Charles A. Burdsal

The Dimensions of Students' Perceptions of Teaching Effectiveness.

The use of student ratings of instructional quality is enhanced by an understanding of the nature of the underlying dimensions. In the current investigation, confirmatory factor analysis procedures were used to assess the fit of the original solution for the Student’s Perceptions of Teaching Effectiveness questionnaire to a more recent sample of more than 7,000 university classes. Furthermore, a new exploratory factor analysis was used to examine the factor pattern after excluding certain items. The latter solution was crossvalidated on an additional sample. The analyses provided a clear interpretation of six first-order and two second-order dimensions of instructional quality that are useful across a broad range of university courses. The dimensions of teaching quality obtained by researchers are examined and compared to the results of the current study. Implications for the evaluation of perceived teaching quality are discussed.

Further evidence supporting the validity of both a multidimensional profile and an overall evaluation of teaching effectiveness

The purpose of this research is to provide additional empirical evidence supporting the use of both a multidimensional profile and an overall evaluation of teaching effectiveness as valid indicators of student perceptions of effective classroom instruction. A factor analytic teaching evaluation instrument was used that also included open‐ended comments on four questions. Numerical scores from 208 classes were matched with the average valence of the open‐ended comments. It was found that the average valences were highly positively correlated with the numerical factor scores that make up the multidimensional profile of teaching effectiveness and with the second‐order factor that serves as an overall evaluation of teaching effectiveness. The implications of these results for the usefulness of student evaluations are discussed.

An Examination of Second Order Motivational Factors as Found in Adults.

Abstract Dynamic motivational traits identified by Cattell were factor analytically examined to determine more general underlying factors. Cattells Motivational Analysis Test, which measures 10 dynamic structures was administered to 247 subjects. The intercorrelations of the dynamics were factor analyzed. Six general motivational factors were found: Long Term Growth and Satisfaction vs. Short Term Attainments with Frustrations, Social vs. Selfish Values, Masculinity vs. Femininity, People Orientation, Egocentric vs. Materialistic Orientation, Relaxed Materialism vs. Frustrated Insecurity. The factors represented an individuals general motivational orientation.

An Item Factoring of 16PF-E: Further Evidence concerning Cattell's Normal Personality Sphere

Summary An item factoring of 16PF-E was conducted for the purpose of assessing the replicability of Cattells normal personality sphere. The Ss utilized were 449 rehabilitation clients, 55% male. The mean age was 31 years. A secondary objective was to compare seven rotational strategies, including a procrustean-graphical procedure. The results of the factor analysis, using the graphical rotation to simple structure, provided strong support for Cattells personality structure. Only two of 16 factors failed to emerge at a statistically significant level. The relative efficiency of the various rotational methods, as measured by .10 hyperplane counts, ranged from 14.3% to 80.8%. It was concluded that choice of rotational strategy is extremely important when attempting to replicate personality structure with item data.

The effectiveness of various degrees and circumstances of program completion of young male offenders in a residential treatment center.

Boys admitted to a treatment facility do not always complete their treatment. This study analyzes the follow-up socialized coping of boys preponderantly classified as conduct disordered who were admitted to a residential treatment center. The boys were categorized into 10 different groups, only 1 of which consisted of those who actually completed treatment. The differences between groups and subsequent coping were fairly pronounced and highly significant. Further analysis indicated that very few of the group differences could be attributed to either age at admission or duration of treatment. Data analysis supported the hypothesis of treatment effectiveness in that boys who completed treatment did better in general than boys who did not, although those withdrawn by their parents did best of all. Furthermore, the rather pronounced differences among groups that failed to complete treatment raised certain methodological questions with regard to the practice of aggregating such groups in evaluation research.

An examination of counselor ratings of behavior problem youth in an early stage, community-based intervention program

Explored counselor ratings of 10- to 13-year-old Ss (33 girls and 99 boys) in the first and last of three 15-day therapeutic camping trips. Counselors rated the Ss on on a 25-item, 6-point Likert scale. Examined were any perceived changes that occurred in the boys or girls according to the six factors extracted from the rating data. The factors found were: Group interferer, unstructured dependence, disliked but trying, outright offender, mutual leadership, and institutional adaptability. Results indicated a significant difference between boys and girls from third-trip comparisons on unstructured dependence. Only the boys showed significant differences between the first and third trips. Reliable counselor ratings were found, and boys were perceived by the counselors to change, while girls were not. A discussion of possible reasons and/or implications of the study was given.

The Relationship of Marihuana Usage to Personality and Motivational Factors

Summary The 16 Personality Factors Questionnaire (16 PF), Motivation Analysis Test (MAT), and a marihuana usage questionnaire were administered anonymously to 104 undergraduate students. Raw scores were converted to sten scores to eliminate sex and age differences. Product-moment correlations were computed on data from the questionnaires. An iterative principal axis solution was applied to the correlation matrix followed by Kaiser Varimax orthogonal rotation and graphical oblique rotations. The most significant finding was that marihuana users were not a homogeneous group in terms of personality and motivational structure. Four identifiable personality and motivational patterns were found to be related to such use: (a) an antisocial norm group; (b) a frustrated upper-middle class group; (c) a hostile rebel group; (d) a follower group. None of these indicate pathological patterns.

What, Why, and How: Surveying what consumers want in new mobile phones.

Worldwide sales of smartphones totaled 968 million units in 2013, a 42.3% increase when compared to 2012 statistics [1]. International Data Corporation predicted that this number will have risen to 1.2 billion units in 2014 and 1.7 billion units by 2018 [7]. These statistics distinctly reveal that copious existing smartphone users upgraded or bought new units in 2013. Therefore, smartphone users who upgraded their phones in 2013 were most likely not satisfied with their device, their smartphone stopped working properly, or a new smartphone arrived with appealing technological features, encouraging the replacement of the existing device. According to the manufacturer, the average life of a smartphone is five to seven years. However, the actual duration for which a smartphone is used is much fewer than that.

An Examination of the Relationship Between Personality Traits and Motivational Dynamics

The relationship between personality traits and motivational dynamics was investigated with focus on issues concerning their independence. Matched 16 Personality Factor (PF) and Motivational Analysis Test (MAT) questionnaires were obtained on 691 male and female undergraduates and Air Force personnel, and the scales were factor analyzed. Thirteen factors were indicated of which five were purely personality and four motivational, thus pointing to the independence of the two domains.

A PSyCHOLOGICAL BIATHLON: THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN LEVEL OF ExPERIENTIAL AVOIDANCE AND PERSEVERANCE ON TWO CHALLENGING TASkS

The degree to which experiential avoidance may represent a functional response class was examined by comparing the perseverance of participants displaying high versus low levels of experiential avoidance, as assessed by the Acceptance and Action Questionnaire (Hayes et al., 2004), during a “psychological biathlon” consisting of 2 challenging tasks that previously had only been studied separately. Consistent with previous research, high avoidant participants were less tolerant of pain and were outperformed by low avoidant participants during a distress-inducing perceptual–motor task. The 2 groups of participants also differed significantly from each other on a composite perseverance measure derived from standard scores on each of the separate tasks, suggesting that experiential avoidance operates as a functional response class. We discuss implications of the findings for the assessment, further investigation, and conceptualization of experiential avoidance as a core process that supports diverse forms of human suffering and dysfunctional behavior.