The effect of experience in telecourses on attitudes toward instruction by television and impact of a controversial television program.

4social psychological measurement devices were used to compare certain attitudes of an experimental (N = 24) and a control group (N = 33) of college students. "The contention proposed here is that, if all related variables (e.g., attitude toward the instructor, the subject matter itself, general motivation arousal characteristics of the course) could be held constant, television as a teaching medium would take its place along side other educational media; this is, they are all equally well received in proportion to the extent that effective learning principles are implemented in their use." From Psyc Abstracts 36:02:2KC11E. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The planning and implementation of a psychology series on a noncommercial education television station.

"With the beginning of operations of the nation's first noncommercial educational television station, KUHT-TV (Very High Frequency), at the University of Houston in June, 1953, it became possible to examine some of the possibilities inherent in educational television, and the author was requested to prepare and present the first course to be offered for college credit over the station, elementary psychology." An "… informal lecture combined with skillful use of the blackboard may be a preferred method of TV presentation." A discussion of the general problems encountered, the techniques of presentation, and an evaluation of responses to the TV series is included. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Objectives of the general psychology course.

A discussion of the manner in which objectives for the instructor of general psychology may be arrived at: the objectives of the college and the place of this course in the curriculum, job analysis of the role of college students as citizens, the student's needs and expectations, the function of the course in the eyes of the profession as a whole, etc. An outline of the general objectives for the elementary psychology course at the University of Michigan is presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effect of a course in psychology on the attitudes of research and development supervisors.

In comparing lecture and nondirective approaches to changing group attitudes, 72 corporation supervisors taking a psychology course were subjected to pre and posttest comparisons of attitudes toward the supervisory role using a sentence completion test with both experimental and control groups. Negative findings involving a worsening of attitudes in the control group was attributed to group solidarity stimulated by threat of competition being forced upon them from without. The lecture method and emphasis on research findings produced improved attitudes toward supervisory work. (19 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An integrated course in biology and psychology.

"The problem of providing a broad and sound education in science for liberal arts students has led many colleges and universities to establish integrated science courses… . Within the last few years, an Integrated Course in Biology and Psychology has been developed at Wayne State University through the cooperation of the Departments of Biology and Psychology." Objectives of this course include providing: (a) an overview of basic biology and psychology, (b) knowledge of the scientific method, (c) an appreciation of these disciplines in our practical culture. Titles of some laboratory demonstrations are indicated, and 3 of these are briefly described. Themes developed are specified. The principal strength of the course is "integration" and its principal weakness, "lack of depth." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of closed-circuit television in university resident instruction.

"It is now obvious that we can link any number of classrooms together, put one or more TV receivers in each, and let one good professor lecture over the television system to multiple groups of students." Experiments "… or demonstrations could be performed and televised… ." Initial cost, installation and maintenance, operation, flexibility and pictures are discussed. "… TV exists as an aid to, and not a replacement for, the instructor… ." Faculties should "… begin now to coolly appraise TV for its strengths and its weaknesses, and to determine in what ways and under what conditions TV can make a contribution to resident university instruction." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A basic psychology course for engineering students.

Describes a course in Psychology of Human Relations required of all junior engineering students. The course is problem-centered with attention to the kind of problems apt to be met by professional engineers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Changes in attitudes of learners when programed instruction is interpolated between two conventional instruction experiences.

5parallel forms of a 26-item Likert-type attitude scale were administered in counterbalanced order to 70 airmen studying radiation detection and 53 airmen studying camera repair. Both courses included several wk. of lecture, a programmed unit, and several more wk. of conventional instruction. Students' attitudes were significantly more favorable during the programed unit in both courses. Changes were considerably more pronounced for the 17 highest ability students. (15 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Color-blind racial attitudes and white racial identity attitudes in psychology trainees.

Is it really important to talk about race in therapy? Does discussion of societal racism have any place in the consulting room? The American Psychological Association's (2003) recent multicultural guidelines highlight the limitations of a racially "color-blind" perspective for clinical practice. This study explored the relationships between color-blind racial attitudes and White racial identity. In a sample of 177 White counseling and clinical psychology trainees, we found that higher levels of attitudes that minimized or distorted the existence of contemporary racism (i.e., color-blind attitudes) were positively related to attitudes associated with less integrated forms of racial identity. Conversely, the results indicated that greater awareness of racism was related to more integrated White racial identity statuses. Implications for assessment, treatment, training, and future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The graduate course in experimental psychology.

The course at the University of Buffalo is described. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An evaluation of the effectiveness of instruction and audience reaction to programming on an educational television station.

"The achievement of students enrolled in elementary psychology and biology television instruction and non-television instruction was compared. No significant differences were found. An audience-reaction survey of Houston televiewers revealed that 75% of the audience watched the station from as often as three times a week to at least once in two weeks. Highly preferred programs included sports, a psychology course, and an international affairs discussion panel. Suggested programs ranked most highly were sports programs, educational films, panel discussion, and children's programs. Least preferred programs were of the classical music type." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Diversity beliefs as a mediator to faculty attitudes toward students with disabilities.

A survey of a sample of faculty (N = 201) at a large, public university located in the Southwest was conducted to investigate whether differences in faculty attitudes toward diversity positively mediate faculty attitudes toward persons with disabilities. In addition, the current study examined whether differences in faculty attitudes toward diversity may be viewed as positively mediating the relationship between instructor characteristics and their attitudes toward persons with disabilities. This study concludes that faculty members may not be viewing disability as part of the greater construct of diversity with empirical evidence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Popular literature in the undergraduate social psychology course.

In the social psychology course at the Carnegie Institute of Technology, in addition to using a standard text plus a book of readings, and requiring a technical term report and a class research project, students are required to read three novels (George Orwell's 1984, Thomas Heggen's Mr. Roberts, and Philip Wylie's The Disappearance). Four criteria for the selection of these are specified. These books provided much opportunity for discussing a wide range of social phenomena and "… helped tie together many aspects of the course material." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Employee attitudes toward technological change in a medium sized insurance company.

How do office workers react to office automation? "Questionnaires about technological change and the installation of a new electronic computer were administered to all of the employees of a medium sized insurance company." The validity of the questionnaires was not discussed. "Most of the employees welcomed changes in their work… . They believe that machines are replacing workers in office situations but do not feel that they themselves will be replaced. They do not perceive that the introduction of the new technologies has had much effect on the amount of pay they get, their chances for promotion, or the amount of supervision they receive. But they do believe that the new technologies have changed the amount of work that they do and the degree to which there is variety in their work." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A brief history of the psychology course in american high schools.

Psychology has been a part of the high school curriculum for the past 170 years in a variety of forms, in classes labeled mental and moral philosophy, mental hygiene, personal adjustment, child development, human relations, and psychology. This abbreviated and selective account traces that history, including the considerable role played by the American Psychological Association. This history focuses on the social and educational contexts that led to changes in the nature of high school psychology classes and concludes with comments about the value of precollege psychology classes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology as a general social science course.

Acourse entitled "An Introduction to the Sciences of Human Behavior" which "… represents a serious effort to coordinate and integrate the data of… " psychology, anthropology, and sociology is described. "The orientation is toward problem solving in a scientific sense, but not in the sense of applied science." Research indicates that "… freshmen in the inter-disciplinary course learn as much psychology as sophomores in the traditional course." The course is organized around three lectures and one discussion session a week. A brief resumé of the major psychology topics considered in the course is presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The attitudes of West Texas College students toward school integration.

Attitudes were assessed by means of the California F Scale and Integration Attitude scale in an attempt to determine the relation of school integration attitudes, authoritarianism, and school classification. "… it may be concluded that there is a generally positive attitude toward integration… thus easing the widely expressed fear… when integration comes." Discrepancy was obtained between student and parental attitudes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mental illness stigma as a mediator of differences in Caucasian and South Asian college students' attitudes toward psychological counseling.

Previous research has established that Asian Americans use mental health services less frequently and hold poorer attitudes toward psychological counseling than Caucasians. The authors directly tested whether stigmatizing beliefs regarding mental illness might explain such differential attitudes toward counseling in a South Asian and Caucasian student sample. Using mediation analyses, the authors examined 2 aspects of stigma posited to affect help-seeking attitudes: personal stigmatizing views and perceptions of the public's stigmatizing views directed toward persons with mental illness. First, the authors found that Caucasian (n = 74) college students revealed more positive attitudes toward counseling than did South Asian (n = 54) students. Second, in terms of mediation, increased personal stigma, but not perceived stigma, expressed by South Asians partially mediated and accounted for 32% of the observed difference in attitudes toward counseling services. These findings support a long-standing conjecture in the literature regarding the increased significance of stigma processes on disparities in majority-minority help-seeking attitudes. They also suggest that efforts to reduce disparities in attitudes toward counseling for South Asian students specifically should incorporate interventions to reduce the increased stigma expressed by this community, particularly related to a desire for social distance from persons with a mental illness. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Subject's attitudes toward psychology as a determinant of experimental results.

Proposed attitudes toward psychology and psychological research as the basis of ss' differential willingness to cooperate with the demands of the experiment. To test this proposition, demand characteristics for positive opinion-change were communicated in a pretest-posttest design with 144 undergraduates as ss. The psychology research survey (prs) was developed to measure ss' attitudes toward psychology. Although all ss showed significant opinion-change, it was found, as predicted, that ss with more positive attitudes toward psychology showed significantly greater opinion change than ss with less positive attitudes. In addition, prs scores were significantly positively correlated with posttest and opinion-change scores and nonsignificantly correlated with pretest scores. The potential role of attitudes towards psychology as a determinant of ss' experimental performance is discussed. (french summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)