Ray R. Buss

Role of Implicit and Explicit Processes in Learning From Examples: A Synergistic Effect

ness of Implicit Knowledge Reber (1969, 1976) claims that implicit knowledge is abstract and readily generalizes to different symbol sets when

Insight without awareness: On the interaction of verbalization, instruction and practice in a simulated process control task

Four experiments in which subjects learned to control two versions of a complex simulated process control task show that verbalizable knowledge of procedures used to perform these tasks is very limited and is acquired late in learning. Individual learning curves associated with these tasks showed sudden improvements in performance, which were not accompanied by a similar increase in verbalizable knowledge. It was also found that verbal instructions consisting of exemplar memorization, strategies for rule induction, simple heuristics, and experts’ instructions were all effective in enhancing novice subjects’ performance. A theoretical framework is proposed in which subjects draw on two separate but interacting knowledge structures to perform these tasks. One knowledge structure is based on memory for past experiences (close analogies), and the other is based on ones current mental model of the task. Implicit sets of competing rules that control response selection are derived from both sources of knowledge. It is suggested that dissociations between task performance and verbalizing occur because memory-based processing tends to have more control over response selection because of its greater specificity, whereas a mental model tends to be the preferred mode for verbal reporting because of its greater accessibility.

Adolescent Egocentrism and Formal Operations: Tests of a Theoretical Assumption.

The theoretical relation between adolescent egocentrism and formal operations was addressed in two studies. In the first study this relation was assessed with the Adolescent Egocentrism Scale (AES) and a battery of formal reasoning tasks devised by Lunzer, administered to a sample of 6th-, 8th-, 1 Oth-, and 12th-grade subjects. The results revealed only significant negative or nonsignificant correlations between the measures in early adolescence. There was also no evidence of significant developmental covariation from early to middle adolescence. The validation effort was extended in Study 2 to include the two extant measures of adolescent egocentrism (AES and the Imaginary Audience Scale, or IAS) and a second battery of formal operations problems (Test of Logical Thinking). These measures were administered to a sample of 7th-, 9th-, and 1 lth-grade students and to a sample of college undergraduates. There was once again no evidence of significant developmental covariation among the measures. The correlations between the AES and IAS were modest, reflecting differences in the nature and content of the measures. Little support exists in this study or in the literature for the crucial theoretical assumption of adolescent egocentrism. Suggestions for future research are outlined.

Distributive Justice Development: Cross-Cultural, Contextual, and Longitudinal Evaluations.

ENRIGHT, ROBERT D.; BJERSTEDT, AKE; ENRIGHT, WILLIAM F.; LEVY, VICTOR M., JR.; LAPSLEY, DANIEL K.; Buss, RAY R.; HARWELL, MICHAEL; and ZINDLER, MONICA. Distributive Justice Development: Cross-cultural, Contextual, and Longitudinal Evaluations. CHILD DEVELOPMENT, 1984, 55, 1737-1751. The development of distributive justice was examined with the Distributive Justice Scale (DJS) in 3 studies. In Study 1, 176 children, ages 7, 9, and 11, from Sweden and the United States were given the DJS and 2 Piagetian logical reasoning tasks. Significant age trends in DJS scores and the relation with logical reasoning were comparable in the 2 cultures. In Study 2, 75 5and 7-year-old children were given the standard peer DJS and a comparable family DJS to assess reasoning in different contexts. Family stimuli elicited higher levels of reasoning than peer stimuli. In Study 3, 84 6and 9-year-old children were administered the DJS twice at 1-year intervals. Age trends with no cohort biases were found. Implications for distributive justice research are drawn.

Promoting Identity Development in Adolescents

A model of identity formation based on the cognitive developmental stages of social-perspective taking is described. The model assumes that identity can be achieved through cognitive strategies of considering the self in relation to one friend, ones family, the peer group, and society. A study with high school students was undertaken to test the model. The program included 43 high school seniors and lasted for two weeks. The experimental students were asked to take the perspective of each social entity above and then to consider how the self was like and unlike these. Repeated measures analyses of variance showed that the experimentals gained significantly more than the controls on Rasmussens Ego Identity Scale (EIS) following the program.

The role of explicit and implicit learning processes in concept discovery

Analysis of individual learning curves and concurrent verbal protocols from three experiments concerning discovery of a non-salient verbal concept and a pictorial analogue (Chinese ideograph) of the concept show that a substantial transition phase occurs in which discrimination of exemplars from non-exemplars of the concept is above chance but not yet asymptotic. Under most conditions the ability to verbalize knowledge of the concept occurred almost simultaneously with the onset of the transition phase. However, the addition of noise in the form of false feedback (Experiment 3) created a temporary dissociation between task performance and verbalizable knowledge. Additional results suggest that individual hypothesis revision/rejection strategies affect the length of the transition phase of learning, whereas the size of the domain of hypotheses being sampled affects the number of trial blocks before the transition phase begins. The effect of feedback error on the relation between early rates of hypothesis generation and subsequent transition phase length also suggests that a strategy of quick rejection of falsified hypotheses becomes less adaptive in noisy task environments (e.g. when there are many exceptions to a rule or the concept is probabilistic). Finally, failure to find effects of variables known to affect implicit learning suggests that implicit learning processes do not play a large role in the discovery of this type of concept.

Daily stress and anxiety and their relation to daily fluctuations of symptoms in asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients

Although stress and anxiety have long been assumed to play an exacerbatory role in asthma, no study has systematically documented that daily exacerbations of asthma symptoms are related to stress and/or anxiety. In this study, 24 airways obstruction patients (12 asthmatics and 12 chronic obstructive pulmonary disease patients) were instructed to monitor the severity of daily respiratory symptoms. In addition, subjects recorded their daily anxiety level and the number and perceived impact of daily stressors. The results showed that although there were differences between high- and low-stress days for both groups, there were no differences between groups on symptom severity or between high- and low-anxiety days, as measured by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). Thus, although the number and impact of daily stressors were found to be directly associated with the severity of asthma symptoms, anxiety does not appear to have a direct role in the exacerbation of asthma. The findings failed to support the anxiety theory of asthma but provided an explanation for the poor results obtained in previous treatment studies which employed anxiety management with asthmatics.

A clinical model for enhancing adolescent ego identity

A model of identity formation based on the cognitive developmental stages of social perspective-taking is described. The model assumes that identity can be achieved through cognitive strategies of considering the self in relation to one friend, ones family, the peer group, and society. Two studies were undertaken to test the model. In Study 1, 28 college students participated in a two week program in which the experimental students were asked to take the perspective of each social entity above and then to consider how the self was like and unlike these. The experimentals gained more than the controls on the identity subscale of Rasmussens EIS. Fifty-nine college students participated in Study 2 which used a more sensitive discrepancy score measure on a revised identity scale. Discrepancy scores in an analysis of covariance indicated that the experimentals were higher than the controls at post-test and at a one month follow-up.

Infusing Educational Technology in Teaching Methods Courses: Successes and Dilemmas

Abstract In this action research study, we describe the implementation of a program to infuse technology in general methods courses as a requirement of a teacher preparation program. Results from teacher candidate focus groups revealed successes and dilemmas of infusing technology into the courses. Candidates ably described prospective use of elements of the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) model (Mishra & Koehler, 2006), but were less confident of their ability to develop and implement content‐based lessons in which P–12 students employed technology to meet content and technology standards. Recommendations include continuing to fine‐tune the new courses, providing more resources for professional development (PD), and encouraging instructors to participate in more PD leading to greater modeling of hands‐on learning with a focus on content and pedagogical uses of technology.

Innovations in Integrating Technology into Student Teaching Experiences.

AbstractThis study describes the implementation of a project designed to improve the preparation of Grade 3–8 mentor and student teachers to teach mathematics and science through the integration of multimedia technology and pedagogy. Project goals were implemented through (a) joint training, (b) ongoing support, and (c) provision of hardware and software. Both phases of the Interactive Video Project—the summer training institute and the fall semester implementation of the program—were evaluated. Based on the evidence, the project proved to be successful. Student teachers were better prepared to integrate technology in their classrooms. Mentor teachers changed the way they taught mathematics and the tools students used to find and present information in science.