A primary purpose of this study was to investigate causal relationships among monitoring strategy, knowledge, general problem-solving strategies, and problem-solving performance. In order to achieve these purposes, a theoretical model was hypothesized. A hypothetical, theoretical causal model was constructed. / Subjects were provided with three problems, and were asked to talk aloud during problem solving. Monitoring strategy and general problem-solving strategies were measured by protocol analysis of subject's verbalization of the problem solving process. The problem-solving performance was measured by the criterion of correct solution and solving speed for each problem. The knowledge variable was measured by a test developed to measure the subject's possession of the knowledge required to solve a problem. The data were analyzed by LISREL VI, a recent version of the LISREL subprogram package. / The following findings of the study were resulted in: (1) Monitoring strategy significantly affected planning strategy, means-ends analysis, representation strategy. The monitoring strategy had indirect effects on problem-solving performance. (2) Representation strategy failed to show a direct effect on performance measures. (3) Means-ends analysis did not directly affect work problem solving, but did affect inferential problem solving. (4) The direct effect of planning strategy was the most significant determinant for problem-solving performance. (5) Knowledge was a direct cause of means-ends analysis for word problem solving. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 51-02, Section: B, page: 1019. / Major Professor: Robert M. Morgan. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1990.

The purpose of this study is to examine whether individual's difference in A-E style, one of the cognitive style constructs, is a factor influencing how individuals perform on the task of solving insight problems, how individuals apply past experience to solving similar problems, and the extent to how much set effect or fixation that individuals will encounter. The A-E (assimilator-explorer) style suggests that individuals with a tendency to follow rules and search for past experience when solving problems can be labeled as assimilators; while individuals with a tendency to use the trial-and-error method can be labeled as explorers. Subjects were 87 undergraduate students and were classified as either assimilators or explorers according to their scores on the A-E Inventory, an instrument used to measure the A-E style construct. Then three insight problem-solving tests were administrated to all subjects. All the problems used in the three tests share the surface similarities, features which make two problems look like a similar one, but only the problems in the first two tests also share the structural similarities, features which allow two problems to be solved by the same strategies. It was predicted that: (a) the explorers would do better than the assimilators on test 1 because the explorers were more prone to think from different perspectives and thus more likely to come up with correct answers for novel problems; (b) the assimilators would do better than the explorers on test 2 because the assimilators were more capable of applying past experience to similar situations; while the explorers were less capable of doing so; and (c) the explorers would perform better than the assimilator on test 3 because the assimilator were more likely to rely on past experience thus prone to encounter set effects and fixation which degraded problem solving performance. / However, the findings showed that the performance of two groups was comparable and, therefore, none of the three hypotheses were supported. Possible reasons for why the hypotheses were not supported are discussed. Recommendations for future research are also presented. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-08, Section: A, page: 3054. / Major Professor: Walter Wager. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1995.

The primary purpose of this study was to investigate how goal setting would effect (a) the amount of effort students would put into extra credit assignments and (b) the algebra achievement of high school students. Secondary purposes were to examine how high, medium, and low levels of effort self-efficacy and achievement self-efficacy interacted with goal setting. / Subjects were 114 students enrolled in four classes of Algebra I, with two classes randomly assigned to the goal setting condition the other two classes making up the no-goals condition. While subjects in both conditions had the opportunity to complete extra credit problems, and to earn extra credit points, only subjects in the goal setting condition set specific goals for when and where they planned to do the work and how many of the extra credit problems they intended to complete. / Effort was measured by totaling the number of extra credit problems students completed over an eighteen week period. Achievement was measured by performance on an end-of-semester exam. Levels of self-efficacy were measured using brief questionnaires prior to the treatment period. / Data were analyzed using analysis of variance and analysis of covariance. ANOVA results indicated a significant difference between goal setting and no-goals on effort, with no-goals subjects completing more extra credit problems than subjects in the goal setting condition when all classes were included in the analysis. When data from one class of subjects with significantly higher levels of self-efficacy were removed and a further analysis conducted, there was no significant difference between goal setting and no-goals subjects. There was no significant difference between treatment conditions on achievement and no interaction between levels of self-efficacy and goal setting. / The results of the study failed to support the hypotheses. The lack of random assignment and the possibility that no-goals subjects may have been setting informal goals may be significant factors in the explanation of the results. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 51-12, Section: A, page: 4066. / Major Professor: Bruce W. Tuckman. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1990.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of type of control over instructional strategy, student ability, and locus of control on performance and the motivational outcomes of confidence and satisfaction. In order to conduct the study, a factorial ATI design was utilized. Seventy-five seventh grade students worked through a computer-assisted instructional lesson to learn defined concepts in advertising. Half of the students were given learner control over the instructional strategy of the lesson, while the other half used a lesson with program control over the instructional strategy. Student ability and locus of control were considered as aptitude variables. Upon completion of the lesson, students in both treatments completed a survey designed to measure their confidence and satisfaction, and took a posttest to determine if they could identify the advertising concepts presented in the lesson. / A regression analysis of results indicated that both ability and locus of control were positively and significantly related to performance, while a relationship between type of instructional control and performance was not found. As predicted, ability had the greatest relationship with performance scores regardless of whether or not students had control over the instructional strategy. Results also indicated that ability was the only variable that significantly related to confidence and that none of the independent variables were significantly related to satisfaction. While an interaction between type of control, ability, and locus was predicted, no interaction was found. Results suggest that control over instructional strategy may not be adequate to provide students with the perception of control. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-09, Section: A, page: 2590. / Major Professor: John Keller. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1988.

