James R. K. Heinen

A primer on psychological theory

ABSTRACT This paper addresses some of the principal constituent elements in the formation of theories in the science of psychology. To that end, means of theory construction, concomitant theory functions and types, and norms of acceptance are presented. Where appropriate, efforts were made to cite particular historic or contemporary theories of human behavior as cogent exemplars.

Word imagery modalities and learning in the deaf and hearing.

The study explored the modality specific hypothesis of imagery concreteness. Twenty-four male and female deaf and hearing adolescents learned lists of paired associates that were either high visual and low auditory imagery words or the obverse. It was predicted that the deaf group would perform as well as the hearing group with pairs of high visual imagery, but worse with materials of high auditory imagery. The results failed to demonstrate the expected interaction. However, indirect support for the hypothesis was provided by a third order interaction trend analysis which suggested that the deaf group experienced difficulty in learning the high auditory imagery word pairs.

COLLATERAL INCREASES IN PERFORMANCE OF LONG DIVISION RESULTING FROM ON-TASK GAINS USING TOKEN REINFORCEMENT AND SELF-RECORDING

The present study was designed to assess the collateral increases in one underachieving students accuracy rate of completing assignments as a result of gains in on-task behavior. A second purpose was to evaluate the maintenance potential of self-recording on the students on-task behavior gains. Initially, a combined external reinforcement and self-recording procedure was utilized to effect increases in the students task-oriented responses. These treatments, however, were not related to accuracy. During a subsequent phase, the external reinforcers were faded, leaving self-recording as the sole treatment.

Modality-specific imagery and associative learning in the deaf and hearing*

Previous research has shown that recall performance of blind Ss is affected by auditory, but not visual word imagery, whereas the reverse is true for sighted Ss. The present study explored the possibility of a parallel effect with deaf Ss. Both deaf and hearing Ss learned lists of paired associates that were either high visual and low auditory imagery words or vice versa. It was predicted that deaf Ss would perform similar to hearing Ss with pairs of high visual imagery, but worse with materials of high auditory imagery. The results failed to demonstrate the expected interaction. Instead, performance was uniformly superior for the visual materials, and there was no significant difference between deaf and hearing Ss. Possible reasons for this outcome are discussed.

Inherent Predispositions and the Study of Human Behavior

Consideration of innate behavioral predispositions of varying complexity is of utmost importance for the development of a sophisticated and comprehensive science of psychology. Evidence is accumulating that predisposing conditions are powerfully related to motoric patterns, semantic-syntactic factors, and propositional thought, as well as to aspects of social behavior. It is suggested that cooperation should be fostered among scientists in psychology, psycholinguistics, and ethology, and an open invitation is extended for clarifying critiques from philosophers of science.

Fostering Moral Growth through Teaching Literature

It has been said many times that the purpose of literature, like that of the other arts, is to teach and to delight. Indeed, one compelling reason for including the study of literature in school curricula is that young people can learn moral values by considering how fictional characters make moral choices. It is, therefore, both desirable and possible to construct a class unit in literature that, in addition to introducing students to a variety of worthwhile and entertaining works, will foster moral growth and promote the clarification of values. The case for teaching values is cogently made by author James Michener (1991). In an article written for the Chrysler Corporation and published in Time magazine, Michener states: