The present research was designed to study the interrelationships of modality strength, modality preference, field dependence-independence, sex and ecological environmental group, and their contribution to mathematics achievement among 256 fourth grade Puerto Rican students. Three instruments were administered: Learning Style Inventory (LSI), Swassing Barbe Modality Index (SBMI), and Children's Group Embedded Figures Test (CGEFT). Results from a Mathematics Basic Skills Test (MBST) were obtained from the Puerto Rican Department of Education. A combination of descriptive and inferential statistics were used in analyzing the data. / Results indicate that modality preference, as measured by the Learning Style Inventory, and modality strength, as measured by the Swassing Barbe Modality Index do not appear to measure the same dimension. The ipsative-like nature of the LSI and the SBMI, as well as issues of reliability and validity in relation to modality preference as measured by the LSI are discussed. / Ecological environment, defined as differences in ecological factors, was found to influence modality strength, modality preference and field dependence-independence. Separate analyses for males and females indicated variance in field dependence-independence and mathematics achievement can be accounted for differently according to sex. The joint contribution of modality strength and environmental group was statistically significant and explained 18% of field dependence-independence's variance for females. Modality strength's and modality preference's contributions were not statistically significant in explaining mathematics achievement vaiance for either males or females. Field dependence-independence's unique contribution explained the largest proportion of females' mathematics achievement variance (33%) while environmental group's unique contribution accounted for the greatest amount of explained variance in males (23%). / The findings of this study suggest that ecological factors present in an individual's environment influence learning style and mathematics achievement. Implications of the findings and future research needs are discussed. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 43-03, Section: A, page: 0666. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1982.

Choice reaction time for a primary task and number of tally counter presses for a secondary task were investigated under three auditory conditions of silence, even, and uneven rhythm patterns delivered through headset. Three groups of subjects (open skill, closed skill, and no skill), ninety in all, were divided equally for gender and tested for speed, accuracy and amount of variance within the three sound conditions. / Results showed open and closed skill athletes performed significantly faster than controls, that open skill athletes performed better on both tasks and best with rhythm, and that closed skill athletes showed less variance in the three conditions. Order of rhythm presentation showed no effect, nor were gender differences found in CRT performance, but females were more accurate overall. Male and female subjects in the open skill category resembled one another in accuracy more than male and female subjects in closed skill and control categories. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-07, Section: A, page: 2511. / Major Professor: David Pargman. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

The study proposed to investigate the use of the ecological model to identify possible characteristics of child sexual abuse perpetrators. The ecological model conceptualizes child maltreatment as a social-psychological phenomenon that is determined by forces at work in the individual (ontogenic development), and the family (the microsystem), as well as the community (the exosystem) and the culture (the macrosystem) in which both the individual and the family are embedded. / Three criterion groups participated; sexual abusers of adults (N = 25), violent criminals (N = 26), and child sexual abusers (N = 27). Participants identified as adult sexual abusers had not committed crimes of child sexual abuse or violence. Subjects in the violent group had not committed crimes of a sexual nature against adults or children. Individuals in the child sexual abuser group had not committed sexual crimes against adults or violent crimes. The offenses and criteria used to identify group membership are included in the study. All subjects were under the authority of the Ohio Department of Corrections and were incarcerated at the Marion Correctional Facility, Marion, Ohio. / Four measurements, The Taylor Johnson Temperament Analysis, the Family Cohesion and Adaptability Evaluation Scale, the Attitudes Towards Women Scale, and the Gladding, Lewis, and Adkins Scale of Religiosity were administered to the participants. Each instrument was selected to reflect the four systems present in the ecological model. It was hypothesized that child sexual abuse perpetrators would exhibit extreme scores in personal dominance, family cohesiveness, conventional attitudes towards women, and religiosity. / The Multivariate Analysis of Variance omnibus test did not indicate significant multivariate effect. Although the predictor variables were unable to isolate group differences, they did reveal differences between the prison population and a norm population. An analysis of the effect sizes between the groups and the norms of the respective instruments indicated that incarcerated individuals are more dominant and that their family members are more likely to be disengaged from one another. The use of the ecological model for identifying individual characteristics unique to perpetrators of child sexual abuse as compared to other inmate populations was not supported by the results. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-04, Section: A, page: 1291. / Major Professor: Gary Peterson. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

