difficult toconclude in what content areas have more relevancein the generalized. However,it is safe to assumethat they would & nal- social area. A reviewof tecl, ical andcommunication, fields, ratherthan in the pers teaching methodsdoes not reveal anystudies exist, aig studies ondiscovery vs. expositvy dealing with social content. with language There are a limitednumber of articleswhich deal specifically teaching. These will beconsidered here. 297
LarigLiKia debated the meritsof different teaching Language teachershave for a long time approaches (Fischer,1979; Hammerly,1975). strategies, includingdeductive and inductive reaction against thegrammar-translation In the late nineteenthcentury, there was a method." While there are someeducators approach, giving rise tothe inductive "direct tended to be quitepolarized who took a moremoderate or eclecticapproach, advocates the recitation ofgrammatical rules and into two extreme positionsthe one emphasizing grammatical utterances.The explanations, and the otherthe repeated useof concrete between the "audio-lingualhabit for- polarization was enhancedby Carroll's dichotomy Hammerly, 1975, p.16). The mation theory" andthe " cognitive codelearning theory" ( describe in more modern,terms the "cognitive approach" wassimply another name to distinction was probably toopolarizing (and deductive, traditionalmethod. While Carroll's in more modern terms he later backed off ofsuch a strongdistinction), it did serve to cast
an old controversy. further, stating that so' ',efoniign Chastain (1976) carriedthe distinction one st and cognitive theories language educators"feel the basic elementsof the audio-lingual deductive learning"(p. 236). Hammerly condense to the differencebetween inductive and since it is possible (1975) feels that Carroll'sdichotomy is franklycompletely unnecessary, cognition. For example, to haveaudio-lingual habit formationwith deduction and
Hammerlyindidtes that: contrastive examples(calling A grammatical point canbe introduced byleans of generaliza- for cognition on the partof the students),followed by an explanation or themselves, but in any caseinvolving also tion (ideally providedby the students choice-making exercises inthe cognition), followed byintensive habit-forming, these performance of which thestudents apply therule deductively; however, as be gradually phased outfrom the exercises continue and arespeeded up, the rule can 298
automatic responsesto structural students' attention,to be replacedby increasingly
cues. (p.16) ) with deductive/ teaching strategyis consistent This descriptionof a language expository method content areas:the deductive or inductive strategiesused in other and theinductiVe or discovery strategy starting with a ruleand continuingwith examples, quite right in by a rule orrules.Hammerly is also starting withexamples, followed methodo- elements of bothinductive and deductive indicating that somestrategies have followed by a rule,fz:Ilowed byadditional logy, when, forexample,initial.examples are characterization ofthe inductive examples or practite.In other ways,however, the of induc- the traditionaleducational definition approach in languagelearning departs from the disCoveryapproach startswith tive or discoverylearning.In other content areas, and of the,rule, evenif discoveredby the students examples butincludes a statement the "inductiveapproach" of*-,n confirmed by theteitcher; in thelanguage literature, zce only the use ofexamples, with noexplicit refs used to refer to astrategy involving inductive or discoverystrategy, but onethat to the rule.In this sense,it is an incomplete
is undeniablyfollowed. effects of using aninductive and a A study byRizzuto (1970)compared the He used rulesof morphology deductive method forteaching rules oflanguage structure. word order of words) and syntax(the structure or (the structure orcomposition of the that the inductivemethod is superior to sentences). His researchled him to conclude either tzy a test and syntacticrules, measured deductive in theteaching of morphological that it is logical to task' or a transfer measure.He reasoned on theimmediate learning generally inductivein transfer test, sincetransfer tasks are expect suchresults for the
nature in the sensethat the rules areunknown. left to theorizeunder whatconditions the Beyond that study,however, we are in languageteaching.Hammerly inductive or thedeductive approach ismost beneficial
(1975) argues that:
296 299
deduction/induction controversy.This is to present ---There is amiddle ground in the the students canlearn without an overt inductively thosegrammatical points that grammatical pointsthat require such an rule sand deductivelywith rules, those benefit froin adeductive approach are approach... Thegrammatical points that lacking in the nativelanguage. (p. 18) generally pointsbased on concepts language rule is(a) similar to Fischer (1979) suggeststhis criterion;if the foreign but simpler than thenative language rule,then the native languagerule, or (b) dissimilar, better; if the foreignlanguage rule is(c) dissimilar and as an inductiveapproach would be languge rule, then adeductive approachusing complex or morecomplex than the native In for- the native languagestructure should beused. the rule andmaking no reference to formulations by Jakobovitz,who oesigned a mulating such aproposal, Fischer draws upon . similarity. Jakobo.vitz transfer model onthe basis of thedegree of inter-language languages are highlysimilar, the mosteffective deduced from hismodel that when two student's knowledge ofhis nativelanguage, teaching strategyshOuld make use of the the teachin,'rategy shouldignore the whereas when the twolanguages are unrelated, This view has se..aeof its roots inthe student's knowledgeof his nativelanguage. seeks to identify areasof similarity ordifference "contradstive analysis"literature, which
between a native andforeign language. studies which attemptto At this pint, it appearsthat there are fewif any research tell from the reportof the Rizzuto(1970) establish this proposal.It is not possible to were relativelysimilar or study whetherthe morphologicaland syntactic structures dissimilar to the nativelanguage of the subjects. of other studiesabout the Fischer's proposalis consistent withthe findings of the learningtask has been found inductive/deductive strategyvariable. The complexity inductive strategyis more desirable: morecomplex to influencewhether a deductive or expository approach.Another material is in generalbetter taught withwitnthe deductive or
29/' 300
language to thenative language, is pertinent variable,the similarityof the foreign has before background knowledge orskills the student analogous to the issueof how much If the student'sbackground is limited or commencing on anexperimental learningtask. approach gives betterresults. One could argee incomplete, then ingeneral'the expository dissimilar either more complexmaterial or more that initial learningtasks then represent material to what thestudent alreadyknows. affect whether the useof a languagerule helps a There are otherfactors which may represented innotation which is ttudent learn foreignlanguage structures.If a rule is then it may not serveto unfamiliar to thestudent, as linguisticrules frequently are, parsimonious and accountsfor a enlighten the studentbut to confuse.Even if the rule is from the student'sviewpoint large corpus oflinguistic phenomena,it may be too abstract linguistic" rules isthat they apply to arela- to be helpful.Another difficulty with some reflect a generalitywhich has a notable tively restrictive setof phenomena or may find it easier toacquire new structures number of exceptions.In such cases, students may instances withoutbeing exposed -tothe or patternsthrough direct exposureto specific
rule-statement. If a mathematicsrule or This may also besaid for rules inother content areas. ip notation orwords which are physics rule orgraphics art design ruleis represented unlikely to helpthe student unfamiliar to thestudent, then therule-statementis ,(4 the student.Certainly, if a understand and applythe rule, but mayactually confuse the definitioncannot beunderstood definition includes termsunknown to a person, then definitions of the component without fur therelaboration or referenceto the meanings or the of exa.mples is one wayto overcomethis problem, if terms.Naturally, the use examples are intelligibleto the persons 301
Career Education expository There seem to be no studiespertaining to which method--the discovery or helping them to make career method --is better for of students to careers and the decisions. We are left toextrapolate from other studiesunder which conditions one or other method is mostbeneficial.
ry 0 Implications and Recomrnendationsfor Career Education atNTID
made about the In designing a foundations program,certain decisions need to be curriculum and about instruction. Most of the implications ofdiscovery/expository research4 deal with the issuesof instruction (e.g.,instructional strategies), though some have an impact on thecurriculum level. know from research andother In designing instruction,there are some things we research findings, but from things we don't know. We areleft to infer, not only from what approaches may be research "trends," instructionaltheory, logic and experience effective or optimal. Weneed to make the best informeddecisions we can, recognizing evaluation,to test and refine that we don't know everything.We need to rely on ongoing thorough the approaches we take.This is a criticalrecommendation suggested by a review of the literature. designing instruction, The discovery/expositoryliterature gives somedirection for be use ful to point a but its conclusions are notdefinitive.Consistent trends may still the "best direction, however.The following sections willmake recommendations for reflect anticipated approach" to istruction. They will gobeyond the research data and and the reviewer's knowledgeof other instructionalresearch and theory. The rationale this paper. source of therecommendations may be foundin the prececiing sections of When that is not the case, additionalreferences will be provided.
I- 302
General Recommendations , "pure" methods, either teaching approach toei)f,r of the 1. Do not restricr your advantage, each indifferent situations.It expository or discovery.Both may be used to approaches are "pure,"but may sharecharacteristics must also beremembered that few wholesale a dis- would be a gravemistake to adopt of other methbds.Needless to say, it rationale used to despite the glowingarguments and coveryapproach to instruction, literature simply doesnot justifysuch an support such amethod.Empirical research
adoption. in instruction topromote initial 2. In general, usethe expository approach learning in the mostefficient time. learning and retention.This will result in effective when it is portant for thestudent to 3. In general, use thediscovery approach behavior in later, uniquetransfer situations. engage in discovery orproblem solving guidance as needed, at.g.,prompts, cues, 4. In general, give thestudent as much the guidance asthe studentincreases in feedback, praise, etc.Decrease or fade out
proficiency. degrees of guidance,depending on the 5. Design instruction toallow for varying Build in someevaluation mechanismsfor student's knowledge,skills and abilities. wants or needs. determining the degreeof guidance the student opportunities to exploredifferent career optionsand 6. Pro'idestudents with requirements. Some ofthese "discover" how theirinterests and skillsmatch the career less analyticallystructured opportunities can bestructured activities;others must be what a particular vocationis like, and whether because of the needfor strdents to "feel" be thoroughlydissected , they like it.In any case, thestudent/career match cannot intangibles which canbest be experienced analytically, since there are alot of undefined
directly. rI X03
cannot or should notmake use of This is not to suggestthat career decision making variables that need tobe analytical processes tosystematically focus on certain formulate a .!onsidered in making a careerdecision, nor to suggestthat efforts to that factors and systematic approach to careerdecision making are invain. To the extent they can be used to procedures can bedefined and communicatedto the student, mistake not to provide someopportunities for students to advantage.But it would be a what they asindividuals are like "discover" in more concrete,real or simulated situations, 4.> and how they feel aboutparticular career options.
Specific Recommendations conditions each of themethods-- These recommendationswill specify under what expository and discovery--areexpected to give betterresults.
Expository Method rule-using tasks wherethe rule is 7. Use the expositoryapproach for concept and One of the definable and the rule canbe understood byO. (with examples). iy the student.That means critical factors here iswhether the rule can t- familiar with the component that rules should notbe soabstract that the 'le..sule, or else the ruleswill concepts, words, orsymbols used in theformulat. rule can be made more cease to 'lavemeaning for the student.In some cases, the concepts in wordsand concepts intelligible by providingdefinitions of component terms or is similar or analogous to more intelligible tothe student, or bysuggesting that the rule by providing exami les another rule alreadyunderstood by the student, or,most commonly,
which illustrate the rule. solving tasks wherethere isa 8. Use the expositoryapproach for problem and can be understood heuristic (an incompleterule or "rule ofthumb") which is definable the student to demonstrateproblem solving by the student, unlessit is judged critical for
behavior. 304
mechanisms are necessaryor useful to 9. In memory lev&tasks, use whatever rather than lettingthe student isolate or focusattention on the items tobe memorized, color devices might includesuch things as arrows, "disc giver" them.Such mechanisms or sample test items or high-lighting, lists orglossaries, italics orunderlining, objectives,
study questions,and/or advanced organizers. is definable approach for psychomotortasks where the rule 10. Use the expsitory (with examples ordemonstration). and the rule can beunderstood by the student when the efficiencyof instruction, i.e., 11. Use the expositoryapproach especially
time, is important. difficult or approach especially oncontent whichis 12. Use the expository
complex for the student. in cases wherestudents' prerequisite 13. Use the expositoryapproch particularly this case, however, to knowledge and skills areincomplete or faulty.It is important in and available to thestudent. assure thatprerequisite knowledgeand skills are described approach in conjunctionwith a discoveryapproach to 14. Use the expository rule has beendiscoverd. provide more examplesand practice after a
Discovery Method for tasks for which(a) the rule is not 15. Use the guideddiscovery approach understood by thestudent. definable or defined or(b) the rule is definablebut not easily in,such abstract orcomplex terms as to not Such cases may arisewhere the rule is stated of other concepts orwords or symbolswith easily be understood, oris stated in terms
which 'the student is notfamiliar. as well as manyof the personal/ Many linguistic rules mayfit into this category, these skills mayeither not bedefinable. or, if social skills, sincethe rules governing
defined, not veryintelligible to the student. 305
provides for the confirma- It should be noted thatthe discoveryapproach generally many examplesand tried tion or statement ofthe rule once thestudent has encountered be advisable not toprovide the rule to the to discover therule.However, it still may student if it would notbe easily understood. problem-solving behaviorin new transfer 16. Use the discoveryapproach when situations in which rules situations is important forthe student to have.This refers to combined into newrules, and applied tothe must be selected orfound (rule-finding), rules must beapplied to new solution; this does not meansituations where old, known effect means is this: thestudent who is situations or instances(rule using). What this in in solving problems;practice is the required to solve problemsshould be given practice
critical variable. (rule-using), the studentshould also be Besides being given practicein applying rules solving.Instruction given practice in ruleselection (rule-finding) tofacilitate problem overlooked. The and practice in thisimportant skill of ruleselection is frequently formulate and articulate arule or procedure instructor should make aconscious effort to branching logic governing for selectlg otherrules, including decisionpoints, criteria, and
the selection. student has mastered thedefined domain 17. Use the discoveryapproach after the transferring the skills to newsituations is desirable. of competencies,when practice in need for students toacquire problem- This is simply another wayof emphasizing the would probably beprovided relatively solving skills. In sequenceof time, this opportunity
late in a unit, course, orcurriculum. gain a "feeling" for careerareas, 18. Use the discoveryapproach to help students and dislikes,abilities and and an awarenessand understandingof themselveslikes definable by the teacher, limitations, etc.These are factorswhich are often not experience with a proposed counselor or student.In any case, givestudents concrete
303 , 306
choices. This willprobably comerelatively career ormajor area in orderto refine their have beententatively made in as late in thefoundations program,after career choices whether a dis- The important factorhere is not really analytical amanner" as is possible. students areexposed to actual covery orexpository approachis used, but whether "examples" of the conceptsinherent in a careerdecision.
Additional CriticalRecommendations recommendations to payattention to It is importantin implementingthe preceding here. extremely critical.These will be discussed several other relatedvariables which are effort to integrate newmaterial with oldmaterial already 19. Make a conscious and the studentneed to make aconscious acquired by thestudent.Both the teacher of the most criticallyimportant factorswhich effort to make thisintegration. This is one makes learning more"meaningful" but needs to beaccomplished ininstruction. It not only information is encodedinto memory, i.e.,"learned." it is a key mechanismby which new elements alreadyfamiliar to This means that bothrules and exampleswhich incorporate facilitating effect onlearning, while rules orexamples the student mayhave a positive have a disruptiveeffect. Other devicesbesides which are notintelligible to the student utilized, e.g.,analogies, heuristics,elaborations, rules and examples may,of course, be
and numerousother devices. and rules.Examples should beused for 20. Use examples toillustrate concepts approach. Whether ornot they areused probably either the expository orthe discovery powerfully thanwhether t 'e impacts on theeffectiveness of theinstruction more
expository or discoveryapproach is used. the concepts or rulesthey are being 21. Require students topractice manipulating because of omittingthis important taught. Much instructionishighly defective practice is probably morepowerful than component ofinstruction.The inclusion of used. whether the expository ordiscovery approach is
301 307
designing an instructional 22. Consider carefully theimportance of time in desigr, i.e., how a student can program.Efficiency is often a goalof an instructional indicate a learn the most in theshortest period of time. However, some studies study and the amountlearned correlation between the timeexpended in instruction or is (Stallings, 080). This suggests onegoal (a competinggoal) of an instructional system task, not less. to have the studentspend more time on the learning time Making a conscious effort tointegrate new material withold may take more careful not to compress than learning somethingin a rote way.This suggests being learning time unduly, butallowing enough. and cues--visual 23, Use prompts and cuesjudiciously. The literature on prompts expected responses- - or verbalmechanisms to drawattention to relevant stimuli or rule.The indicates the value ofthem in guiding a studen,t toacquire a concept or fading theM (droppingthem out research literature alsodemonstrates 'the value of with the material gradually) over time as the student progressesfrom an initial contact gradually receive less guidance asthey toward mastery. This meansthat students should might mean shifting from anexpository progress through aninstructional sequence. This unit, course, or to a discovery orproblem solving approach asthey progress through a
curriculum. 308 ti
References
of guideddiscovery, T., & Borich,G. A comparison Anastasiow, N.,Sibley, S., Leonhardt, kindergarten povertychildren. American didactic teachingof math to discovery, and 493-510, Nov.,1970. Educational ResearchJournal, 7(4), 4.111111
of Educational discover rules bydiscovery. 'Journal Anthony, W.S. Learning to Psychology, 1973,64(3), 325-328.
mathematics to Designing instructionalmethods in Becker, J., &Young, C., 3r. Journal for Research.in Mathematics accommodate differentpatterns ofaptitude. Education, 1978,9(1), 4-19.
of inductionand deduction on Ainsworth, S. H.,& Williams,C. L. Effects of Blake, K. A., of first-orderconcepts.American Annals deaf and hearingindividuals' attainment the Deaf, 1967,112, 606-613.
model of E. Toward an adaptivelearner-controlled Boutwell, R. C.,& Barton, G. EducationalTechnology, 1974, instruction: A placefor the newcognitive aptitudes. 5(14), 13-18.
utilization on transferof of induction vs.deduction.d discovery vs. Breaux, R. Effects Psychology, 1975,67(6), 828-832. information. Journalof Educational
York: W. W.Norton & Co.,Inc., 1971. . Bruner, J. S. TheRelevance ofEducation. New
Educat )nalTechno- discovery learninghypothesis. Chambers, D. W.Putting down the logy, March1971, 54-59.
Reading Improvement,1975, 3(2), Collinge, J. Theteacher's role indiscovery learning. 92-95. 309
of establishedrelations. TheJournal of Craig, R. Directed versusindependent discovery Education Psychology,1956, 47, 223 -234.
Educational Leadership,Feb. 1969, 26,501-505. Craig, R. Recentresearch on discovery.
methods: Ahandbook for Snow, R. E.Aptitudes and instructional Cronbach, L. J., & 311-320. research of interactions'.NY: IrvingtonPublishers, 1977,
control and exsitorteachinmethods in locus of Danner, D. W.Effects of discover Temple UniversityAnn Arbor, on retentionand transfer.Doctoral dissertation, Mich.: UniversityMicrofilms, 1974, No.7419746.
differentially sequencedindividualized Douglass, C. B., &Kahle,, J. B.The effect of Journal of Researchin instructional materials onstudent achievementin biology. Science Teaching,1977, 14(4), 335-340.
by discovery andrule learning. Egan, D. E., &Greeno, 3. G. Acquiringcognitive strutture Journal of EducationalPsychology, 1973,64(1), 85-97.
revisited. ModernLanguage Journal, Fischer, R. A. Theinductive-deductive controversy 1979, 63(3), 98-105.
Educational Technology,1980, 20(2), Gagne, R. M.Is educationaltechnology in phase? 7-14.
Columbus, Ohio:Charles E. Gagne, R. M.(Ed.).Learning and individual.differences. Merrill Books, Inc.,1967, 1-45.
discovery and expositorypresentations. Paper Gordon, J. R. Aninstrument to measure Research Association, presented at the AnnualMeting of theAmerican Educational San Francisco,April 1979;ED 169118. 310
Journal of Educational Guthrie, J. T.Expository instruction vs. adiscovery method. Psychology, 1967, 58(1), 45-49.
Modern LanguageJournal.1975, Hammer ly, H.The deduction/inductioncontroversy. 59(1), 15-18.
40-44. Hardie, C. D. Inductivelearning. EducationalTheory. 1975;25(1),
1947, 48(1), Hendrix, G. A new clue totransfer of training.Elementary School Journal. 197-208.
intelligence, and category of Hermann, G. D. Egrule vs.ruleg teaching methods: gracs, learning. The Journal ofExperimental Education,1971, 30(3), 22-33.
approaches in teaching alesson in Hermann, G. D., & Hincksman.Inductive vs. inductive chemistry. Journal ofResearch in ScienceTeaching, 1978, 15(1), 37-42.
The Journal of Hermann, G. D. 'Learningby discovery: Acritical review of studies. Experimental Education,1969, 38(1), 58-72.
instructional packages on of guided discoveryand individuaiized Hirsch, C. R. The effects algebra. Journal forResearch initial learning, transfer,and retention in second- year in MathematicsEducatiOn, 1977, 8(5), 359-368.
of of methodological problemsin a latz?ratoryc_orparison Hirshfeld, S. F. An examination (Doctoral d .sertation,University of by discoverand ex ositortreatment. learnin Microfilms, 1974, N( .752106. Minnesota Ann Arbor,Mich.: University
The first step ofteaching by the inquiry Hoagland, C. W.The selection process: Massachusetts) Ann Arbor,Mich.: methodology. (Doctoral dissertation,University of University Microfilms,1973, No. 7314647. 3 1 1
The Journal of Economic Hosen, R.Effective instruction inprinciples of economics. Education, 1976, 7(2),125-126.
increased studentmotivation. Toledo, Ohio: Hurst, J.B. Discovery teaaiLni_and University of Toledo,1972. ED 088807.
z I role of language inintelligent Ives, L. A. Some notes onPiagetis account of the behaviour. Teacher of theDeaf, 1978, 1(2), 8-10.
discovery in children. Kaye, D. B., Hall, V. C.,& Baron, M. B.Factors influencing rule Journal of EducationalPsychology, 1979, 71(5),654-668.
discovery, Journal of Kersh, B. Y.The motivating effect oflearning by directed Educational Psychology,1962, 53(2), 65-71.
An interpretation of recent Kersh, B. Y., & Wittrock,M. C.Learning by discovery: P. (Ed.) The psychologyof lan ua ethought, and research. In DeCecco, J. 4-402. instruction. New York:Holt, Rinehart, andWinstoa, Inc.1967,
instructional procedures. Koran, M.Differential response toinductive and deductive Journal of EducatisalEsichology,1971, 62(4), 300-307.
Effects of mode of M., & Freeman, P.Acquisition of a concept: Koran, J. J., Jr., Koran, Audiovisual Communication instruction and lengthof exposure to biologyexamples. Review, 1976, 24(4).
implications of informal conceptual analsis .of the Krrnbau, H. C.The practical science education. Doctoral words, inquiry, and discovery asused in contemporary University Microfilms,1977, No. dissertation, TempleUniversity) Ann Arbor, Mich.: 7713518.
Shakespeare through induction.Coll Krieger, E. Shakespeareancrossroads: Teaching English, 1977, 39(3), 286-289. 3 1 2
The comparative'effects of inductiveand deductive Krumboltz, J. D., &Yabroff, W. Research Journal, 1965, sequences inprogrammed instruction.American Educational 2, 223-234.
Improving College &University Kugel, P.Nothing worth learning canbe taught. Teaching, 1979, 27(1),5-9.
evidence of their Kuhfitting, P. K. F.Learning aids in theclassroom: .Experimental effectiveness. Education,1973, 94(2), 135-136.
the content areas. Lewis, J. S.Directed discovery learning:Catalyst to reading in Journal of Reading,1979, 22(8), 714-719.
multidimensional ex loratorinvesti ation, of smallrou - heuristicand Loomer, N. J. A University ofWisconsin- expository Doctoral dissertation, Madison) Ann Arbor, Mich.:University Microfilms,'1976, No. 7618892.
style upon the MacNeil, R. D. The effectsof a discovery andexpository instructional rformance Of field-de endentand field- inde endentunder- change in the learnin: University of Iowa AnnArbor, Mich.:. graduate students.Doctoral dissertation, University Microfilms, 1979,No. 7928595.
method and learner Learning to solveproblems:Roles of instructional Mayer, R. E. 1974. ED 091-225. activity. Washington, DC:National Science Foundation.
sequencing Instructional McDade, C. E. Subsumption vseducation set:Im, lications for Materials. Journal ofEducational Psychology, 15'8, 70(2), 137-141.
independence and a discoveryapproach to McLeod, D. B., & Adams, V.M. Relating field trait-treatment interactionstudy.Paper presented atthe learning mathematics: A York, April annual meeting of theAmerican EducationalResearch Association, New 1977.
28(1), 62-67. Monett, D. In support ofinductive learning.Educational Theori, 1978, 313
development upon inquisitivenessin Moody, G. S. The interrelationshipof maturation and deaf children. Teacher of theDeaf, 1978, 6(2), 190-195.
analytic- lobal and reflectivity:Ipnulsivity cognitive styles on Nelson, B. A. Effectsof hasis or no em hasis and the acquisition of geometry conceisresented throw h em University 91, WisconsinAnn discoveror expositorylessons. Doctoral dissertation, Arbor, Mich.: UniversityMicrofilms, 1972, No. 7231693.
learning. Journal O'Brien, T., & Shapiro, B.Numbers patterns:Discovery vs. reception for Research in MathematicsEducation, 1.977, 8(2), 83-87.
H. The effectiveness ofdiscovery and expositorymethods in Olander, H., & Robertson, 1973, 4(1), the teaching of fourthgrade mathematics. Journalfor Research in Math, 33. IP
Journal of Packer, J., & Bain, J.Cognitive style andteacher-student compatibility. Educational Psychology,1978, 70(5), 864-871.
Interactive effects of priormathematics preparation andlevel of Pascarella, E. T. Research Journal, instructional support incollege calculus.American Educational 1978, 15(2), 275-285.
of serial motor tasks as afunction Pease, D. G.Initial learning, transfer, andrelearnin well as task com lexitand testinstrgeiies. Doctoral of instructional strategies as University Microfilms, 1975, dissertation; Florida StateUniversity Ann Arbor, Mich.: No. 762687.
treatment interactioneffects of teacher structuringand student Pet rson, P. Aptitude X Psychology, 1979, 71(4), participation in college instruction.Journal of Educational 521-523.
Prather, I). C.Trial-and-error vs. errorless learning:Training, transfer, ,.nd stress. American Journal ofPsychgology, 1971, 84(3), 377-386. 314
Journal of ExperimentalEducation, Ray, W.Pupil discovery vs.directed instruction. 1961, 29(3), 271-280.
in creativity on relationshipsbetween creativity andachievement Reid, T. G. Differences (Doctoral discoverand direct detailedteaching, methods. effected by the directed University Microfilms,1973, diossertation, Arizona StateUniversity Ann Arbor, Mich.: Iti`o. 7320432.
comparison of inductive anddeductive methods ofteaching Rizzuto, M. F. Experimental Research, 1970, 63(6), concepts of languagestructure.The Journal of Educational 269,273.
relationships betweenmeasures of self-actualization, discover Roesch, I. H. Analyses of in and selected characteristicsof secondarscience students t2ashingclimate University of Idaho) AnnArbor, res'dential schoolsr the deaf.Doctoral dissertation, Mich.: Universityicrof Alms, No. 7529949.
discovery. Journal Roughead, W. G., 6: Scandura,1 M. What is learnedin mathematical of Educational Ps dy 1968, 39(4), 283-289.
programmed instruction on Sakmyster, D. C. D. Comparisonof inductive and deductive hi h school chemistrstudents. (Doctoraldissertation, chemical e uilibrium for Microfilms, 1972, No. 736993. Indiana University AnnArbor, Mich.: University
generation of aptitude treatmentinteraction Salmon, G. Heuristic models for the hypotheses. Review of EducationalResearch, 1971, 42(3),327-343.
instruction of psychomotor'skills. Singer, R.To err or not to err:A gut .tion for the Review of EducationalResearch, 1977, 47(3),479-498.
Effects of promtedand problem-solvingapproaches on Singer, R. N., & Gaines,I... 1975, learning and transfer of motorskills. AmericanEducational Research Journal, 12(3), 395-403. 315
Journal of Research in Sowder, L. Further work onverbalization of discoveries. Mathematics Education, 1975,6(4), 223-227.
verbalization of- discoverednumerical or sorting-task Sowder, L. The influence of hypothesis. generalizations -on short-termretention in connectionwith the Hendrix Journal for Research inMathematics Education, May1974, 5, 167476.
1979, Stefanich, G. P. Elicitinginquiry in earth science. Journalof Geological Education, 27(3). 111-113.
inductive.Improving Stock, S. J.A comparison of abstractdeductive and concrete Teaching, 1975, 23(1); 39-40. College and University r
1975, Strike, K. N. The logic oflearning by discovery. Reviewof Educational Research, 45(3) 461-483.
characterisctics. Tallmadge, G. K.Relationships between trainingmethods and learner Journal Psychology, 1968, 59(1), 32-36.
learner character- Tallmadge, G. K., &Shearer, J. W.Interactive relationships among subject matter variables.Journal istics, types of learning,instructional methods and of Educational Psychology,1971, 62(1), 31-38.
J. W.Relationships among learningstyles, instructional Tallmadge, G.. K., 1: Shearer, Psychology, methods, And the nature oflearning elperiences.Journal of Educational 1969, 60(31 222-230.
inductive and deductiveteachin: methods in cone e Thomas;' E. W. A corn arison of Ann freshman remedial English.Doctoral dissertation,University of Pennsylvania Arbor, Mich.: UniversityMicrofilms, 1970, No. 7022866.
transfer of Thorndyke, P., & Hayes-Roth,B. The use of schemata inthe acquisition and knowledge. ComitiyePsychology,1979, 11, 82-106.
313 316
Tims, E. H., & Ives, L.An experiment in theteaching of temporal Causal Sequencing Skills with a small group of severelysubnormal hearinc,-impaired pupils.Journal of the British Association'of Teac;iersof the Deaf, 1980, 4(1).
Tobias, S.Achievement treatment interactions.Review of EducationalResearch, Winter, 1976; 46(1), 61-74.
Veiga, J. F.Experiential Learning in Manai'iment Education:What Kinds of Students Benefit? College Student Journal, Spring,1976, 10(1), 62-68.
Vernon,' M.Fifty years of research on the intelligenceof deaf and hard-of- hearing children: A review of literature and discussion ofimplications.Joi,rnal of Rehabilita- tion of the Deaf, Jan. 1968,1(4), 1-12.
Watts, W. J. Deafness, thought and language and theinfluence of Piaget. Teacher of the Deaf, 1978, 2(4), 117-123.
Weimer, R. C.An Analysis of Discovery.Educational Technology, Sept. 1975, 15(9), 45-48.
White, R. T. Effects of guidance, sequence, andATI on learning, retention and transfer of hierarchially ordered skills. Instructional Science,1976, 5(2), 133-152.
Wright, D. P. Interactions between instructionalmethods and individual teactinof critical thinItkil in socialstudies.Doctoral dissertation, University of California, Berkeley.nn Arbor, Mich.: UniversityMicrofilms, 1975, No: 7615430.
Yeany, R., Jr.A case from the research for trainingscience teachers in the use of inductive/indirect teaching strategies.Science Education, Oct-Dec 1975,59(4), 521-529.
Zimmermann, M. J., & Sassenrath, J. M. Improvementin reading and discovery learning in mathematics. Educational Research(Q_Larterly, Spring 1978, 3(1), 27-33.
31. Problem Solving and Decision Making:
A Review of the Literature
Michael Steve
31i 319
C. C. Cannonball was COnCehned. ln hi4 tAUCking bkAine44, time wa4 money and he had 4pent too much of each the ta4t time he 'toad Inteutate 77 tit/Lough the mountaim of Vinginia. He tecatted a 4hoAtcut he had heard about and decided he woutd my it out. So he tuned oSS Inteutate 81 onto VA 230 and headed south toward the Blue Ridge Mountain4. Though the 'toad wa4 naiftow and the curtme4 tight, att went wett Sok the Siut 50 mae4. Then the headtight4 oS hi4 n,i g Stoked upon a waAning--UNDERPASS AHEAD :14 FOOT LIMIT. C. C. Cannonbat 4topped his 14 loot 1 inch Aig and sized up 'hi4 dttemma. Though 444t kezigned that he moat head back the way 'he came, he decided to think about the 4i14ation a bit mou. Filiteen minute4 Wert., hi4 now 13 Soot 111/2 inch rig 'toad .Lowly thAough the undeApa44, all oS itz tite4 neway Brat. He Boon Sound a aetvice atation, Bitted hi4 tine4, and sped along VA 230 toutAd Gteen4boto.
Our lives are filled with situations which require attention inorder to maintain an adequate level of functioning and growth. The process of finding and taking some action to deal wi ' a situation has been alter- nately described as problem solving and u...Asion making. Depending upon the consequences of one's action and the complexity ofthe situation,
problem solving and decision making can range from crucial tomundane.
