The Japanese Journal of Educational Psychology
Online ISSN : 2186-3075
Print ISSN : 0021-5015
ISSN-L : 0021-5015
Volume 19, Issue 4
Displaying 1-8 of 8 articles from this issue
  • Especially on transformational representation
    Yoshiko Kinoshita
    1971 Volume 19 Issue 4 Pages 193-201
    Published: December 31, 1971
    Released on J-STAGE: February 19, 2013
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    The present study aimed at demonstrating the role of relevant mediators in epistemic observation of spatial transformation. It was hypothesized that effectiveness of the observation depends on availability of relevant mediators.
    A simplified version of Piaget's “3-mountains-experiment” was undertaken. In place of the 3 mountains, 2 objects, i. e., a ball and a pin were used.
    My previous study, from which the hypothesis was derived, revealed Ss felt it the most difficult to imagine the sight from the position opposite their own. Most of the mistakes were committed concerning the left-right relation of the 2 objects. If Ss could not imagine the sight from other angles correctly, they were asked to go down to the place and to confirm the sight by their own eyes. This procedure of empirical confirmation was effective for some children, but completely ineffective for others.
    The present experiment was undertaken to identify mediators which will make the observation more effective. Two kinds of mediators were selected. One was a verbal mediator. It was anticipated that verbal labels of “left” and “right” can be used as mediators. Ss were classified into 3 categories (+, -, and intermediate) according to their abilities to encode the objects or the relation between them in terms of “left right”, and to deal with the objects following instructions involving the terms.
    The other mediator was essentially non-verbal. Its availability was diagnosed according to utilization of left-right cues in a concept learning situation. The cues can be utilized when Ss can persistently attend to these aspects. A simple concept learning experiment, using a set of stimuli with 3 variable dimensions, was given to Ss. They were classified into 2 categories (+ & -).
    All Ss were 6-year-olds. According to the relevant mediators, 4 groups of Ss were selected. They were exposed to a training session which consisted of the observation of the sights from different viewpoints. In the session, a child was required to anticipate the sight, then to go to the place and to confirm his anticipation. No verbal explanation was given to Ss.
    The results are as follows. Many of Ss of A & C grs., made progress. B & D grs. had a small number of successful learners. It is evident that the non-verbal mediator, which facilitated cue utilization in concept learning, was really an effective mediator in the observation. The verbal mediator, on the other hand, had no differentiating effect, since there was no difference between A gr. and B gr., or C gr. and D gr. It can be interpreted that the verbal mediator was effective only when the observation was accompanied by verbal description or explanation of the phenomenon.
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  • Koji Tamase
    1971 Volume 19 Issue 4 Pages 202-209
    Published: December 31, 1971
    Released on J-STAGE: February 19, 2013
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    The present experiment was designed to determine the effects of tensioned and relaxed states of the subjects on verbal conditioning. Excluding the extremely high-anxiety scorers and low-anxiety scorers, 90 undergraduates were chosen as the subjects. They were randomly assigned to one of the three experimental conditions: tensioned, relaxed, or neutral. A Taffel-type task was employed with 80 index cards, each of which contained a different three-syllable verb and the same four personal pronouns: I, YOU, HE, and SHE. A curtain was set out across the table in the experimental room, separating the subject from the experimenter to prevent nonverbal communication.
    Following three practice trials, the subjects' level of tension were measured by means of a questionnaire, which consisted of 20 statements describing the tensioned or relaxed states. After the subjects were given 20 operant trials, they were assigned to one of the three conditions. In the Tensioned group, the subjects were attached to two electrodes of GSR apparatus on their right-hand fingers, and were told that these were used to catch their delicate mental activities. In the Relaxed group, the subjects were trained to relax their muscles and to regulate their breathing. In the Control group, the subjects did not receive any experimental manipulation.
    Immediately after the subjects received the differential experimental manipulations, the subjects' levels of tension were measured in terms of the same questionnaire as in the first measurement. During the subsequent 60 conditioning trials, each subject's critical pronouns were reinforced by means of a verbal approval,“Hmm-hmm”. After the subjects completed the conditioning trials, the subject's levels of tension were again measured. The last session of this experiment was set to assess the subject's awareness of the response-reinforcement contingency and his positive or negative attitude toward the experimental task.
    The main results obtained were as follows; (a) the differential manipulations in the three groups were successfully reflected on the tension scores in the second and third measurements,(b) a significant verbal conditioning was obtained when the performances of the three groups were pooled, but no significant difference were found among the groups, and (c) the subjects who were interested in the experimental task showed better performance than those not interested in that.
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  • Case Studies on Learning Blocks as Ego-Defense
    Shoji Yabuki
    1971 Volume 19 Issue 4 Pages 210-220
    Published: December 31, 1971
    Released on J-STAGE: February 19, 2013
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    What are the personality factors which characterize an underachiver? The author looks into this problem from the viewpoint of psychoanalytic ego psychology. He considers 7 case studies of underachievers troubled with neurotic conflicts. That which is called a healthy underachiever is beyond the limits of this study. The hypotheses from this study are:
    1) Using the concept “ego defense”, we can answer the question “Why do neurotic conflicts bring about underachievement?” whereas before, the expression “Neurotic conflicts bring about underachievement,?” didn't solve any basic problems.
    2) For someone with a certain type of defensive ego structure, it is a threat to be also endowed with a high will to learn, because he must meet new situations which create anxiety.
    3) The way that the ego defense mechanism urges him to avoid the learning situation, is a distinctive mode which helped him deal with his formative experiences.
    4) Therefore, from the viewpoint of the theory of ego development, the typical crises of the ego structure at each developmental stage may be recognized as important contributing causes in influencing the learning process; and the crises help determine whether the process is positive or negative, positive being a coping response and negative being a defensive response.
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  • Effects of Abstractness of Learning Materials
    Tadao Umetani
    1971 Volume 19 Issue 4 Pages 221-231
    Published: December 31, 1971
    Released on J-STAGE: February 19, 2013
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    This study attempts to investigate the effects in the achievement which mildly retarded children and normal children of same M. A. attains concepts at different abstractness.
    Experiment I
    Purpose: Exp. I is to examine the readiness of concept attainments of concrete objects, forms and numbers with retarded and normal children of same M. A.
    Subjects: Ss consist of a group of 11 retarded childdren (IQ 60-78) and a group of 10 normal children (IQ 95-104), the groups being matched on the basis of M. A.(8 years 6 months).
    Materials and Procedure: The materials in this concept attainment consists of three categories-concrete objects, forms and numbers. Each category consists of 2 concepts with equal levels of abstractness. Nonsense syllables are assciated with these 6 concepts. