Gary T. Rosenthal

ROLE-PLAY GAMERS AND NATIONAL GUARDSMEN COMPARED

Scores of 54 fantasy role-game players and 64 National Guardsmen were compared on a neuroticism scale and demographic variables. While the Role-gamers reported daydreaming and sleeping more than the Guardsmen, the popular stereotype that game players are withdrawn, emotionally immature adolescents was not confirmed. The typical game player was male with as many close friends as the guardsmen. Mean neuroticism scores did not appear to differ between the two groups and were not high enough to be considered clinically significant.

GENDER DIFFERENCES IN DREAM PERSPECTIVES

A study exploring gender differences in self-reported dream perspectives was performed with 282 college students. Significantly more of the 164 women reported dreaming exclusively in first person and more of the 114 men exclusively in third person Also, gender differences were found for those who dreamed in mixed perspective, a combination of first- and third-person points of view. Possible reasons for these differences were suggested and further research posited.

Point of View: When Helping Hurts: Negative Effects of Benevolent Care

In hospitals and nursing homes, &dquo;good patients&dquo; do not push nurse call buttons, do not ask questions, and do not try to control their surroundings. Such passivity may be good for institutional efficiency but can be bad for patients and residents. Through the best of intentions, care providers assist their clientele in many aspects of living with little consideration of the importance of encouraging independence. Though well intended, it will be shown that such care can be very detrimental to well-being.

Structuring and Anxiety Reduction Prior to Myelography

A form of structuring (providing specific procedural and sensory information, in combination) was effective in lessening anxiety of medical patients scheduled to undergo myelography. Myelography is a complex diagnostic x-ray procedure used to assess nerve damage of the spinal cord which may be serious enough to warrant surgery. Not only was structuring shown to be therapeutically significant, but it was suggested that structuring may provide an additional means of adequately meeting the informed consent requirement prior to medical intervention.

Multimedia, It's How You Use It

SUMMARY The current study chronicles what one professor learned from teaching a distance education course with and without the aid of PowerPoint multimedia presentation software. It compares student ratings of three lectures from the same classes by the same professor; the first, a traditional lecture without any audiovisual aids; the second, a lecture supplemented by PowerPoint notes outlining the lecture; and finally, a multimedia lecture utilizing PowerPoint notes with pictures, music and animations. Students reacted no differently to any of the presentations when delivered by an experienced teacher. The students did, however, prefer PowerPoint multimedia to PowerPoint outline presentations. Suggestions for the optimal uses of presentation software are provided.

On-task distractors associated with totball baseball games : A preliminary study

Two totball baseball leagues in southern Louisiana were monitored to judge what type of parental involvement yielded the highest on-task behaviors among participants. 39 children ages 3 to 5 years participated in 3- or 4-inning baseball games with parents on the field. In the Parent on Bases League, a parent stood on first, second, and third base only. In the Parent with Every Child League, a parent stood next to every child on the field. Children were observed on the field at three different dates at 1-min. intervals during the first two innings of one game in both leagues. On-task behaviors were defined as standing in the correct field position and watching the ball. Off-task behaviors consisted of sitting, rolling on the field, talking to a coach or parent, and not watching the ball. A statistically significant difference in the percent of time children spent on-task favored the Parents on Bases League (75.7) versus the other league (50.3). Having fewer parents on the field in these baseball games kept players on-task more effectively than having a parent with each child.