And the individual's emotional reactions to successor failure maywell be extreme in crucial matters but detached indifference innon-critical situations. ( The goal in decision and problet situations can be described asarriv-
ing at a course of action which is the most satisfactory or atleast one that does the job. The process of solving problems and making sound deci- sions can be differentiated, however. Gagne (1970) states that problem solving may be viewed as "...a process by which t.2 learner discovers a
combination of previously learned rules that he can apply to achieve a 320
the fol- solution for a novel problemsituation." Skinner (1966) suggests moment no answer is lowing definition, "A questionfor which there is at the
review on the subject, proposes a problem." Davis (1973), in his excellent problem is "...a stimulus a more generaldefinition than Skinner's, i.e., a C. C. situation for which an organismdoes not have a readyresponse" built too close Cannonball was faced with aproblem when he met the bridge
itself as a problem, i.e., to the road beneath it. The situation presented
He found a successfulsolu- a dilemma forwhich he had no ready response.
tion.
Maier (1968) suggests thatin decision situations, thealternatives best are given and thetask facing the individualis one of selecting the
of a choice situation has alternative. Viewing decision making in terms management sci- been widely accepted in suchdiverse areas as counseling,
two alternative routes ence and education. C. C. Cannonball considered known and unknown. His each having positiveand negative consequences.,
choice (decision) was madebased on available information. problem is oftentimes Th soundness of a decisionunlike a solution to a there were many criteria difficult to evaluate. In C.'C. Cannonball's case wear-and-tear on his associated with eachalternative route--time, money, associated rig, :,;ear-and-tear on C. C.Cannonball. The multitude of criteria
maker has about with ch!cisions and theimperfect knowledge the decision the decision difficult if the consequences of eachmakes the soundness of decision maker and for not impossible torealistically appraise both for the the problem situation is an outside observer. In contrast, inherent to
the criterion of success,i.e., "Was the problemsolved?". 321
While there are differences between problemsolving and decision
they are often interrelated. For example, as in C. C. Cannon- ball's case, a problem situation evolved outof a decision. D'Zurilla and Goldfried (1971) outline another reasonablerelationship. In their five stage problem solving model, they include adecision making step. Indi- viduals who generate or discover multiple responsesto problem situations then face a decision making situation. Thus, C. C. Cannonball, eventhough he found a way to proceed along VA 230, wasfaced with the decision of whether to implement that solution(and bear the consequences of riding on flattened tires) or to turn back(and among other things lose valuabletime).
Together Figures 1 and 2 summarize many ofthe conceptual similarities and differences between problem solvingand decision making. As is shown
Insert Figures 1 and 2 about here
in these diagrams, the o tput of each process(a problem solution or
of the same a choice amongalternatives) can be viewed as the function three input dimensions: the taskenvironment, the individual'.s skills and predispositions, and the information accessible.
This review deals with each processsepailtely and for what are believed legitimate reasons. The task 'requirements pla ed onindividuals in problItm , and in decision situations aredifferent. Each kind of situation places on individuals certaincharacteristic skill and informationrequirements.
Therefore, the conditions for promoting andtraining problem solving differ from those for decision making.
The models and concepts and the relevantresearch are reviewed first
318 FIGURE I: COMPONENTS OF DECISION MAKING PROCESSES
INPUT DECISIONS OUTPUT DIMENSION
TASK t:WIRONMENT
DECISION SITUATION (A CHOICE SITUATION)
DECISION (CHOICE)
INFORMATION
THE INDIVIDUAL
SKILLS PREDISPOSITIONS
319 FIGURE II: COMPONENTS OFPROBLEM SOJVING PROCESSES
INPUT DIMENSIONS OUTPUT DIMENSIONS
TASK ENVIRONMENT
O
PROBLEM SITUATION
PROBLEM SOLUTION INFORMATION
THE INDIVIDUAL
SKILLS PREDISPOSITIONS
M. Steve -12A 12/200:df 324
for problem solving and then for decisionmaking. In a closing section,
implications from the problem solving and decisionmaking literature are
discussed, especially as they may apply to programsdesigned to support
students deciding on a major course of studyand/or a vocational pAh. 325
Problem Solving
The problem solving area is complex. The literature, while pro-'
viding insights, is less than comprehensive and difficult to integrate.
Because of the many kinds of problem situations (tasks) used for research
purposes, the results and conclusions reported in studies must be exa- mined carefully to determine the extent to which they can be generalized
beyond the boundary conditions established within the studies themselves.
Models and Concepts
Heppner (1978) has described the two basic approaches to the area
both of which continue to have their supporters. "On the one hand,
investigators such as Gagne (1964) and Skinner (1974) have focused mainly
on the past experience of the individual as the mostimportant variable in
problem solving. Other investigators (e.g., Kohler, 1925; Maier, 1970)
have maintained that it is largely the individualisperception of the
situation which is of utmost importance in solving a problem. Since the
controversy began in the early 1900s many experiments have been performed
in an attempt to clarify the crucial variables in the problem solving pro-
cess. Although more is now known about problem solving, how people solve
problems is still largely unknown." This Fame "major theoretical schism" is
noted by Davit (1973); he devotes a chapter describing each concep ion,
past experience and perception, from basically a historical perspec ive.
In a recent article Greeno (1978) has described the trends in pro
blem solving. He notes that the)behavioristic and associationistic trad-
itions of experimental psychology have been largelyabandoned:as have many of the past popular ways of studying problemsolving behavior, e.g.
anagrams, puzzles, and concept identification tasks(Bruner, et al., 1956). 326
With increasing frequency researchers areusing and specifying detailed
. psychological analyses process models. Newell and Simon (1972) state ". .
of problem solving now attend tothe nature and organization of component
processes that interpretinformation, set goals, and select amongactions
in the process of solving the problem"(p. 15). Consistent with and part
of this transformation to process modelshas been the use of increasingly
complex ,and diverse tasks to study problemsolving.
Whereas psychologists use models pf processesand subprocesses to
describe the underlying cognitive operationsused in approaching a task,
others have outlined a sequence oftasks using step models. Davis (1973)
describing a number of such modelsobserves that they are elaborationsof
For example, a two-phase process:'problem awareness/and problem solution.
Koberg and Bagnall (1976) outline a sevenstage model which can bedivided
solution into an awareness phase(accept situation, analyze, define) and a
phase (ideate, select, implement,evaluate). An analysis of these and
other models (e.g., Parnes,1967; Crutchfield, 1969) reveals moresimilar- of a prob- ities among the stages thandifferences and a universal inclusion
lem awareness phase followed by aproblem solution phase.
Greeno observes that most currentwork in the psychology ofproblem
solving views problem solving as a searchamong sequences ofoperations.
solving models,, He describes a conceptfrequently inherent in problem
. . a general means-end analysis. Greeno defines means-end analysis as".
heuristic used in organizing work on aproblem. In means-end analysis,
the problem solver compares thecurrent situationwith the goal situation
to identify the differencesbetween them. These differences become the sub-goals of trying focus of work on the problem,and the problem solver sets 327 reduce the various differences that are found" (p. 16). This analytical technique is consistent with the previously mentioned distinction found in most step models. Thus, identifying or defining differences between the current situation and the goal can be viewed as the critical step in the problem awareness phase. And, identifying the meens and working towards meeting the subgoals can be described as the critical feature in the problem solution phase.
When discussing the extent to which problem solving capabilities are generalizable (or alternately, programs can make problem solving general- izable) two questions arise of interest to the practitioner.. First, to what degree do problem strategies and solutions generalize to similar but different problems? Studies addressing this questiOn are commonly termed transfer of training studies. Second, to what extent are problem solving skills retained and how reliable is the performance over time?
The literature on transfer of training is as an uneven and eclectic group of studies as those that make up the problem solvingliterature.
While transfer of training studies are not reviewed here, it is useful to point out that some authors in the areas caution against the assumption of transfer to other tasks without actually testing that assumption out.
After citing studies documenting the facilitative effects of procedures as they are applied in discreteproblem situations (Davis, 1966; Bergen &
Garfield, 1971; Krumholtz & Thorensen, 1976), Dixon et a1.(1979) note
that ". . . the generalizability of these solutions and the improved ability of clients to deal with future problem situations has not been empirically supported."
Newell and Simon (1972) propose that there may be insufficient reason 328 to assume intelligence isgeneralizable over different'task domains, and
that without positive results, the question ofwhethergeneric skills
exist ". . . generally remains an empirical question, to be settled by
evidence, not definition" (p. 84).
In contrast to the transfer of training issue, thequestion of reten-
tion of problem solving skills Over time has at leastbeen partially
answered. Numerous studies have shown that while rules(strategies,
procedures, algorithms, heuristics) are resistent to forgetting over
periods of many months, people have demonstrated a signii ant loss of
retention of information and facts beginning soon afteracquisition
(Ausubel, 1968; Gagne, 1970). Both skills and,information are necessary
for successful problem solving. Consequently, the degree to which the
individual remains successful with a particular type ofproblem would seem.
to be a function of the initial success anindividual has within the problem
situation and the relative degree to whichskills rather than information
are necessary for theresolution of the problem.
A number of models and ideas are available topractitioners. Whereas
cognitive process models and stage process modelsand such techniques
as meansend'analysis haveintuitive appeal and, provide a useful research
framework, they remain only suggestive and do notby themselves provide
sufficient direction to educators,counselors and the like.
Over the past twenty years, Gagne hasconsistently pointed to the impor-
tance of prior learnings and prerequisiteskills for the successful perfor-
mance in problem solving tasks. He (1970) describes a method, task analysis,
by which the prerequisite zskills, i.e.,skills necessary for success, can be
identified. He goes on to specify the differenttypes of skills possible
an* the conditions by which they can bepromoted. Using the task analysis
method, one can better predict whether anindividual with a particular set 329 of capabilities will or will not be successful with agiven task, and more importantly, which skills should be developed to ensure success. Of special concern to educators would be those rules(strategies, procedures. Algo- rithms, heuristics) and their underlying concepts whiCh act as theimportant prerequisite capabilities for effective problem solving.
.Whereas Gagne's method, requires looking at each problem situation as a separate task for analysis, D'Zurrilla and Goldfried(1971) present a five-stage process model and then for each stage describe those-types of generic skills necessary for successful problem.solving and some general guidelines for their promotion. Heppner (1978) takes the same model and applies it to resolving personal problems and suggests types of counseling approaches which may be employed to promote the kinds of generic skills
inherent at each stage.
Irainina
Educators, counselors, and other practitioners have been moreconcerned with improving problem solving capabilities than in engaging inpsychological modeling or generating descriptive.step models. The following sections describe some implications for training which follow from models and
research associated with the past experience and the perceptionperspectives.
Past experience perspective and training. Those who view past experience as most critical, have examined ways ofidentifying what kinds of prior
learnings are critical to a given problem situation and have suggested the
conditions under which prerequisite capabilities can be broughtabout. Gagne
and his associates among others have studied thosecapabilities importan
to quality problem solving. A number of studies have shown training in the 330
has improved problemsolving use of applicableproblem solving strategies with problem solving in performance, though theevidence is heavily weighted that formal laboratory tasks(cf. Davis, 1966). Steve (1980) demonstrated
training in rule application,that, is, using a strategy or
solving tasks. In algorithm, led to improvedperformance in two problem
addition, practice in ruleselection, choosing themost appropriate rule performance in these for a particular class ofproblem situations,improved
tasks.
Changing the individual's The perception perspectiveand training. approach) has perception of thesituation (the thrust of the perceptual attribute listing, been associated with suchproblem solving techniques as (making analogies) and morphological synthesis, idealisting, synectics these techniques brainstorming (Davis, 1973). Except for brainstorming, working alone. The lend themselves to solvingproblems by individuals most related to the perceptual approach andtechniques such as these are to a problem situation process of creating ordiscovering a novel response
sometimes referred to as"creative problem solving". and creative What kinds of trainingexperiences facilitate insightfulness Cannonball to arrive athis "insightful" problem solving? What allowed C.C. been difficult in large partbecause solution?Study in this area has and how to measure it there is a lack of consensus onwhat creativeness is
(Davis, 1973):
established to promoteproblem Summary. Many programs have been Feldhusen and Treffinger solving and many arereported in the literature. available instructional (1977) provide a usefulguide and review to
materials and books in thecreative thinking and oroblem solving areas.
32 331
A wide range of problem solving strategies are taughtin these programs and materials, among them, means-end analysis, goalsetting, brainstorming, and using analogies. 332 Decision Making
is...the processof'§electing Bross (1953) statesthat "decision-making
alternative courses"!p. 1). This definition one actionfrom a number of
managementscientists,psychological researcher, has receivedacceptance by (1977), Gelatt (1966) andot4rsinclude and counselors. Janis and Mann making process: a searchand collection of two activitiesin the decision the activity. Janis and Mann view information activityand an appraisal
"...isear-hing for anddeliberating aboutinformation vigilant decisionmaker as
14). The requirements formaking concerning the alternatives opento him" (p. h for "adequate to Gelatt(1966), include a sear a gooddecision according effective strategy fororganizing, analyzing and relevantinformation" and "an in order to arriveat a choice"(p. 13); and synthesizingthe information
Models and Concepts making, three generalapproaches appear in In the studyof decision 1972; D'Zurilla and descriptive,00dels (Wilco, the form ofnormative, dynamic, prescribe sets '977). Normative models & Goldfried,1971; J.ois & Mann, mathematical equation,which supposedly of rules, manytimes represented as a
-Descrip- from a set anoptimal al ernativ allow a decisionmaker to select group actually goesabout making tive models describehow an individual or environ- descriptive modelsrepresent the tai, a decision. Both normative and unchanging where thetask is 1) select ment (or decisionspace) as static and
from among a setof fixed anddefinable alternatives. approach view the taskenvironment In contrast, thoseopting for a dynamic
function of how theindividual views thesituation as somewhatunstable, and a 333
at a particular point in time. The process of making a decision, consequently,
is seen as more complex and less static than a choicefrom among an externally
determined set of alternatives. Subsequent sections describe more fully
the three models, and discuss studies germane to each. A final section describes
decision-conflict theory (Janis & Mann, 1977), acomprehensive treatment
of available research whichhas interesting implications for programs designed
to promote decision making.
to note that -0 Before turning to these sections, however, it is useful
authors in the decision making area avoid use of step orstage process models,
so popular in theproblem solving area. Janis and Mann (1977) represent
the exception. They propose that an individual may have different concerns
(questions) at different stages of making decision.
STAGE KEY QUESTIONS
I don't 1. Appraising the Challenge Are the risks serious if change?
2. Surveying Alternativees Is this (salient) alternative acceptable means for dealing with the challenge? Have I sufficiently surveyed the available alternatives?
3. Weighing Alternatives Which alternative is best? Could the best alternative meet the essential requirements?
4. Deliberating about Commitment ShallI implement the best alterna- tive and allow others to know?
I don't 5. Adhering despite Negative Feedback Are the risks serious if change? Are the risks serious if I do change? (p. 172)
33u 334 sequence'should not Janis and Mann warn,however, that thisfive-stage
law that specifiesthe steps every "...be taken asestablishing an ironclad They stress that forboth decision must invariably gothrough" (p. 178). be perfunctory oromitted good and poor decisionmaking patterns some steps may earlier phases at anypoint. and that decisionmakers may spiral back to attention and psychologicalstate will The assumptionthat an individual's decision is acornerstohe show shifts as thatindividual "moves through" a
of thedecisional-conflict Oeory.
Normative models the literatureduring a Normative models wereheavily represented in
The models haveevolved from period spanning the1940s through the1960s. studies based on utility microeconomic theory and areheavily represented in
Goldfried, 1971). Psychologists incor- theory (Wilcox,1972; D'Zurilla and models of human decisionmaking. porated and adapted someof these ideas into
(1961), the expected Following the paradigmdescribed by Edwards arrived at by a jointconsidera- utility of anyalternative may be well as by thelikelihood tion of the value ofeach outcome, as achieving this outcomes The that the alternativewill result in human behavior inproblem-' utility model which mostclosely parallels subjective estimate of atic situations is onewhich involves a each particularalternative will achieve any the probability that value well as subjectivedetermination of the given outcome, as this as the subjec- of the various outcomes.'Edwards has referred to choice (D'Zurilla &Goldfried, tively expectedutility model of human p. 18). fixture in conte loraryManagement The normativeapproach remains a operations research decision theory andpractice. Management science and quantifiable data as well aslinear rely heavily onstatistical methods and and game theorymodels and and dynamic programmingtechniques, Monte Carlo 335
simulation models (Greenwood, 1969). While these techniques have definite
worth when optimizing outcomes such as profitaneutility, they have been
criticized when applied to individual human decision making. Janis and Mann,
(1977) present a cogent summary of these criticisms.
Specialists on organizational decision making desribe the optimizing strategy as having the goal of selecting the course of actionwith the highest payoff. Such a strategy requires estimating the compara- tive value of every viable alternative in terms of expectedbenefits and costs (see Young, 1966, pp. 138-47). But, as Herbert Simon (1976) has pointed out, human beings rarely adopt this decision- making approach: people simply do not have 'tie wits to maximize' (p. xxviii). Part of the problem is that determining all the poten- tially favorable and unfavorable consequences of all the feasible courses of action would require thedicision maker to processs so much information that impossible demandswould be made on his resources and mental capabilities. In his attempts to obtain the degree of knowledge needed to anticipate alternative outcomes, the decision maker is likely to be overwhelmed by'information inundation, which can be quite as debilitating as information scar- city' (Miller and Starr, J967, p.62). Moreover, so many relevant variables may have to be taken into account that they cannot all be kept.in mind at the same time. The number of crucially relevant categories usually far exceeds 7 ± 2, the limits of man's capacity for processing information In immediate memory(see Miller, 1956). Handicapped by the shortcomings of the human mind, the decision maker's' attention, asserts Simon, 'shifts from one value toanother with consequent shifts in preference' (p. 83). (p. 21-22).
Optimizing strategies may seem like an idealapproaches for decision
makers. However, there remain serious questions whether individuals can
,effectively weigh and appraise the costs and benefits ofavailable alternatives,
Miller and Starr (1967) argue that it is' difficult to quantify or even identify
the kinds of values and the psychological andsociological forces at work
on an individual in a decision situation. In addition, numerous studies
shed-doubts on the assumption that individuals can successfully process or
retain substantial amounts of information. Some studies relating to the
question of information collectingand use are reviewed in the next section
"Descriptive Approaches".
33.4 336 Descriptive Approaches how individuals Whereas normative approacheslead to suggestions of approaches take a step should act to makequality decisions, descriptive The approach, more back and ask howindividuals do act makingdecisions. studies rather than casting empirical in it orientation, invites research among the inputs doubt on their necessity. Studies examine the relationships and the output. (information, choices, personalogicalcharacteristics, etc.)
of information onresulting A number of studieshave investigated the effects
decision making behaviors.
adequate and relevantinformation as it relates A r"' 4 dedision requires outcomes, the probabilityof outcomes, to possiblealternative actions, possible consequences(Gelatt, 1966). and the desirabilityof outcomes and their shown that people with low With some interestingexceptions, studies have make effective decisionsand to medium amountsof information to, process
remain continuously opento new and relevantinformation. effects of uncertainty Lanzetta and Driscoll(1968) studied the joint
They found that searchincreased in and importance oninformation search. conditions, promising greaterlosses. conditions promisinggreater gains and in Post-hoc analysis Search also increased inconditions of greateruncertainty. .m, additive. suggeted that theeffects of importanceand uncertainty were uncertainty, i.e., the Also, importance effects werein part mediated by created. Corman (1957) more important adecision, the more uncertainty was the amount of information reported that success inproblem solving increased as
on how toattack a problemincreased. 337
11'1 a study which throws some doubts on thenotion that people give atten- tion to information regardless of its form, Borgidaand Nisbett'(1977) con-
cluded that information is used inproportion to its vividness. They found that brief fact-to-face comments about undergraduate courseshad a greater
impact upon course selections than did printed courseevaluations using ratings
of students who previously had taken the courses.
A serious challenge to the notion thatindividuals act as open. ar ainbiased
Ne"-- decision makers has been the selective exposure hypothesis.
The selective exposure hypothesis, regardedby an earlier generation of behavioral scientists as a fundamental tenet ofsocial psycho- logy, postulates that people generally censor their(intake of messages in a highly biased way so as to protect their current beliefs and decisions from being attacked (see Klapper,1949). A supplementary postulate is that people generally seek out communications that support their prior attitudes anddecisions, especially when they inadvertently encounter negative feedback that,makes themless confident. Thus, the selective exposure hypothesis assertsthat people generally seek messages with which they agree andavoid those with which they disagree the selective exposure hypothesis became a linchpin in various consistency theories(e.g., Festinger, 1957). Until the mid- 1960s, deviations from thehypothesis were usually regarded as unimportant. exceptions to the generalrule, rather than as grounds for reconsideringit. (Janis and Mann, 1977, p. 203).
Freedman and Sears (1965) and Sears andAbeles (1969) reviewed numerous
studies and, in seeming refutation to theselective exposure hypothesis,
found that there were nearly as many t'tudiesindicating a preference for
non- upportive information as forsupportive information, and the most prevalent
findag was "no preference".
Noncohfirming studies show that a number of specific factors, such as the message's utility (Canon,1964; Lowe and Steiner, 1968); ease of refutability(Lowin, 1967; Kleinhasselink and Edwards, 1975), topical interest and novelty (Atkin, 1973) can offset,if not swamp, whatever selectivity tendencythere might be. 338
Dynamic Approaches
As was stated previously, most descriptive and normativemodels assume
a static decision space where thealternatives are finite and fixed. Further-
more, the models characterize thedecision maker as one who attempts to use
an optimizing strategy to find the "best"alternative against a background
of personal trait characteristics, such as values,interests, etc. Those
using a dynamic approach take pains to avoid making theassumptions which
underly such charcterizations. For them, the decision situation or decision
environment need not be static, and the individual decision maker may use *NC different strategies and have different sets of internalinfluencers from
situation to situation and from one time to ancther. The often observed
and reported phenomena of vacilliation and the common occurrenceof "changing
one's mind" lend some credence to looking fors'omething other than the rational
and static world assumed in most decisionmaking models.
The attempt to understand the information processingactivities of the
individual decision maker has been pioneeredby Herbert Simon and his asso-
ciates (Wilcox; 1972). To study how decisions are made,techniques which
involve thinking aloud protocols and closelymonitorng the information process-
ing activities of individuals in complex and changingenvironments have been
used. Attempts'to model the individual problem solverusing computer logic
(Newell & Simon, 1971; Greeno, 1978) epresent a conplementaryextension
of this samapproach in the problem :plying literature.
If t individual does not use an optimizing strategy and a set offixed
personal values, what is the process? Simon believes that in most decisions,
especially those in complex or changing environments,individuals employ
3 3) 339
a "satisficing" strategy rather than an optimizingstrategy. That is, they
look for an alternative which meets or exceeds a set of minimal requirements
which may or may not be'influenced themselves as the search continues.
Simon argues convincingly that the satisficing approachfits the limited information-processing capabilities of human beings. The world is peopled by creatures of 'bounded or limited rationality', he says, and these creaturesconstantly resort to gross simplifi- cations when dealing with complex decision problems.Man's limited 'ability to foresee future consequences and to obtain information about the variety of available alternatives inclines him to settle for a barely 'acceptable' course of action that is 'better than the way things are now'. He is not inclined to collect information about all the complicated factors that might affect the outcome of his choice, to estimate probabilities, or to work out preference orderings for many different alternatives. He is content to rely on a Jrastically simplified model of the buzzing,blooming confusion that constitutes the real world' (Simon, 1976, p. xxix). (Janis & Mann, 1977, p. 26).
The arguments proposed by researchers and thinkers such asSimon pose
serious problems for those desiring to build broadly generalizable decision
making model as well as to those practitioners who are desiring onemodel
which will generJize across siltuations, people, and time. Unfortunately,'
for practitioners, the dynamic approach, has producedlittle which can be
used by those concerned with prediction and change. And furthermore, because
of its reliance on simple and artificial tasks delivered inlaboratory settings,
dynamic approaches have missed the complex and emotional sides of decision
4V making.
A Conflict Model of Decision-Making.
Whereas individuals would appear to have an inclination to search out
and use information effectively, they do not always. Why not? Three plausible
explanations. First, as within problem solving situations, individuals'can 340
fail because they do not possess the prerequisite skills to search out, recog-
nize and use relevant information. This could be termed the "learning deficit"
explanation. Second, in situations which are complex and the information
requirements great, the. individual's information processing capabilities
are taxed beyond his or her abilities. The "biological limitations" explana-
tion (or alternatively, the l'Hey, I'm only human"explanation) has been des-
cribed by Simon (1976). A third possible explanation of poor decision making
involves the conflict individuals feel in decision situations withimportaht
consequences. This section concludes with an analysis of miscalculation
under conditions of "detisional conflict".
The decisional-conflict model may be unique amohg all decision making
and problem solving models. Janis and Mann are 'unwilling to assume as the
standard the idealized behavior of a coldly rationale decision maker, as
it is the standard implied in those using normative and most other descriptiv'
approaches.
Instead they focus on an individual's cognitive functioning andpsychological
state curing and after making a decision. In this way, there exists a meaningful
similarity to writers and researchers who it could be said use adynamic
approach. On the other hand, the conflict model differt from those using
a dynamic approach in critical ways. First, consistent with other descriptive
models, the conflict mode' assumes a static decision space made up of a finite
and fixed set of choice alqwnatives. Second, Janis and Mann sample from
a wide range of psychological research and areless behavioristic in their
approach and description. And third, they state that research results based 341 on artificial, laboratory tasks, one of the trademarksof those adopting
a dynamic approach haveques'ionable generalization to real life situations.
What is the conflict model?The model attempts to relate sets of antece-
dent conditions to sets of possible consequences and tos0.6fy the psycho-
logical constructs and processes which mediate the two.
What is unique about the model is the specification of conditions relating to conflict, hope, and time pressure that mediate distinctive decisional coping patterns. Our claim is that the five coping patterns are linked dependably with the conditiOns we have specified, a claim that has testable implicationsabout environmental cii:um- stances that generate vigilance and about deliberate interventions that could counteract the beliefs and perceptionsresponsible for defective coping patterns. (p. 72)
The theory invo'ves a number of formulations. Those parts of the theory which are thought to have the most interest to practitioners are included
in the following pages. The heart of the theory, a conflict-theory model
of decision making, has been included in Figure 1.
Insert Figure 3 about here
According to this model, the decision maker who answers "yes" or "maybe"
at each decision point in dealing witha consequential decision is prepared
to carry 'through with those activities associated with high quality"vigilant" decision making.
(The four "less-than-vigilant" patterns)...are occasionally adaptive in saving time, effort, and emotional wear and tear, especially for routine or minor decisions that do not have serious consequences. But they often result in defective decision making when the decision maker is confronted with a vital choice that hasserious consequences
`s,
336 342
F1CORF 3. A conflicttheory model of decisionmaking applicabk to all consequential decisiOns.
saricsoion CONDITIOM loirlotat PROCISSIS COSOSECWINCIS
ADDET 10NAI INi OfilA A T 4,004 A14041 I LOVER An0M, CONTINt IWO UNCHANGED
(NO
INCOVALI if SDK APORAiSAt. CONIINGE40 Pt AHNifdi.
03 5V45 01 IS 11 10Wr OMAATIJN REALISTIC AvAILAIIL t AND or 10 HOPE I0 01410t UNUSED I iND A IIETTEA IIISOuritCES SOLUTION'
0I IS THEME suf trIvo Ttuf wfAC AVIGIL AN([ 10 S( AACt4 AND 01.144NATE,
33d 343
for himself, for his family, or for the organization on whose behalf he is making the decision. These four patterns are: (1) unconflicted inertia; (2) unconflicted change to a new course of action; (3) defensive avoidance; and (4) hypervigilance. (p. 52)
The behavorial consequences of each of the five patternS are described
in Table 1. Each pattern is analyzed against the seven criteria which it
is maintained act as criteria for thorough search and appraisal activities.
Insert Table 1 about here
Table 2 0:tends the theory,to the behavioral and psychological consequences of individuals who demonstrate each of the five decision making patterns.
Insert Table 2 about here
Together Figure 3 and Tables 1 and 2 outline the major components of the conflict theory model. It should be noted that Janis and Mann have rigor- ously reviewed studies which provide tests for the predictions inherent in these formulations. They have therefore been successful in integrating a large body of research investigating ways that people react and make decisions in conflict- inducing choice situations.
The authors emphasize that the theor,:,is limited to decision situations which have serious consequences. Only in ich conflict-inducing conditions, are the potentially debt itating psychological cooditions present to impede quality decision making. Wh reas other models imply that individuals can somehow control these psychological reactions and that individuals act in a cool and objective manner, Janis and Mann disagree with the contention:
3,1 of thy five basic patternsof decision snaking. I sou iI Preilea lclinir characteristic Crilerldfor ifigh-quality DecirinnMaking (4) 15) (7) I 121 (P' Twmoucil CAREFUL EVALlIATID.N OF PLANING CONSEQUENCES Tnnanuoi UNBIASED CARET % RE. FOR IMPLE. PArrimivOF Tuirmotcn THaptotao SEARCII it* ASSIMILATION I:VALUATION MCM'ATION 'wpm WM CANVASSINC CANvANsING Q. of Cur. b. of alter - INFoRMAllON C NEW IN- nt.COME- AND CON- CHALLENGE OF AFFRNA- OfORW(;- rentpolicy native new .F1 mAroN ,AK IENCES liscmcirs nvEs nvps policies
Unconflicted adherence
Unconflictec' change
nefensive ivnidance
4- 4- Hvpervigilance Vigilance + + = The decision maker meets thecriterion to the best of his ability. maker fails to meet the criterion. - = The decision best of his ability and sometimes not ± = The decision maker's performancefluctuates. sometimes meeting the criterion to the intrapersonal comparative assessments. relative tothe person's MI evaluative terms such as thorough andunbiasedare to be understood as highest possible level of cognitive performance.
341 TABLE 2.Manifestations of conflict and related symptoms of stress for eachof the five basic patterns of decision making.
DEGREE OF VACILLATION OF PREFERENCE. FUR PATTERN OF SUBJECTIVE BEUEFS (INDICATORS Of COPING want %DIMMING PSYCHOLOGICAL CONDITIONS ALIVRNATIvErAMIRSF.S Of Ac? los; Ci IALLF.NCE SPECIFIED IN FIGURE 3-2) LEVEL OF STRESS
1. Unconflicted No serious risk from current course of Low : / persistently calm No vacillation adherence action
Z. Unconflicted Serious risk from current course of actionLow: persistent)} calm No vacillation change No serious risk from new course of action
3. Defensive SeriouS risk from current course of actionVariable from low to high Little or no vacillation (except when signs of avoidance Serious risk from new course of action (predominantly pseudocalm, No better solution can be found with breakthrough of high threat arc salient) emotional arousal when signs of threat become salient)
4. tlypervigilance Serious risk fromcurrent yettrseof actionHigh. persistently strong anxiety Very high rate of vacillation. Serious risk from new course of action but occasionall!, practicall A better solution might be found none. as a result Insufficient time to search for arid of perseveration evakiate a better oltition Moderate to high rate of. 5. Vigil ance Serious risk from current course of actionModerate: variations %%Rhin Serious risk from new course of action intermediate range, ssith sriciltation (depending on A better solution might he found level depending upon conk.nt of lieu information' Sidricient time to search for and evaluate capon ire to threat cues or A iitt.T aehtiou fei4g0.11!111114untiimilmtMIMS
342 346
Human beings, programmed as they are withemotions and unconscious motives as well as with cognitiveabilities, seldom can approximate a state of detachedaffectlessness when making decisions that impli- cate their own vital interests ornose of their organization or nation. (p. 72)
While such an assumption may appearpessimistic, it may also be realistic.
Numerous studies demonstrate thatindividuals do not make decisions in a
rationale and detached manner.
The decisional-conflict theory'sformulations are convincing largely
because of the weight of the research supportingthem. These formulations
stand alone in their potentialfor providing practitioners with aunified
approach for diagnosing the decision making process. Whereas most other
problem solving models view steps and stages ascritical factors in information
search and appraisal activities, theconflict position maintains that it
is the coping pattern that isdetermining.
Irrespective of the specific stage of thedecision, the decision maker, will be either indifferent,defensively avoAant, hypervigi- lant, or discriminately vigilant with respectto relevant informa- tion, depending upon theantecedent conditions determining his model of coping response. (p. 213)
Implications of this model, especially asthey relate to the three maladaptive
coping patterns mentioned aboveindifference--encompassing both unconflicted
inertia and unconflicted change to a newcourse of action,defensive avoidance,
and hypervigilance, will be discussedin the next section. 347
IMPLICATIONS
In this section implications from the problemsolving and decision making literature are discussed. The focus of this section are high school and college students who are deciding on a school toattend, a major course of study, an occupation, or a career path. Consequently, of special interest are vocational decisionmaking models and studies. Some of these studies are introduced and discussed in thissection. A primary question which this section addresses is, "Whattypes of interventions (programs) can provide assistance and support to students as they make decisionsrelated to vocational choices."