This study investigated the effects of learner response confidence and feedback timing on long term retention of verbal information in college students. Two levels of learner response confidence (high, low) and four levels of feedback timing (immediate item-by-item feedback, immediate end-of-session feedback, 24-hour delayed end of session feedback, and absence of feedback) were studied. / One hundred forty-one undergraduates were randomly assigned to one of the four treatment groups and completed a 50-item initial test. Subjects rated their degree of confidence in the accuracy of their responses to each item upon its completion. KCR feedback was provided either upon completing the confidence rating for each item, at the end of the session, 24-hours after the end of the session, or not at all. All subjects completed a delayed retention test following a seven day retention interval. / Analysis of variance indicated that 24-hour delayed end-of-session feedback did not result in significantly higher retention test performance. Secondly, error correction was not found to be significantly greater for the group receiving immediate end-of-session feedback compared to the group receiving immediate item-by-item feedback. Finally, error correction was not found to be significantly higher for 24-hour delayed feedback subjects making high confidence errors on the initial test than for members of any other treatment group making high confidence errors on the initial test. / Future research should maintain the distinction between the programmed instruction and test content acquisition research traditions, maintain more precise operational definitions of experimental events, and automate whenever possible the delivery of content and measurement of performance. Additionally, the role of response confidence, especially low response confidence, in acquisition and retention should be studied further and integrated into a more comprehensive and prescriptive feedback model. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 50-07, Section: A, page: 1917. / Major Professor: Walter William Wager. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1989.

The effectiveness of a concentrational training technique in enhancing attentional skills related to the tennis service and as a means of reducing sport competition anxiety in advanced tennis players was investigated. The effects of attentional training on the performance of a tennis serving accuracy task was also observed. Subjects were male and female, advanced tennis playing youth and adults (N = 24, 13-44 years old). Experimental and control group subjects were pretested and twice posttested on the Tennis-Test of Attention and Interpersonal Styles (T-TAIS), the Sport Competition Anxiety Test (SCAT), and a service accuracy task. A concentration training intervention based on meditational procedures, but made tennis-specific, was introduced to the experimental group between the first and second posttest. The intervention was employed for two weeks (28 sessions maximum). / It was hypothesized that the experimental group would significantly improve their concentrational focus skills, lower their sport competition anxiety, and improve on the serving task when compared to the control group. Results of 2 x 3 ANOVAs (2 groups x 3 repeated measures) did not support the hypothesis. That is, tennis athletes in the experimental condition did not improve their tennis attentional focus skills, service accuracy, or lower competitive A-trait when compared to the control group. / An attentional training questionnaire was given to the experimental tennis subjects to analyze their perceptions of the effectiveness of the cognitive technique. In conflict with the ANOVA analyses, 75% of the trained subjects reported that the concentration training technique helped their tennis game. Implications of findings in this investigation indicate that the proposed benefits of cognitive attentional training interventions should not be proclaimed or disclaimed until further research in this area has been performed. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-12, Section: A, page: 3654. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1988.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether training in analogical reasoning strategic knowledge would benefit problem solving in elementary physics, and how strategic knowledge would interact with different levels of individual competencies in domain knowledge. To develop a training model for this study, three different theories of analogical reasoning were integrated in a unified training model. First, based on componential theory, the overall framework of analogical reasoning was explained. Then, structure-mapping theory and schema-based analogical transfer approach were used for specific strategies for the solution process. / Forty-six ninth grade students who were enrolled in physical science classes participated in two groups: strategic training group and control group. Strategic training group received the strategic training and instruction in analogical reasoning, and control group received instruction without training. Then, in each group, students were blocked on the basis of their competency in physics demonstrated on a physics domain knowledge test. During the treatment session, strategic training was delivered for two consecutive days to the strategic training group. The training was composed of 20 pages of individualized printed learning material and designed for three lesson hours to complete. A week following the training, all students received a posttest of 50 minutes duration. The problem solving test was designed to measure student's ability to solve problems using analogical reasoning. It was composed of five pairs of problem solving situations in physics domains, and it had two aspects: students' performance on the domain knowledge problem solving posttest as product, and the process of problem solving on the posttest. / Results indicated that the control group outperformed the training group. The interaction of domain knowledge with problem solving was significant for the process but not for the performance. Lower competency students performed better under the control condition than their counterparts under the training condition. Training was overall more effective for the higher competency students than the lower competency students. It was also found that reading competency was a major influence on process. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 51-04, Section: A, page: 1177. / Major Professor: Marcy P. Driscoll. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1990.

