Roy D. Goldman

A Within-Subjects Technique for Comparing College Grading Standards: Implications in the Validity of the Evaluation of College Achievement

Differential standards of college grading were examined, and an index of grading standards was computed using pairwise comparisons of grades in 17 major fields. These grades were obtained by an analysis of the transcripts of a randomly selected sample of 475 undergraduates at a medium sized public university. This index correlates highly in a negative direction with scores on the verbal and mathematical portions of the Scholastic Aptitude Test of the College Entrance Examination Board (SAT—V and SAT—M) and HSGPA. These results further support the application of adaptation level theory to college grading standards, for it was found that at the institution studied fields with lower ability students as compared with those with higher ability students employed less stringent grading criteria. The results are discussed in regard to graduate school admission and to the need for a weighting system for grades earned in different fields.

Grading Practices in Different Major Fields

The present investigation was concerned with grading standards in different major fields. Specifically, adaptation-level theory was hypothesized as a model for describing grading behavior of instructors. In this model, the stringency of grading standards is positively related to average student ability. The regressions of GPA on HSGPA, SATV and SATM were computed for students in each of 12 major fields. This information was used to “project” hypothetical GPA’s if students were to major in fields other than their own. The results indicated that for middle and low ability students those fields with lowest ability students adopt lowest grading standards. Similarly, high grading standards are adopted by fields with high ability students. It appeared that adaptation-level theory was supported as a model of grading behavior at low and middle levels of ability but not for high levels of ability. The implications of the results were discussed with regard to: 1) changing college admission requirements, and, 2) open-enrollment experiments.

Perceptions of Crowding Predicting at the Residence, Neighborhood, and City Levels

Interest in crowding has generated a large number of animal and correlational studies. Yet, this research has not addressed itself to the questions of broader importance, namely, what are the effects of dense environments on human behavior, perception, and general well being. The laboratory and field research on human crowding has been used to develop two primary explanations. Crowding has been described as a negative affective reaction to social or behavioral interference from others in a setting and has also been defined as overstimulation emanating from social sources. The present paper details the results of a large-scale field study that was conducted in the cities of River-side and San Bernardino, California, aimed at testing these two theoretical approaches in a field setting. Multiple regression analysis was used to predict the perception of crowding at the residence, neighborhood, and city levels by phsychological and physical variables. We found that the behavioral or social interference approach was the best general explanation for the perception of crowding at all three levels of analysis. Psychological factors became increasingly important for the prediction of crowding as one moved from the immediate residence to the less immediate city level. Conversely, physical measures were important at the residential level, but progressively less important in the neighborhood and city. The implications and limitations of this study are discussed.

Attitudes toward Alcohol as Predictors of Self-Estimated Alcohol Consumption in College Students

The purpose of the present investigation was to examine the relationship between attitudes toward alcohol use and self-estimated drinking behavior. The results indicated that attitudes can reliably predict variations in self-reported drinking behavior. The implication of these findings for treatment and future research is discussed.

Relationships among different domains of attitudes towards alcoholism: Model cost and treatment

Abstract This study sought to examine the relationships between three domains of attitudes toward alcoholism. The attitudinal domains chosen were Model, Cost and Treatment . A 66-item Likert-style questionnaire was administered to 296 psychology students. Analysis by the novel application of Canonical correlation permitted an economical and psychologically comprehensible assessment of the association among the three domains. The results indicated the existence of a complex network linking the domains of model, cost and treatment whereby attitudes in one domain were believed to influence, (or be influenced by), attitudes in other domains. Implications of these findings were discussed for; (1) educational efforts directed towards alcoholism and (2) the effects of publicising public health statistics concerned with alcoholism costs upon other attitudes towards alcoholism.

Group differences in attitudes towards alcoholism

Abstract Attitudes toward alcoholism were assessed by questionnaires in three groups with different degrees of contact with alcohol use. The three groups were: Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), college students, and a non-drinking religious sect. Multivariate analysis of variance in a 3 x 2 (Group x Sex) design was used to compare attitudes. There were significant main effects on both factors but no interactions. Discriminant function analysis was used to further describe the nature of the attitudinal difference among groups. The results suggest that the groups differ along two independent dimensions: (1) restriction versus freedom of alcohol use, and (2) volitional control vs no control over drinking. The AA and religious groups are rather similar on the first dimension—both favoring restriction, but extremely different on the second. Men and women also differ in their attitudes toward alcoholism.

Status Quo and Reform Attitudes of Backlands High School Students of Dominant Class Parents in Brazil, Chile and Mexico1

TRADITIONAL and continuous patterns of oligarchical authority and power structure are assumed to prevail from generation to generation in backland communities of Latin America. In time, the offspring of the dominant class inherit the positions of the dominant class. Children of proprietors and local government officials become proprietors and officials when they grow up. Such a tendency persists regardless of the form of rule. Thus the attitudinal characteristics of these potential leaders might be useful in assessing the prospects for continuity and change within their communities. The purpose of the present study was to assess the attitudes of dominant

How Do mental health paraprofessionals form judgments about patients? The development of a patient evaluation scale

Current trends in mental health imply increased use of mental health paraprofessionals in a variety of mental health settings. The present investigation was an attempt to explore the semantics of paraprofessionals judgments about patients. Psychiatric technicians in a public mental hospital were asked to make evaluative judgments about patients in their wards. In addition, they were asked to rate the patients on a 22-item scale concerned with specific behaviors or first-order inferences about behavior. The pattern of correlations as well as regression weights between evaluations and behavioral ratings were used to infer the “meanings”of the paraprofessionals evaluations of patients. Results indicated that most paraprofessionals tended to look for similar behaviors in making evaluations of patients. The semantic framework was simple and intelligible. Training uses of the research method were also discussed.