While many writers take care to distinguish among"career decision making",
"vocational decision making", and "choosing a major", thissection uses the single term "vocational decision making". This is not to imply that there aren't purposes served by distinguishing amongthese terms. Rather it is a recognition thatthe decisions implied in these areas have manycrucial similarities. There exists a strong relationship among the sets ofoptions available when selecting a major, a graduateschool, a first job, an occupation, etc. The inputs into making these various decisions(eg., the values and interests of the individual, vocationalinformation, etc.) are also in large part similar in nature.
I is section presents eleven guidelines. It is believed that these guidelines have application to various kinds of programs,i.e., any kind of intervention. Among programs which could be impacted arethose designed
1) to instruct students in skills important to making vocationaldecisions 348
(educational programs), 2) to assist and support students with vocational
decisions (e.g. career counseling programs), and 3) to assist students with
personal and interpersonal problems and Ae.cisions(e.g. life skills program).
Studies which support the first two guidelines were reviewed anddescribed
in the problem solving review section.
1. Prior learning is critical to success in a problem situation.
A task analysis provides .a method for identifying necessary prerequi-
site ski11t..
2. The questions of whether general problem solving skills exist or
whether an individual's success in one situation can transfer to
another situation are empirical in nature and should be sotreated.
A task analysis procedure (Gagne, 1970) can facilitateidentification
of skills necessary for successfulproblem solving and decision making.
An individual's skill level can be assessed or assumedand instructional
interventions provided to meet skill deficitsidentified or assumed. Such
a procedure is successful with aspecific, limited "task" situation. Conse-
quently, for the procedure to have a reliablepayoff, efforts need to be
made to identify rather precisely the kinds of problems anddecisions with
which students must deal, and the skill recJirementsimplied within each
problem decision situation.
The studies reviewed fail to offer much support tothe conclusion that
general problem solving or decision making models are useful. (These models
do, however, have some value as descriptivevehicles.) Identification of 349 a set of principles whichhelp define the degree to which transfer of skills can be expected from one situation to another orthe conditions under which such transfer could be expected were beyond the scope of this review. Without such guidance, the practitioner would seem wise to adopt the followingstrat- egy: 1) Identify important problem and decision situations for which student success is deemed critical; 2) Use a task analysis procedure (or other proce- dure(s)) to identify the skills necessary for success in each of these situa- tions; 3) Develop/modify programs; 4) Implement the program andestablish within it methods by which it can be determined if transfer of training is occurring: This last recommendation addresses fact that while general problem solving/ decision making skills may exist and/or transfer of training may occur, it is less costly to test theassumptions inherent in such acceptance than not to test them.
No program can deal with all difficult situations studentsface but it seems a prudent course would involve equipping students withthe necessary skills to resolve the more critical problems and toact vigilantly in important decisions areas such as choice of major and choice of occupation. The evidence is not available that instruction in how tounderstand and use "all-purpose" problem solving and decision making models will be sufficient inpromoting skills applicable to different kinds of problemsituations or meet the specific
learning rec 'remtnts in specific problem/decision situations.
3. Individuals are biologically limited information processors.
Studies have revealed that people can maintain no more than five to nine chunks of information active in immediate memory at any one time. 350
Furthermore, human subjects have shown to be limited to storing one chunk
of information in long-term memory every seven or eight seconds., Such limita-
tions have implications for success in complex problem and decision situations
where the information requirements are great as could be expected in situa-
tions involving choosing a vocation, a city in which to live, or a mate.
What are the implications for a program? For any important student
decision, a program designed for facilitating decision making may want to
consider the following: the type of information required in the decision,©
the availability of that information, the presentation form of the information
which studentg may need, and strategies to insure that the information is
accessible at the time the decision is made. An example will demonstrate
how these considerations (criteria) could apply to a common decision situation,
i.e., students facing a choice among various majors. One kind of information
which may be useful in this situation is the satisfaction of students already
in those majors. Assume that a program conducted a survey assessing student
satisfaction within available majors and summarized this information in an
easy-to-read chart and distributed the chart to all students.
Is the information useful/relevant? Potentially.
Was the information available to No, they probably students without the program securing it? have neither the skills, the time, nor the access.
Is the information summar;ttu in an Yes, in chart form. economic fashion?
Will the information be accessible Because it cannot at the time of making the decision? 'be assumed that so much information can be remembered (accessible when needed), the chart can be referred to as needed. 351
Applying'these four criteria during development of programs can compensate for students' limitations to gather, process, and use information.
The decisional-conflict model (Janis & Mann, 1977) specifies three dif- ferent defensive coping patterns -- indifference, hypervigilance, and defensive avoidance -- each linked dependably to a set of antecedent conditions and as set of behavorial consequences. By recognizing the behavioral manifesta- tions of each pattern, a program may be able to intervene 1) to change the perceptions and beliefs internal to the decision maker and /or 2) to modify the external environment to better support a vigllant coping pattern. The three defensive coping patterns are discussed, in terms of ther antecedent conditions, their consequences, and implications these have for program.
4. Programs can be designed to meet the Loping pattern of indifference.
Antecedents;,The authors summarize the antecedents as an individual's
"...belief that no serious risks are involved from pursuing the current course or from adopting a new course of action..." (p. 205)
Consequences. They are described as:
1. Not a careful search of information.
2. Not a careful appraisal of information.
3. Unbiased indifference to supportive and non-s.pportive information.
4. Low level of stress(no conflict either staying with the current
course of action or changing to a new course).
5. No vacillation.
Program implications According to the theory, the coping pattern of indifference may he appropriate, as with routine decisions, e.g., should 352
I buy mayonaise or Salad dressing. However, with some major kinds of decisions
one might be suspicious if an indifference pattern weremanifest. If students
in a decision situation having major consequences (for example,selecting
a major course ofstudy) exhibit the symptoms of the Thdifference coping
pattern, one might wonder if the decision one made would continue tobe an
acceptable one as time went on or as new information were presentedand assim-
ilated.
Changes to internal perceptions and beliefs. Interventions could be
directed to informing students about real and possible consequences of accept-
ing any course of action without scrutiny. In addition, techniques to increase
emotional arousal may have benefits. For example,. observing the consequences
to others who failed to take the decision as aconsequential one, may lead
students to a more thorough search and appraisal process. Janis and Mann
cite a number of studies studying thefacilitating and debilitating effects
of strong warning appeals. They conclude that in fear arousal studies, both
factors are at work, and that it is difficult to predictunder what conditions
and with which individuals the facilitating effects ofarousal evoked by
warnings are overpowered by the interfering effects.
Changes to the external environment. Perhaps the individual cannot
see the importance of the decision becauseof factors beyond the program's
control, e.g., maturity, lack of commitment to thealternatives available,
etc. Whatever the reason, these individuals may at a later time see the
importance-of the decision and regret the decision theymade. Thus, for
some individuals, it may be necessary tobuild flexibility into the decision
environment allowing trying out different alternativesand changing one's
mind. 353
5. Programs can be designed to meet the coping pattern of hypervigilance.
Antecedents
Kypervigilance is said to arise when there is tithe perception of insuf- ficient time to make a decision. 'While Janis and Mann cite many studies in which individuals react to conditions in a'panic-like state, most of these studies observed peoples' reactions to disaster situations.
Perhaps the relative infrequency of hypervigilant reactions is attributable to the rarity of the prime antecedent conditions that we postulate for the appearance of this pattern -- namely, awareness of imminent danger of serious loss with moderate or high hope that it can be escaped baut with a very short deadline because but appar- ently adequate escape routes appear to.be rapidly closing off. (p. 81)
It does seem possible, however, that the perceptual state of the indi-vidual is the important factor, and what may be viewed as a small thing to one can have "disastrous" proportions to another. And without sufficient time, or the perception of it, the hypervigilance pattern many occur.
Consequences
In brief, Janis and Mann describe hypervigilance as the "...impulsive commitment to the least objectionable alternative in a state of acute anxiety about a rapidly approaching deadline" (p. 199). The consequences of hyper- vigilance can be summarized as involving:
1. Not a careful appraisal of Wormation, alternatives, consequences.
2. "Active search for both supportive and non-supportive information, with failure to discriminate between relevant and irrelevanttrust- worthy and untrustworthy." (p. 206)
3. Persistently high level of anxiety.
3 :)(i 354 vacillation, but occasionallypractically none 4. "Very high rate of as a result ofperseveration. (p.78)
choice is made. 5. Post decisional conflict over a large degree of One reliable consequenceof this coping pattern is a because the individ- what Janis and Manndescribe as "postdecisional.conflict" in his ual "...is likely to searchfrantically for a solution. persevere then latch onto a hastily thinking about a limitednumber of alternatives, and (p. 151). 'contrived solution that seems topromise immediate relief."
conflict, individuals will It is proposed thatbecause of postdecisional reverse be uneasy about their decision,and many eventually will undo or
it.
Program imdlications individuals may be Changes, toirAerrpialidbeliefs. Some Perhaps individuals whocould more susceptibleto the hypervigilantstate. .by trait anxiety measures are be described as"high-anxious" as Measured This possibility, more prone to resortingto the hypervigilantpattern.
however, is little morethan speculation. the Changes to the externalenvironment. If it can be assumed that individual's time-pressures are in some sense"real" and not traceable to an
perception, then the programhas some options, amongthem:
For example, if students arerequire(' to select 1. Allow more time. consiferation a majorby'ttie beginning of their sophomore year, cy)tion, which would effec- can be glen to1) creating an "undecided" 2) permitting tively postpone the decisionfor selecting a major, oeriod of time and re-enter students to "drop out"of school for a 355
when they indicate they are prepares" to make a decision, and 3) chang-
ing the program so that students can postpone their final decision,
for example, to the beginning of the junior year.
2. Create a program which has provisions for individuals to change
their mind. Such a consideration was described earlier.
6. Programs can be designed to meet the coping pattern of defensive avoid-
ance.
Antecedents
The determinants of the defensive avoidance reaction involve "...an
awareness of serious losses from any alternative that might be selected, together with loss of hope of finding a satisfactory solution. (p. 205)
Consequences
Manifestations of the defensive avoidance coping pattern are said to
include:
1. Not a thorough search for information.
2. Not a careful appraisal of information, alternatives, and consequences.
3. Passive interest or active search for supportive interest; avoidance of challenging and/or discrepant information.
4. "'Variable' from low to high (predominantly pseudo-calm, with break- thiTugh of high emotional arousal wh n signs of threat become sali- ent)" (p. 78)
5. Little or no vacillation (except when perception of imminent threat).
6. Postdecisional conflict once a choice is made.
Defensive avoidance may take on one of three characteristic forms -- procras- tination, shifting responsibility, or bolstering. 356
depends partly onpersonality predispo- The form ofavoidance adopted the major variables arenevertheless among sitions, butsituational of defensiveavoid- When the twoessential conditions determinants. hope for a bettersolution) are (high conflictand loss of ance that induces thedecision maker present, informationor advice will for postponinghis decision to expect noserious penalties he will defensive procrastination: encourage thetendency toward who avoid discussingit with anyone stop thinkingabut the issue, stay away of hisdeliberations, and is interestedin the outcome to he might be putunder pressure from socialsituations where tight deadline But if he knowsthat there is a make up his mind. maker's defen- for postponement,the decision wilb--strong penalties the form ofeither tendencies are morelikely to take sive 4.3idance If the former,he directs responsibility orbolstering. shifting getting othersinvolved, rationaliz- his thoughts andactions toward make the decisionand why they, not ing why they,not he, should turns outbadly. If defensive he, should takethe blame if it bolstering, the deciion makerwill avoidance takesthe form of the conflictfu issue but will continue to think'and talk about attention and dist ted information ward off stressby selective the of defensiveavoidance enable processing. All three forms by not worrying aboutthe decision decision makerto'escape from losses. evoke awarenessof anticipated exposing himselfto cues that (0. 87)
Programimplications the defensive with makingvital decisions, When individualsare faced defective pettern as the most pervasive avoidance reaction"...is probably prevent orcorrect." well as the'mostdifficult to refer to and beliefs. Janis and Mann Changes tointernal perceptions Among them, and they aredifficult tosummarize. many typesof interventions Itif., suggestedthat the role a counselorcan play. though, theypoint out expectation in order counteract thispessimistic the counselor"...try to
to prevent'defensiveavoidance'." discuss hisdilemma might encouragethe client to The counselor of relatives, individuals in hispersonal network with respected perspectives and mentors whomight give him new friends, or suggest that moreinforma- maintain hope. He can also help him to where he mightfind it available andtell the client tion is pamphlets, andarticles or by by mentioningpertinent books, 357
be consulted. Above recommending professionalexperts who could sense ofoptimism all, the decisioncounselor can himself convey a good solution tothe about the client'schances of finding a oroblem.(p4374) play an importantrole, however, Janis and Mannbelive that informt tcon can be more effectiveif presented it would appear thatsuch information might decision was imminent. If, in fact, or availattebefore the need to make a and uncertantiesin theinforma- "cognitive defenses arefostered by ambiguities
concerning the consequencesof alternative tion available tothe decision maker right kind of information mayprevent the courses ofactions.° (p 94), the defensive aviodancereaction from occurring. the defensive gisatsInexternal environment. As was implied above, situation unless thehopelessness avoidance pattern maypersist in a decision ep, Simple program modifica- within the individualdecision maker isaddressed.
tions may beineffectual the same recommendedto accom- Two considerationsrecommend themselves --
coping pattern. modate students whoadopt a hypervigilant Theoreticallyt this would serveat least two 1. Allow more time. time for indifidualsto be purposes. First, it would allow more defensive avoidancepattern open to newinformiation before the Second, if establishes itself andlimits and biases thesearch. results, the individ- a choiceis made andpostiecisional conflict patterns, is vigilance...will ual, "especially ifhis dominant coping compromise solutionthat watch for an opportunityto work out a As mentioned reduces the stress ofpost-decisional conflict..." creating an "undecided" previously, a program canoffer more time by for a time, and changing option, allowingstudents to drop-out 358 `C. the timeline so students need not make the decisionuntil later
in their school career.
2. Build-in a flexibility and thus accommodate individuals who change
their mind. It is maintained that an individual who adopts a defen-
sive avoidance coping pattern and then selects analternative will
not be comfortable with ,that choice (suffer "postdecisionalconflict")
which may lead to reversing the decision.
The programimplications described for all three coping patterns are
speculative. Most speculative are the prescriptive hypotheses for dealing
with the defensive avoidance pattern. The descriptive power of the Janis
and Mann's analysis, however, is perSuasive. Programs would do well to con-
sider doing."something" if students-exhibit characteristics associated with
each defective coping piitern. Failing to recognize manifestations of defec-
tive decision making will serve neither the student nor the program.
The next four guiaelines offer some direction topractitioners as they
consider how individual differences relate to vocationaldecision making:
7. A wide range of personalogical constructs havebeen investigated,
however, the development of alteOnative interventions for different
kinds of students as measured by instruments currentlyavailable
is probably unwarranted.
It seems a tenable assumption that studentsapproach vocational decision
making in different ways. It is certainly true that individuals make different
decisions. The research which has attempted to identify personalogicalconstrue 359
which reliably relate to the processes ar.d products of vocational decision
making has not had the successes that many have speculated. Studies in the
vocational decision making area have investigated a wide array of constructs,
among them, conceptual level (Streufert, 1975), cognitive complexity (Sodden
and Klein, 1972), vocational self-concept (O'Hara and Tiedeman, 1959); risk
(tiiler, 1957), intelligence (Hollender, 1971), Holland's personality types
(Cain, Gilligan and Campbell, 1978), achievement (Miley, 1965), sex role
self-concept (Moreland et al., 1979), career maturity (Super and Thompson,
1979). An effort to use differential curricula based on these constructs
aopears premature given the state of the art.
8. Practitioners should continue asking themselves, "What is the legit-
imate and appropriate role of paper-pencil inventories?"
Dolliver (1969' reviewed a number of studies which investigated the
relative efficacy of expressed and inventoried measurement modes. He found
that for studies examining expressed interests and inventoried interests
as measured by the Strong Vocational Interest Blank, that the predictive
validity of expressed interest was at least as great as the predictive validity
of inventoried interests. It is conceivable, however, that not all students
are able to express a choice, and for these, inventories assessing interests,
values, etc. may be helpful.
Borgen and Seling (1978) examined the realtive utility of expressed
and inventoried interests when both were used together to predict college major and career choice outcomes. A longitudinal design was used measuring expressed and inventoried interest among more than 600 individuals before 360 represents the college and three (3) yearslater. The following summary
most important outcomes. predictions The total percentageof accurate expressed choice was over 50% forboth outcomes, while theStrong Vocational Interest of all college Blank, Men's Form(SVIB-M) was accurate for 30.8% When major predictions and40.2% of all career fieldforecasts. expressed choice and theSVIB agreed in predictionof outcome, choice the hit rlte'rose to over70%. However, when expressed expressed and SVIB predictions werenot the same for a given person, choice was found to be 2-3times more accurate thanthe SVIB-M.
the consistency Such results demonstratethat in xertain situations interest (or alternatively, the lack ofit) Among inventoried and expressed
by itself. The notion profiles can have morepredictive worth than either one actions, choices, that "patterns" ofbehaviors (whether they involve scores, received much research etc.) may be more useful thansingle behaviors has not
attention and may be a fruitfulline of ivestigation.
between students who aredecided and who are 9. Reliable differences and undecided. about a vocationalgoal have not been discovered
designed to meet the reported. However, differential programs
special needs of "indecisive"students may prove a most cost-effec-
tive approach.
Holland and Holland(1977) summarize the literature:
Attempts to comprehend thevocational decisiveness of some characterized by , students and theindecisibness of others are conflicting findings, negativefindings, or negligiblefindings. students have been Although vocationallydecided and undecided assessed in many ways and with avast range of variables(Ashby, & Rose, 1971; Holland Wall, & Osipow, 1966: Baird, 1968, 1969; Elton & nichols, 1964; Lunneborg, 1975; Nelson & Nelson, 1940; Osipow, differences emerg. Carney, & Barak,1976), few clear or compelling that decided Instead the most strikingoutcomes of these studeis are much more alike and undecided highschool and college students are 361
than different and that the relatively few differences found are conflicting and confusing. (p. 404).
They examine the practical applications of research in the areaand speculate
that:
It is probably a mistake to treat all undecidedstudents as if they had the indecisive disposition. Only a very small percentage could be expected to have such characteristics to an incapacitating degree. In terms of the evidence, it is more reasonable to assume that most undecided students do not have any special negative charact- eristics and to treat them accordingly. (p. 413) * In another article, Holland (1977) contends that not all studentsneed
the same kind and same intensity of intervention. He states that the develop- ment of diagnostic measures and alternative treatmentsrepresents a direction which better serves the differential needs of students and the limited resources
of programs. The chart which follows was compiled and adapted fromHolland's
categorization of students and the types of intervention compatible for each
type.
% of student Student Student type body Characteristics Type of Intervention
Decisive 50% Do not need or Simple, inexpensive want assistance informational materials about jobs and training.
Exoloratory 30% Have failed to More complex and expensive make culturally self-and-vocational- epproved deci- exploratory services, sions near the large group activities, specified times. tests, and inventories, courses.
Somewhat indecisive 15% Evidence of lack More complex, long term of some decisive and expensive small group characteristics or training experiences.
Severly indecisive 5% Unusual diffi- Some or all of the above culty in plan- plus long term group and/or ning and train- individual vocational- ing for a carreer personal counseling. --especially at the standard ex- pected rate. 362
This categorization scheme represents but one anproach to structuring
an intervention program. The categories and especially the percentages should
be viewed as speculative. The chart is included here to serve primarily
as an example of how a differentiated programcould be conceived to meet
the different needs which may exist within a student body.
In a rencent study, Slarey (1980 analyzed college students' respnses
to the Occupational Alterntives Question (QAQ. The QAQ measure involves
only two questions and responses to these were used to divide students into
four groups-- those having an occupational first choice and alterntives,
a first choice plusalternatives, no first choice but alternatives, and neither
a first choice nor alternatives.
The hypothesis tested was that these groups would differ on dependent variables related to vocational decision making. No significant differences were found on socioeconomicstatus or on Holland's constructs of consistency,differentiation, or congruence with career choice. Significant group differences were found on congruence with college major,total number of Vocational Preference Inventory responses, and scales measuring satisfaction with college major and career choice. Significant differences were also found on two recent scales measuring voca- tional indecision, that is, the Vocational Decision Making Diffi culty Scale and the Career Decision Scale. (p.122)
The author concludes that the "...results suggest that expressed choice,
as delineated, has auseful degree of concurrent validity with other measures
of vocational indecision, in addition to its previously demonstratedpredictive
validity." (p. 126). This study, together withe the results previously
cited, demonstrates that measurements of expressed choice represent ameaning-
ful and useful methodology. However, unlike other studies examining expressed
choice, ue of the QAQ index is used to discriminate levels of decisiveness,
and therefore, this measure, or other similar measures of expressed choice,
may be useful in identifying students withdifferential needs. 363
10. There is some evidence indicating that vocational decision making
is influenced by developmental processes.
Brown (1970) makes this point in his review and critique of the vocational decision making literature. With the growing emphasis on career development in the early and middle school years, models like the ones described by Ginzberg et al., (1953) and Super (1957) have been widely cited. Tiedernan and O'Hara
(1963) present an interesting model which hypotheses the four stages (Exploration,
Crystallization, Choice, and Clarification) individuals pass through when making a vocational choice. Harren (1966) tested the assumption that individuals may be at different stages at different times. Factor analyses of college students responses to a Q-sort task yielded some support for the idea that stages such as the four in the model do exist and that they exist inthe hypoth- eszied sequence.
11. Given the state of the art, programs should build in mechanisms
to assess the effects of intervention options.
The previous ten guidelines represent different directions for practi- tioners (educators, counselors, etc.) to consider as they are designing pro- grams and dealing with students. This last :2!..iieline is a recommendation
fort the way in which these guidelines and other ideas can and should be . implemented they will work and work well.
The other guidelines contain or address provisions which are speculative, and thus, require further testing either in a research or evaluation mode. 364
Skill transfer and the degree to which problem solvingskills can be general-
ized should be tested (Guideline 2), which means assessingskills both in
the environments in which they are taught and inwhich they are ultimately
used. Consequently, programs need, to establish the means by which student
success in related and unrelatedtask environments is assessed, recorded
and analyzed.
Similarly, Guidelines 4, 5 and 6 should not be implementedwithout some
follow-up assessments. Even though there exists a significant amount of
research to indicate that different identifiable coping patter.-exist, the
utility and comparative benefits of using this approach needs investigation.
In conclusion, given the state of the art in theproblem solving and
decision making areas, practitioners may find the "let's try it out andlest
it" approach the one which bears the sweetestfruit.
M. Steve -12 R(12/4/80):df 361 365
Reference List
Atkin, C. Instrumental utilities and information seeking. In P. Clarke (Ed.), New models for mass communication research. Beverly Hills, Cal.: Sage,
Ausubel, D. P. Educational sycholo : A co nitive view. New York: Holt,
Rinehart, ana ins on, .
.Bergin, A. E. & Garfield, S. L. (Eds.). II*15111:7_17)fpsychoidboolt.Ljierayandbehavior
change: An empirical analysis. New or : ey, /I.
Bergland, B. W., Quatrano, L. A., & Lundquist, G. W. Group social models and structured interaction in teaching decision making. Vocational Guidance Quarterly, 1975, 24 (1), 28-35.
Bodden, J. L. & Klein, A. J. Cognitive complexity and appropriate vocational choice: Another look. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 1972, 19, 257-258.
Borgen, F. R. & Selling, J. Expressed and inventoried interests revisited: Perspicacity to the person. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 1978, 25 (6), 536-543.
Borgida, E. & Nisbett, R. E. The differential impact of abstract vs. concrete information on decisions. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 1977, 7 (3), 258-271.
Bross, I.D. Design for decision. New York: Macmillan, 1953.
Brown, D. Students' vocational choices: A review and critique. New York: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1970.
Bruner J. S. On going beyond the information given presented. In Contemporary Approaches to Cognition. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1957.
Canon, L. K. Self-confidence and selective exposure to information. In L. Festinger (Ed.), Conflict, decision and dissonance. Stanford, Cal.: Stanford University Press, 1964.
Corman, R. The effect of varying amounts and kinds of informtion as guidance in problem solving. _99PsycholoicalMonoraOieralandApplied, 1957, 71 (2), 1-21.
Davis, G. A. Current status of research and theory in human problem solving ?sycholuical Bulletin, 1966, 66, 36-54.
362 366
Davis, G. A. Ps chola of roblem s211ing: Theory and practice. New York: Basic Boo s, nc.,
Dilley, J. S. Decision-making ability and vocational maturity. Personnel and Guidance Journal, 165, 44, 423-427.
Dixon, D. N., Heppner, P. P., Petersen, C.,& Ronning, R. R. Problem-solving workshop training. Journal of Counse1129 Psycholou, 1979,26 (2), 133-139.
Dolliver, R. H. Strong Vocational InterestBlank versus expressed vocational interests: .A review. Psychological Bulletin, 1969, 72, 95-107.
D'Zurilla, T. J. & Goldfried, M. R. Problem Solving and behavior modification. Journal of AbnayiLsLItriolo, 1971, 78,107-126.
Festinger, L. A theory of cjnitive dissonance. Evanston, IL: Row Peterson, 1957.
Freedman, J. L. & Sears, D. O. Selective exposure. Yn L. Berkowitz, (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol.2). New York: Academic 17r7i171377-
Gagne, R. M. The conditions of learnin (2nd ed.). New York: Holt, Rinehart and WinstUr57rg77.
Gelatt, H.B. Information and decision theories applied to collegechoice and planning. Paper presented at the College EntranceExamination Board Invitational Conference on the Preparation ofSchool Counselors, Chicago, February, 1966.
Gilligan, D.P. & Campbell, R.T. Personality, undergraduate training and occupa"on: An application of Hol'-nd's theory of careers. Durham, North .rolina: Duke University, 1.178. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 153 525)
Ginzberg, E., Ginsburg, S. W., Axelrad, S.,& Henma, J. L. Occupational choice. New York: Columbia University Press, 1951.
Greeno, J. G. A study of problem solving. In R. Glaser (Ed.). instructional Psychology. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Eribaum Associates,
Greenwood, W. T. Decision theory and information systems: An intrAuction to manatement75-cision maiina. New Rochelle, NY: South-WesterTTUSTishing Co., 1953.
Harren, V. A. The vocational decision-making process amongcollege males. of 1966, 13, 271-277. 367
Heppner, P. P. A review of the problem-solving literature and itsrelationship to the counseling process. Counseling 1978, 25 (5), 366-375.
Holland, J. L. Promoting vocational exploration and decision makingamong high school and college students. School Guidance Worker, 1978, 33 (4),21-30.
Holland, J. L. & Holland J. E. Vocational indecision: More evidence and speculation. Journal of Counseling Psycholou, 1977, 24 (5), 404-414.
Hollender, J. W. Development of vocational decisions during adolescence. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 1971, 18 (3),242-248.
Johnson, D. M., Parrott, G. R., & Stratton,R. P. Production and judgement of solutions to five problems. Journal of Educational Psychology_Monograph, 1968, 59 (6), 1-21.
Klapper, J. T. The effects of the mass media. New York: Columbia University Bureau of ATgaliTlaillresearch, 1949.
Kleinhesselink, R. R., & Edwards, R.E. Seeking and avoiding belief discrepant information as a function of its perceivedrefutability. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1975, 31, 787-790. Koberg, D. & Bagnall, J.Iheqpilersal_!LIXtillstelsgjid!tp_ creativity, problem-so irocessoreacir Altos, Cal.: William au mann, nc.,
Kohler, W. The mentality of apes. New York: Harcourt Brace. 1925.
Krumboltz, J. D. & Thorensen, C.E. (Eds.). Counseling methods. New York: Holt, Reinhart & Winston, 1976.
Lanzetta, J. T. Driscoll, J. M. Effects of uncertainty and importanceon information search in decision making. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1968, 10 (4), 479-486.
Lowin, A. Approach and avoidance: Alternative modes of selectiveexposure to informtion. lnurnal of Persorility and Social Psychology, 1967, 6, 1-9.
Maier, N. R. F. The appraisal interview: Objectives, methods, and skills. New York:
Maier, N. R. Problem solving and creativity: In individuals and groups Belmont,Ca17:IFFETTUSre,1970.
Miller, D. W. & Starr, M. K. The structure of human decisions. Englewood Cliffs, NJ:
364 368
Miller, G. A. The magical number seven, plus orminus two. Psychological Review, 1956, 63, 81-97.
Moreland, J. R., Marren, V. A., Krimsky,M. E. & Tinsley, H. E. Sex role self-concept and career decisionmaking. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 1979, 26 (4), 329-336.
Newell, A. & Simon, N. A. Human Ept2Llia solvia. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice -Hall, 1972.
O'Hara, R. P. & Tiedeman, D. V. Vocational self concept in adolescents. Journal of Counsellaa Psychology,1959, 6, 292-301.
Parnes, S. J. Creative behavior 12,221222! New York: Scribner's, 1967.
Sears, D. 0. & Abeles, R, P. Attitudes and opinions. Annual Review tilt. stiout, 1969, 20, 25348.
Simon, H. A. Administrative behavior: A stud of decision - making processes in.adminiWITTR organfiRTR. ree ress, 777T--
Skinner, B.' F. An operant analysis of problem solving. In B. Kleirnuntz Wiley, (Ed.)/ Problem solving; Research, method and tholx. New York:
Journal Slaney, P. 8. Expressed vocational choice and vocationalindecision. ofiolalinseliraysci, 1980, 27 (2), 122-129.
Steve, M. Effects of rule selectiontraining on the ability to solve problems. Presented at the American EducationalResearch Assoication Convention, Boston, 1980.
Streufert, D. E. Differential classroom effects upon thevocational decision- making processes of male college studentsgrouped according to conceptual level. (Doctoral Dissertation, The University of Iowa,1975) Dissertation Abstracts International, 19751 36 7879A-7880A. (University MieoltrirTs-6 N37-76:7174137
Super, D. E. 21tintEtlaulLaireLs. New York: Ha. per & Row, 1957.
Supnr, D. E. & Thompson, A. S. A six-,cale, two-factor leasore ofadolescent career or vocationalmaturity. The Vocational GuidamilIntEll,1979, 28 (3), 6-15.
Wilcox, J. W. A method for measuring decisionassumptions. Cambridge, Mass.: The MIT
Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman, Young, S. Management__Ajptems_ElLaii.Eava-Stormd 1966. 369
Ziller, R. C. Vocational choice and utility for risk. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 1957, 4, 61-64.
MI. Steve -13 11-24-80:TN 366 Transfer of Learning From One Setting to Another
Donald Dansereau
and
Larry W. Brooks
3 61 373
SECTION I: INTRODUCTION The major purpose of this paper is to identify teaching and learning principles that facilitate the transferof knowl- edge and skills from one situation to another. Of particular importance will be the implications of these principlesfor the technical education of the hearing impaired. Before reviewing the relevant literature, an overallframework for examining the factors that influence theefficacy of transfer will be presented.
The primary goal of education is tofacilitate transfer: that isf to provide studen with knowledge and skills that will lead to improved perfo mance insubsequent situations
(other courses, on thejob, etc.). Unfortunately, much of the research on transfer has notbeen particularly informative.
Voss (1978) echoes thispoint: "In some ways, our relatively poor understandingof transfer is amazing, since oureducational systems are based fundamentally uponassumptions of transfer."
(p. 14). Part of this lack ofunderstanding may arise from inadequate an tlyses of the necessaryand sufficient conditions for positive transfer. The prior research in this areahas primarily focused on theacquisition of simple word lists and
simple skills (e.g., pursuit rotortasks). As will be pointed
out later, the relevanceof much of this researchfor complex, meaningful learning is suspect. Further, most of the transfer
research has been donefrom a behavioristic perspectivewhere
the emphasis has been ondetermining input-output (stimulus- 374,
learnei has been response)relationships.. The role of the virtually ignored in thesestudies. This is unfortunatein
that there is growingevidence that the priorknowledge and skills of the learner areof crucial importancein understanding (Sower, 1973; and predicting bothlearning and performance Dansereau, 1978;Rothkopf, 1966). difficulties a frame- As Q step towardalleviating these This work for examiningtransfer is presented inFigure 411. authors in the framework incorporatesideas from a number of and White transfer domain, mostparticularly those of Gagne and (19781. The basis of thisframework is. that learning transfer involve complexinteractions betweenthe learner (viewed as a collectionof knowledge,skills, and motivations) types of materials and thecharacteristics of the task(e.g., of'the importance and instructionalmanipulations). An example is illustrated by of examining thelearner-task interaction levels of knowledge the finding thatindividuals with high learning, while and skills benefit morefrom trial and error individuals with lowerlevels of knowledgeand skills benefit It is further more fromteacherguided learning(Snow, 1977). suggested that thinteractions betweenlearner and task can (i.e., good teaching can be compensatoryin either direction skills and compensate to someextent forinadequate learning it is useful to vice versa). In exploringthese interactions separ- examine the natureof learner andtask characteristics have been divided ately. In Figure 1learner characteristics that are into _go majorcategories: knowledge and skills 375 specifically related to the rontent of the task at hand and knowledge and skills that are used to learn andperform in a variety of tasks regardless of content. For example, in learning bow to operate a printing press, the studentwould bring to the situation content-specific knowledgeand skills arising from previous experiences with printing presses or similar machines. The same student would also bring to the task relatively content-independent learningand problem- solving strategies that have been acquired fromexperiences with many types of tasks and/or fromdirect "strategy" instruc- tion. The extent to which the student can useboth these content-dependent and content-independent experiencesin facilitating performance with the task at handdepends largely on what has beenstored in the student's memory, howit has been stored; and the availabilityof cues for retrieval of the appropriate, stored information. In general, the content and
structure of the student's memoryis the major mediator between original learning'and subsequentperformance on a transfer task.
From this perspective, thejob of understanding transferand the learning and teat .pingprinciples that facilitate it becomes
largely one of determ, ring what typesof memory structures are
necessary andsufficient for effective performance on apartic-
ular class of transfer tasks. Once the nature ofthese memory
structures is determined,the next step is to delineatethe
teaching and learning strategiesthat would promote thedevel-
opment of these structures. 376
Gagne and White (1978) haveidentified four tykes of organized memory structures relevant toretention and transfer:
(a) networks of propositions, (b)intellectual skills, (c) images,(d) episodes. Propositions are typically conceived of as subject-predicateconstructions put together according to syntacticrules (such as those relating actors and actions, objects and attributes, actions andrecipients). These may be represented by nodes containingconcepts, and links repre- senting the relationships betweentwo or more concepts. A simple example of a verbalproposition would be "For every action there is an equal andopposite reaction." Various
types of propositional memorystructures have beenadvocated by a growing number ofcognitive theorists (e.g.,Anderson &
Bower, 1973; Bower, 1975;Rumelhart, Lindsay & Norman,1972).
The term "intellectualskills" has been used todesignate
the learned memory structuresthat underlie theidentification
of concepts and theapplication of rules. This term has been prominently employed by Gagne(1972, 1976) to refer to the
learned capability of"knowing how." In more gem 4 treat-
ments of informationprocessing models, intellectualskills
are sometimesreferred to as "actionplans" or "sub-routir,7s"
(Bower, 1975). Such skills have alsobeen described as
procedures" And "programs"by those who relatethem to (Minsky, 1975; computer operationsin artificial intelligence might Winograd, 1972). One example of anintellectual skill
involve knaini how tomake use of theproposition, "For every
action there is anequal and oppositereaction," in playing a
game ofbilliatds. 377
Image memory structures are representations that correspond more or less directly with concrete things. Images may be visual, auditory, haptic, or some combination of these; it is generally agreed, however, that visual imagery is the most pervasive and generally useful kind. A comprehensive account of imagery and its relation to ;verbal processes of memory is given by Paivio (1971). Although there is substantial debate on the efficacy of imagery as a theoretical construct
(Pylyshyn, 1973), its usefulness in improving the predictions of learning outcomes is well established. An example of an image structure would be a mental picture of two billiardballs colliding and obeying the action-reaction proposition.
The final memory structures identified by Gagne and White are, episodes. Tulving (1972) conceived of the episode as a structure that stores information about temporallydated events and also about temporal -- spatial relations among these events. A most important property of episodic memoryis its
"autobiographical" nature. Episodes represent events directly experienced by the learner and stored in such a way that the learner can recall that "I die such and such, in such and such a place, at such andsuch a tile (Tulving, 1972, p. 389).
Rem6mbering the details of a particular game of 1.)illiards that you played would be an exampleof retrieval from episodic memory.
As a result of their review of the relevantliterature,
Gagne and White proposed the model illustratedin Figure 2 as a representationof the interrelations of four differentkinds
372 378
of memory structures and thelearning outcomes to which they
may be related. These authors suggest thefollowing: The model presented in this paperpredicts that
when knowledge is stored as aproposition or as an
intellectual skill, its outcome effectsin retention and
transf\,ir will be greater the moreextensive are its
associations with interlinked sets ofpropositions,
intellectual skills, images, andepisodes. Most of the
studies reviewed in previoussections may be seen is
dealing with different patternsof memory structures in
learners. One treatment may haveemphasized involvement
in personal activity,which should encourage theforma-
tion of a stable episode,whereas another has emphasized
colorful demonstrations thatshould lead to the forma-
tion of images.
Our review indicatesconflicting results in a number
of instances of sets ofstudies addressed to the same
question. The model suggests aninterpretation of such
discrepant results--namely,that a given treatment may
not have inducedthe type of memory structurethat was
specifically intended. Laboratory-based instruction or
a demonstrationby the teacher maylead equally to image formation; a dramatic demonstrationmay give itswatchers
a morestable episode than .aroutine laboratory exercise. retrievable image if learners A picture mayfail to form a
are not encouragedto process thestimulus. Furthermore,
an image maybe ineffective forretention if instruction 379
has failed to link the image with the propositions or
skills 't is supposed to support.
For these reaso-is, the model implies that research
investigations should include measures of the memory
structures actually formed. Past studies have generally
made the assumption that seeing a film, playing a simula-
tion game, or performing a laboratory exercise, each
results in the establishment of a different memory
structure. Differences in learning outcome (knowledge
stating or rile using) have been tested, but independent
assessments of the mediating structures have not been
obtained. When a difference in outcome fails to appear
in such studies, it cannot be known whether the instruc-
tion itself was ineffective in establishing different
memory structures, or whether the latter do indeed have
differential effects.(pp. 209-210)
In summary, Gagne and White concluded that teaching and learning manipulations that lead to the formation of highly integrated, multiple memory structures (sets of propositions, intellectual skills, images and episode;) are most likely to lead to effective retention and subsequent transfer. Although the present authors agree with this conclusion, it is suggesied that the existence of integrated memory structures in some cases is a necessary butriot sufficient condition for effective transfer. In osier for transfer to take place the individual must be able to determine from the transfer task constraints which information anJ skills are relevant. The individual must 380 also be able to retrieve the relevant information and apply it correctly to the task at hand. These latter skills may be substantially content-independent and thus may be a part of the individual's ertoire of general learning and problem solving strategies. Consequently, if these skills are not available and if compensatory guidance through the transfer task is not provided by an instructor, supervisor, etc.,then effective transfer will not occur. Sufficient conditions for transfer thus require the student to have integrated, content- relevant knowledge and skills as well as general, content- independent learning and problem solving skills that will allow the individual to retrieve and 'apply the contentrelated information. A more detailed discussion of the natureof this stored information and teaching and learningprocedures that promote its acquisition will be presentedin subseque.at sections.
Clearly, the difficulty involved in applyingstored knowledge and skills to a new task will depend notonly on the
learner, per se, but also to a large extent, onthe nature of the transfer task; its similarityto the original learning situation (o7 more directly, itscompatibility with the student's stored knowledge and skills), thesalience of cues for appro- priate retrieval of the storedinformation, etc. Therefore, in understanding transfer itis necessary to examine not only
the cognitive characteristics of theindividual and the teaching
and learning principles that producedthese characteristics,
but also the nature of the transfer tasksthat the individual
may expect toencounter. 381
The remainder of the paper willdiscuss research relevant
to different types of transfersituations. To provide a frare- work for this discussion, a transferclassification scheme has been developed based on the notion that anindividual's knowl-
edge can be divided into two generalcategories: content and
skills. Content knoWledge consists of relevantfacts, concepts,
and terms associated with particulartopic areas. This type of
knowledge can be described as what anindividual knows. On the
other hand, skills knowledge consists ofthe procedures, algo-
rithms, and activities an individualis able to perform (e.g.,
solving math problems and playingtennis). Skills knowledge
can be thoughtof as those things an individualknows how to
do. Using this basic scheme of contentand skills knowledge,
four general categories oftransfer can be identified -- content
to content, skills toskills, content to skills, andskills to
content (these four typesof transfer and associatedexamples
are presented inFigure 3). Within each of these categories
the difficulty of transferwill be strongly influenced bythe
compatibility of the individual'sknOwledge structure with the
characteristics of the transfertevlk.. A high degree of compat-
ibility or similarity willimply "near" transfe , while a low
degree will imply "far"transfer. (For further lelineation of
important dimensions oftransfer see Royer, 1979).
In subsequent sections theresearch findings related to
each of the transfercategories will be presented. Finally,
the paper will concludewith a presentation ofthe implications
of this body of researchfor educational practicesin general
and for the educationof the hearing impairedin particular. 382
SECTION II: CONTENT TO CONTENT TRANSFER
The type of transfer to bediscussed in this section
involves the impact of content knowleigelearned in one situa-
tion on the subsequent acquisition of newcontent knowledge.
In an educational setting thistypically would consist of transfer of knowledge from one course tothe next° For example,
prerequisite courses are assumed to providethe learner/with
basic knowledge that willfacilitate learning in advanced
courses. This facilitation may occur in anumber of ways: The "old" content knowledge rayprovide a general framework
for embedding themoredetailed "new" knowledge, the"old" knowledge may consist of factsthat can flesh out a "new"
framework, or the "old" knowledge nayprovide a convenient
analogy which can guide theacquisition of the "new" knowledge.
In this section theresults of traditional studiesof
transfer with word listswill be 1'riefly discussed. This will
be followed by a reviewof the research on theretention and
transfer of meaningful verballearning; task, instructional
and learner variableswill be discussed separately. The section will conclude with a summaryof the educationally
relevant principlesemerging from this body of research.
Studies of TransferUsinWord Lists
The literature onlearning lists of pairedassociates is
replete with transferstudies. The primary focus of these
studies has been theeffects of similAritybetween the original
and transfer lists onperformance with the transferlist (for 1971). Numer- a reviewof the relevantliterature see Postman, 383
comprehen- ous theoretical attemptshave been made to provide a sive account of transferin terms of combinedeffects of stim- ulus and responsesimilarity (e.g., Houston,1964, 1966; Osgood, particularly that of Osgood, 1949). Although these attempts, have helped to summarise sometransfer effects and tostimulate research, they have metwith limited success. The principal difficulty encountered isthat transfer, evenwith simple paired associate lists,is affected by manyvariables other ssagnified even further than similarity. These afficult4P s are when one considersusing meaningfulmaterials (e.g., descriptive texts) similar tothose encountered ineducational environments. research: As pointed outby Thorndyke (1977)in describing his the definition "(The use of meaningfultexts) has necessitsted training and target of more complexrelationships between characterization of (transfer) materials,and a more complex in traditional what a subject haslearned than is customary verbal learning experinents"(p. 91) . The relative sterility makes it virtually of the pairedassociate and serial tasks impossiole to draw anyuseful conclusions abouteducational the em1Slasis pracstices. 'Consequently,in subsequent sections complex, Aeanin, ful will be on the retentionand transfer of
material. Retention and Transferof MeaniufillyerbalLearnina:
Task and InstructionalVariables implies the learning Meaningful verballearning typically Cince direct studies of text material(cosilected discourse). this domain, stueiiesof of transfer arerelstively sparse in 376 384
text retention will also beincluded in this review, the is a rationale being that retention of the originalti learning necessary condition foreffective. transfer. Consequently, it
can be generally expectedthat tasks and instructional manip ulations that lead to good retention may alsolead to good
transfer. However, it should be noted that goodretention is
not sufficient for transfer, and,further, the way the informa-
tion is retained (e.g., how it is organizedin memory) may be
just as important as the amount retained. heth these disclaimers
in mind the salient literati:re will bepresented under four
subsections related to manipulationsof content, organization,
supplementary material and instructionalmethods.
Content. Instructional materials can vary with respect
to comprehensibility(readability), faniliarity, and concrete-
ness. The large body of research on thereadability of text
has been extensively reviewedby glare (1963) and Carroll(Note 1).
Most of the publishedreadability formulae involve objective
measures of vocabularyand syntax. One notal-le exceptieneo
this is the cloze te&nieue(Taylor, 1953) . In this technique
every nth word isdeleted and a group cr subjects at aparticular
reading level is asked to fillin the deleted words. The
average numberof words correctly filled in isused as the index
of readability; the greaterthe number of correct words gener-
eted, the more readable the text. aormuth (1966) clams that
using this measure in conjunctionwith other readability formu-
lae produces multiple correlationcoefficients with measures
of cemprehension andretention of betiohen .C5 and 95. Given 385
this level of predictability, it seems very reasonable for
educators to select or create instructional materials that have a high degree of readability as measured by these techniques.
With regard to the familiarity of the content, a substantial
amount of recent research under the rubric of schematheory has suggested that the amount andform of the relevant back- ground knowledge an individual brings to the instructional set-
ting strongly influehce what and how much is learned from the
instructional materials (for reviews of this research, see
Munro Et Rigney, 1577 endAnderso. , Spiro it Anderson, 1977) .
It appears as if text in )rmation isinterpreted, organized,
and retrieved in terms of high-level schemata or systems of
placeholders. It follows that the studeht who does not possess relevant schemata is going to have troublelearning and remem-
bering the information encounteredin stories and textbooks. There are a number of things educators cando to alleviate
this problem. As Thorndyke (1977) suggests: ene might, for example, teach asubject domain in a top-
down hieral:zhiciAl fashion,by making explicit during initial exposures the general form orstructural charric-
teristics of the material to bepresented, and by gradually
increasing the degree of detail andspecificity. Thus,
initial learning would consist ofacquisition of the
appropriate general structure(schema), while sub,;equent
learning would require theacquisition of 3etailed facts
to fill out theoverall organizational framework. This presentation strategy has beentermed "web teaching"
(Norman, 1973). (p. 97). 386
In addition to assisting the student inestablishing relevant
schemata, the instructor can facilitate theactivation of
already existing schemata by providingappropriate cues and
bridging materials. A discussion of these forms ofadvance organizers will be presented under the sectionentitled
Supplementary Materials. Instructional content can also vary in termsof concrete-
ness. Many studies of' paired associatelearning have demon-
_strated that concrete words inlists of paired associates are
learned faster than abstract words, andthat picture pairs are
learned faster than their correspondingword pairs (Paivio,
1971). These findings of superior recallof imageable material
has t.een extended to prose. Montague and Carter (1973)obtained
superior immediate recall of morevivid(cortrete)passages
than of less vivid passagesby college students. Johnson (1974)
found that idea unitsrated high on concreteness wererecalled
better both immediately andafter a seven-day delay andthat
there was no interaction ofconcreteness and retentioninterval.
Further, Royer and Cable(1974) have shown that concrete,easily
understood material leads topositive transfer in thelearning
of more difficult,abstract material. Despite the generous use ofpictures and illustrationsin
textbooks, little systematicstudy of the interactiveeffer s
of pictures and text onlearning and retention hasbeen conducted.
Dwyer (1967) found anadvantage of abstract,schematic line
drawings in the teachingof anatomy, whereasrealistic ,ictures
were no betterthan strictly verbalpresentations. Fredrick 387
(Note 2) found students learned grammatical principles better
from symbolic representations (tree diagrams of syntactical
representations) than from verbal statements. Stromnes and
Nyman (1974) found superior recall of information at both
immediate and one year intervals from a passage supported by
a picture than from the same passage without a picture. Al-
though the research indicates pictures do seem to help, further
studies are needed to determine what kinds of pictorial rep- resentations enhance the transmission of information, and
under what circumstances.
Given the data cited above, it is clear that educators
should attempt to select or develop concrete instructional materials that are liberally supported by pictures and illus-
trations and, where possible, to use such materials as pre- cursors to learning more complex, abstractinformation.
Organization (Structure). Instructional materials must be presented in some sequence, and indeed this is usually one
of the first problems instructors encounter when planning a
course of instruction. The problem the instructor faces is
that most bodies of information are not clearly organized into
a simple sequence. Rather, there are interlocking relationships
such that any concept must be considered in relation to several
others. Yet language permits the statement of such relation- nMps only one at a time; consequently, a decision must be made as to which relaticship is stated first, second, and so on.
After an extensive review of the literature, Dansereau,
Evans, Wright, Long, andActkinson (1974) reachedthree con- 382 388 clusions regarding the sequencingof material. First, although the results are mixed, thereis apparently an effect of sequenc- ing on comprehension andretention of academic-like material. Second, except for very specifictypes of material, there have been very few techniquesdeveloped which would provideoptimal or near optimal sequences. Third, the lack of attention to individual differences in academicaptitude has undoubtedly led to the masking ofsequencing effects. On the basis of_these_conclusionsit is clear that further effort should be directedtoward the development oftechnologies for generating sequences andsubsequent assessments of the effectiveness of these generated sequenceswith different bodies of material and withstudents differing in academic aptitude. As a first step inthis direction, Dansereau, Loflg, Evans, and Actkinson(1980) used multidimensionalscaling (MDS)
as a methodologyfor creating a compositeorganizational structure of a set of conceptsusing the sirlilarity judgements of a number of experts. Systematic algorithms werethen erployed for sequencing theconcepts. The results of this
siudy were promising in ttiatMDS1-generated instructional
sequences led tohigher levels of performancein the learning
of technical information. Along a similar line, therehave been a number ofattempts of existing to develop proceduresfor specifying the structure
texts. These attempts fallunder the rubric of text grammars 1977). (Meyer, 1975;Rumelhart, 1975; Van Dijk & Kintsch, Results of experimentsusing text grammars tospecify relation-
38 389 ships have indicated that superordinate propositions (those
Appearing at high levels in the text hierarchy) are better retained, especially at increased retention intervals, than subordinate propositions (these are defined as propositions whose arguments had previously occurred in other propositions).
(See Kintsch, Kosminsky, Streby, McKoon, & Keenan, 1975;
Meyer, 1975). Also, Thorndyke (1977) has shown that presenting two successive text passages with the same structure and differnt content leads to improved learning of the second passage.
Apparently the structure acquired by the student from the first passage facilitates the learning of the new information in the second passage.
One educational implication arising from the research on organization and structure is that multi-dimensional scaling, as well as other forms of specifyingrelationships between concepts, may be potentially useful in developing optimal instructional sequences. second implication, based on the work of Thorndyke (1977),-zis that the structures of text material should,be standardized as much as possible and, where practical, the nature of such structures should be brought to the attention of the students. This latter poipt will be ex- panded in a subsequent section on learner variables.
Supplementary Materials. In addition to the primary instructional materials, a number of types of supplementary materials have been proposed as potential aids tolearning, retention, and transfer. These include aevance organizers, behavioral objectives and inserted questions. Ausubel (1963,
38,4 -390
1968) proposed that a reader's abstractcognitive structures
provide the "ideational scaffolding" for thedetailed informa-
tion contained in text. In his words (1968, p. 153), "...new
ideas and information are learned andretained most efficiently
when inclusive and specifically relevant ideas arealready
available in cognitive structure: to serve a subsumingrole or
to furnish ideational anchorage." In line .with this theoietical perspective, Ausubel has'proposed the conceptof advance organ-
izers. According to Ausubel (1978), advance organizers are introductory material at a higher level ofabstraction, generality,
and inclUsiveness than thelearning passage itself And &re
relateable to presumed ideational contentin the learner's
current cognitive structure. In some ways advance organizers
can be thought of asattempts at "bridging" the gapbetween a
learner's prior knowledge andthe present learning Materials.
To date, the research onadvance organizers has been somewhat
equivocal. Some studies have obtainedpositive effects (e.g.,
Mayer, 1976) and othershave found'no differences due to
organizers (e.g., DeCaro, 1977). For reviews and discussions
of this research see Barnesand Clawson (1975), Hai",ley and
Davis (1976), Lawton andWanska 1(1977), Ausubel (1978',and
Mayer (1979). The root of this equivocality seemsto be the
vagueness of thedefinition of advance organizers. There are these types of materials. rIc: specified rules for constructing
Consequently, their potentialeffectiveness varies with the
cleverness of the instructionaldesigner. Given thip situation,
the existence of a numberof published /reports on thepositive
3S0 391
4- impact of advance organizers coupled with the lack of direct negative effects (see the above-mentioned reviews for examples) provides support for the efficacy of this approach. Of partic- ular importance for transfer is the work of Mayer (1976). He found that subjects given an advance organizer in the form of
Pretraihing with a concrete model of the computer before. learning performed better on 'novel (far) transfer and about the same on near transfer relative to no-pretrainingsubjects, including subjects who were giyen posttraining with the same model after learning. He suggests that the concrete model served as an advance organizer which provided subjects w4th a meaningful learning set to which new information could be assimilated. Those subjects who did not receive the model were apparently encouraged to build narrower outcomes by addingthe new technical idnforration totheir memories in the form pre- sented. The import of Mayer's study is that advanceorganizer material may be effective in promoting delayed retentionana far transfer, and consequently should be used in settings where these effects are desirable. 'In another study, Mayer
(1978) found that low ability subjects given anorganizer prior to reading performedbetter on questions that reqU!,,red inte- , grating across different';,` paragraphs Of thepresented text, and subjects given the organizer after readingperformed relativdly better on questions concerning informationthat they had read within the same paragraph. Apparently the advance organizer used in this study served as an integratingcontext to which new, incoming informationcould be assimilated. When the test 392
questions reflect thepresentation brganizatie, an advance
organizer apparently haslittle positive effect; however, when
the material is presentedin an order that is inconsistent with
the posttest questions,then advance organizers seem tohave a
facilitative effect. Since this latter situation is morelikely
to arise in most realworld educational settings, it seems,
.highly advisable for educators todevote considerable effort
to the developmentof appropriate advance organizers. According
to Ausubel's (1968)subsumption theory andMayer'g (1975)
assimilation encoding theory,advance organizers maybeiespecially
important for the learning oftechnical, unfamiliar, orpoorly
organized material becau:ethey serve the followingfunctions:'
(a) availability - -ameaningful context isprovided toyhich new
material may be assimilated. For example, Ausubel(1968, p. 148)
has argued thatmeaningful learningrequires having relevant
"ideas already availablein cognitivestructure" and for ad-
vance organizersto provide these"anchoring ideas or subsumers", higher level of the advance organizermust Le "presented at a akstraction, genlrality, orinclusivene'ss.." (b) Activation- - to encourage ,nencoding strategy advance organizers may serve .
which the learner attemptsto integratencoming information and with the meaningfulcontext. In this regard, Ausubel Fitzgerald (1961, p. 266)have used the term'"discriminability".
to refer to therole of an 'organizer to"delineate clearly,
precisely, and explicitlythe principal similaritiesand,
differences between the newlearning passage...andexisting Ausubel (1968)1 and related concepts incognitive structure." 393
his, colleagues (Ausubel & Fitzgerald, 1961) have sug ested
using an "expository organizerwhen no anchoring ideas are
available to' the learner and using a "comparative Organizer')
when anchoring ideas are available.
The concept of advance organizers can be thought of as
a subset of a broader, more basic theoreticalframeworkclabeled
"schema" theory. Scheiati are abstract knowledge structures whose elements are other schemata and slots, placeholders, or
variables which can take on a restricted range of values
(Minsky, 1975; Rumelhart &.Ortony, 1977; Schank & Abelson,
1975). A schema is structured in the sense that itindicates typical relationships among component elements. In the simplest
case the reader or listener,will have a46reformed schema ade-
4uate to subsume (Ausubel, 1963) a text. The encoded represen-
tation of such a text will consist of the subsumingschema in
which the slots have been assigned specificvalues; that is,
are instantiated(Anderson, Pichert, Goetz, Schallert, Stevens, & Trollip, 1976) with theparticular information in the
message. A person will have the subjective sensethat a
'passage ,has been comprehended when'liere is a good match between
the information presented and theslots in the schema.
1' The learner uses two general kindsof schemata in inter-
preting text. The first embodies knowledge ofdiscourse con-
ventions that signal organization. These are probably special-
ized conventions characteristicof distinct text forms aswell
as conventions commonto most forms; thus,it is possible to
speak of a story schema, apersonal letter schema, a news
.1\ 3S 394 article schema, a scientific report schema, and so on. As a class, knowledge of thediScourse-level conventions of text may, be called textual schema. Very little research has been conducted with these types of schemata; onenotable exception which will be taken up in a later sectionis a recent study by Brooks and Dansereau (1980).
The.,majority of prior research has beenconcerned with a second general type ok s.-semata, namely contentschemata, embodying the learner'sexisting knowledge of real and imaginary worlds. What the learner,alrctady knows andbelieves about a topic helps to structure theinterpretat,ilon of new messages' about this topic. A variety of experimencaltechniques has been employed tostudy/ he effects of schemata. For instance, titles have beenprovided that induce differentinterpretationS of ambiguous passage (BransfOrd & Johnson, 1973;, Schallert, 1976). 0, characters in the passageto be read have beenassigned the names ofwel-known figures, thereb insinuating the relevance of the learner's existingknowledge of these individuals(Sulin.
& Dooling, 1974;Brown, Smiley, Day;Townsend; & Lawton, 1977). have beem written so Or alternateintroductiqns to the Issages as' to cause learners toidentify wi,h different.characters
(Owens, Dafoe, & Bower,1979). Or, schemata have beenmanipu- of knowledge lated byselecting subjects with different amounts about atopico;\\differentcultural backgrounds(Anderson, ReyOlds, Schallert, & Goetz,1977; Spillich, Vesonder,Chiesll Anderson, 1978). & Voss,1971;-Steffenson, Jogdeo, & First, Two clear findingshat emerged from thisresearch.
36, 395
learners make inferences conssitertwiththeilxschemata. Second,
they recall more text informationimportant to their schemata.
Although this research has beenuseful in demonstrating the
importance of the interaction of anindividual's memory
structure.with the text to be learned,the focus of this research
has been almost exclusively onnarrative discourse (i.e,,
stories This is unfortunate in that the typeof schema that
are seful in understandingand recalling narrative proSe may
be directly generalizable tomany types of academic materials here the individual does not have a stored setof directly that .re vant experiences. In these situations it would appear
moreiabstract or textual schemata wouldbe of greateriMportince.
In particular, theprocessing of academic materialshould be facilitated by form schematawhich specify the-set of categories
of information awell-informed learner should know about a/
particular topic. Unfortcnately very little researchhas been
directed toward this aspectof schema theory. The one study .
in this domain, Brooks andDansereau note 3), will bediscussed
in a subsequent section. Behavioral objectives are anothertype of suriPlementary
meter al that have beenused to promote learning,retention
and transfer. These are statementsprovided to the learner about what should be achieved as aresult of the learning_ex-
perience. Those such as Gagne (1967),Glaser (1967), and
Mager (1968) who supportthe use of behavioralobjectives .
typically claim thatbehavioral objectives clearlyindicate to
students what is requiredof them, and as a resultrelevant 396
learning is enhanced. Those such as Atkin (1968),Eisner (1967) 1
and Baths (1971) who expressreservations about behavioral objectives suggest that theydiscourage students from expanding
their horizons by encouragingthem to confine theirlearning
to specified objectives,and as a result. incidentallearning
1 isdepressed. Unfortunately, much of the dialogueconcerning the strengths and Weaknessesof behavioral objectivesfails.to
distinguish between hypotheticalclaims and empiricallysub-
stantiated knowledge. Melton (1978) ,in a review of the following: "From this review it is , literature, concludes the
clear that a varietyof complex conditionsdetermine whether learning and or not behavioralobjectives enhance relevant effort has been depress or enhanceincidental learning...Much universal'answer as to wasted in attempting tofind a simple, be used, whether behavioral'opjectivesshould or should not that and an alternativeapproach is required. It is suggested behavioral objectives simply as this should.be onethat treats with research one of several toolsavailable to educators, advantages and directedtoward determining not 'only their. limitations, but alsothe :bnditions underwhich they can be
used most effectively." (p. 299).,Given the uncertain objectives state of theresearch findingsconcerning behavioral positive or ,negative it is difficult (atthis time) to make a in educational recommendation concerningtheir implementation
settings. Adjunct questions areconceptually related to behavioral research atten- objectives but havereceived substantially more
jj 397
tion. Typically, one or two adjunct questions are inserted either before (prequestions) or after (postquestions) a segment of text. After reading the passage, examination is then made df the amount of questioned (intentional) and nonquestioned
(incidental) passage material retained by the learners. The typical finding in studies of this sort (see' Anderson & Biddle,
1975, and Rickards, 1979, for reviews) is that the prequestion grout retains roughly the same aMount of materialdcrectly questioned as the postquestion group, and that both adjunct 4 question groups retain more' of the questioned material than a reading-only control igroup: This has been called the "direct instructive effect" (Rothkopf, 1966). More,important, adjunct question studies havle generally demonstrated that a postquestion group produces more recall of material not actuallyqueitioned than a prequestion group or a reading-only control condition.
It is this so-called "mathemagenic" (Rothkopf, 1965) effect or
"indirect effect" (Anderson & Biddle, 1975) which has received the greater degree of empirical attention'(see Hartley &,Davies,'
1976, and Rickards & Denner, 197, for reviews) .
Of particular importance in this domain is the research on the use of.ifferent types of adjunct questions. Table 1
(from Andre, 1979) illustrates the major types thathave been explored. Andre (1979), in an extensive review of this liter-
§ ature, concludes that higher levelquestions (those abov.?. the 1' factual level, see Table 1) have facilitative effects on both reproductive and productiveknowledge, but that the conditions under which such facilitation occurs are not well understood°
fl 398
- With regard to transfer, anUmber of studies suggest that when students are given adjunctapplication questions (see Table1) abiJut concepts andprinCiples, as compared to adjunct factual questions, their ability to useknowledge of the concepts and principles to recognize newexamples or solve problemsinvolving the concepts andprinciples is_enhanced (Watts &Anderson, 1971;
Dapra & Felker, Note4). The effects of thequestions appear the to be specific tothe concepts andprinciples asked about in adjunct questions; the acquisitionof other concepts and principles discussed is notfacilitatee(ShaNrelson, Berliner,
Ravitch, & Loeding, 1974;McKonkie, Rainer, & Wilson,1973). There are also a numberof additional studiesusing high
level questions that appearto have directeducational impli- Paden, cations. For example,Anderson, P.nderson, ''slgaard, Biddle, Surber, &Alessi (1975) foundthat cc.,nitively high performance in level adjunct !questionssignificantly enhanced of a computer assisted an economics coursewhen presented as part
instruction program. Moreover,research'by Rickards and Hatcher (1978) has demonstratedthat the insertion ofhigh enhanced the performance level adjunct que;tions significantly IJ vocabulary level of poor "compreherlers,"i.e., readers whose score in was average orabove, but whosecomprehension subtest or morebelow average. a readingachievement test was one year further Given this information,applied researchers night well
explore the use ofadjunct questiOns in computerassisted
instram4(on settings or,perhaps, asa' remedial reading tech-
nique employing atransfer of learningdesign.
39j 399
In summary, the results of the adjunct question studies' strongly indicate that high level post questions be included with primary instructional materials.,
Instructional Methods. A large variety of instructional methods has been impleMented and assessed (e.g., programmed learning, computer assisted instruction, lecture; discussions).
Unfortunately the results of these assessments have been largely equivocal. Dubin & Taveggia (1968) in an extensive review of the eduCational literature, conclude that there appears to be no difference among truly distinctive methods of college instruction when evaluated by student performance on final examinations. More specific instances of this equivocality ha'.e It been pointed out by Carroll (Note 1) and Dansereau (1978).
Most of the studies assessing instructional methods have not looked at the interaction of instructional methods with other variables such as individual differences and type of assessment. This is unfortunate in that the few studies exam- ining interactions have produced some interesting results. For example, it has beed typically found that discovery (trial and error) learning methods produce better' "far" transfer tonovel situations while expk.iitory (guided) learning methodsproduce better "near"transferi(Mayer, 1975). Further, with regard to individual difference interactions, it has been found thatfield independent individuals (those who can locate a simplefigure in a more complex field') .benefit more fromdiscovery learning situations while field dependent individuals(those who have difficulty locating simple figures within more complex ones) 400
benefit more from expository'orguided learning conditions
(McLeod & Adims, 1979); Clearly, these types. of interactions would seem to mask main effects instudies that did not include these additional variables. The evidence from the research ondifferentinstructional methods would suggest that an omnibus approachto instruction
is ill-advised. Rather, instructional methods shouldbe tailored to not the desired learning outcomesand the individual aptitudes, styles, and preferences ofthe learners. Further
information on approaches to matchinginstruction to individual
differences has been provided.by Hunt (1977) and Snow, Shuell,
and Marshalek (Note 5). This topic area will k.e elaborated in
the next section. Retention and Transfer ofMeaninciul
Verbal Learning: Learner Variables This section contains apresentation of a variety of indi- vidual difference variables that havebeen related i.o learning
outcomes. Where appropriate the potentialinteraction of these variables with instructional andtask variables will bedii-
cusse4. factor Ltellectual factors. One important intellectual or is conceptual or integrativecomplexity. Thislfactoris defined
as: The extent to which dimensionalunits'of information can
/ be interrelatedin different ways in order to generate newand
discrepant perspectivesabout-stimuli" (Schroder, Driver, & Streufert, 1967, p. 25). This aptitude or capacity hasbeen
measured by a :variety of techniques, For example, subjects are 401 asked to ,complete a passage,on some academic tvic. Expert raters then analyze the/subject's output for thefollowing type of evidence: inability to generate conflict or diversity, inability to view a situation from another person's pointof view and see it in relation to one's own, inability to generate alternate perceptions and outcomes, tendency to seek structure, avoid delay, '-o close fast, etc. Persons with the above tenden- ciew are rated "concrete" or "simple"; personswith opposite tendencies 'are rated "abstract" or "complex."
