by Kitty Nim-yu Li. / Title in Chinese: / Bibliography: leaves 99-105 / Thesis (M.A.)--Chinese University of Hong Kong, 1986

This study focused on two major areas of investigation: (1) locus of control and (2) the influence on test performance of anxiety and motivation. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the efficacy of programmed instruction dealing with motivation, anxiety, and test-wiseness as a means of enhancing group intelligence test performance of externalizing children. While earlier research demonstrated the viability of this technique x^ith a heterogeneous sample, no studies have utilized any kind of instruction to facilitate the performance of externalizers on standardized tests. It was hypothesized that intelligence test performance would be enhanced by programmed instruction. Furthermore, externalizers were expected to demonstrate greater gains than internalizers, which would thereby suggest that locus of control provides a source of variance in intellectual assessment.

There is evidence that the conceptualization of creativity as a process of original problem-solving is applicable to Indian preschoolers (N=66, mean age 54.8). The cross-cultural validity of the measuring instruments has been demonstrated. The lack of age and sex differences was consistent with results found in the U.S. (Moran, Milgram, Sawyers, & Fu, 1983) and in Israel (Milgram, Moran, Sawyers, & Fu, 1987). Quantity and quality of ideational fluency responses were found to be strongly related; a marked order effect with popular responses occurring earlier and original responses later in the response sequence was found to exist more in high original subjects than in low. These findings duplicate those found with preschool children in the United States and in Israel. The relationships between the variables proved to be more complex than hypothesized. In the present study with Indian preschoolers, fantasy did not act as a bridge between convergent and divergent thinking as hypothesized on the basis of results obtained in the U.S. The multidimensional model with ideational fluency, fantasy, metaphoric comprehension, intelligence and the home as predictors accounted for 48.9% of the variance in problem-solving. The home environment was found to be a crucial factor in the prediction of original thinking and its role in conjunction with the cognitive variables needs further examination. Considering this, it is recommended that a measure of the home environment and its profound influence on the divergent and convergent thinking of the preschool child be studied. The investigations have also revealed that the measures for stringent problem-solving are not completely satisfactory and a more appropriate criterion measure of creativity needs to be established. / Ph. D.

Bibliography / Thesis (M.A.) -- Stellenbosch University, 1988.