This study investigated the following question: When students are seeking and using information, why do they make the decisions they make? Decisions made by twenty-six students were examined as the students completed a classroom assignment that required them to seek and use information. Mental model theory, constructivism, and sociohistorical psychology provided theoretical bases for the study. / The three-month naturalistic case study was conducted in a science class. Students (grades 10, 11, and 12) worked in groups to create "video documentaries," 15-30 minute videotapes on topics related to the class. Data were collected from the students and several adults using observation, interactive interviews, and documents (some solicited by the researcher). The constant comparison method of analysis was used. / A proposed grounded theory that emerged from the study conceptualized a learning experience as composed of several intertwined "learning strands." The strands in the observed unit were subject-matter, life-skills, information-seeking-and-use, and production. Students assessed problems and based decisions on previously constructed understandings from whichever learning strand seemed to provide the most direct approach to a solution. Each strand continually influenced all the others, either supporting or constraining learning, but this interaction was unrecognized by students and teachers. Because most students' prior experience had been scant, students' understandings and mental models related to information and information-seeking-and-use did not provide support for decisions leading to the effective use of traditional information institutions (such as libraries) or for some other activities (such as organizing information and editing a videotape). / As students worked through the task, they faced a number of barriers. Some were simple logistical problems. Others were problems caused either by their own limited mental models or by the limited mental models of adults working with them. Students could address the logistical problems; they required support from an insightful adult to overcome the other problems. / An educator corollary recommends that educators who are planning a learning experience view it holistically and emphasize the construction of new understandings on all the learning strands instead of focusing attention on only one. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 55-01, Section: A, page: 0004. / Major Professor: Shirley L. Aaron. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1994.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of three different forms of feedback on student goal orientation, belief in whether ability could be improved on a task, and continuing motivation to learn. Eighty four high school students were randomly assigned to one of three treatment conditions. One treatment consisted of a print-based instructional package and a computer-based testing episode where students were told they would receive and received norm referenced feedback immediately following the computer-based test. The second treatment consisted of the same materials with the exception that they were told they would receive and received criterion referenced feedback. The third treatment group received identical materials but were told they would receive and received knowledge of results feedback. Results indicated that different feedback conditions did not have an effect on student goal orientations, on belief as to whether students could improve their ability on the experimental task, or continuing motivation to learn. Exploratory post hoc analyses indicated that ego orientation was significantly correlated with a belief that students could improve their ability on the task (p $<$.05). This finding is inconsistent with previous findings and suggests more research is required regarding this relationship. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 53-09, Section: A, page: 3145. / Major Professor: Marcy P. Driscoll. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1992.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of metamotivational states (as outlined in Reversal Theory and as measured by the Personal Orientation Profile) to the academic performance of collegiate student-athletes. / A sample of 138 student-athletes was selected from athletes attending Florida State University during the fall semester of 1991. The Personal Orientation Profile (POP) was administered to all subjects. A stepwise-multiple regression was used to determine the relationship between 14 metamotivational state subscale scores (IV's) and college cumulative grade point averages (DV). Personal data variables (gender, race, age, sport, year in school, and in-season or out-of-season status) were also stepped in to create the best prediction equation. / Results revealed that four variables contributed significantly to the prediction of the criterion (GPA). Telicism, race, allocentric sympathy, and conformity accounted for 24% (adjusted for bias) of the variance in academic performance amongst student-athletes tested (N = 138) at The Florida State University. The analysis did not show any significant relationship between gender and academic performance. / It was concluded that the results of this study could be important to personnel working with athletes in academic support. A metamotivational profile on incoming student-athletes would impart valuable information concerning athlete's goals, preferences and habits. Also, athletes demonstrating low academic performance might be identified and counselled earlier. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 53-07, Section: A, page: 2307. / Major Professor: David Pargman. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1992.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of variations in the levels of self-focus and general and task-specific self-concepts of ability on performance, effort, and continuing interest. It was hypothesized that in addition to a main effect for self-focus, there would be an interaction among level of self-focus and general and task-specific self-concept of ability. It was further hypothesized that the difference in outcome measures would be greater when task-specific self-concept of ability and self-focus were considered than when general self-concept of ability and self-focus were involved. / A total of 129 ninth and tenth graders from a high school in a small southern city participated in the study. Premeasures of reading and problem solving ability and test anxiety were collected and used as covariates. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of two groups. In the high self-focus group, students were told that performance scores achieved while completing a computer-based lesson and a posttest, would be made available to classmates via the lesson's online management system. This system was said to produce a rank-ordered list based on several performance criteria, and would allow social comparisons of performance. Additionally, a video camera was present during treatment sessions to increase the levels of self-focus among participants. In the low self-focus group, subjects were told that their performances would be more private, and no video camera was used. On task behavior in both groups was recorded as a measure of effort. All students completed a posttest and an interest survey. / The treatment effects for performance, effort, and interest were analyzed using ANCOVA. The results indicate that students in the high self-focus group performed more poorly on the lesson posttest, and expended less effort than students in the low self-focus group. The results obtained were not conclusive, but they suggest that instructional practices that invoke high levels of self-focus may impair some types of performance and the amount of effort expended by learners. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 53-10, Section: A, page: 3480. / Major Professor: John Keller. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1992.