Schroder, Driver, and Streufert (1957) havealso measured conceptual complexity in a multidimensionalscaling task. in this situation a rwltivariatetechnique is used to abstract a subject's conceptual space from hissimilarity judgments of all possible pairs of stimuli (for example,semantic concepts).
T,e more a conceptual spacecontains dimensions of information that are not objectively ordirectly given by the situation,the more "abstract" or"complex" the individual. The "concrete" or "simple" persofis considered to be more "stimulusbound." 41-^ Also, according to the aboveauthors, more balanced use of dimensions indicates a more"aistract"(individual.
In tactical simulation gam s,conceptually complex people apparently develop higher levelstrategies than simple persons no matter whatthe level of environmentalcomplexity (Streufert,
Clardy, Driver, Karlins,Schroder, & Suedfeld, 1965; and
Driver, Note6). 7 Claunch (1964) compared theexamination performance of
"concrete" (simple) and"abstrav:" ,Complex) studentp(holding
3,9t) 402
Scholastic Aptitude Test scoresconstant) in an introductory
course onpersonality. On objective questions,"abstract" and "concrete" individuals scoredequally well, while on essay
questions, "abstract" personsperformed at a significantly
higher level.
Along a similar line,Suedfeld and Hagen (1966)showed
that high conceptuallevel subjects were betterthan concep-
tually simple subjects atsolving complexverbal problems, but A not at solvingsimple ones. "Complex" and "simple"individuals were asked toidentify and their pre- an indistinct orunstructured stimulus pattern
decision information processeswere assessed. Structurally made complex Ss generated morealternative responses and inferring responses greaterdifferentiating, encodin
(Sieber & Lanzetta,1966; Salom 7 .
Conceptual complexity,whl. correlations ranging
from .12 to .50with-"IQ, appears t. potentially potent and problem solving factlr in determiningthe types of learning
strategies which caneffectively be used by anindividual. of a Obviously, learning methodsrequiring rapid integration for a diverse set ofmaterials would beextremely difficult employ. Conversely, conceptually "simple" individual to tasks and "complex" students maybecomebored with simple
strategies. Hoepfner, 1971) The Structure ofIntellect model (Guilford & component learning provides a goodframework for discussing "operations" have skil s. In this model,five intellectual 403 been identified Lyfa9tor analysis of a largevariety of paper and pencil tasks. These operations and theircorresponding descriptions are as follows:
(a) Cognition -- Immediatediscovery, awareness,rediscovery, orliecognition of informationin its various forms,comprehension or unders tanding.
(b) Memory -- Fixation of newlygained information in storage. (c) DiVergent production --Generation of logical alter- natives from given information,where emphasis is upon variety and quantity. (d) Convergent produttion --Generation of logical conclu- sions from given information,where emphasis is upon achieving unique or conventionallybest outcomes.
(e) Evaluation Comparison!; of items of informationin
terms of variablek andmaking judgments concerning criterion
satisfaction. Prior empirical work has shownthat ability to perform
"the Structure of Intellectoperations strongly relates to
achievement in ninth grade math(Guilfo d, Hoepfner, & Peterson,
1965; and Guilford & Hoepfner,1971), telth grade geometry
(Caldwell, Schroder, Michael, &Meyers, 1970), advancedcalculus
(Hills, 1957), and conceptlearning (Dunham, Guilford &Hoepfner,
1968). In a more general senseit should be noted tha intellectual
aptitude of the learners maystrongly influence the apparent
effect:;veness of variousinstructional methods. For example, 39s 404
Snow (1977) suggests the following:
...in conventional lecture-demonstration instruction in
science, one will usually find] a moderate correlation
between mental ability at the start and achievement at the
end. If one makes the instruction more inquiry-oriented,
the ability-achievement correlation will usuallygo up.
That is, higher ability students do better and lower ability
students do less well, relative to conventional conditionsi
If, on the other hand, the instruction makes increased use
of physical models and simplified, clear-cut demonstrations,
the ability-achievement correlation may often go down; here,
lower ability students do better and higher ability students
do.less well,' relative to their performance in conventional
conditions. This sort of result has led to the hypothesis
that increasing the information processing burdens in of instruction allows high rability)students to capitalize on
their ability, while overtaxing the lower ability students.
Removing some of these burdens compensates for low [ability]
students' weaknesses. In effect, the treatment must e
made to do for these latter students what they cannot do
for themselves, at least temporarily. This helps lower
ability students but fails to stretch higher ability
students and in the extreme bores them or interferes
with their idiosyncratic processes. Such phenomena are
ubiquitous in education, but they are not at all well
understood. Obtaining such understanding. requires process
analyses of both aptitudes and instructional situations.
(pp. 5-6). 399 I 405
Personality Variables. Rokeach (1960) implied that highly
dogmatic learners (as' measured by a paper tnd pencil test on
dogmatism) would pgesumably reject new bdlief systems because
of the threat such individuals associate with beliefs which
differ from their existing cognitive systems. They, more than
others, would probably avoid discrepant or novel information.
On the other hand, low dogmatic lerners would presumably
experience no such threat and would, accordingly, be open to
novel information. Experimentation on this issue has shown
that high dogmatics make more errors than low dogmatics in
learning "belief incongruent" associates (for example, ball-
square) but excel in the acquisition of"belief congruent"
pairs such as ball-round (Mains & Vidulich, 1962). Along,
similar lines, Kleck and Wheaton (1967) foundthat,high
dogmatics recalled less information which disagreed withtheir
existing beliefs than low dogmatics.
The concept of Internal versus Externalcontrol of rein-
forcement, introduced by Rotter (1966), refers the degree of
cfttrol the person judges thatHOWshe haq over his/her environment.
The person at the"internal" end of the continut.r. perceives .
outcomes to be a consequence ofhis/her' own ac i ns. The per- i son at the "external"pole believes that outco 1es are due to
fate, luck, and powerful others, and,therefore, are beyond
his/her personal control. "Internals" more actively seek in-
formation relevant to problem solvingthan "externals" (Dav-s
& Phares, 1967). "Internals" tend to retain moreinformation when this information is relevant topersona'. goals (Seeman,
400 406
And "Internals" tend tobetter utilize infor- Ovans, 1962). . ;nation that has been equivalentlyacquired and retained by internals and externals (Phares, 1968). Jullin and Katz (1968) using a synonym/antonym word-pairidentification task showed that "internals" spend more timeon.Jifficult items than on easy ones, whileexternal'' decision times are not related to item difficulty.
In an extensive review,Cpleman, Campbell, Hobson,McPart- . land, Mood,. Weinfeld, andYork (1966), found.rthat senseof con- trol over the envitonment waysthe best single predictorof
Black students' academdcachievement. It is interesting to
note in this regardthat Internal-Externalcontrol is virtually unrelated to IQ (Hersch &Scheibe, 1967; hotter,1966). appear Cognitive styles. Cognitive styles, in many cases, a..d aptitudes tomediate-,between personality characteristics strategies on one hand, andconcretelearning and problgrsolving defined by Witkin, \\ on the other. Cognitive styles have been "Charac- Oltman, Cox, Ehriichman,Hamm, Ringler (Note 8) as throughout our per- teristic modes,offunctioning that we show and ceptual and intellectualiblvities in a higtly consistent
pervasive way (p. 2),"and by Cagan, Moss,and Sigel (1963)1 as: of perceptual organi- "Stable individualpreferences in the rode environment zation and conceptualcategorization of the external
(p. 74)." As can be seen4rom theabove definitions, cognitive dag such create' styles act more orless as meta-strategies, a the types ofspecific strategiesavailable definite boundaries on A Examples of specificcognit or potentiallyavailable to individuals. 407
styles and their relationship toeducationally relevant vari-
ables will be presented next.
A number of,Ftudies (Gardner, 1953;Bruner, Goodnow, &
Austin, 1956) have demonstrated 'that individuals tend to use
relatively,monstant category widths in the classificat4onof
'objects and events. Pettigrew (1958) developed, a Category
Width Scale which has been positively correlatedwith breadth
of stimulus generalization (Wallach &Caron, 1959), and
negatively related'9/the recall of human faces in an incidental
learning task (Messick & Damarin,1964). High scorers
(large category idth) make more accurate,perceptualjudgments under normal conditions but notunder distracting conditions. is (Bieri, 1969). Kagan, Moss, and Sigel(1963) have identified three style
categories based on thesubjects' grouping of commonpictorial.
stimuli. In using adescriptive- analytic style the individual tends to prefer to splitthese environmentalstimuli into discrete entities and to respondto them as separate units.
When analytic 'individuals arerequired to group stimuli for
purposes ofcategorization, theytend 'to base their grolYpings
on objectiveattributes shared by all of thestimuli., Tle inferential-categorical style istypified by a grouping of the
stimuli which itre cateorizedtogether. The''relational-con-
textual response is based on apreference by the subjecttoward
categorizing stimuli on thebasis of functional orthematic
relationships which may occur amongthese objects.
Generally these'last twocategories are combinedto form a
402 408
"non-analytic" category, thus producing ahi- categorical, . Sigel (1967) system: analytic style 'versusnonanalytic style. has constructed a paperand pencil test for tappingthese two P . Subjects who have beenfound to be analytic appear to styles. . attend to more factualdetail in concept acquisition(Kagan et learning concepts al:,1963); are superior to nonanalytics in based on objectivesimilarity of detail amongvisual stimuli
(Lee, Kagan, & Rabson,1963), and score higher onperformance tests than verbal tests (Kagan,Rosman, Day, Albert,, better on verbaltest; 1964'). Conversely, nonanalytics score
than performapce tests;learn functionalrelationships better than analytics than analytics; andtend to be more impulsive et al., on tests ofcognitive control(Kagan et al., 1963; Kagan to be a significant 1964) . There does not, however, ,appear
difference between thesetwo style categoriesin terms of IQ. Beller (Note 9) hasdemonstrated that a specific teaching
method can be designed tofacilitate the learningof children cognitive styles in associating wordswith objects when the
(analytic versusnonanalytic) of thesechildren are identified teaching methods which are and used to assignthe children to
consonant with theirstylistic preferences.
On the other sideof the coin, Scott andSigel(Note 10) methodsoised in showed that inquiry versusexpository teaching the Sigel grades 4, 5, and 6actually itfluenced responses on
Cognitive Style Test(1967), thus indicatingthat the analytic-
1 nonanalytic styles aresomewhat modifiable.
The notion offield dependence andfield independence was 409
originally developed by Witkin and his colleagues (Witkin,
Dyk, Faterson, Goodenough, & Karp, 1962; Witkin, Lewis, Hertzman,
Machover, Meissner, & Wapner, 1954).. The Rod sand Frame Test
1(RFT), in which the subject is required to diFectly or indirectly
'adjust a movable rod to the true vertical position while the rod itself is located in a separately tilted frame, and the
Embedded' Figures Test (EFT), in which the individual must detect, simple geometrical figures contained within much more complex figures, have bees used to assess fielddeped'dence. The more difficulty an individual has on the above.twn tasks the greater is his field dependence. Witkin and hiscolleagues(1967) have shown the invariance of the EFT and RFT scores under a variety of natural (for example, age, marriage, divorce) and experimental
(for example, *drugs, ECS, hypnosis) conditions.
Kennedy (1972) found that field independence (FI) was related to success in aviation training for both pilots and non-pilots. These findings are consistent with a number of other studies that reported superior perforrance by field independents on vaiious pilot simulating/pilot related,or 4 pilot selective tasks (Benfaii & Vitale, 1965; Thornton et al.,
11368; Barrett & Thornton, 1968;Crutchfield et al., 1958). In
4 addition, engineers have been found to be more FI than a general college sample (Barre).: & Thornton, 1967), while students majoring in liberal arts are more field dependent (FD) than those majoring in physics, math, and chemistry(DeRussey &
Futch, 1971). It also appears that children withlearning difficulties generally tend to be field dependent(Keogh &
404 410
Donlon, 1972; Bruininks, 1969; Stuas, 1967). Finally, Parasnis
and Long (1979) found that bearing impaired students tend to
'be more field dependent than their normally hearing peers.
'A few attempts have been made to match fielddependent/
independent styles with teaching method. Hester and Tagatz
(1971) used a measure highly cbtrelatedwiththe EFT to assess
6 analytic (FI) and global (FD) cognitive styles. They then
instructed their Ss in two concept attainment strategies: , "Commonality"(d-e'ternining attributes common to correct in-
stances) and "Conservative" (comparing, negativeand positive
instances to find differences). Ss-displaying analytic (F1)
styles apparently could use eitherstrategy effectively, while
0,Mir Ss displaying a global (FD)style were able to use the common- ality strategy but not the conservativestrategy. In anothercN study, Grieve and Davis (1971)tested Analytic (F1) and Global
(FD) subject after 11 hours of geographyusing two methods of
instruction, 1expository and discovery).. They, found Analytic Ii (FI) Ss did generally betterthan Globals (FD) and that there
was no aptitude treatmentinteraction. However, more recent
studies have suggested that FIslearn more eff6ctively withk-4 diScovery approach while FDs learn better with anexpository
approach (e.g., McLeod & Adams,1979). More generally, research
has indicated significantdifferences between field-dependent
and field-independentindividuals with regard to theteaching-
learning process. As examples, fielddependent individ als
tend to be better at learningand remembering incidentalsocial
material (Eagle, Goldberger, &Breitman, 1969), are moreaffected
400 411 .
by external reinforcement in the form of praise orcriticism
(Ferrell, 1971; Konstadt & Forman, 1965), and aremore'likely 4
to have difficulty withrelatiVely unstructured material (Renzi,
1974) than field-independent individuals. Amplifying these
ideas, Wittrock (1979) suggests that the, fieldg4pentlence/
independence dimension can be used'as an indexof the extent
to which studentswill benefit from a structured vs. a more
permissive environment. According to Wittrock, field-independent
A students learn better-from A situationin which they are per- ( mittedt to set their own goals, providetheir own motivation,
and determine their ownreinforcement. Field-dependent students '
are more comfortableand learn better with externallydefined
goals, external reinforcement,and a clearly delineated structurr. Indirect evidence that instrutional/communication approaches
can be tailored tostyles comes*from studies in atherapeutic
setting. Witkin, Lewis, and Weil (1968).found that therapists'
regardle'ss of their cognitivestyle, took asignificantly more 4) \-r,..) directive rolewith their field-dependent cUiprits than with
their field-itdependentclients. , The therapists also tended
i o ask more questionsanswerable with a simple yes ar noof
heir field-dependentclients, while asking more open-ended
uestions of theirfield-independent clients.', Thetherapists adjusting to the need forstructuring based ,f. hus seemed to be
on theirclients' cognitive styles. This adjustment seemed to.
take place automaticallybased on cues picked upin interaction
with the client.
The results ledWitkin, Moore, Goodenough,and Cox (Note 11) --\
412
to ask "whether by sensitizing teachers to the implxcationsof
their own stylesancithe styles of their students fo7 the
, teaching-learring Kocess, we may increase the adaptibility of
teachers." (p. 50). A*study by Doebler and Eicke (1979)
attempted to partially answer this question with fifth -grade
students. Teachers in the "experimental" schools were made
aware of the educational implications of thefield-dependence/
independence dimension of cognitive style, the individual
styles of their students and their own styles. Teachers in
the "control" school received noinformation. Measures of
self-concept and attitude toward school wereadministered prior
to teacher training and again atthe conclusion of the experi-
ment to all students. Analyse: of covariance ire:jestedsignif- icantly higher posttest scores in the"experimental" schools
on both the self'- conceptand attitude toward school measures. provide clear evidence as to c- The examples presented above the relatively strong relationshipbetween cognitive style
variables and academic attitudes andbehaviors. These styles
or meta-stiAtegiesdeserve even further considerationin the tailoring of instructional methods toindividuals.
Reception preferences. At a somewhat more specificleve'
than cognitive styles,individuals have preferences forreceiving'
information in certainways. As with styles, these preferences
should influence the strategiesavailable to a student and the
effectiveness with which he/sheapplies them. Depending on their
potency, these preferenceswill either limit Ilichstx)ate,ies
can be taught to anindividual or 'AllthemselTes be odified
4U/ 413
by strategy training procedures.
Hartnett (1973) assessed four dimensions of learning style
preference in 2,175 Ss. These dimensions were:
(a) Preference for regular classwork versus independent
study.
(b) Preference -for objective versus essay examinations.
(c) Preference for lectures versus discussion.
(d) Like versus dislike of doing individual research.
As a result of this assessment study, Hartnett found the
following:
On entering collq9e, students generally preferred regular
classwork, objective exams, discussions, and were equally
divided on attitude toward individual research.
"Bright" entering students (as me;sured by Scholastic .
Aptitude Test scores and high school grade point averages
preferred regular classwork, objective exams, lectures, and
individual research.
During the first two years of college, trends in prefer
ence generally were from assigned to independent study,objective
exams to'essay, exams,discussion to lectures, and toward more
-individual research. However, though there was a steady move toward preferences
for less traditional styles during the first two years of college,
it appeared to be the less able students whose learning style
preferences were drifting in this direction. Although there
were relationships between preferencesand academic performances,
it is not clear whether learning style preferences are a cause
4 0 414
or an effect of course grades. Obviously, further research on
O this issue is needed. A If learning style preference proves tobea viable educa-
tional variable, then Matching of instruction topreference
would probably be beneficial. If such matching isimpdssible
or ineffective, perhaps theteaching of effective strategies
for dealing with non-preferredinstructional methods would enhance the achievement of "poor" students.
Closely related to learning stylepreference is a variable
that has been labeled educational setby Siegel and Siegel
(1965). The two extremes of educational set canbe described
as follows: A factually set learner is onewho, by definition, is predisposed to learn tactualcontent. He/she adds units of
information to his/her cognitive structurewithodt being driven
to interrelatethese elements into -any conceptualwhole. For such a learner, a act has anintegrity of its own. A concep-
tually set learnef is one who,by definition, rejectsfactual
acquisition except ,as units ofinformation that are clustered
and inter .elated. He/she prefers to learn conceptsand
principles. When confronted by a bitof factual infIrmation he/she either dismissesit as "unimportant" or subsulasit under a broader conceptualframework. Siegel and Siegel (1965)measured educational setby a
forced choice inventory(Educational Set Scale) whichrequired
preference judgments. They showed that conceptually set
learners exhibited higherperformance on both conceptualand factual aspects of a final examin a televised college course.
4O 415
In "Addition, Sanders and Tzeng (1971) found evidence that pref-
erence for conceptual versus rote learning was related to actual
performance on concept learning and rote learning tests in the
rf predicted directions.
Based on these findings and intuitive grounds it seems
reasonable to attempt to alter educational set in a conceptual
'direction. However, it is possible than. by the time a student
reaches college-age, his/her educational set is relatively fixed and resistant to change. If this is the case, the present
studies suggest thewisdom of arranging for congruence between
the student's set and the educational goals imposed uponhim/her.
Preferences for various types of media will potentially
influence learning in ways analogous to cognitive style,learning
style preferences wid educational set. The actual effectiveness
of various media in conveying information mayreflect preference
or the differentialavailability of effective accvisition strategies for different modes.of presentation.
The hypothesis that adults generally havepreferences for
visual information is supported by Lordahl's (1961)finding
that, in a concept discrimination task,subjects were more
likely to attend to visual than to auditorystimuli. Also,
Stevenson and Siegel (1969) found that aschildren get older,
they pay increasing* attention to visualinformation in film
presentations and less attention to the auditoryinformation.
James (L962) asked 533 basic airmen to expresspreferences
for taking a lesson by reading or bylecture (a no-preference
option Was permitted). There were no performance differences
41 416 associated with preference but for the total sample learning by reading was superior to lecture. Preference was unrelated to ability, but the superiorityof reading was greater for high-ability airmen.
In accord with the above study,At the high school level and beyond, research results usually favorreading; over listening
(Belca;tro,' 1966; Beighley, 1952; Cody, 1962) . King (1968) and
King and Madill (1968) found that with collegestudents reading and listening were about equally effectivefor retention of factual material,but that reading was superior for the compre- hension of the "gist" or "theme." Research with nonprose verbal. materials supports the iaea that visual-presentation is increas-
ingly advantageous for more difficultmaterial (Schultz & Kasschau,
1966; Van Mondfrans & Travers,1964).
Combined auditory-visual presentationof connected prose
either shows no advantage overvisual presentation or actually
constitutes an interference(Mowbray, 1953Y, particularly if
the materials are easy.
Study behaviors and attitudes. A number of cuestionnaires
have been developed to surveystudents' study habits (strategies)
and attitudes (e.g., Brown &Holtzman, 1966, Biggs, 1970 a andb; /' Goldman & Warren, 1973). Experiments assessing the utility
of these questionnaires haveshown that behaviors delineatedin
this relatively economicalfashion, do relate to academic
performance, and in many cases,overshadow traditional ability of this type should be measures. It seem!, clear that measures administered in order toassist in the diagnosisof learning 417 difficulties. Once diagnosed, students can be given strategy training designed to ameliorate their specific problems.
Approaches to thiE type of strategy training will be discussed in more detail in the section on skills to content transfer.
Summar of EducationallRelevant Princi les
An examination of the research described in this section has led to the following suggestions for improving educational practices designed to foster content to content transfer:
1. Use existing readability formulas (see Carroll, 1971) to help select and/or create comprehensible instructional materials.
2. T e general research on the facilitory effects of imagery would sugge that educatbrs should attempt to select or develop concrete instructional materials t? are liberally supported by pictures and illustrations and, ....Aere possible, to use such materials as precursors to learning more complex, abstract in- formation.
3.. Multidimensional scaling techniaues and text grammar formulations should be used to provide a basis for organizing and sequencing instructional materials.
4. Make use of "web teaching" approaches (Norman, 1973).
Teach a subject domain in a top-down hierarchical fashion by making explicit during initial exposures the general form or structural characteristics of the material to be presented
(perhaps via overviews), and by gradually increasing the degree of detail and specificity.
5. Make sure individuals have appropriate prerequisite 418
information and createadvance organizers tobridge the gaps and the between the student'sexisting cognitive structures expository target learningmaterial. Both comparative and these organizers Organizers (Ausubel,1978) should be employed; polsible. should be made as concreteand as imagery evoking as
6. High leveladjunct post-questions(particularly'appli- facilitate cation questions, seeTable 1) should be used to "forward" bridges to newmaterials. transfer. These provide state of They also allow theinstructor to assess thp present remediation. As illustrated the learner'sknowled*e as a basis for is of critical in Figure 1, thelearner's cognitive state
e 1 importance as aprerequisite to subsequenttransfer. teaching methods 7. Less timeconsuming, guided,expository transfer, whilediscovery should be used whenthe goal is "near" laboratory exercises)should (trial and error)approaches (e.g., is desired. be employedwhen "far" transfer should be tailored 8. When feasible,instructional methods of identifiable to fit thestyles, aptitudes,and preferences of the need forthis subsets of learners. One salient example independent students - type of tajloringis the findinghat field permissive instructionalenviron- tend to learnbetter in a more students fare betterwith a more ment, whilefield dependent difference structured environment. Other important individual instructional variables that shouldbe consideredin designing intellectual capabilities methods are cognitivecomplexity, internal-external (e.g., structureof intellectdimensions), (learning) preference. locus of control,and reception
4 1 419
9. Individualdifferences in learning behaviorsand attitudes should be assessedand used along with ability measures as a basisfor assigning studens toskills training programs.
This suggestion willbe amplified in a subsequentsection on skills to conteft transfer.
t
414 420
SECTION III: SKILLS TO SKILLS TRANSFER
In this section the focus will beon the transfer of
learned skills from one situationto another. Research relevant -oo cognitive and motor skills will be presented in separate sub-
sectiohs followed by a, general sectionon important instructional variables.
Cognitive Skills
The terilcognitive skills is used hereto refer to those
( skills whichinvolve primarily mental processes suchas thinking and memory, and depend minimally on motor movement.
LearninT skills. Thtse skills are ones that facilitate the
acquisition,}, retention, recall, and transfer of information.
Rather than reviewing the relevant research at this tine,a
detailed discussion of learning skills will be presented inthe section on skills to content transfer.
problem solving and creativitz. inner (1966) has def;ned
a problem as a question for which the s at the moment no answer. This simple definition can be elaborated by categor- izing problems into two major types: closed system problems
and open system problems. Bartlett (1958) 'has suggested that NI closed system problems are formed in such a way that all the elements for solution are available, and what the problem solver has to do is fill in the appropriate element. In essence, closed slibtem problems are characterized by the existence of an identifiable solution; further, progress towards this solu- tion usually also identifiable. Examples of closed system problems would include: anagrams, chess, logic and math problems,
410 421 concept formation, equipment repair (trouble shooting), navi- gational problems, etc.
In open7system problems, the problem solver mustgo beyond .the units immediately given in order to "close the gap."
Neither the solutions nor progress toward solutionsare easily identifiable with these types of problems. Examples of open system problems, which are usually studied under the rubric of
"creativity" would include: determining unusual uses for common objects, creating cartoon captions and movie titles, inventing a new device or product, writing a term paper, etc.
Most of the prior research with closed system problem solving has employed relatively artificial tasks (e.g., anagrams) and consequently the generality of most of the findings to real world problem solving is questionable. However, in the context of traditional concept formation studies in which a subject is
sked to discover an experiment r-defined concept such as "one )fl red circle," Bruner, Goodnow, and Austin (1956) have identified two basic strategies that may have some generality beyond this artificial task situation. The two strategies, scanning
(partist strategy) and focusing (wholist strategy), are used by subject4 in both "selection" (subject determines the sequence of examples to be examined) and "reception" (experimenter deter- mines the sequence) paradigms. In the scanning (partist) strategy the subject sel)ects a portion of a positive instance to entertain as his/he hypothesi3 and 'concentrates his/her 11/ efforts on proving this hypothesis correct. Because the sub- ject needs to scan and remember only the part of each instance 422
that is relevant to his/her hypothesis, this approach is fre- quently employed by stdents. It does, however, have the dis-
advantage thatithe subject concentrates only on part of what he/she sees and is not likely to learn much while he/she is
following a hypothesis that later proves to be wrong.
In the focusing strategy (wholist) the subject selects a positive instance, rtteriVi all aspects of it, and attempts to ti determine which attributes are irrelevant by comparing hisiher retained positive instances to other positive instances. The differences between ,these two strategies may be cle7rer in the
context of a literature review task. One could 7o through the recent issues ora likely journal and scaneach article briefly
(partist). Or one could, as soon as he/she came across auseful article, focus on it and then choose other articlesin thelight,
of the infl6rmation obtained from this firstpositive instance
(wholist).
Bourne (1963) and others have foundthe focusing or wholistic strategy to be more efficientin concept formation
studies, but it is not always the mostfrequently used.
Attempts at teach .ng collegestudents this strategy in order to
improve their concept formationperformance have been success-
ful (Klausmeier Meinke, 1968). Perhaps such training would
also lead to better performancein more real world tasks such
as literature searchand "trouble' shooing."
Polya (1957) has developed aseries of techniques or
strategies which are applicable toproblem solving in general.
These techniques, called"heuristics," are "rules of thumb" 423
for decreasing the extent oof an individual's search through his .
internal problem space. Two of Polya's heuristics, means -ends
analysis and planning, have been incorporated intoa computer simulated model of human problbm solving. The General Problem
Solver (GPS), as it is called,appears to emulate quite accurately human behavior on problems in logi (Newell, Simon,
& Shaw, 1958). It has also been expanded by Ernst and Newell
(1969) to solve a variety of other closed system problems.
GPS using means-ends analysis, begins to solve a problem by detecting a difference between the location ofa desired goal state (that is, the answer) and the present location of the subject with respect to that goal. If there is no discrep- ancy, there is no problem. If, however, a discrepancy ,toes exIst, the exact nature of this discrepancy has to be determined and a suitable plan formulated to remove the discrepancy. If this plan cannot be formulated directly, GPS m t first formulate some subgoal that can, in fact, be met. Thus, any problem is first analyzed to discover whether a discrepancy exists between
"where an organism is now" and "where he/she ,would like to b 11 4 This analysis 'gives ri.e to a series of subgoals, each one of which may require formu.ation into further, less difficult subgoals. This hierarchy of subgoals is then attacked in order of difficulty-beginning with the most difficult and proceeding through to the least difficult. Once all subproblems have been solved, the solution of the original and major problem can take: place. In order to make this heuristic a hit more concrete,
4 16 424
consider the following example presented by Newell, Simon, and
Shaw (1960): "I want to take my son to nursery school. What's the difference between what I have and what I want? One of distance. What changes distance? My automobile. My automobile won't work.. What's needed to make it work? A newbattery. 4 What has new batteries? ,An auto repair shop. I want the repair
shop to put in a new battery; but the shop doesn't"know Ineed
one. What's the difficulty? One of communication. What allows
communication? A telephone...and so on."
In GPS an overall grasp bf the problemis provided by the
"planning" heuristic which consists primarilyof changing an
originally complex problem into simpler ones.This simplifi-
cation is carried out by first abstractingthe specific problem
to more general terms,and then by simplifying the overall
structure of the problem sothat it can be subjected to a more
direct means-ends analysis. Since the abstracting process
serves to s!mplifythe problem, this increases thelikelihood that any proposed means-end solutionwill be successful. Solu-
tion steps generated at thislevel can then serve as plans or
prototypes for steps to betaken with regard to theoriginal,
complex iormulation of theproblem.
Except for a few efforts inthe concept formationdomain,
there have been virtually nosystematic attempts at training
general closed system problemsolvir^ techniques.' Most problem
solVing training programs, someof which will be reviewedsub- .
sequently, have concentrated ontraining for creativity (open
system problemsolving). This situation shouldbe remedied.
41:) 415
A good starting place for such programs would be to teach Polya's
strategies and measure subsequent changes in closed system problem solving performance.
Generally, researchers have considered four stages of
creativity (open system problem solving): 'preparation, incuba-
tion, insight, and verification. The preparation stage is
typically restricted to a subject's attempt at understanding
the problem through recall of his/her previous experience with
similar problems, etc., (that is, the translatioi of the
prOblem into an internal problem space). For oUr purposes this
stage will be expanded to include the conscious production of
potential solutions through operating on the problem space and
preliminary judgments of the adequacy of produced solutions.
In many cases, the steps contained within this preparation stage,
which are analogous tothOseinvolved in closed system problem
solving, are sufficient for production of an adequate solution.
However, for various reasons, solutions generated at preparation
stage may not be sufficient, and, in some cases, the remaining
three steps may occur.
The incubation stage may consist of the unconscious pro- duction and judgment of soluti(ns. Subjective reports .of creative
individuals (for example, Ghis'e in, 1952; Koestler, 1964) indi- cate that this incubation period may be facilitated by alterations in consciousness (sleep, reverie, drug-induped states, etc.).
In faCt,, Green, Green, and Walters (Note 12) have drawn a series of inferences to support the notion that alteration of conscious- ness by brain wave training (bio-feedback) may potentially enhance 426 creativity. They note that many creative people report effective incubation and subsequent insight in states where visual imagery A is enhanced (in addition, responses to a visual imagery question- naire correlate .21 with responses-to a-creativity questionnaire,
Schmeidler, 1965). Furthe,r, Green, Green, and Walters have shown that subjects trained to produce,theta brain waves report concomitant increases in visual imagery. They thus conclude that such brain wave training would enhance creativity via enhanced visual imagery, and have embarked on a research program to assess this hypothesis. Perhaps direct attempts at training imagery ability, as4dell as other imagery enhancement techniquesi such as mediation training, Could be usefully employed in this regard.
At some point during the incubation period, the open system problem solver may experience "insight" or "illumination." An unconsciously produced solution has apparently passed some criterion of judged acceptability. Following insight, the problem solver will usually make some attempt to consciously verify or. judge the newfound solution.'Depending on the outcome of this verification, the problem may be solved or theproblem tolving process may be again initiated.
Certainly the greatest effort toward strategy.training has been leveled at this creative process. Two studies are relevant to the training of students to prepare(problem translation primarily) for open system problem solving. Hyman (1961) asked engineers to study attemptS already made todesign a system for recognizing boxes in an automatic warehouse. One group studied
42i 427 these previous attempts critically, in order to make up a list of faults; another group studied them constructively, in order to make a list of useful features. Later," when all sr'jects were asked to proposertheir own solutions to this problem, those who hal studied constructively. produced better solutions.
A parallel study by Torrance (1964) reached similar con- clusions. He asked psychology st\idents to read two articles in psychological journals, either critically or imaginatively, before the middle of the term. Then they had to develop an original idea, theory, or hypothesis and turn it in on the last day of the term. Again, the products of those who had read imaginatively received supericir ratings for originality. Al- though these studies have sore obvious flaws,they do contain potentially suggestive implications for education,and probably deserve careful replication and extension.
