This study investigated the nature of the interaction between a particular method of individualized science instruction and the personality characteristic of dependency. Interaction effects were sought in two areas--the interaction of instructional method with changes in dependency over time, and an aptitude-treatment interaction (ATI) between dependency, instructional method, and science achievement. / In the area of changes in dependency, it was hypothesized that exposure to a period of individualized instruction based on materials of the Junior Secondary Science Project (JSSP) would be associated with an increase in the independence of students. A small battery of personality tests was used to determine the dependency of 275 eighth-grade students in 12 science classes twice over the six-month treatment period. The tests employed included the Hidden Figures Test, the Rotter Incomplete Sentences Blank, and an Independence of Mind test and Dependence-Proneness Scale modified by the investigator. / For only one of the facets of dependency measured (field-dependence-independence) was any difference observed between the changes in dependency of students in the individualized classes and those in a control group. Consistent with the experimental assumptions, males and individualized students made greater gains (p < .05) on the Hidden Figures Test than females and students in the control group. However, more detailed analysis of the treatment effect revealed that the effect was largely due to the regression towards dependency of initally independent students in conventional instructional classes (the control group). Within the circumstances of the experiment, this finding could not be satisfactorily explained. / No evidence of an ATI between dependency and instructional method was found when scores on a specially developed science achievement test were used as the criterion. A generalized regression analysis computed on the achievement scores revealed that science ability accounted for nearly half of the achievement test score variance, while ATI effects accounted for just over one percent. Possible explanations were offered in terms of likely test-battery invalidity and insufficient control over the instructional treatments. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 41-03, Section: A, page: 0918. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1980.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_74129 |
| Contributors | BLAKEWAY, DENIS MCCARTNEY., The Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 130 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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