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of motivation, prior strategy use, and locus of control when using embedded cognitive strategies for daily work and posttest performance. A secondary purpose of the study was to determine the relationship between the entry behaviors of notetaking, questioning, and use of other sources of information and posttest performance. To conduct the study, a series of analyses were conducted to include stepwise regression, ANOVA, t-tests and Pearson-Product Moment correlations. One hundred-eleven ninth and tenth grade students participated in the study by taking a series of tests to measure entry behaviors, motivation, prior strategy use, and locus of control. Fifty-eight of the students then worked through the treatment of a computer-based problem-solving program designed to teach map skills and to use strategies for solving novel problems posed by the program. Students were asked to record their notes and answer questions to assist in solving the problems posed by the lessons. Their notes and responses to questions were placed in a portfolio at the end of each lesson, for later analysis. The remaining fifty-three students served as a control group and did not participate in the computer-based activities. Upon completion of the computer-based lessons, all students were given a posttest performance test designed to measure their ability to solve novel problems. The results indicated that students using embedded cognitive strategies within the treatment condition performed significantly better than students in the control group. It was indicated also that the entry behavior questioning was correlated significantly with posttest performance. Results suggest that motivation, prior strategy use and use of other sources of information are not significant predictors of performance when using embedded cognitive strategies. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 53-10, Section: A, page: 3482. / Major Professor: Robert K. Branson. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1992.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of practice with rate-controlled speech as compared with practice with speech delivered at normal rates on short-term listening comprehension and levels of confidence of advanced Chinese EFL learners. The present study was designed by incorporating an information processing theory of language learning, a concept of confidence, and the compressed speech technology. / A pretest-posttest control group design was adopted in this study. Twenty-four Chinese advanced EFL learners were randomly assigned to either the experimental (compressed) or the control (normal) group. No significant difference in short-term listening ability or in levels of confidence was detected between the two treatment groups on pretests. / A total of twenty hours of practice was given to the subjects, one hour daily for a period of four weeks. A 35-item short-term listening material was used for each practice session. The experimental group first listened to speech extended (20%) to rates between 120 and 145 wpm, and then to speech at normal rates between 150 and 180 wpm, and finally to speech compressed (20%) to rates between 180 and 215 wpm. Contrastively, the subjects in the control group listened to speech presented at normal rates throughout each practice session. / After adjusting for initial differences in both short-term listening and confidence scores on the covariates (pretests), a significant difference was found between mean short-term listening and mean confidence scores on the posttests at the.05 level. / The data provide strong evidence for significant effects of practice with rate-controlled speech on short-term listening comprehension and confidence level in advanced Chinese EFL learners. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 53-10, Section: A, page: 3461. / Major Professor: John M. Keller. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1992.

The purpose of this study was to determine whether there is a significant relationship between selected cognitive learning styles and degrees of reading efficiency at the community college level. / In order to investigate this relationship, research was conducted at Florida Community College at Jacksonville with 208 freshmen on four campuses. Reading skills were measured by the Nelson-Denny Reading Test (NDRT), Form E. Cognitive learning styles identified were field-dependency/independency as measured by Witkin's Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT). The concept of cognitive articulation identified by the GEFT as it may relate to the cognitive restructuring processes involved in reading was used as the framework of this study. / The results demonstrated that 60.5% of field-dependent students were deficient readers (fell below the 43rd percentile). Thirty-two percent of field-independent students were deficient readers. The factors which determined significant differences in mean reading scores were: (1) the degree of field-dependency, and (2) the level of cognitive abstraction involved in the reading test questions. / Quartile one students (strongly field-dependent readers) scored significantly lower than did readers among the other three quartiles when comparing NDRT and GEFT scores. Data analyses also indicated that greater differences were found in higher-order interpretive reading skills involving abstract reasoning than were found in lower-order literal skills of detail and fact among quartile one readers. When comparing mean scores involving questions of lower-order cognition, significant differences were found only at the extreme ends of the field-dependent/independent continuum between quartiles one and four. / Demographic data characterized community college students as predominantly field-dependent. Females were more predominantly field-dependent than were males. Black Americans were significantly more represented in the field-dependent sample than were Caucasian Americans. No conclusions could be drawn concerning other cultural groups due to insufficient representation. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 49-08, Section: A, page: 2080. / Major Professor: Louis Walter Bender. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1988.