A number of "attempts havebeen made to improve the quantity and quality of solutions produced in response to anopen-ended problem. Most courses inbrainstOrming'.(for example, Osborn, 1953) attempt to increase quality andquantity by instructing Generally, it is assumed participants to postponecriticism. ) that criticism and harsh evaluationwil interfere with flexible. idea production. Laboratory studies directed toward thisissue have usually led to the conclusionthat relaxed conditions and instructions not to evaluate produce moreideas and ideas that have a higher mean quality rating asjudged by nexpprW than those produced under morerestrictive and-evaluative conditions
(Johnson, Parrott, & Stratton, 1968;Meadow, Parnes, & Reese, 428
1959; Dentler & Mackler, 1964; Gerlach, Schultz, Baker, & Mazer,
1964). However, at least some researchers have concluded that instructions to "produce more ideas and withhold judgment" lead
to a greater number of ideas, but an overall mean decrease in quality (Weisskopf-Joelson & Eli'eo, 1961). It is probably the case that these different results are due to differences between
the subject populations.
Researchers attempting to evaluate the effect associated with the training of specific idea-producing techniques have focused 'on AlNkn's (1962), morphological synthesis approach.. This technique requires analysis of the dimensions of the problem followed by a new synthesis. Ideas for improving one feature of the product are listed along one axis of a two-dimensional diagram and ideas for another feature are listed on another axis so that novel combinations appe r at theintersections. In com- parison to two other idea-generang techniques, Warren and Davis
(1969) found increased productivity and more superior solutions with the morphological synthesis technique. FUrthermore, this technique has been included in a large-scale training program for adolescents with apparently favorable results (Davis, Houtman,
Warren, & Roweton, 1969). Perhaps the most extensive attempt t include production tra ning in an educational setting has een made by Crutchfield
.a 4 his colleagues (Crutchfield, 1966; Covington,Crutchfield,
Davies, & Olton, 1974). They have developed a programmed text for fifth and sixth-graders which encourages thechildren to think about the complex materials presented and directsthe reinforce- ment toward the production of 429 original and relevant ideas. In particular, the program is designed to instruct the student in the formulation of the prob- lem, the asking of relevant questions, the laying out of a plan of attack, the generation of many ideas, the search for uncommon ideas, the transformation of the problem in new ways, the evaluation of hypotheses, and the openness to metaphorical and analogical hints leading to solutions.
A number of evaluation. studies using open-ended problems
(Crutchfield, 1966; Olton & Crutchfield, 1969) have found that students trained on the above method ask more questions, generate more ideas, and get higher ratings for creative quality than a matched control group. However, in a recent review of the literature, Mansfield, Busse, and Krepelka (1978) conclude that although some of the studies with this program provide evidence for its effectiveness, results obtained with tests dissimilar to the training materials (far transfer) have been inconsistent, so that it is unclear whether the effects are sufficiently generalizable to be useful in real-life situations.
Mansfield et al. (1978), also reviewed a number of other creativity training programs and drew similar ccnclusions.
After a number of ideas have been produced, the open-ended problemsolver must judge the solutions in order to provide a basis, for selection. A few studies have emphasized this judg- ment process. These studies have provided "criteria-cued" instruct'ons which spelled out the criteria to be used in eval- uating the subject's productions and, in some cases,trained subjects on the use of these criteria. Generally, the 430
"criteria-cued" instructions result in reduced productivity
compared to nonevaluative instructions, but also produced a
higher average quality and a higher percentage of superior
solutions (for example, Johnson, Parrot, & Stratton, 1968;
Weisskopf-Joelson, & Eliseo, 1961; Gerlach, Schultz, Baker, &
Mazer, 1964).
Stratton and Brown (1972) trained subjects on both Mor- phological synthesis (production) and judgment criteria. Using responses to a request for ticles based on a variety of movie plots, they found that the combined training produced solutions of higher mean quality than those with only proe ction training
and a larger number of solutions than those with only judgment
training. This combined training approach offers some promise
and should undergo further exploration. /'`
Although the prognosis for far transfer of general problem solving and creativity skills does not appear to be very promising, it is passible tIit, if training on these skills were embedded in a particular technical area, transfer would be facilitated.
Motor Skills
The positive transfer of simple motor skills, such as those involved in the pursuit rotor tracking task, has been demonstrated in a number of studies (e.g., Holding, 1966).
With respect to more complex motor skills, Duncan (1960), using a motor task analogous to verbal paired-associate learning
(visual stimuli and motor responses were paired), showed that practice with one set of stimuli and responses would facilitate 431
transfer to other similar sets ofstimuli and responses. This was particularly true whenthe original training was conducted
over a variety oftraining tasks. These resu,ts are supported
by another study (Russell,Note 13) which demonstratedthat per- formance of a pencil-target task wasalso facilitated if sub-
jects had previous experience with avariety of similar taski.
Of particular interest are those fewstudies which indicate
that transfer occurs for motortasks that are both complexand
have ecological validity. Pilot simulator research (Valverde,1973), for example, has indicated that effective
transfer occurs between mock-upsof both low and highsimilarity
(far and near transfer) withactual flight. Singer (1977) in
his review article has alsoreported studies by Prather(e.g.,
Berry, Prather, &Jones,'1971) which indicate thatcomplex perceptual motor skills, such as rangeestimation used by
airline pilots are transferable. Instructional variables the::
facilitate this and.other typesof skills to skillstransfer
will be discussed in the nextsubsection.
Instructional Variables
In this sectioninstructional variables thatpotent'ally
have impact on all typesof skills to skills transferwil' be
discussed. 12issaery2Lsnstr. Whetherdiscovery
learning (trial and error) orguided (prompted) learningleads of debate in to better transfa,rof skills has been an area instructional psychology for sometime. Singer (1978) has that the method reviewed motor skillsresearch and has concluded 432
of instruction given should bedependent on the type of transfer
task and the amount of training timeavailable.
A series of studies conducted byPrather (e.g., Berry,
Prather, & Jones, 1971)` compared trialand error learning to
error-free learning in the training.ofcomplex perceptual-motor
ski/lls. In geriiill,prather has foundthat while prompted
learning led to faster acquisitionof skills, trial anderror
learning produced greater posttrainingtransfer. Also, Singer
and Gaines (1975) have reportedbetter transfer fora discovery
method of instruction whenalearnijtocriterion method is
used. In addition, Egan and Greeno (1973) havefound that
discovery learning, as opposed torote learning, leads to 4. broader transfer in mathematics. Far transfer of problem
solving strategies appears to be facilitatedby a discovery
method of instruction (Guthrie, 1967). Finally, Singer and
Pease (1976), using three groups (discoveryvs. prompted vs.
discovery/prompted), found difference in the amount of
transfer between discovery d discovery/prompted learning, but
did find that both of these instructionalmethods led to better
transfer than prompted (guided) learningalone.
Contradictory studies in this area have beenrepo however. For example, Macrae and Holding (1966) havesuggested that prompted learning facilitates transferon a complicated perceptual-motor task, and that trial anderror learning leads to better transfer on simpler tasks. A later study by Singer and Pease (1976), on the other hand, foundno interaction between teLsk complexity and instructional method.
1' 42 433
However, studies reporting positive effects of discovery
learning transfer should be viewed w'th caution, since many
times the tests used for measuring ranIfer are often similar
to or the same as the discovery method training (Simger, 1977).
Further, Singer and Pease (1976) have reported that'when groups
receiving discovery training are tested with a prompted learning
task, they demonstrate less transfer than do groups who received
prompted training. Many of these studies may, therefore, only be testing the efficacy of transfer across similar situations,
and not the effectiveness of various modes of instruction.
Meaningfulness of instruction. Mayer (1975), in a series of experiments, has investigated the meaningfulness of instruc-
tion and its effects on transfer. The term meaningful is used
here to refer to instruction which attempts to relate new infor- mation to the learner's previous experience and knowledge.
one set of experiments (e.g., Mayer, 1974, Mayer & Greeno, 1972)
students were taught the concept and application of binomial probability., Typically, these experiments used two groups. One
group would he given meaningful instruction which emphasized
relating previous experience to the learning of the binomial probability formula, while a second group was given instructions which consisted only of a formal statement of the rules for calculating binomial probabilities. Results from two experiments
(Mayer, 1974; Mayer & Greeno, 1972) revealed that near transfer was facilitated by "rule" instructions, and that'fartransfer was facilitated by meaningful instruction. These findings are supported by Mayer, Stiehl & Greeno (1975) who found that students 434 who received pretraining in thegeneral concepts of probability and combinations demonstratedbetter far transfer on applications of the binomial formula thanstudents who did not receive pre- training.
It can be concluded from thesestudies that the transfer of skills is influenced by the degree towhich they are integrated with a learner's prior knowledge. Related studies by Wittrock and Cook (1975), among others, supportthe general contention that transfer is facilitatedwhen newly learned skills are spcifically related to a person'sprevious experience.
Instructions to integrate. Gagne's model (Gagne & White,
1978) of memory structures(Figure 2) leads to the predictionthat skills learning which involves two ormore memory structures
(intellectual skills and propositionsfor example) would lead to
both better retention andtransfer of the acquired skills. In
this regard, early studies onproblem solving (e.g., Katona,1940;
Maier, 1930) generally supportthe contention th t verbalstate-
ments of problem solvingrules facilitated their etention and mentioned studies by Mayer, transfer. In addition, the previously also support Gagne's view,since training subjects by ameaningful
instruc lanai method ofteninvolved the stating of rules(i.e.,
propositions). 4___ Instructional methods involvingimages and episodes in
learning and transfer ofskills have also been thesubject of
investigation (Gagne & White,1978). Those studies emphasizing Research the use of imagerygenerally show positiveresults.
by Zimmerman andRosenthal (e.g., Zimmerman &Rosenthal, 1974; Rosenthal, Moore, Dorfman, &Nelson, 1971) suggest thatactiva- 423 /435 tion of both verbal and visual memorystructures leads to better transfer than the use of either memorystructure alone.
Studies involving moremanipulative tasks (episodes), however, are more equivocal withonly about half of the studiessupporting an integration pointof view. Studies by Bruner (1966), Sonstroem
(1966), Dawson and Ruddell(1955), and Bledsoe, Purser,and Frantz
(1974) have obtained positive resultsfor the use of er es
(manipulative experiences) inlearning, retnetion, and transfer.
These studies, however, arecounter-balanced by other research which has either reportedneutral or contradictoryresults (e.g.,
Fennema, 1972; Passy, 1963;Trueblood, 1970).
Educational Implications of the
Skills to SkillsTransfer'Research By way of summarizing,the"following instructionalimplications
have been gleaned fromthe research on skills toskills transfer:
1. Open and closed systemproblem solving training courses
shouldk be developed andadministered in closeconjunction with
a specifictechnical or academicdomain. Since general training successful in the past, on problemsolving skills has not proven tailor the the developers ofprOblem solving courses should
training to those skillsrequired in a particularacademic or
technical area.
2. Discovery andme,tningful learningshould be emphasized of skills is desired. in the classroom whenbroad generalization transfer Guided learning' approachescan be employed when near
is the major goal. A encourage the 3. In teachingskills, teachers should 436
students use of various memorystructures, such as imagery and
verbal propositions, to increasethe retention and transfer of
skills. This type of manipulation shouldimprove the integration
of the learner's cognitivestructure which should in turnimprove subsequent transfer (see Figures 1 and2). 437
SECTION IV: CONTENT TO SKILLS TRANSFER
This. type of transfer occurs when an individual's prior knowledge,influences the acquisition of a new skill. While content to skills transfer is probably involved in,allskill learning situations, it has been the subject of a surprisingly small amount of research. In the area of perceptual-motor learning, at least, it has been argued by Marteniuk (1976) that the first step (e.g., the cognitive phase of motor learning) in executing a motor skill is to establish a plan or'goal for performance and then Collect pertinent information for achieving
that goal. In other words, the most effective way to acquire a new skill is to possess relevant knowledge thatwill transfer
to the learning of the new skill. This general theme is echoed by Fitts (Fitts & Posner, 1967) who states'that it is during the cognitive phase of skill acquisition that the learnermustform an idea or schema of the entire skill to beperformed. Adams
(1971) also promotes a similar view, suggesting. that the earli,
stages of motor learning are highly dependent on the verbal
skills of the learner.
While these ideas have an obvious intuitive appeal for motor skills acquisition, it also seems reasonable thatskill
acquisition in a number of other areas would be facilitated if
the learner could transfer appropriate content know ledge to the
learning task. For example, Lave (1977) has demonstrated that
one's general knowledge can affect problem solving skills. In
this study, Liberian tailors varying in amount oftailoring experience and degree of education were asked to solyTn Arith- 438 metic problem which waspresented in either a formaleducation
or tailoringsurface format. Transfer efficiency wassignifi- cantly related to the contentknowledge of the subjects. A
relatively high degree oftailoring knowledge led to success
across tailoring problems,and more experience with formal
education led to transfer acrossschool-formulated problems. Several researchers have attempted tomanipulate a learner's
prerequisite knowledge relevant to'acquiring askill. Miyake
& Norman (1979), have demonstratedthat a person's knowledge
of a specific content area greatly affec',..shie/her use of a
comprehension strategy such as questioning. Matching students, 4 either trained or untrained, in operating a computerterminal
with either easy- or hard-to-comprehend programmittmanuals,
Norman found that untrained programmers tended to use a questioning strategy more often when instructed with the easy
manual. Conversely, trained programmers tended to ask more questions when instructed with the hard manual. A general
conclusion based on this study is that, in order to generate
questions, a student needs to have some minimal amountof
knowledge releyant to a topic available to him/her at,the time
of learning. A number of studies by Mayer(1975; Mayer, Sticnl, &
Greeno, 1975) have indicated that ingeneral, meaningful and
interpretative applications of problem solvingskills are
enhanced by instruction in contentknowledge relevant to the.
transfer task. Specifically, Mayer, Stiehl, and Greene(1975)
found that preinstructional experiencedirectly related to
13d 439
arithmetic problems varied in content (general knowledge
and formula computation) ilitated skill le;trning under/a
meaningful instruction cones ion. In another tudy, Mayer (1975) had nonprogrammers learn a computer programming language
through the use of a diagram model of the computer expressed in
familiar terms or Without the use of a model. In general, subjects in the model condition excelled on learning and transfer problems requiring interpretation, while nonmodel subjects did better on near transfer tasks requiring only generation of programs similar to those given in the instructions.
Along a similar line, Trollip (1979) used computer-assisted instruction (CAI) to train pilots in the skill of flying holding patterns. This training required.the student to artificially
"fly" a series of holding .atterns at different levels of com- plexity. Students were given detailed pictorial and verbal feedback about their performance. Consequently, the student should be acquiring both knowledge and experience relevant to performing the required task. Students trained under this condition, when compared with traditionally trained students, demonstrated better performance in an evaluation flight. This suggestt that the CAI-trained students could use their prior knowledge gained from feedback on their performance to facili- tate their learning of actual flight skills. A final study in this area wes conducted by Berg and Stone (1978). Testing whether modeling or verbal instructions were better for en- hancing problem solving skills, they-found that both methods of instruction and a combination of the two methods resulted 440 in superior performance on aproblem solving task compared to a control group. These results support thenotion that the prior content knowledge that a personhas which is relevant to performing a skill will lead to moreeffective learning and use of that skill.
To briefly summarize,it appears that the prior content knowledge of a leakner, if itis meaningful knowledge,functions similarly to Ausubel's(1911)advance organizer. That is, a persorOs prior, knowledge serves as an"ideational scaffold" for theincorporatioz of new skillsinto the person'A behavioral repertoire. Further,,studies by Mayer and Greeno(Mayer,
Stiehl, & Greeno, 1975;Mayer, 1975; Egan & Greeno,1973) have given us some information onhow differentinstructional methods
interact with the priorknowledge of an individual'inskill these studies is learning. In general, thebasic conclusion of meaningful that those instructionaltechniques which emphasize
learning are moreeffective for thosestudents who already learned (typically an possess knowledgeabout the skill to be those students who arithmetic problem). On the other hand, under more /lack prior knowledge about askill tend to do better is typically rote :learningConditions. This type of interaction is acquired within obtained whether thelearner's prior knowledge or is taken asa the experimentalmanipulation (preinstruction),
pre-experimental given. section indicates thatthe The researchreviewed in this educational practicesshould following suggestionsfor improving
be considered:
430 441
1. Ih teaching a new skill,instructions should include
content kn6wledge that is specificto the learning of that skill.
2. An attempt should be madeto present new skills in a
meaningful context if broad transfereffects ate desired, while
a more rote or algorithmic approach should beused if near transfer is the goal of instruction.
3. Knowledge relevant toacquiring a new skill should be
presented without an excess, of distractingstimuli. In other words, present a simple example ofthe skill and the context in which it is used before attemptingto instruct the learner in more complicated aspects of the skill.
4. It should be a general practice toexpose learners to varied types of knowledge about a skill to increase theeffect- iveness of transfer. 442
SECTION V: SKILLS TO CONTENT TRANSFER This type of transfer involves the learning ofskills that
subsequently facilitate the acquisition, retention-, retrieval,
and transfer of knowledge. These types of skills or strategies are typically taught in separatestudy skills or learning strat-
egies classes or_ workihops. In this section the prior research relevant to learning strategy instruction and trainingwill be
briefly reviewed. First, research exploring specific,isolited strategies will be discussed, followed by a review ofstudies
of the effectiveness of larger strategysystems. The research
in this general domain, examines the types.of content-independent
knowledge discussed in conjunction'with Figure 1 (see Section I:
Introduction). Manipulation of Specific
Learning- Related Strategies . Most-of the prior research onlearning strategies has
focused on assessing the effects onperformance that result
from isolated manipulationsof component strategies. These studies have dealt with fourprimary strategy areas: identi-
fication, comprehension, retentioL.and retrieval; and84
support, strategy area: concentrat:m. .A brief overviewof prior attempts to study eachof these components follows.
Accurate identificationof important, difficult,and unfamiliar material is necessaryfor appropriate allocation
of students' time and energy. If such allocations are not
accurate, then theresulting learning will beinefficient. In
the past, the generalapproach to research in this areahas
43/ 443
Stimulus been to manipulate theidentilication and selection of material by varyinganticipated recall requirements(Butterfield, 1973) or mone- Belmont, & Peltzman*1971; Cermak, 1972; Jacoby, Mayer, rote 14; McConkie, tary payoffconditions (McConkie, Rayner, &
Rayner, & Wilson,1973). Th*se studies do show thatstudents can beflexible in their processingof incoming information, to but the manipulations are sotask-speoific that they appear in general. have littleapplicability strategy enhancement most of the In the area ofcomprehensioh and retention, and attempts atimproving students' skillshave been indirect change their comprehen- have entailedstimulating the students to experimenter-generated pre, sion and retentionactivities with 1968;,Mayer, 1975; post, and interspersedquestions (e.g., Frase, and Richards & DiVesta,1974; Rothkopf &Bisbicos, 1967), pre- 1970; postsupplementary organizingmaterials (e.g., Allen, Wells, Ausubel & Youssef,1966; Frase, 1969; 'Gay,1971; Scandura'& and varying payoffconditions 1967; Bauman &Glass, Note 15), 1974; McConkie etal., (McConkie & Meyer,1974; McConkie & Rayner, indicate that 1973). The findings of thesestudies generally the students' compre- the procedureshad positive influences on al., 1974, hens .on andretention strategies(see Dansereau et transfer for a more and the section oncontent to content However, since these thorough discussionof these studies). manipulations, they approaches requireexperimenter or teacher controlled situations. are notdirectly transferable to less comprehension andretention More directmanipulations of instructing (generally strategies have beenbased on simply 444 without training) the student on a particular technique. Posi-
tive effects on performance have resulted from instructions to
form mental images (pictures) of verbal materials (Anderson,
1970; Anderson & Hidde, 1971; Levine & Divine-Hawkins, 1974;
Rasco, Tennyson, & Boutwell, 1975), instructions to state the material in the student's own words (DelGiorno, Jenkins, &
Bausell, 1974), and instructions to reorganize the incoming material (DiVesta, Schultz, & Dangel, 1973; Frase, 1973). These instructional manipulations, although somewhat effective as they were first tried, could probably beenhanced by actual training and by integration with training on other aspectsof
the learning orocess. There has been a dramatic upsr7e of interestin mnemonic
elaboration as a specific means forenhancing retention.
Generally, mnemonic techniquesinvolve embellishing the incoming material by creatively interrelatingthe items to be learned or
by associating the items tovapreviously learned set of peg words or images (mental pictures). The following are some exam-
ples of mnemonic techniques:
First letter -- In 0,-der to rememberthe ordering of the
12 cranial nerves (olfactcry,optic, oculomotor, trochlear, etc.)
many of us havelearned the phrase "On old Olympus'towering
top a fat, agile Germanvaults and hops." The first letter of
each word is also the firstletter of each of the majorcranial
nerves. Peg word -- A person firstlearns a rhymed peg word list
43:1 445 such as "one-bun, two-shoe, three-tree," and then learns to associate imaginatively each of these words with the members' of a list to be learned. For example, in learning the items on a grocery list(e.g., steaks and potatoes) the student might first image bun and steak together as a sandwich, then potato and shoe as an Idaho potato in tennis shoes, etc. When asked to recall the second item on the listhe/she locates the second pegword, shoe, and then recalls the image of the potatoin tennis shoes. Method of loci -- A learner mentally places itemsin distinct locations along a very familiar route (e.g.,the route from the person's front door to the back bedroom). In order to recall the information, the studentimagines traveling back through the route, picking up the items as they occur.
Many studies using lists of unrelated wordsand word pairs have shown that brief instructions on mnemonictechniques dramatically improve retention (Bower & Reitman,1972; Danner
& Taylor, 1973; Groninger, 1971; Lowry,1974; Nelson & Archer,
1972; Santa, Ruskin, & Yio, 1973; Wanshura &Borkowski, 1974;
Weinstein, .1975; Yuille & Catchpole, 1'2/74). Although these mnemonic tecmiques have been successful withrelatively arti- ficial materlals (nonsense syllables andunrelated words), very little effort has been made to apply thesetechniques to the more general problem of retainingconnected discourse. (An important exception to this is the work ofWeinstein, 1978).
Although the previously discussedapproaches to strategy manipulation improve a student's ability torecall information,
4,1u ,446
they do so indirectly, by operating on the student's storage
processes. More direct approaches are possible, involving retrieval plans for accessing stored materials that are not
immediately available. These plans would most likely take the
form of coherent search strategies similar to those used in
solving problems that have well-defined solutions (e.g., chess
problems often require the search for an optimal next move).
The problem-solvingstrategies explored by Newell et al.(1958), provide'a good starting place for the development ofsuch N techniques. Unfortunately, very little week has been done in training
students to use search strategies as aids to memoryretrieval.
The one exception is a study by Ritter, Kaprove,Fitch, and
Flavell (1973), which attempted to improve children's recall
performance by instructing them in what the researcherscalled
"planful retrievals" (e.g., systematic searchstrategies). The
results of this study indicated that theretrieval instructions
helped, but the stimuli employed were so artific &il(unrelated
word pairs) that it is difficult to generalizethe results to
more mea9ingful The last corponent to be considered inthis section is
concentration. Generally, attempts to improve concentration have been oriented toward teaching students totalk to them-
selves in.a constructive, positivefashion as a means of coping
with distractions and anxiety (Meichenbaum & Goodman,1971;
Meichenbaum Turk, Note 16,Patterson aMischel, 1975) or they
have,been oriented directlytoward manipulating the student's 447
attention through behavior modification techniques (Alabiso,
1975). Both of these approaches have successfully increased the quantity of task-related behavior, but, 'anfortunately, they have not been coupled with strategies designed to increase the quality of such behavior (e.g., students may be trained to spend more time looking at a textbook, but additional training is probably needed to increase the quality and intensity (:)f.
what they are doing while reading). Clearly this combination , should be the ultimate target for a pr:Irc.m.designed to enhance learning skills.
In summary, the studies that have been reviewed to this point have suffered from at least two problems. First, the materials and tasks used to examine the maniOUlations have generplly been highly artificial (e.g., serial and paired- associate lists of unrelated information). This artificiality limits the generality of these findings to educationally rele- vant situations. Second, specific components have been studied in isolation (i.e., they have not been integrated with training on other components of the learning process). This lack off' integratir-n is extreme.y troublesome in light of the obvious interrelationships betu.len some of the compon6nts (e.g., enhancing comprehension-retention skills will clearly have an impact on retrieval, and vice versa). These interrelationships should enable a well-conce.:Ned, integrated program to have an impact greater thall the sum of its individual parts. In the next section some of the prior attempts that have been made at developing such integrated training will be briefly examined.
44,! 448
Evaluations of Strategy Systems
Unfortunately, many of the reported learning strategits programs have nonempirical foundations, provide relatively superficial strategb training (usually only a subset of the essential learning concepts), are evaluated against nonspecific criteria (such as grade point average), and, consequently, lack specific evidence on which to base modifications.
The majority of these learning skills programs are based on the SQ3R approach proposed by Robinson(1946), or some slight modification of this approach. The five steps in the SQ3R technique require students first to survey the text chapterby reading headings, boldface type, etc. On this basis of the survey students are encouraged to develop questions. Then they read the material with an eye toward 'answering thesequestions. After reading, students are encouraged to close the book andrecall what has been read. Finally, they open the book and review the material. Generally, SQ3R training is nonspecific; very little detailed information is provided on how to carry outthe operations. It is assumed that the individual student is able to arri're at these morespecific procedures without guidance.
In light of the results witt i learning strategy inventory
(Dansereau et al., 1975aY, this assumption is probablyunwarranted; students appear to have little knowledge ofalternative learning procedures, especially at a detailed level.
In any case, a number of programs of this typehave, been developed and shown.to lead to improvement on measuresof,grade
point average (Briggs, Tosi, & Morley,1971; Whitehill, 1972)
443 and on self-report study-habit surveys (Sodden, Osterhouse, &
Gelso, 1972; Brown, Weber Zunker, & Haslam, 1971; Haslam &
Brown, 1968; Van Zoost & Jackson, 1974). Although these p ograms probably benefit the student in a general way, the locus f the effects has not been determined. In addition to general measures of academic success, specific evaluations of learning performance
should be made. Furthermorefthese evaluations should be related
to specific components of the programs tG provide a basis for modification. However, even if the previously cited programs rare successful, they could probably be improved by incorporating
some of the more detailed strategies discussed inthe previous
section and by adding other strategies derived from the basic
cognitive research literature on memory, comprehension, problem-
solving, etc. The learning strategy training program to be
discussed next was designed to overcome some of these criticisms.
A detailed description of the learning strategy training
program developed at Texas Christian Universityis beyond the
scope of this paper; thevarious portions of the system have
been presented in a number of other technical reportsand publi-
cations (Collins, Dansereau, Garland, Holley, & McDonald,1981;
Dansereau, 1978; Dansereau, Actkinson, Long, & McDonald, 1974;
Dansereau, Collins, McDonald, Garland, Holley, Evans,.& Diekhoff,
1978; Dansereau, Collins, McDonald, Holley, Garland, Diekhoff,
& Evans, 1979a; Dansereau, Long, McDonald, &Actkinson, 1975a;
Dansereau, Long. McDonald, Actkinson, Ellis, Collins, Williams,
& Evans, 1975b; oansereau, Long, McDonald,Actkinson, Collins,
Evans, Ellis, & Williams, 1975c; Dansereau, Long, McDonald, 450
Actkinson, Collins, Evans, Ellis, & Williams, 1975d; Dansereau,
Long, McDonald, Actkinson, Collins, Evans, Ellis, & Williams,
1975e; Dansereau, McDonald, Collins, Garland, Holley, Diekhoff,
& Evans, 1979b; Holley, Dansereau, McDonald, Garland, & Collins,
1979), and the reader is referiad to these documents for further
information. In the remainder of this subsection a brief overview of this program will be presented.
The general approach to the development of this strategy
system has been strongly influenced by the fact that effective
interaction with technical material requires that the student
actively engage in a complex system of interrelated activities.
To assist the student in this endeavor, a set of mutually
supportive strategies has been created. This set can be divided
into "primary" strategies which are used to operate on the material
directly and "support" strategies which are used to help the
learner to maintain a suitable cognitive climate. The primary
set includes strategies for acquiring and storing the information
and strategies for subsequently outputting and using the stored
information. Networking forms the basis for these primary
strategies. During acquisition the student identifies important
concepts or ideas in the material and represents their inter-
relatiOnships in the form of a network map. To assist the
1 student in this endeavor s/he is taught a set of named links
that can be used to code the relationships between ideas. The
networking processes emphasize the identification and represen-
tation of(a) hierarchies (type/part),(b) chains (lines of reasoning/temporal orderings/causal sequences), and (c) clusters
440 451
(characteristics /definitions /analogies). Figure 4 is a
schematic representation of these three types of structures and
their associated links and Figure 5 is an example of a summary
map of a mursing textbook chapter. Application of this technique
results in the production of structured two-dimensional maps.
These cognitive networks provide the student with a spatial organization of the information contained in the original training materials. While constructing the map, the student is encouraged to paraphrase and/or draw pictorial representations of the important ideas and concepts for inclusion in the netwQrk.
When faced with a: .est or a task in which the learned in-
formation is to be used, the student is trained to use the named links as retrieval cues and the networking procets as a method for organizing the material prior to responding. Assessments of networking (Holley et al., 1979; Dansereau et al., 1979h) have shown that students using this strategy perform significantly. better on text processing tasks than do students using their own methods.
A second major aspect 9f the primary strategies is the use of knowledge schemata for organizing an(9 retrieving information.
These schemata specify the set of categories of information a well - informed learner should know about a particular topic. As an example, the following categories of informationabout a scientific theory were gleaned from questionnaires administered to students at a variety of educational levels:
1. Desurption -- A short summary of the theory.
2. Inventor/History -- A brief account of the theory'shistory. 452
3. Consequences -- A summary of how the theory has influ- enced man.
4. Evidence'-- A summary of facts which support or refute the theory.
5. Other4Theories -- A summary of theories dealing wit) the same phenomena. (
6. X-tra Information -- An open category which includes any information not in one of the other 5 categories.
In an independent evaluation of the effects of knowledge schema training, Brooks and Dansereau (Note 3) found that this type of training significantly improved performance'on a delayed essay test over a 2,500-word passage on the theory of plate tectonics. The major component of the support strategies is concentra- tion. management. This component, which is designed to help the student set and maintain constructive moods for studying and task performance, consists of a combination of elements from systematic desensitization (Jacobsen, 1938; Wolpe, 1969), rational behavior therapy (Ellis, 1963, Maultsby, 1971) ,and therapies based on positive self-talk (Meichenbaum & Goodman,
1971; Meichenbaum & Turk, Note 16). The students arefirst given experiences and strategies designed to assist them in becoming aware of the negative andpositive emotions, self-talk, and images they generate in facing a learning task. They are then instructed to evaluate the constructiveness'of their internal dialogue and/regiven heuristics for making appropriate modi- fications.
44/ 453
In preparing for studying or testing sessions students
report that they usually spend little or no conscious effort establishing constructive moods. To remedy this situation
the student is trained on a technique that forms the basis of
systematic desensitization: imagination of the target situation during relaxation. More specifically, the students are
instructed to spend 2 to 3 minutes relaxing and then imagining
their actions as they proceed through a productive study or
test session. To help them maintain the resulting mood they
are given experiences and techniques to assist them in deter- mining when, how, and why they get distracted, the duration of
their distraction periods, and their typical reactions to dis- ('J traction. They are then trained to cope with distractions by
using' relaxation and positive self-talk and imagery to reestablish
an appropriate learning state.
This particular combination of concentration management
strategies has been shown to lead to significantly better per-
formance on text processing tasks in comparison to students
using their own methods (Collins et al., 1981). These strat-
egies have been supplemented by training on goal-setting, sched-
uling, and monitoring (see Dansereau et al., 197?), to form
the support strategy component of the program.
Overall evaluations of this program (e.g., Dansereau et al.,
1979a and b) have shown that it facilitates the learning of
scientific text andti consequently, should facilitate the transfer
of acquired knowledge from one situation to another. 454 Educatie
Many teaching and testing methods implicitly encourage
rote memorization by specifying exactly what must be learned, rewarding verbatim answers on tests, and putting little emphasis on the development of relationships between incoming and stored information. ROte memorization usually involves multiple readings of the material with little or no effort devoted to assimilating the information. Therefore, the material learned through this method usually is not meaningfully related to other stored information, which limits the facility with which such information can be 'retrieved and used at a later date. Such a strategy, although perhaps useful in our present. educational $ environments, is very maladaptive in many job situations, where understanding is far more important than mere storage. Although the limitations of rote memorization have been emphasized, the same arguments probably apply to a large number ofother strategies developed by students to cope with a teaching-oriented education. By not stressing learning strategies, educators, in essence, discourage students'from developing and exploring new strategies, and, in so doing, limit students' awareness of their cognitive capabilities. For example, the results of the administration of an extensive learning strategy inventory (Dansereau, Long,
McDonald, & Actkinson, 1975a) indicate that even good college students have very little knowledge of alternative learning tec4iques. This lack of awareness obviously limits an indi- vidual's ability in a situation requiring new learning strat- egies. In addition, if the strategies that individuals have
elitj 455
spontaneously adopted do not match their cognitive capabilities,
the emotional toll may be very 'Large. Most of us know individuals who spend inordinate amounts of time memorizing college or high
school materials and are still barely "getting by." Such an
individual's personal, intellectual, and social development must certainly suffer from the pressures created by this use of a relatively inefficient learning strategy.