The present research study has included three theoretical constructs of beliefs (the self-efficacy belief, the outcome value belief and the internal control belief) in one structural model to explain college students' engagement and achievement in foreign language learning. Subjects were 285 students who were enrolled in the beginning courses of French, German, Russian, and Spanish in a large southern university. Data were collected in the first few weeks of the semester and at the end of the semester. / Tests of the proposed causal model using Lisrel 7 revealed that a revised model would result in a better fitting and more theoretically meaningful model. / Results of the revised model support the hypothesis that self-efficacy is a mediating factor between various cognitive factors and students' learning results. Self-efficacy was also found to have an effect on students' self study time at the first few weeks of the semester. Students' reported self study time later in the semester was related to their perceived task demand and their earlier performance. Outcome value directly affects students' willingness to persist in learning the target language, and indirectly influences achievement through its direct effect on efficacy expectations. Students' belief in effort also had an indirect effect on achievement through its direct effect on efficacy expectations. It was suggested that two major factors may cause discrepancies in test results of efficacy beliefs: the type of task involved in the study, and the time frame within which measures of efficacy and behavior indicators are collected. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-04, Section: A, page: 0916. / Major Professor: Bruce W. Tuckman. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1994.

The effects of a schematic cognitive intervention were examined along several lines of thought including occupational certainty, vocational identity, occupational representation systems of deaf clients. Theoretically, the development of a meaningful schemata will allow clients to organize new information in a way that will lead to clients being more prepared to benefit from the career guidance process in general, and from career learning events and Computer Assisted Career Guidance (CACG) in particular. This study has, first, examined the effects of schematic cognitive intervention upon a subsequent interaction using CACG vs. a traditional human counselor intervention model with deaf subjects. Second, this study has examined the differential levels of deaf subjects' cognitive complexity regarding the world of work following intervention. CACG interventions have increased in use and popularity among career counseling and guidance professionals. This is reflected in the same manner with disabled clients. Researchers have not yet fully identified the methods by which CACG can be fully implemented for diverse populations to optimally facilitate career counseling. In regard to career counseling and CACG interventions, disabled individuals present special needs. Disabled individuals, especially those whose disabling condition presents barriers to employment through impinging on the ability to process information, i.e., deafness, learning disabilities, visual impairments, can be described: (1) as having potentially more to gain from career counseling interventions, and (2) as having potentially a greater need for a working model that allows for clarification and efficient use of the information involved in career choices. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-03, Section: A, page: 0907. / Major Professor: F. Donald Kelly. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1992.

The Band Activity Inventory (BAI), a musical adaptation of the Academic Motivation Scale (AMS) and the Sport Competition Anxiety Test (SCAT), was administered to 345 high school band students in four bands. Two pairs of competitive and noncompetitive bands residing in two Florida counties received nearly the same mean festival ratings at district concert band festival over the past three years, thus displaying relatively equal achievement. / Using a multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), it was determined that the competitive band brass players experienced significantly higher (alpha =.05) competitive trait anxiety (competitive A-trait) than their noncompetitive counterparts. In addition, the same students reported significantly lower scores on all forms of intrinsic motivation. Regardless of the competitive or noncompetitive groups, females reported significantly higher scores on SCAT,IM "to accomplish things," IM "to experience stimulation," and identified regulation than males, while males reported significantly higher scores in external regulation and amotivation. To investigate relationships between subscales, correlation matrices were generated for selected demographic variables. Although SCAT was not highly correlated with any other subscale, the intrinsic motivation subscales were positively correlated with each other, while the extrinsic subscales were progressively less correlated as the subscale became more extrinsic. / The evidence suggests that competitive band brass players--part of organizations that attend a significant number of marching contests--display a significant tendency for competitive anxiety and low intrinsic motivation, perhaps the result of the contest or marching participation itself. Additionally, the same group of students reported the largest percentage of students in private study, which suggests that greater competitive anxiety results from high personal expectations. Further, marching participation in the competitive bands was vastly lower (15% to 4%) than that of the noncompetitive bands, indicating less interest in marching or some aspect of that activity. Significant differences between males and females suggests that females participate in band for different reasons than do males. Finally, aspects of both the bi-polar and co-polar views of intrinsic/extrinsic motivation were supported, indicating the importance of both views. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-03, Section: A, page: 0857. / Major Professor: James Croft. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

Phonological awareness is "the ability to phonologically segment, analyze, and synthesize the speech stream (p. 552)." The present study evaluated the effectiveness of two computer programs, Daisy Quest and Daisy's Dilemma, to provide phonological awareness training to poor readers. / Students from two local elementary schools participated in the experiment. 54 subjects were selected to participate in the study. These students were administered a series of pretests that assessed a variety of word reading skills, phonological awareness ability, and their general verbal ability. Subsequently, children were grouped into triplets on the basis of the word identification scores and then randomly assigned to one of three condition: (1) phonological awareness training (DQ), (2) phonological decoding (HH), and (3) computer control (C). Training was provided for approximately 25 minutes a day over the course of seven weeks. / A series of multivariate analyses of covariance were carried out to determine if there were mean differences in children's post test phonological awareness ability. Significant improvement was noted on three of the five measures of phonological awareness for those children receiving the phonological awareness training. More importantly, the children receiving the phonological awareness training made significant improvement in their ability to read real words. / It was concluded that both computer programs were successful in enhancing the phonological awareness skills of poor readers. In addition, the improvements in phonological awareness directly impacted the word identification skills of children who were struggling in their efforts learning to read. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-12, Section: A, page: 4388. / Major Professor: Joseph K. Torgesen. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.