The purpose of this study was to explore whether or not there were common characteristics, including any differences among self-reports scores/classifications of women over 45 years of age, receiving and not receiving hormone replacement therapy (HRT), on measures of generalized contentment (depression), marital satisfaction, sexual satisfaction, sex-role identity, and health locus of control. A random survey of 1,000 Florida members of The American Association of University Women produced 318 complete and usable responses. The subjects were classified into unmarried and married groups. The unmarried group reported on three of the dependent variables measuring generalized contentment (depression), health locus of control, and sex-role identity. The married group responded to two additional dependent variables--marital and sexual satisfaction. / As this was an exploratory study, the statistical procedure of cluster analysis was utilized to determine what homogeneous groupings emerged according to how the subjects self-reports corresponded to their HRT status. Four clusters were subjectively selected for each of the unmarried and married groups, and a MANOVA was used to validate the clustering solutions. An ANOVA procedure for the unmarried subjects provided further evidence that the clusters were significantly different on the depression measure, but were not significantly different on the health locus of control and the sex-role measure. In addition, there was a differential effect of HRT on the depression measure, but not on the health locus of control or sex-role measures. / For the married subjects, the clusters were significantly different on measures of depression, marital and sexual satisfaction, but not for health locus of control or sex-role identity. There was no differential effect on any of the dependent measures among the married subjects regardless of HRT status. There was no interaction effects of cluster x treatment for either the unmarried or married group. / Despite the lack of statistical significance, this study supports previous research findings of a decrease in depression after administration of HRT (24% of the non-HRT subjects in this study are depressed compared to 12% depression among the HRT subjects). / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 50-05, Section: A, page: 1222. / Major Professor: E. Jane Burkhead. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1989.

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the influence of textual display (manner in which text information is presented on a page) in printed instruction on learner attention to the instruction and performance of the instructional goal. Secondary purposes were to investigate any differential effects of textual display for high and low ability learners and to determine learner preference for textual display. / Subjects were 90 preservice teachers who were randomly assigned to one of three treatment conditions: Simple Textual Display, Moderate Textual Display, Complex Textual Display. The treatments were manipulated by varying specified elements of print design (text column width and position, horizontal and vertical spacing, and heading placement). Ability, measured by GPA, was a moderating variable. / Attention was measured by the Attention subscale of the Instructional Materials Motivation Scale (Keller, 1987). Performance was measured by an objective-referenced test of recall. Preference was measured by items from the IMMS Attention and Confidence subscales. / Data were analyzed using analysis of variance and chi-square. Results indicated that there was an interaction between ability and textual display for performance (p =.009), but not for attention. Results also indicated a main effect of textual display for performance (p =.004), but not for attention. The Moderate Textual Display produced significantly higher performance scores for low ability subjects (p $<$.001). Results of the test for preference revealed that, of the three versions, learners preferred the text exhibiting the Moderate Textual Display. / These results show that a moderate textual display is preferred by learners and can improve performance of low ability learners. These findings have implications for the design and development of print instruction. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 50-12, Section: A, page: 3902. / Major Professor: John M. Keller. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1989.

Professionals in the area of child sexual assault prevention have been concerned about reducing this phenomena risk by arming children with assertive skills, healthy self-concepts and prevention tactics and information. The primary purpose of this dissertation was to determine from which disseminator children were able to learn greater amounts of sexual abuse prevention guidelines. The research question addressed differences in outcome on the Information Dissemination Questionnaire, (IDQ), based upon the information disseminator. / One hundred and twenty-one children were randomly assigned to the following three comparison groups: a group trained by a designated independent resource in a school setting; a group trained by parents who had attended the parent training, and a minimal treatment group. All three groups of children initially viewed the film, "No More Secrets." Children in the first experimental group received additional information from a designated independent resource in a school setting in a presentation entitled, "Safety Rules." Parents of children in the second experimental group were trained in the school setting by the same designated independent resource in a presentation titled, "How to Talk to Your Children About Sexual Abuse." These parents were then asked to discuss the information with their children in Group B within the two weeks following the training. The parent training included a viewing of the film, "No More Secrets," a lecture entitled, "How to Talk to your Children about Sexual Abuse;" and (for modeling purposes) a videotape of the independent resource discussing the film, "No More Secrets," with the children of the first experimental group. Children in this group also saw the film. Children in the minimal treatment group only viewed the film. / All three groups of children participated in pre- and post-testing using the Information Dissemination Questionnaire as the outcome measure. Data was analyzed through a Chi$\sp2$ for for each item on the IDQ. Significant results were obtained on IDQ items 7, 8 and 9. Treatment C primarily contributed to significant results on item 7. Treatment B contributed to significant results on items 8 and 9. Non-significant results were obtained on IDQ items 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 10, 11, 12, and 13. (Abstract shortened with permission of author.) / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 50-03, Section: A, page: 0629. / Major Professor: F. Donald Kelly. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1988.