The answer to this situation is clear: Educators should be redirecting at least some of their efforts to the development and training of appropriate learning strategy skills. It is suggested that srtch training include an emphasis on both primary and support strategies. In particular, the strategies should be focused on creating integratedknowledge structures that would facilitate subsequent transfer (see the Introduction for a discussion of Gagne & White's 1978 formulations of integrated knowledge structures). The networking and knowleege schema strategies discussed earlier should provide good bases for the creation o2 integrated knowledge structures. 456
SECTION VI: EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS OF TRANSFER-RELATED RESEARCH
Introduction In this section teaching and learning principles that
appear to have potential for facilitating transfer. from one
situation to another will be discussed. Only rarely will an
attempt be made to distinguish between the effects of these
principles on the normally hearing and the hearing impaired. In most cases the. implementation procedures and the epeCted
outcomes would be the same for both populations. However, to provide a focus the discussion will be related to instructional practices that are similaro-lhose applicable at the National
Institute for the Deaf in Rochester, New York. In the main introduction to this paper the importanceof
examining the role of the learner/performer in the transfer
situation was emphasized (see Figure 1). In particular, it was suggested that instructional practices should bedesigned to assist the individual in developing and using integrative
memory structures (interrelatedpropositions, images, episode
and skills). The remainder of the paper has examined research
on principles thathave potential for facilitating this process situations: content to content. . in four types of transfer skills to skills, content to skills, skills to content. Content
to content transfer wouldpredominate in transfer between and
within content courses; skillsto skills transfer would occur
between and withinskiils-oriented technical courses, as well as between skills courses and a jobsituation; content to skills
451 457
transfer would predominate between content and skills courses;
and skills to content transfer would occur between supplementary
learning problem solving courses and content courses. Although the instructional principles relevant to these four transfer areas vary to some extent, their commonalities far outweigh their differences. Further, in most real-world instructional systems, there is a greater blending of skills and content within courses then is portrayed by the simple classification tnat has been used to subdivide transfer-related research.
Consequently, in this section this classification scheme will be abandoned in order to provide a different perspective on how these principles might be applied. For additional informa- tion, the reader is referred back to the summaries at the end of each of the erevious four sections.
Implications of the transfer-related research :or teaching methods, development of instructional materials and use of
supplementary courses in learning and problem solving will be described in the following subsections.
Development of Instructional Materials
One of the major findings emerging from this review is tl,e apparent importance of supplementary materials (e.g., advance organizers, adjunct questions) in facilitating retention and
transfer. It is suggested that these materials act as bridges between the student's knowledge structures andlearning/perform-
ance situations. The results of research with these types of materials are sufficient to warrant their extensive usein
educational settings. Adjunct post questions and advance organ-
45,!, 458
izers should be developed to bridge the "gaps" between ukits of
instruc-./.on and between courses. One extension of this approach would be to pre-test students and provide different supplementary
material depending on their existing knowledge. The development
of these types of materials will require someone ',rho is knowledge-
able about broad sections of the curriculum as well as the
knowledge bases of the participating students.
It would seem likely that procedures for evaluating students
could be easily incorporated within a "bridging" system. This
would require the development of tests that included transfer-
oriented questions (i.e., high level adjunct questions, see
Table 1). These types of questions would not only be useful in
evaluating students' current states of trans'ferable knowledge,
but would also serve to positively direct the students'
learning processes.
In addition to developing a supplementary "bridging"
system, some of the research suggests that courses 'and series of
courses should. be sequenced from general concepts andprinciples
to specific details and examples. This approach, which has
been advOcated by Norman (1973) and Thorndyke (1977), presumes
an expository mode of teaching.iHowever,.under some conditions,
it pay be more effective to encourage discoverylearning/which
tends to 4,mply a specific to general sequence of instruction.
This issue will be discussed further in the next subsection.
As a final point, the research suggests that there should
be considerable benefits ;Issociatedwith concretizing and
simplifying instructional materials. This: implies a liberal 459
use of pictures anddiagrams and a reduction in vocabularyle'vel
and syntax complexity. Attempts by the military (Sticht & Zapf, 1976) to accomplish these goals with theirtechnical
training materials should provide usefulguidelines for more general implementations. 'However, it should be notedthat re-writing text is not a substitute for teachingstudents
effective strategies. Rather, both approaches should be
undertaken in concert.
Teaching Methods As stated earlier the evidence fromthe research on different
teaching methods would suggest that anomnibus approach to in-
struction is ill-advised. Rather, instructional method should
be tailored to fit the desiredlearning outcomes and theindi-
vidual aptitudes, styles, and preferencesof the learners.For
example, discovery (trial and error)learning methods would be
most usdrul in establishing abasis for "far" transfer with field independertearners, while expository(guided) teaching
methods would be more effective inpromoting "near" transfer
with field dependent students. Since it has been found that
hearing impaired students tend tobe more field dependent than
hearing students (Paras is & Long,1979), it would seem reasonable
to emphasize expositoryteaching methods and to attempt to 471 increase the similarity ("nearness")between the training and
transfer tasks in technical programsfor the: hearing impaired.
Where further transfer isrequired, a combination if discovery
and expository methods maybe useful. Singer and Pease (1976)
found that this type of combinationapproach was equal to a pure 460
discovery learning condition in its effects on retention and
transfer performance. These authors conclude that at least a
partial discovery instructional methodology should be used ina
learning situation which does not allow for the total use of
discovery methods (trial and error).
Regardless of the, type of teaching method employed, the
-review of the.literature by Gagne and White (1978) indicates
that, wherever possible, concepts and principles should be
preSented redundantly in the form of propositions, images,
episodes, and skills. Further attempts should be made by
the teacher to illustrate the interrelat onship between these
bodies of information.
SupplementarCourses in Learnina and Problem Solvin It is clear that many students can benefit from skill and
strategy training courses. Consequently, these types of courses
should be integrated within existing curricula. The'training
programs reviewed in previous sections of this papershould
provide a good starting place fcr the development of courses
designed to meet the needs of specific curricula. It is sugoested
that, if possible, the skills and strategy programs should )-,e
run in' parallel with regular content courses. In this way
strategies can be reinforced by content course instructions,
and content course information can be used as thebasis for
practice materials within the skills and strategy programs.
General Conclusions The review of transfer related research hasindicated
that the retention and transfer of information cEmnhe enhanced 461 by manipulating the instructional materials, employing effective teaching methods; and by instituting supplementary looming/ problem solving courses. It is suggested that a concerted effort be made to implement changes in all three of these areas in order to maximize the impact on educational outcomes. 462
TABLE 1 Tipesof Questions Used in Adjunct Questions Studie's T) pc Description andStudies Factual Questions All studies compact higher order questions to some type of factual question. Factual Questions typically asked the trader to supplyor recognize some item of information given in the passage. Factual questions are typically primarily verbatim as defined by Anderson (1972). Typet., of information requested have included names, numbers, dates. definitions, terms, etc': Paraphrased Questions Paraphrased questions are factual questions written with no substantive word overlap between text and question. Ander- son and Biddle (1975), Andre & Womack (1978).and. and Sols (1976). General Questions General questions are factual questions which refer to more than one text sentence.Theyare usually verbatim in nature.Frase (1968). Application Question% Application questions require students to select a new example of a concept of principle employed in the text from among alternatives. Andre (Note 10). Dapra & Felker (Note 7). Moore (Note 8). Shavelson et al (1974), Watts & Anderson 11971). Meaningful Learning Thesequestions require a reader to stale a relationship between Questions or elements of the passage that is implied but not explicitly stated Inference Questions in the passage. Frew (1969a. h. 1970a, b; 1972), Frase and Selbiger (1970), McKenzie (1972), Rickards (1976a, b), ards and Hatcher (Note 2). Rickards and DiVeste (1974), Watts (1974). Higher-Order Questions, Usually defined as being above the memory level of the Bloom Analysis Questions. et a1 (1956) Taxonomy or at some specific kvel of theTax- and Evaluation onomy rad not further defined. Allen (1970), Hunkins(1969). Questions McConkie et al (1973). Shavetson etM.... at (1974).
Table *3_ of T. Andre's "DoesAnswering
High-level Questions WhileReading Faclitate ProductiveLearning?",
Review of EducationalResearch, 1979, 49(2), pp. 280-318. Copyright D. C. 1979, kmerican EducationalResearch Association, Washington, / Reprinted by permission.
Nq 45/ 463
Figure Captions
Figure 1. Transfer
Figure 2. Diagram illustrating interrelations and memory structures and performance outcomes.
Figure 3. Four typeS of transfer.
Figure 4. Hierarchy, chain, and cluster structures. Figure 5. Summary map of a nursing textbook chapter. INITIAL LEARNING TRANSFER SITUATION SITUATION COMPARE/CONTRAST
LEARNER TASK LEARNER TASK CHARACTERISTICS CHARACTERISTICS CHARACTERISTICS CHARACTERISTICS
RELEVANT MEMORY REVISED MEMORY STRUCTURES STRUCTURES MATERIALS Knowledge Skills I"" Knowledge Skills MATERIALS INSTRUCTIONAL VARIABLES INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES VARIABLES REVISED Conte" ' dependent STRATEGIES RETRIEVAL CUES and Specific
ASSESS ASSESS
4 5:1 4 465
pcnronuo.Nce OUTCOME mtmonr AtrtucTLma
omowLrorx mama
RULE ArrucATioN
Figure #2 from Gagne, R. M. Memory structures and learning outcomes. Review of Educational Research,1978, 48(2), 187-222. Reprinted ET permission. 466
I CONTENT TO CONTENT
(GENEPAL PSYCH TO ABNORMAL PSYCH)
SKILLS TO SKILLS
(RIDINn PICYCLE TO DR!VIr( CAR)
CoNTrNT To SK1LL
(LEAPNINS ABOUT CCMPUTEPS TO LEARNING TO PonGRAM)
FaLc TO CONTENT
(CONSTRUCTION OF ELECTRONIC CIRCUITS TO ELECTRONIC THEORY)* Part (of) Link Key Woros The content in a lower node is part of the object, process, is a part of idea or concept contained in a is a segment of higher node. is a portian of
/-11.1M.V....1M, 11*coanw Type (of)/ Ea Words Example (of) Link The content in a lower node is a member or example of the class is a type of or category of processes, ideas, is in the category concepts, or objects contained is an example of in a higher node. is a kind of Three procedures (private) are
CHAIN STRUCTURES ea ,s to Link eyWords The object, process, idea, or (practice) concept in one node leads to leads to or results in the object, pro- results in 1 cess, idea, or concept in causes another node. is a tool of fection)= produces CLUSTER. STRUCTURES Analogy Link Eey Words The object, idea, process, or concept in one node is analogous is similar to u) to, similar to, corresponds to, is analogous to or is like the object, idea, is like process, or.concept in another corresponds to node.
Characteristic Key Words Link The object, idea, process, or concept in one node is a trait, has aspect; quality, feature, attri- is characterized y bute, detail, or characteristic feature is of the object. idea, proces, or property is concept in another node. trait is aspect is attribute is
Evidence Link Key Words The object, idea; process, or roken kc-ray concept in one node provides indicates arm e evidence, facts, data, support, illustrated by proof, documentation, confirm- demonstrated by ation for the object, idea, pro- supports cess or concept in another node. documents is pro of confirms Discussion
of Wounds ear tiss5 is weak t 11 -----,---i take steps to close accidental process.of minimize _scars wound healing no break break in p skin in skin only for ibroplasi contractio therapeutic hase hase purposes
--incision (sharp cutting '7st,ument) blood and granulation small blood serum form tissues (fibro- vessels dis- --abrasion (scraping or rubbing) fibrin net- blasts and small appear and work (scab) blood vessels) scar shrinks --puncture/stab (nail, bullet) grow along fibrin network and grad- --laceration (blunt instrument) ually aLsorb it
[epithelial /I cells grow may occur in in from any combination edges is T------continuity Soft, pink, \ and friable 46i 46) 469
Reference Notes
1. Carroll, J. B. Learning from verbal discourse in educa- ti9nal media: A review of theITTeTature. (ETSRB-71-61). Princeton, N. J.: Educational Testing Service, October 1971.
2. Fredrick, W. C. A comparison of verbal statement, symbolic notation, and figural representation of programmed structural ,grammar. Paper presented at the Amer-I-Can Educational Research Association, Los Angeles, February 1969.
3. Brooks, L. W., & Dansereau, D. F. Knowledge schema training, field dependence, and descriptive Inot-e processing. Manuscript submitted for pubfration, 1980.
4. Dapra, R. A., & Felker, D. B. Effects of comprehension and verbatim adjunct questions on problem-solving ability from prose material: Extension of the matnemagenic hipotheiri:
Paper presented at the Annual Convention of the American . Psychological Association, New Orleans, 1974.
5. Snow, R. E., Shuell, T. J., & Marshalek, B. Individual differences in learning related processes: A prospectus. Unpublished manuscript, Stanford University, 1975.
6. Driver, M. Conceptual structure and group processes .n an internotion simulation. Part one: The perception of simu- lated motions. Educational Testing Service Research Bulletin, RB62-15, 1962.
7. Saloman, G. Training for response uncertainty. Paper presented at the 76th Annual Convention of the American Psychological Association. San Francisco, 1968.
8. Witkin, H. A. , Oltman, P. K., Cox, P. W. ,Ehrlichman E., Hamm, R. M., & Ringler, R. W. Field dependence-independence and s cholo ical differentiation. Educational Testing Service Research RB-73-62, 1973.
9. Beller, E. K. Methods of language training and cognitive styles in :,)wer class children. Paper presented at the meeting of the Aian Educational Research Association, New York, February, 1967.
10. Scott, N., & Sigel, I. E. Effects of inquiry training in physical science on creativity and cognitive styles of elementary ia-661 children. Research Report for United States Office of Education, 1965.
11. Witkin, H. A., Moore, C. A. ,Goodenough, D. R. ,& Cox, P. W. rielobtependent and field-independent cognitive styles and their educational implications. (Research Bulletin 75-24) Educational Testing Service, 1975.
46o 470
12. Green, A. M., Green, E. E., & Walters, E. D. Brain grave training, imagery, creativity and integrative IRTE17:7FFis. Paper presented at-FE-e-FiFgE71Fritia-155nTEF on BiolTdaback for Counseling, Education, and Psychotherapy, V. A. Huspital Topeka, Kansas, 1973.
13. Russell, D. G. Location cues and the generation of movelent. Paper presented at the NaTal Convention of the North American Society for the Psychology of Sport and Physical Activity, Anaheim, Calif., 1974.
14. McConkie, G. W., Rayner, K., & Mayer, B. J. Manipulating_ reading strategies through pay-off conditions. Unpublished manuscript, Cornell UniversiTiTTT71.
15. Bauman, D. J., & Glass, G. V. The effect on learning of the position of an organizer. Paper presented at the meetiTig of the American Educational Research Association, Los Angeles, February, 1969.
16. Meichenbaum, D. H.,& Turk, D. The cognitive-behavioral management of anxiety, anger, and pain. Paper presented at the Seventh Banff International Conference on Behavior Modification, Canada, May 1975. 471
References
Adams, J. A. A closed-loop theory of motor learning. Journal of Motor Behavior, 1971, 3, 111-150.
Adams, H. E., & Vidulich, R. N. Dogmatism and belief congru- ence in paired-associate learning. Psychological Reports, 1962, 10, 41-94.
Alabiso, F. Operant control of attention behavior: A treatment for hyperactivity. Behavior Therapy, 1975, 6, 39-42.
Allen, M. S. 1121-2/12.11.1gigal creativity. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice-Hall, 1962.
Allen, K. Some effects of advance organizers and levels of questions on the learning and retention of writtensocial studies materials. Journal of Educational Psychology,1970,
61 (5) , 333-339.
Anderson, J. R., & Bower, G. H. Human associative memory. Washington, D. C.: Winston, 1T-727
Anderson, R. C. Control of student mediating processesduring verbal learning and instruction. Review of Educational 'Research, 1970, 40(3), 345.-369.
Anderson, R. C.& Biddle, W. B.1On asking'people questions 'about what they are reading..In G. Bower.(Ed.), Psychology of lea.fnin and motivation (Vol. 9). New York: Academic Press, 1975. 4 Anderson, R. CO, & Hidde, J. L. Imagery and sentence learning. Journal of Educational Psychology,1971, 62, 526-530. Andersor, R. C. Pichert, J. W., Goetz, E. T.,Schallert, D. L., Stevens, K. V., & Trollip, S. R. Instantiation of general terms. Journal of Verbal Learning &Verbal Behavior, 15, 667-679, 1976.
Anderson, R. C., Reynolcs, R. E.,Schallert, D. L., & Goetz, E. T. Frameworks fot comprehencLng discourse. American Educational Research Journal, 1977, 14,367-381.
Anderson, R. C., Spiro, R. J., &Anderson, M. C. Schemata as scaffolding for the representationof informatiFF37T--- connectecraiiEaurse.Tfech. Rep. 2T Urbana,Irl.: Univer- sity of fllinois atUrbana-Champaign, Center for the Study of Reading, March 1977.
Anderson, T. H. Anderson, R. C.Dalgaard, B., Paden, D., Biddle, w., Surber, J., & Alessi, S. An experimental evaluationof a computer based study managementsystem. Educational Psycholo- gist. 1975, 11, 184-190. 472
Andre, T. Does answering high-level questionswhile reading facilitate productive learning?Review of Educational Research, 1979, 49(2), 280-318. 5171317/FigST I979, American Educational Research Association, Washington, D. C.
Atkin, J. M. Behavioral objectives in curriculum design: A cautionary note. 'The Science Teacher, 1968,35, 2730.
Ausubel, D. P. The Efychology of meaningful verballearning. New York: Grune & Stratton,1963.
Ausubel, D. P. Educational psychology: A Rognitive view. New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston, 1968.
Ausubel, t. P. In defense of advance organizers: A- reply to the critics. Review of Educational Research, Spring,1978, 48(2), 251-257.
Ausubel, D. P., & Fitzgerald, D. The role of discriminability in meaningful verbal learning andretention. Journal of Educatioial Psychology, 1961, 52, 266-274.
Ausubel, D. P , & Youssef, M. The effect of consolidation on sequentially related, sequentially independentmeaningful learning. Journal of General Psychology, 1966,74(2), 335-.7'60.
Barnes, B. R.,& Clawson, E. W. Do advance organizers facili- tate learning? Recommendations for further researchbased on an analysis of32 studies. Review of Educational Research, 1975, 45, 637-659.
Barrett, G. V., & Thornton, D. L. Cognitive style,differences between engineers and college students. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 1967, 25, 789-793.
Barrett, G. V., & Thornton, C. L. Relationship between percep- tual style and driver reaction to an emergencysituation. Journal of Applied ychology,1968, 52, 169-176.
Bartlitt, F. Thinking: An experimental and socialstudy. Loi,lon: Allen & Unwin, 1958.
Beighley, K. C. Experimental study of the effect of four speech variables on listenercomprehension. afech Mono- grlphs, 1952, 19, 249-258.
Belcastro, F.T.Relative effectivenessof the inductive and deductive methods of programmingalgebra. Journal of Exrer- 'imental Education, Spring,1966, 34(3), 77-82.
Benfari, R., & Vitale, P. Relationship between vertical orienta- tion in the rod and frame testand in a compensatory tracking task. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 1965,20, 1073-1080.
46:j 473 Berg, K. S.& Stone, G. L. Modeling and instructional effects as a function of conceptual level. Canadian Journal of Behavioral Science/Revue canadiennedes Sciences dusmportsmenL. 10(2), 19787-1177-f6T7
Berry, G., Pr her, D., & Jones, G. Effect of prompting and feedback on the learning ofa perceptual skill. proceedings of the 79th Annual Convention of theAmerican Psychological AssEiEration,-19771, .ET5Tff=T57.
Bieri, J. Category width as a measure of discrimination. Journal of Personality, 1969, 37, 513-521.
Biggs, J. B. Faculty patterns in study behavior. Australian Journal of Each21221, 1970, 22(2), 16 -173. (aT----7---- Biggs, J. B. Personality correlates of certain dimensions of study behavior. Alstralian Journal of Psychology, 1970, 22(3), 27 -297. (b)'
Bledsoe, J. C. Purser, J. D..,& Frantz, N. R. Effects of manipulative activities on arithmetic achievement and retention. Eatta1aiL2(21 Reports, 1974, 35, 247-252.
Sodden, J. L., OsterhoUse, R.,& Gelso, C. The value of a study skills'inventory for feedback and crit .ionpurposes in an educational skillscourse. Journal of Educational Research, 1972, 65(7), 309-311.
Bormuth, J. R. Readability: A rew approach. Reading Research Quarterly, 1966, 1.(3) 79-132.
Bourne, L. E., Jr. Factors affecting strategies used in problems of concept formation. American Journal of Psvchylogy, 1963, 76, 229-238.
Bower, G. H. How to ...uh...remerber: Psychology Today, 1973, 7, 62-67. sower, G. H. Cognitive psychology: An introduction. In W. Y. Estes (Ed.), Handbook of leailing and cognitive processes (Vol. 1). Hillsdale, N. J.: Erlbaum Associates, 1975.
Bower, G. H., & Reitman, J. S. ixemonic elaboration in multilist learning. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 1972', 11, 478-485.
Bransford, J. D., & Johnson, M. K. Considerations of soke problems of comprehension. In W. G. Chase (Ed..), Visual information processing. New York: Academic PressT-177,
Priggs, R. D., Tos:L, D. J., & Morley, P.M. Study habit modi- fication and its effect on academic, performances: A behavioral approach. Journal of Educational Research, 1971, 64(8), 347-350. 1! 74
Brown, W. F.,& HoPy2man, W. H. Survey of stuff habitsand attitudes. Form C. New York: The Psychological Corporation, 1966.
Brown, A. L., Smiley, S. S.,Day, J. D., Townsend, M. A. R., & Lawtor. S. C. Intrusion of a thema;-',c idea inchildren's comprehension .] retention of stories. Child Development, 1977, 47(2), 1454-1466.
Brown, W. F., Weber N. D. , Zunker, V. G., & Haslam, W. L. Effectiveness of student to studentcounseling on the aca- demic adjustment of potential collegedropouts. JoL nal of Educational Psychology, 1971, 62,285-289.
Bruininks, R. H. Auditory and visual perceptualskills related to the reading performanceof disadvantaged boys. Perceptual )011 and Motor Skills, 1969, 29,179-186.
Bruner, J.S. Towardatheory of instruction. Cambridge; Harvard University Press, 1966.
Bruner, J.S. , Goodnow, J. J., &Austin, G. A. Astudy of thinking. New York: Wiley, 1956. Butterfield, E. C., Belmont, J. M,, &Peltzman, D.J. Effects of recall requirement onacquisition strategy. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1971,9'0(2), 347-348.
Caldwell, V. R., Schroder, D.B. , Michael, W. B., & Meyers,C. E. Structure of intellect measuresand other tests as predictors of success in tenth-gradegeometry. Educational and Psycholog- ical Measurement, 1970, 30,437-441. function of recall expec- Cermak, L. S. Rehearsal strategy as a tation. Quarterly Journal.of Experimental'psychology, 1972, 24, 378 -385.
Claurich, N. C. Cognitive and motivationcharacteristics asso- ciated with concrete and abstractlevel of conceptual corn- -ire-My. Joint ONR-471TNIMH Report, PrincetonUniversity, 1964. four Cody, M. An investigation ofthe relative effectivensss of modes of iLelsfIllin2 meaningfuliitiFial to twelfth grade students. DoctoraltdisSertation, Fordham LITIT177e711-ty, 1962, Ann Arbor, Mich.: University Microfilm, 1962, No.62-3759.
Coletan, J. S., Campbell, E. Q.,Hobson, C. J., McPartland, Mood, A. M., infeld, F. D.,& York, R.L. Equality of educational o ortunit Washington, D. C., United States Government Printing Office,1966.
Collins, K. W., Dansereau, D. F.,Holley, C. D., & McDonald, B. A. Control of concentrationduring academic tasks. Journal or Educational Psychology, 1981,73(1), 122-128.
471 Covington, M. V., Crutchfield, R. S. , Davis, L. , & Olton, R. M. The productive thinking program: A course in learning to think. Columbus, Ohio: Merrill, 1974.
Crutchfield, R. S. Creative thinking in children: Its teaching and testing. In O.G. Brim, R.S. Crutchfield, & W. H. Holtzman (Eds.), Intelligence: Persp22111121, 1965. New York: Harcourt: Brace, Jovanovich, 1966.
Crutchfield, R. S., Woodworth, D. C., & Albrecht, R. E. Percep- tual performance and the effective person. WADC-TN-58060, ASTIR Doc. No. AD 151-039, 1958.
Danner, F. W., & Taylor, A. M. Integrated pictures and relational imagery training in children's learning. Journal of Experi- mental Child Psychology, 1973, 16, 47-54.
Dansereau, D. F. The development of a learning strategy curric- ulum. In H. F. O'Neil, jr., (Ed.), Learning _strategies. New York: Academic Press, 1978.
Dansereau, D. F., Actkinson, T. A., Long, G. L., & McDonald, B. A. Learning strategies: A review and synthesis of the current literature (AFHRL-TR-74-70, Contract F41609-74-C-0013). Lowry Air Force Base, Colorado: Air Force Human Resources Laboratory, 1974. (AD-07722)
Dansereau, D. F., Collins, K. W., McDonald, B. A. ,Garland, J. C. Holley, C. D. ,Evans, S. H., & Diekhoff, M. Learning strategy training materials: A selected subset. AFFIRL-TR- 78-64, Lowry Air Force Base, Colorado: Air Force Human Resources Laboratory, Technical Training Division, September, 1978. (AD-062739)
Dansereau, D. F., Collins, K. W. ,McDonald, B. A., Holley, C. D., Garland, J., Diekhoff, G. M., & Evans, S. H. Development and evaluation of an effective learning strategy prog.t.am. Journal of Educational psysholay, 1979, 71(1), 64-73. (a)
Dansereau, D. F. , Evans, S. H., Wright, A.D., Long, G. L., & Actkinson, T. A. Factors related to qevelcpin instructional information sequences: Phase I. (AF:RL-TR-63-51 (I)) Lowry Air Force Base, Colorado T--Air Force Human Resources Labora- tory, Technical Training Division, March, 1974. (NTIS NO. AD 777-832)
Dansereau, D. F., Long, G. L., Evans, S.H. , & Actkinson, T. R. Objective ordering of instructional material using multi- dimensional scaling. Journal of Structural Learning, 1980(6), 299-314.
Dansereau, D. F., Long, G. L., McDonald, B. A., & Actkinson, T. R. Learning strategy inventory development and assessment (AFHRL- TR-75-40, Contract F41609-74-C-0013). Lowry Air Force Base, Colorado: Air Force Human Resources Laboratory, 1975.
(AD -4%01472) (a) 476
Dansereau, D. F., Long, G. L., McDonald, B. A., Actkinson, T. R., Ellis, A. M., Co-lins, K. W., Williams, S., & Evans, S. H. Effective learning strategy trainer program: Devel2p2ent and assessment (AFHRL-TR-75-41, Contract F41609-74-77- Lowry Air Force Base, Colorado: Air Force Human Resources Laboratory, 1975. (AD-A014722) (b)
Dansereau, D. F., Long, G. L., McDonald, B. A., Actkinson, T. R., Collins, K. W., Evans, S. H. Ellis, A. M., & Williams, S. Learning strategy training program: paraphrasina Etutlay far effective learning. AFHRL- TR- 75 -46, Final Report, Con- tract F41609-74-C-0013, Air Force Systems Command, Brooks Air. Force Base, Texas, June, 1975.. (AD-A014-723} (c)
Dansereau, D. F., et al. Learning strategy trainim pro ram: Visual imagery for effective learning, (AF.HRL-TR-75-47, Final Report, Contract F41609-74-C-0013, Air Force Systems CoMmand Brooks Air Force Base, Texas, June 1975. (AD-A014-724) ;c3)
Dansereau, D. F., et al. Learning strateav training program;.. Questions and answers for effective learntna. AFHRL-TP-75-48, Final Report, Contract F41609-74-C-0013, Air Force Systems Command, Brooks Air Force Base, TOcas,'June 1975. (AD-A014- 725) (e)
Dansereau, D. F., McD nald, B. A., Collins, K. W., Garland, J. C., Holley, C. D., Di Koff, G., & Evans, S. H. Development and evaluation of a learning strategy System. In H. F. O'Neil, Jr. & C. D. Spielberger (Eds.), unitive and affectivelearning strategies. New York: Academic Press, 1979. (b)
Davis, G. A., Houtran, S. E., Warren, T. R., & Roweton, W. E. A program for training creative thinking: I. Preliminary._ field test. Wisconsin Research and Development Center for Cognitive Learning and the Department of Educational Psy- chology, University of Wisconsin, 1969.
Davis, W. L., & Phares, E. J. Internal-external control as determinants of information-seeking in a social influence situation. Journal of Personality, 1967, 35, 547-561.
Dawson, D. T., &Ruddell, A. K. An experimental approach to the division idea. The Arithmetic Teacher, 1955, 2, 6-9.
DeCaro, J. J. A hierarchy of skills as an organiztional aid in a programmed instruction sequence with deaf persons. Doctoral dissertation, Syracuse University, 1977. Disserta- tion Abstracts International 38108A, p. 4674.
DelGioLno, W., Jenkins, J. R., & Bausell, R. B. Effects of recitation in the acquisition of prose. Journal of Educational Research, 1974, 67, 293-294. 477
Dentler, R. A., & Mackler, B. Originality: Some social and Behavioral Science, 1964, 9, 1-7. personal determinants. anOlawl M100.40= DeRussy, E. AO, & Futch, E. Field dependence-independence as related to college curricula. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 1971, 33, 1235-1237.
DiVesta, F. J., Gchultz, C. B., & Dangel, R. Passage organ- ization and imposed learning strategies in comprehension and recall of connected discourse. Mmay and 2aaailjan, 1973, 1, 471-476.
Doebler, L. K.,fi Eicke, F. J. Effects of teacher awareness of the educational implication of field-dependent/field- independent cognitive style on selected classroom variables. Journal of Educational Psychology, 1979, 71(2), 226-232.
Dubin, R.,& Taveegia, T. C. The teachim-learnia paradox. Eugene: University of Oregon Press, 1968.
Duncan, C. P. Descriptions of learning to learn in human sub- jects. American Journal of Psychology, 1960, 73, 108-114. Dunham, J. L., Builford, J. P., & Hoepfner, R. Multivariate approaches to discovering the intellectual componentsof concept learning. Psycholosical Review, 1968, 75, 206-221.
Dwyer, F. M., Jr. Adapting visual illustrations for effective learning. Harvard Educational Review, 1967, 37, 250-263. Eagle, M., Goldberger, L., & Breitman, M. Field dependence and memory l'or social vs. neutral and relevant vs.irrelevant incidental stimuli. Percepttial and Motor. Skills, 1969, 29, 903-910.
Egan, D. E.,& Greeno, J. G. Acquiring cognitive structure by discovery and rule learning. Journal of Educational pchology, 1973, 64, 85-97.
Eisner, E. W. Educational objectives. Help or indrance. School Review, 1967, 75, 251-282.
Ellis, A. Reason and emotion in pugh2thtEmy. Aew York: Lyle Stuart, 1963.
Ernst, G. W., & Hewell, A. GPS: A case stugy in Eenerality and E/1211em solving. New York: Academic Press, 1969.
,stew, W. K. The state of the field: General problems and issues of theory and metatheory. In W. K. Estes (Ed.), Handbook of learning and cognitive processes(Vol. 1). Hillsdale, New Jersey: Erlbaum Associates, 1975. 478
Fennema, E.H. The relative effectiveness of a symbolic and a concrete model in learning a selected mathematicalprinciple. Journal for Research in Mathematics Education, 1972, 3, 233-238.
Ferrell, J. F. The differential performance of lower class, preschool, Nulp children as a function of the sex of E, sex of SI reinforcement condition, and level of field dependence. Doctoral dissertation, University of Southern Mississippi, 1971. Dissertation Abstracts International, 1971, 32, 3028B-3929B. (University Microfilms 71-28, 831.)
Fitts, P. M., & Posner, M. I, Human performance. Belmont, California: Brooks/Cole, 1967.
Frase, L.T. Effect of question location, pacing, and mode upon retention of prose material. Journal of Educational Psychology, 1968, 59, 224-248.
Frase, L.T. Paragraph organization of written materials: The influence of conceptual clustering upon level and organiza- tion of recall. Journal of Educational Psychology, 1969. 60, 394-401.