The implication of situated cognition theory is that learning can be promoted by providing meaningful contexts and relating instruction to real-life experience. Although there have been many discussions about the effect of situated learning, there have been few empirical studies to demonstrate how situations promote learning. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of contextualization and complexity of situation on achievement, transfer, and attitude toward mathematical problem-solving. / A total of 101 fifth grade students from an elementary school participated in the study. Due to incomplete data, 46 students were included in the final analysis. Students were randomly assigned to four treatment groups: simple/contextualized problems, complex/contextualized problems, simple/decontextualized problems, and complex/decontextualized problems. Students studied self-directed lesson materials during two class periods. After the lesson, students were given an attitude questionnaire, a posttest which included four types of questions (context-rich/one-step, context-rich/multi-step, context-poor/one-step, and context-poor/multi-step), and a performance test. / The results revealed a significant overall interaction related to differences in subscales, F(4, 29) = 3.533, p $<$.05. In general, students who studied complex, contextualized problems performed the best and students who studied complex, decontextualized problems performed the worst. An interaction was also found between complexity of treatment and complexity of questions. Students who studied complex problems solved roughly the same number of multi-step questions as those who studied simple problems, while students who studied simple problems in the lesson solved more one-step questions than those who studied complex problems. Also, students who studied simple problems in decontextualized situations performed best on one-step questions (both context-rich and context-poor), while students who studied complex problems in contextualized situations performed best on multi-step questions (both context-rich and context-poor). / For the attitude questions, students who studied simple problems in decontextualized situations reported the most positive attitudes, and students who studied complex problems in decontextualized situations reported the most negative attitudes, toward the lesson. Also, students who studied simple problems perceived the lesson as easier and math as more relevant to their experiences than students who studied complex problems. / For the performance assessment, no significant effects were found. However the relationship between contextualization of treatment and complexity of treatment revealed the similar pattern as the posttest and attitude results. While students who studied complex, contextualized problems performed the best, students who studied simple and decontextualized problems performed the worst. / Generally, these results supported situated learning theory. Students who studied complex, contextualized problems performed the best--especially on context-rich, multi-step questions and the performance assessment. This result indicates that situated instruction can promote learning and the transfer of knowledge by providing meaningful and complex problems rather than highly decontextualized, simplified problems which are often used in formal educational settings. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-10, Section: A, page: 3884. / Major Professor: Michael Hannafin. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1995.

This study focuses on the development of a quantitative model designed to show how figural and ground space is manipulated by the young artist to reflect structure and organization in drawings. Two computational methods are used to (a) establish a mathematical scale of visual balance for drawings, and (b) specify the geometric center of balance in the drawings. A series of analyses are performed to determine the validity and reliability of the programs used to perform machine processes analogous to those people use in imposing organization on the structure of drawings. / This paper provides experimental evidence in support of the Gestalt principles of organization, and establishes a methodological basis for the interpretation of those principles in a computational medium. Drawings are analyzed in terms of their part-whole relationships, according to the theories of Rudolph Arnheim. The developmental aspects of organization in drawing production are investigated. Computer bitmaps were generated from original drawings produced by children in Kindergarten through sixth grade. Four measures of visual balance were computed, and the balancing center, or focal point was specified. / In a series of multiple regression analyses, it was determined that, on the average, chronological age differences had no effect on a child's ability to produce drawings within the range of balance considered to be aesthetically pleasing by Arnheim and others. These results support the rejection of a Piagetian developmental hypothesis that pictorial organizational skills are low in early childhood, and gradually increase over time. They are, however, in step with the Gestalt theory that the ability to impose organization on perceptual stimuli is an inborn capacity, or due to very early learning. / Preferences for focal point placement were not explained by differences in chronological age. A cluster analysis of the balancing center coordinates in the drawings suggests that children in Kindergarten through sixth grade generally show a strong bias for balancing pictures around a focal point close to the geometric center of picture space. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 50-11, Section: A, page: 3521. / Major Professor: F. J. King. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1989.

This study was designed to determine if Stress Inoculation Training was effective in reducing various forms of anger and stress in high school varsity head basketball coaches. Four head varsity basketball coaches served as subjects. Subjects were selected by means of the Novaco Anger Inventory. Measured characteristics were state-trait anger, anger expression, tension-anxiety, depression-dejection, anger-hostility, aggression, assertion, palmar swear production, and heart rates of coaches while participating in game and practice situations. An A, A1, B, A1, B, within-subject experimental design was used to assess the effects of SIT on anger control. Data were analyzed by a within-subject repeated measures analysis of variance and by observational analysis. The results of this study demonstrated that overall Stress Inoculation Training was effective in reducing anger and related psychological reactions to stress. Additional information indicated that the majority of subjects benefitted both psychologically as well as physiologically to Stress Inoculation training. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 50-11, Section: A, page: 3515. / Major Professor: David Pargman. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1989.