This study investigated the relationship between individual and group efficacy in the performance of a group task. The main question asked in this inquiry was, "Under which efficacy conditions will there be maximum group performance?" More specific research questions asked are: (1) What is the relationship between self-efficacy and group efficacy with respect to group performance? (2) What is the relationship between the type of group interaction and group performance? (3) What is the result of the interaction among self-efficacy, group efficacy, and interaction? / The subjects were 156 introductory psychology students at a large southeastern university. A co-relational design with randomized assignment to interactive and non-interactive conditions was used. The task was to solve as many anagrams as possible in ten minutes from a list of 40 anagrams to obtain a group performance score. In the interaction condition, subjects worked together to solve the anagrams; whereas, in the non-interactive condition, they solved the anagrams individually. / The study revealed a significant relationship (r =.82, p $<$.001) between estimations of individual efficacy and estimations of group efficacy. There was no significant difference (p $<$.05) in group scores for the interactive and non-interactive conditions. However, a comparison of levels of interaction, high, medium, low, and none, revealed significant differences (p $<$.01) between levels of high and no interaction, as well as between high interaction and low interaction (p $<$.05). The group scores for the interactive and non-interactive conditions were not significantly different; however, a comparison of levels of interaction revealed significantly different means between high interaction time and no interaction time. This finding showed that length of interaction was an intervening variable in the interaction - performance relationship. / When age, gender, familiarity with group members, self-efficacy, group efficacy, and degree of interaction were entered in a regression analysis, self-efficacy and degree of interaction accounted for the preponderance of variation in group performance. The conclusion was that group performance was highly related to perception of individual efficacy and the degree of group interaction. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 53-07, Section: A, page: 2306. / Major Professor: Gary Peterson. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1992.

Educators' and psychologists' interests in individualization of instruction are founded in the intuitively logical assertion that every individual has unique learning or cognitive characteristics which combine to require unique instruction. However, that intuitive assertion has met with mixed results when tested in empirical investigations. Research has moved from the exclusive manipulation of various components of the instruction to broader issues of matching these various components of instruction with various learner characteristics. / This study inspects the specific instructional component of learner control of sequencing of instruction and the specific learner characteristic of field dependency. Although both sequencing and field dependency have been studied for some time, a recently introduced technological innovation of computer-based instruction via hypertext programming allowed the collection of learner sequential pattern data that was previously not available. This study correlates those patterns with a field dependency measure and posttest achievement. / A hypertext-based computer assisted instructional program was used to present a lesson in Bloom's taxonomy to trainers from private and public institutes in Singapore. The hypertext program was designed to allow the subjects to explore the lesson in a flexible manner. The computer recorded each subject's unique sequential pattern through the lesson. / Subjects' patterns were compared to each other with the SPSS Runs and Logistic Regression procedures to determine pattern types. These pattern types were then compared to subjects' Group Embedded Figures Test of field dependency and posttest scores using the SPSS Analysis of Covariance and Analysis of Variance Least Significant Difference procedures. / The study found that there were significant relationships between the field dependency measure and pattern types. However, there were no significant relationships between the pattern types and posttest scores. Only subjects' level of education had a relationship to posttest scores. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 53-09, Section: A, page: 3149. / Major Professor: Marcy Driscoll. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1992.

Forty past and present career advisors in a university career center participated in an exploratory study of the relationship between the independent variable of career advisor conceptual level and the dependent variables of number of goals listed on an Individual Learning Plan (ILP), number of interventions listed on an ILP, amount of time needed to select career interventions, and the amount of additional information requested on a Follow-Up Questionnaire. Conceptual level was measured by the semi-projective instrument, the Paragraph Completion Method (PCM). The ILP used in this study was adapted from the ILP used by career advisors in this setting. The Follow-Up Questionnaire was created for this study and was partially validated in a pilot study. / A multivariate multiple regression technique was employed to analyze the overall significant relationship between the independent variable and dependent variables by testing for the significance of the regression of each dependent variable separately across the independent variable. / No significant relationship was found using the multivariate technique analysis. Additional T-test analysis found significant differences for gender for the variable of number of interventions selected. These findings are discussed along with other demographic characteristics in the supplemental findings. / The findings and limitations of this study, and their implications for career advisor training, service delivery and future research were also discussed. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 54-11, Section: A, page: 3991. / Major Professor: Robert Reardon. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1993.