Frame, L.T. Integration of written text. Journal of Educa- tional Psychology. 1973, 65, 252-261.
Gayne, R.M. Curriculum research and promotion of learning, Perspectives of curriculum education. AERA Monograph Series on Curriculum Education: Monograph No 1. Chicago: Rand McNally, 1967.
Gagne, R. M. Domains of learning. Interchange, 1972, 3, 1-8.
Gagne, R. M. The learning basis of teaching methods. In N. L. Gage (Ed.), The pachoLay of teaching meth,Jus. Seventy- fifth Yearbook, National soCiety for the Study of Education, Part I. Chicaao: Clicugo University Press, 1976.
Gagne, R. M. ,& White, R.T. Memory structures and learning outcomes. Review of Educational Research, 1978, 48(2), 187-222. Copyright, 1978, American Educational Research Association, Wash- irgton D.C.
Gardner, R. W. Cognitive styles in categorizing behavior. Journal of Personality, 1953, 22, 214-233.
Gay, L. R. TsEpprid position of reviews and its effectofthe retention of mathiTaTi-Fil rules. Tallahasee: Florida State University Computer-Assisted Instruction Center (Contract N00014-68-A-1494), Persornel and Training Research Program, Office of Naval Research, April 1971. (AD 279-055)
Gerlach, V. S. , Schultz, R. E. , Baker, R. L. , & Mazer, G. E. Effects of variations in directions on originality test response. Journal of Educational P§licholLogy, 1964, 55, 79-83. 479
Ghiselin, B. The creative process. Berkeley, California: University of California Press, 1952. 1 Glaser, R. Objectives and evaluation: An individualized system. Science Education News. American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1967,
Goldman, R., & Warren, R. Discriminant analysis of study strategies connected with college. grade success in different major fields. Journal of Educational Measurement, 1973, 10, 39-47.
Grieve, T. D.,& Davis, J. K. The relationship of cognitive style and method of instruction to performance in ninth grade geography. Journal of Educational Research, 1971, 65, 137-141.
Groninger, L. D. Mnemc.lic imagery and forgetting. Psychonomic Science, 1971, 23(2), 1'.4-163.
Guilford, J. P.,& Hoepfner, R. The analysis of intelligence. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1971.
Guilford, J. P., Hoepfner, R., & Peterson, H. Predictior of achievement in ninth-grade mathematics from measuresof aptitude factors. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 1965, 25, 659-682.
Guthrie, J. T. Instruction versus a discovery method. Journal of Educational Psychology, 1967, 58, 45-49.
Hartley, J., & Davies, L. K. Preinstructional strategies: The role of pretests,, behavioral objectives,overviews, and aavalce organizers. Review of Educational Research, 1976, 46, 239-265.
Hartnett, R. T. Learnina Ltyle preferences among college students. College Entrance ExaminationBoard Research an& Development Reports, RB-73-14, 1973.
Hasiam, W. L4,& Brown,/W. G. Effectiveness of study skilAs instruction for hig school sophomores. Journal of Ed ca- tional paslIalaa, 68, 59, 223-226.
Hersch, P. D., Scheibe, K. G. Reliability and validity of internal-external control as a personalitydimension. Jourl.al of Consulting Psychology.,1967, 31, 609-613.
Hester, F. M., & Tagatz, G. B. The effects of cognitive style and instructional strategy onconcept attainment. Journal of General Psychology, 1971, 85,229-237. 480
Hills, J. R. Factor analyzed abilities and success in college mathematics. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 1957, 17, 615-622.
Holding, D. F. Principles of training. New YOrk: Pergamon, 1965.
Holley, C. D., Dansereau, D. F., McDonald, B. A., Garland, J. C., & Collins, K. W. Evaluation of a hierarchical mapping tech- nique as an aid to prose processing. Contemporary Educational pach2logy, 1979, 4, 227-237.
Houston, J. P. Verbal transfer and interlist Psycholog:cal Review, 1964, 71, 412-414.
Houston, J. P. Transfer as a function of the similarity between first-list stimuli and second-list responses. Journal of Verbal Learnknaand Verbal Behavior, 1966, 5,3W7I237
Hunt, E. We know who knows, but why? In R. C. Anderson, R. J. Spiro, and W. E. Montague ads.), Schooling and the acqui- sition of knowledge, Hillsdale, New Jersey: Erlbaum & Associates, 1977.
Hyman, R. On prior information and creativity. Psychological Reports, 1961, 9, 151-161.
Jacobsen, E. Progressive relaxation. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1938.
Jacobli L. .3. Test appropriate strategies in retentionof categorized lists. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 1973, 12, 675-685.
James, N. E. Personal preference for method as a factor in learnilg. Journal of Educational Psychology, 1962, 53, 43-47. Johnson, D. M., Parrott, G. L., & Stratton, R. P. Production and judgment of solutions to five problems. Journal of Educational Psychology, 1968, 59, (Monograph Supplement No. 6).
Julian, J. W., & Katz, S. B. Internal control and the value of reinforcement. Journal of Personalitz and Social Psychology, 1968, 8, 89-94.
Johnson, R. E. Abstract processes in the remembering of r.ose. Journal of Educational Psychology, 1974,66, 772-779.
Kagan, J., Moss,'H. A., & Sigel, I. G. The psychological sig- nificance of styles of conceptualization. In J. F. Wright and J. Kagans (Eds.), Basic Cognitive Processesin (1ildren. Monograph of the Society for Research in ChildDeve.opment, 1963, 28, 73-112.
47/ 481
Kagan, J., Rosman,'B., Day, D., Albert, J., &Phillips, W. Information processing in the Child: Significance of analytic and reflective attitudes. Psychological Monographs, 1964, 78,(1, Whole No. 578).
Katona, G. Organizing and memol.Lzin . New York: Columbia University Press, 1940.
Kennedy, R. S. The relationship oz field independence, extra- version, and neuroticism to success in navalaviation training. Appendix A. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Universityof Rochester, 1972.
Keogh, B. K., & Donlon, G. McG. Field dependence, impulsivity, and learning disabilities. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 1972, 5, 16-21.
King, D. J. Retention of connected meaningfulmaterial as a function of mode of presentation andrecall. Journal of Experimental Psychology,. 1968, 77, 676-683.
King, D. J., Madill, J. Complex methods of presentation, internal consistency of learningmaterial, and accuracy of written recall. Psychological Reports, 1968, 22,777-782.
Kintsch, W., Kosminsky, E., Streby,W. J., McKoon, G., & Keenan, J. M. Comprehension and recall of text as afunction of con- tent variables. Journal of Verbal Learning andVerbal Be- havior, 1975, 14,-196=214.
Klare, G. R. The measurement ofreadability. Ames, Iowa: Iowa State University Press, 1963.
Klausmeier, H. J., & Meinke, D. L. Concept attainment as a function of instructions concerningthe stimulus material, a strategy, and aprinciple for securing information. Journal of Educational Psychology,1968, 59, 215-222
Fleck, R. E., & Wheaton, J. Dogmatism and responses toopinion- consistent and opinion-inconsistentinformation. Journal of Personality and SocialPsychology, 1967, 5(2), 249-252.
Koestler, A. The act of creation. New York: Macmillan, 1964. Konstadt, N., & Forman, E. Field dependence and externaldirect- 1965, edness. Journal of Personality andSocial Psychology, 1, 490-493. intellectual Lave, J. Tailor-made experimentsand evaluat!ng the .consequences ofapprenticeship training. in Hall & Cole, Child Development, 1977,1, 1-3. 482
Lawton, J..P., & Wanska, J. K. Advance organizers as a teaching strateg': A reply to Barnes & Clawson. Review of Educational Research, 1977, 47, 233-244.
Lee, L. C., Kagan, J., & Rabson, A. The influence of a preference for analytic categorizationupon concept acquisition. Child Development, 1963, 34, 433-442.
Levine, J. R., & Divine- Hawkins,. P. Visual imagery as a prose learning process. Journal of Reading Behavior, 1974, 6, 23-30.
Long, G. L. The development and assessment ofa cognitive process based learning strategy TFETTFIFTproaram. unpublished doctoralMiertation. Texas Christian University, 1976.
Lordahl, D. S. Concept. identification using simultaneous auditory and visual signals. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1961, 62, 283-290.
Lowry, D. H. The effects of mnemonic learning strategieson transfer, interference, and 48-hour retention. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1974, 103(1), 16-20.
Macrae, A. W., & Holding, D. H. Rate and force of guidance in perceptual-motor tasks with reverses or random spatial corres- pondence. Ergonomics, 1966,.9, 289-296.
Mager, R. F. Deriving objectives for the high school curriculum. National Society Programmed Instructional Journal, 1968, 7, 7=1747---
Maier, N. R. F. reasoning in humans. I. On direction. Journal of Comparative Psychology, 1930, 10, 115 -143.
Mansfield, R. S., Busse, T. V.,& Krepelka, E. J. The effective- ness of creativity training. Review of Educational Research, 1978, 48(4), 517-536. artiniuk, R. G. Information processinc in motor skills. Holt, Rinehart, & Winston, New York, 1976.
Maultsby, M. Handbook of rational self- coaching. Madison, Wis- consin: Association for Rational Thinking, 1971.
Mayer, R. E. Acquisition processes and resilience under varying testing conditions of structurally different problem solving procedures. Journal of Educational Psychology, 1974, 66, 644-656.
Mayer, R. E. Foiward transfer of different reading strateg-ies evoked by testlike events in mathematics text. Journal of Educational Psychology, 1975, 67(2), 165-169.
479 483
Mayer, R.E. Information processing variables in learning to solve problems. Review of Educational Research, 1975, 45, 525-541.
Mayer, R. E. Some conditions of meaningful learning for computer programming: Advance organizers and subject control of frame order. Journal.of Educational Psychology, 1976, 68(2). 143-150.
Mayer, R.E. Advande,,organizers that compensate for the organ- * ization of text. Journal of Educational Psychology, December, 1978, 70(6), 880-886.
Mayer, R. E. Qualitatively different encoding strategies for linear reasoning premises:, Evidence for single association and distance theories. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Learning and Memory, January, 1979, 5(1), 1-10.
Mayer, R. E., & Greeno, J. P. Structural differences between learning outcomes produced by different instructional 'methods. Journal of Educational Psychology, 1972, 63, 165-173.
Mayer, R.E. , Stiehl, C. C., t Greeno, J. P. Acquisition of understanding and skill in relation to subjects' preparation and meaningfulness of instruction. Journal of Educatiooal Psychology, 1975, 67, 331-350.
McConkie, G. W., & Meyer, B. J. Investigation ofireading strate- gies: II. A replication of pay-off condition effects. Journal of Reading Behavior, 1974, 6 151-158.
McConkie, G. W., & Rayner, K. Investigation of reading strate- gies: I. Manipulating strategies through pay-off condi- tions. Journal of Reading Behavior, 1974, 6, 9-18.
McConkie, G. W., Rayner, K., & Wilson, J. S. Experimental manipulation of reading strategies. Journal of Educational Psychology, 1973, 65(1), 1-8.
McLeod, D. B., & Adams, V. M. The interaction of field inde- pendence with discovery learning in mathematics. Journal of Experimental Education, Fall, 1979, 48, 32-35.
MeadowA., Parnes, S. J., & Reese, H. Influence of brain- storming instructions and problem sequence on a creative problem solving test. Journal of Applied Psychology, 1959, 43, 413-416.
Meichenbaum, D. H., & Goodman, J. Training impulsive children to talk to themselves: A means of self-control. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 1971, 77, 115-126.
4 o 484
Melton, P. F: Resolution of conflictingclaims concerning the effect of behavioral objectives onstudent learning. Review of Educational Research,Spring 1978, 48(2), 291-302. Messick, S., & Damarin, F. Cognitive style and memoryfor .faces. Journal of Abnormal andSocial Psychology, 1964, 69,313-317.
Meyer, B. J. F. The organization of Eroseand its effects on memor/. Amsterdam: North-Holland Publishing Co.,1975.- In P. Minsky, N. A framework forrepresenting knowledge. Winston (Ed.), The psychologyof computer vision. NewYork: McGraw-Hill, 1975.
Miyake, N., & Norman, D. A. To ask a question, onemust know enough to know what is notknown. Journal of Verbal Learninc and 'Verbal Behavior, 1979,18, 357-364.
Montague, W. E., & Carter,J. F. Vividness of imagery in re- PsVchol- calling connecteddiscourse. Journalof Educational 2a, 1973, 64,72-75.
Mowbray, G. H. Simultaneous vision andaudition: The compre- hension of prose passageswith varying levels ofdifficulty. Journal of ExperimentalPsychology, 1953, 46,365-372. account of some Vunro, A.,& Rigney, J. W. A schema theory cognitive processes incomplex learning. (Tech. Rep..81) Los Angeles: University of SouthernCalifornia, Department of Psychology,'July1977. of questions. Norman, D. A. Memory, knowledge,and the answering. In R. L. Solso(Ed.), Contemporaryissues in cognitive psyr Washington, D. C.: H. cholocry. The Loyola symposium. Winston & Sons, 1973, 135-166. & Archer, C. S. tl-ie first letter mnemonic. Nelson,'D. L., 482-486. Journal of EducationalPsychology, 1972, 63(5), Elements of a theo y Newell, A., Simon,H. A., & Shaw, J.D. 1958, of human problemsolving. Psychological Review, 151-166. Newell, A., Simon, N.A., & Shaw, J. C. Report on a general Proceedings of International problem solving problem. UNESCO, 1960, Conference on InformationProcessing. Paris: 256-264. Developing the skillsof Olton, R. M., &Crutchfield, R. S. 4., Langer, & M.Covington productive thinking. In P. Mussen, developmental eachology. New (Eds.), Trendsand issues in York: Holt, Rinehart, &Winsson, 1969. 485
Osborn, A.F. Applied imagination. New York: Scribners, 1953.
Osgood, C.E. The similarity paradox in human learning: A resolution. Psychological Review, 1949, 16, 1327143.
Owens, J., Dafoe, J., & Bower, G.' Takibg a poin't of view: Character identification and attributional processes An story comprehension and memory. Memory and Cognition, 1979, in press.
Paivo, A. Imagery and verbal processes. New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston, 1971.
Parasnis, I.,& Long, 'G. L. Relationships among spatial skills, communication skills, and field independence in deaf students. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 1979, 49, 879-887.
Passy, R. A. The effect of cuisenaire materials on reasoning and computation. The Arithmetic Teacher, 1963, 10, 439-440.
Patterso , C. J., & Mischel, W. Plans to resist distraction. Developmental Psychology, 1975, 11(3), 369-378.
Pettigrew, T.F. The measurement and correlates of category width as a personality variable. Journal of Personality, 1958, 26, 532,1544.1
Phares, E. J. Differential utilization of information as a function of internal-external control., Journal of Personality, 1968, 36, 649-662.
Polya, G. How to solve it. Garden City, New York: Doujoleday Anchor, 1957.
Postman, L. Transfer, interference and forgetting. 7n J. W. Kling & L.A. Riggs (Elp.), Woodworth & Schlosbeig's Experi- mental Psychology. Holt, Rinehart, & Winston, Inc., 1971.
Pylyshyn, Z. W. What the mind's eye tells the mind's brain: A critique of mertal imagery. Psychological Bulletin, 1973, 80, 1-24.
Rasco, R. W., Tennyson, R. P., & Boutwell, R. C. Imagery instruc- tions and drawings in learning prose. Journal of Educational Research, 1975, 67(2), 188-192..
Raths, J. Teaching without specific objectives. Educational Leadership, 1971, 28,714 -720.
Renzi, N. B. A study of some effects of field ndependence-inde- pendence and feedback on performance achievement. Doctoral dissertation, Hofstra University, 1974. Dissertation Abstracts International, 1974, 35. 2059A. (University Microfilms No. 74-21, 861). / 486
-Rickards, J. P. Adjunct postquestions in,text: A critical review of methods, and processes. Review of Educational Re- search, 1979, 49(2): 181-196.
R_ckards, J. P., & Denner, P. R. Inserted questions as aids to read'..g text. Instructional Science, 1978, 7, 313-.346.
Rickards, J. P., & DiVesta, F. J. Type and frequency of ,questions.in processing textual material. Journal of Educa- tional Psychology,, 1974, 68, 354-362.
Rickards, V. P., & Hatcher, C. W. Interspersed meaning%1 learning questions as semantic cues for poor comprehenders. Reading Research Quarterly, 1978, 13, 538-553.
Ritter, Y., Kaprove, B. H., Fitch, J. P., & Flavell, J. H. The development of retrieval strategies in young children. Cognitive Ps chology, 1973, 5, 310-321.
Rbbinson, F. P. Effective study. New York: Harper, 1946.
Rokeach, M. The open and closed mind. New York: Basic Books, 1960.
Rosenthal, T. L., Moore, W. B., Dorfman, H., & Nelson, B. Vicarious acquisition of a simple concept with experirdenter as model. Behavior Research and Therapy,.1971 9, 219-227.
Rothkopf, E.Z. Some theoretical and experimental approaches to problems in instruction. In J. D. KrumbOlz (Ed.), Learning and the Educaticnal Process, 193-221. Chicago: McNally, 1965.
Rothkopf, E. Z. Learning from written instructive materials: An exploration of the control of inspection behavior by test-like events. American Educational Research Journal, 1966, .3(4), 241-249.
Rothkopf, E. Z., & Bisbicos, E. E. Selective faci:L.tative effects of interspersed questions in learning frlmwritten materials. Journal of Educational Psychology, 1:67, 58, 56-61.
Rotter, J. B. Generalized expectancies for internal versus 'external control of reinforcement. Psychological Monographs, 1966, 89(1), (00, Whole No. 609).
Royer,,J. M.' Theories of the transfer oflearning. Educational Psychologist, 1979, 14, 53-69.
Royer, J. M., & Cable, G. W. Illustrations, analogies, and facilitative transfer in prose learning. Journal of Educa- tional Psychology, 1976, 68, 205-209. 487
Rumelhart, D. E. Noteson a schema for stories. In.D. G. Bobrow & A.M. Collins (Eds.), Representationand understandina: Studies in cognitive science. New York: Academic Press, 1975.
Rumelhart, D. E., Lindsay, P. H., & Norman,D. A. A process model for long-term memory. In E. Tulving & W. Donaldson (Eds.), Or anizationof memory. New York: Academic Press, 1972.
Rumelhart, D. E., & Ortony, A. The representation of knowledge in memory.,In R. C. Anderson, R. J. Spiro, & W. E. Montague (Eds.), Schooling and the acquisition of knowledge. Hillsdale, New Jersey: Er,lbaum, 1977.
Sanders, N. M., & Tzeng, 0. The relationship betwedn rote and conceptual learning; In F. J. DiVesta, N. M. Sanders, C. B. Schultz, & P. B. Weener, Instructional strategies: Multi- variable studies of psychologicalprocesses related to instruction. ARPA Semi-Annual Rep., 1971.
Santa, J. C., Ruskin, A. B.; & Yio, J. H. Mnemonic systems in free recall. Psychological Reports, 1973, 32, 1163-1170.
Scandura, J., & Wells, J. Advance organizers in learning abstract mathematics. American Educational Research Journal, 1967, 4, 295-301.
Schallert, D. L. Improving memory for prose: The relationship 'between depth of processing and context. Journal of Verbal Learning and Verbal Behavior, 1976, 15, 621-632.
Schank, R., & Abelson, R. P. Scripts, plans, and knowledge. Proceedings of the Fourth International Joint Conference on Artifirdal Intelligence. Tbilisi, Georgia: U.S.S.R., 19'5.
Schmeidler, G. Y. Visual imagery correlated to a measure of creativity. ,ournal of Consultina Psychology, 1965, 29(1), 78-80.
Schroder, A., Driver, M. & Streufert, S. Human information processing. Holt, Rinehart, & Winston: New York, 1967.
Schultz, R. W., & Kasschau, R. A.Serial learning. as a function of meaningfulness and mode of presentation with audio and visual stimuli and equivalent duration. Journal of Experi- mental Psychology, 1966, 71(3), 350-354.
Seeman, M., & Evans, J. W. Alienation and learning in a hospital setting. American Sociological Review, 1962, 27, 772-783.
Shavelson, R. J., Berliner, D. C., Ravitch, M. M.,& Loeding, D. Effects of position and type of questionon learning from prose material: Interaction of treatments 'with individual differences. Journal of Educational Psychology, 1974, C6,40-48. 488
Sieber, J. E., & Lanzetta, J. T. Some deterri.nants of individual differences in predecisiob information prczessing behavior. Journal of PersonalLty, 1966, 4, 561-571.
Siegel, L., & Siegel, L. C. Educational set: A determinant of acquisition. Journal of Educational Psychology, 1965, 56, 1-12.
Sigel, I. E. Sigel cognitive style test. Detroit: Merrill Palmer Institute, 1967.
Singer, R. N. To err or not to err: A question for the instruc- tion of psychomotor skills. Review of Educational Research, 1977, 47(3); 479-498.
Singer, R. N. Motor skills and learner strategies. In H. F. O'Neil; Jr.(Ed.), Learning strategies. New York: Academic Press, 1978% il
Singer,---,- R. N., & Gaines, L. Effect of prompted and trial-and- error learning on transfer performance of a serial motor task. American Educational Research Journal, 1975, 12, 395-403.
Singer, R. N., & Pease, D. The effect of different-instructional
. strategies on learning, retention, and transfer of a serial motor task. Researc".1 Quarterly, 1976, 47, 788-796.
Skinther, B. F. An operant analysis of problem solving. In B. Kleinmuntz (Ed.), Problem solving: Researchimethoa, and theory. New York: Wiley, 1966, 225-257.
Snow, R. E. Individual differences, instructional theory, and instructional design. (Tech. Rep. No 4) Aptitude Research Project, School of Education', Stanford University (ARPA Contract No. NO004-75-C-0882) June, 1977.
Sonstroem, A. M. On the conservation of solids. In J. S. Bruner, R. R. Olver, & P. M. Greenfield (Eds.), Studies in cognitive growth. New York: Wiley, 19A6.
Spilich, G. J., Vesonder, G. T., Chiesi, H. L.,& Voss, J. F. Text processing of domain-related inform tion for individuals with high and-lowdomain knoWledge. Journal of Verbal .Learning and Verbal Behavior, 1979, 18, 275-290.
Steffenson, M. S., Jogdeo, C., & Andeison, R.C. A cross-cultural perspective on reading comprehension (Tech. Rep. 97). Champaign Illinois: University of Illinois, Center for the Study of Reading, July, 1978.
Stevenson, H. W., & Siegel, A. Effects of Instruction and age on retention of filmed content. Journal of Educational Psy- chology, 1969, 60, 71-74.
48, 489
Sticht, T. G., & Zapf, D. W. Reading and readability in the armed services. Alexandria, VirginTiT Human Resources Research Organization, September, 1976. HumRRo FR-WD-CA-76-4.
Stratton, R. P., & Brown, R. Improving creative thinking by training in the'production and/or judgment of solutions. Journal of Educational Psychology, 1972, 63(4Y, 390-397.
Streufert, S., .Clardy, M., Driver, M., Karlins, M., Schroder, H., & Suedfeld, P. A tactical game for the analysis of complex decision making in individuals and groups. Psychological Reports, 1965, 17,,723 -729. 0 Stromnes, P. J., & Nyman, J..Immediate and long-term retention of.connected concrete. discourse as a function of mnemonic picture-type sequence and context. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 1974, 15, 197-202.
Stuart, I. 7A. Perceptual style and/reading ability: Implica= tions for an instructional approach. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 1967, 24, 130-138.
Suedfeld, P., & Hagen, R. L. Measurement of information com- plexity: I.,Conceptual structure and information pattern as factors in information processing. Journal of Personality_ and Social Psychology, 1966, 4, 233-236.
Sulin, R. A., & Dooling, D. J. Intrusion of a thematic idea in retention of prose.' Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1974, 103, 255-262.
Taylor, W. L. Cloze procedure: .A new tool for measuring readability. Journalism Quarterly, 1553, 30, 415-433.
Thorndyke, P. W. Cognitive structures in comprehension and memory of narrative discourse. Cognitive Psvcholoav, 1977, 9, 77-110.
Thornton, C. C., Barrett, G. V., & Davis, J. A. Field dependence and target identification. Human Factors, 1968, 10, 493-496.
Torrance, E. P. Role of evaluation in creative thinking. "'Bureau of Educational ResearcEruniversity of Minnesota,1964.
Trollip, S4 R. The evaluation of a complex computer-basedflight procedures trainer. Human Factors, 1979, 21(1), 47-54.
Trueblood, C. R. A comparison of two.technioues forusing visual-tactual devices to teach exponents andnondecimal bases in elementary school mathematics. The Arithmetic Teacher, 1970, 17, 338-340.
48t 490
Tulving, E. Episodic and semantic memory. In E. Tulving apd
. W. Donaldson(Eds.), Organization of Memory. New York: / Academic Press, 1972.
Valverde, H. H. A. A review of flight simulator transfer of training studies. Human Factors, 1973, 15, 510-523.
Van 6ijk, T. A., & Kintsch, W. Cognitive psychology and dis- course. In W. Dressler (Ed.), Current trends in textlin uistics. Berlin, W. Germany: deGruyter, 1977.
Van Mondfrans, A. P.& Travers, R. Learning'of redundant material presented through two sensory modalities. percep- tutand Motor Skills, 1964, 19(3), 743-751.
,VanZoost, F. L., & Jackson, 8. T. Effects of self-monitoring and self-administered reinforcement on study behaviors, Journal of Educational Research, 1974, 67(5), 216-218.
Voss, J. F. Cognition and instruction: Toward a cognitive theory of learning. In A. M. Lesgold, J. W. Pellegrino; S. D. Fokkema, & R. Glaser (Eds.), Cognitive psychology and
instruction. New York: Plenum Press, 1978. .
Wallach, M., A.& Caron, A. J. Attr.'.,ute criteriality and sex- linked conservatism as determinants of psycholog'cal simi- larity. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psycholo 1959, 59, 43-50. MOMMENIIII Wanshura, P. B., & Borkowski, J. G. Development and transfer of mediational strategies.by retarded children in pair- associated learning. American Journal of Mental Deficiency, 1974, 78', 631-639.
Warren, T. F., & Davis, G. A. Techniques for zreative thinking: An empirical comparison of three methods. Psychological RuclEts, 1969, 25, 207-214.
Watts, G. H., & Anderson, R. C. frects of three types of'in- serted questions on' learning from prose. Journal of Educa- tional Psychology, 1971, 62, 38"-394. -
,Weinstein, C. E. Learning of elaboration strategies. Unpub- lished doctoral dissertation, University of Texas at Austin,,,, 1975. /' Weinstein, C. V. Elaboration skills as:a learning strategy. In H. F. O'Neil, Jr.(Ed.), Learningstrategies. New York: Academic Press, 197s*.
Weisskopf-Joelson, E., & Eliseo, T. S. An experimental study of the effectiveness of brainstorming. Journal of Applied Psychology, 1961, 45, 45-49.
48/ 491
I 3
Whitehill, R. P. The development of effective learning skills programs. Journal of Educational Research, 1972, 65(6), 281- 285.
Winograd, T. pra2ELtanaing natural language. New York: Academic Press, 1972. a Witkin, H. A. Embedded figures test. Consulting Psychologist Press, Inc.: California, 1971.
Witkin, H. A., Dyk, R. B., Paterson, H. F., Goodenough, D. R., & Karp, S. A. psycholo ical differentiation: Studies of development. New York: Wi ey, 1962.
Witkin, H. A., Goodenough, D. R., & Karp, S. A. Stability of cognitive style from childhood to young adulthood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1967, 7, 291-300.
Witkin, H. A., Lewis, H. B., Hertzman, M., Machover, K., Meissner, P. B., &Wapner, S. Personality through percepti: New York.:. arper, 1954.
Witkin, q. A., Lewis, H. Weil, E. Affective reactions and patient-therapist interactions among moredifferentiated and less differentiated patients early in therapy: The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 1968, 146,193-206.
Wittrock, M. C. The cognitive movement in instruction. Educa- tional Psycholbgist,' 1979, ittrock, M. C., & Carter, J. Generative processing of hier- archically organized words. American Journal of Psychology, 1975, 88, 469-5a1.
Wolpe, J. The practice of behavioral therapy. New York: Pergamon, 1969.
J.,& Catchpole, M. Effects of delay and imagery training on the recall andrecognition of object pairs. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 1974,17, 474-481.
Zimmerman, B. J., & Rosdnthal, T. L. Obseilvational learning of rule-governed behavior by children. Psychological Bulletin, 1974, 81,0.1 24-42. 4 WI TABLE OF CONTENTS:
I"VOLUME II
4-4
49() 497
A TABLE OF CONTENTS.
.VOLUME II 0
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PREFACE iii
INTRODUCTION: A CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK FOR FOUNDATIONS,Ann H. Areson and James J. Dedaro 1
SEFTION
I. TEACHER ROLES AND INSTRUCTIONAL STRATEGIES
Chapter .' Primary Mentoring as a Teaching Strategy,Roger Hawkins . . 59
Tutoring Special Students, RussellT. Osguthorpe 107
Summary.of CompetencyLRaied Education, MasteryLearning and Individualization and TheirImplications for the Foundations Program, Eugene A: Nelson 145
41. II. OTHER CRITICAL CONSIDERATIONS
The Theory of Experiential Learning,Richard J. Kraft . . . 201
Experiential Learning as a Teaching Strategyfor the Career Education of Hearir^-ImpairedCollege Studefitd, Urban Whitaker 269
Multicultural Coping and Adptation Competencies, Jacqueline Howell Wasilewski andJaniceD. Martin Mitchell. 355
APPENDICES ..366 A. TABLE OF CONTENTS: VOLUME I 370 B. ABOUT THE AUTHORS: VOLUME IT ABOUT THE AUTHORS:
VOLUME I
f;1-; 501
ANN H. ARESON currently is on leave from the National Technical Institute for the Deaf (NTID) at Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) to devote full time to her doctoral studies. She has worked and studied in the fields of cross-cultural communication and non-formal education.
IRENE ATHEY is professor and dean of the Graduate SchoODof Education at Rutgers University. She has written extensiverY in the areas of child development and the psychology of reading, with particular emphasis on the development of language and cognition as they affect the growth of reading comprehension both in the hearing and the hearing impaired.
MARY FIELD BELENKY has conducted numerous studies investigating moral development with Lawrence Kohlberg and Carol Gilligan.She directed the Education for Women's Development Project, which sought to understand how institutions might promote epistemological and moral development in adult and adolescent women. She is now co-authoring a book titled The Small still Voice: The Development of Women's Ways of Knowing.
ROWLAND S. BLAKE is an instructional developer and has developed textbooks, videotapes, and other instructional materials for deaf and hearing adults. His research studies center around instructional strategy variables. He is currently developing computer-based, irs.c!. cti.ve video materials for Digital Equipment Corporation.
LARRY W. BOOKS recently received his Ph. '.mental Psychology from Texas Christian University,') and is ployed by the U.S. Army Research Institute. His research text processing, learning strategies, and individual differerL -ognitIve processing.
DONALD F. DANSEREAU is a professor'of psychology at Texas Christian University. His current research is focused on the examination of cogni- tive strategies for processing written text.
JAMES J. DE CARO is currently Associate Professor and Director of the Division of. Career Opportunities at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf at Rochester Institute of Technology where he has responsibility for the National Center on Employment of the Deaf, the National Project on Career Education, Admissions, Placement, the Alumni Office, and the Career Opportunities Research Unit. His current research .nterests include the economic accommodation of deaf people in society.
FRED DOWALIBY received his 3.A.(1969), M.S.(1971), and Ph.D.(1973) in Psychology from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. Dr. Dowaliby was Assistant Director, Department of. Research and Development atthe National Board of Medical Examiners, Philadelphia before coming to NTID in 1977. Since that time he has been involved with various projects and activities related to classroom instruction, the research area in which he is most interested. He is currently fo,:using on several large-scale studies which ar_ concerned with individual differences and instructional outcomes from various methods of instruction for the hearing impaired. 502
JO ANNE PAGANO is assistant professor of education at Colgate University where she teaches courses in curriculum-and the philosophy of education. Ighe has published articles in curriculum theory and philosophy of education.
MICHAEL STEVE is an assistant professor at NTID and has conducted research in the areas of concept and rule learning and problem solving. Prior to joining NTID, he designed and developed a forty-hour critical thinking and problem solving course and authored parts of"Computeronics", a set of modules which introduces the computer as a problem solving tool. Both have been disseminated nationally and are in use in elementary, junior high schools and high schools.
MICHAEL STINSON is currently a Research Associate and Assistant Professor at the National Technical Institute for the Deaf in the Departmentof Echicational Research and Development. He received his Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Michigan in 1972. Before coming to NTID he held post-doctoral research positions at the Bureau of ChildResearch Laboratory, University of Kansas Medical Center and at the Center on Deaf- ness at the University of California, San Francisco. His major research interests are language comprehension by hearing-impaired personsand the relationship between social motivation and deafness. He has' published and presented a number of papers= these topics. He has been a consulting editor for the Journal of Speech and Hearing Disorders.
4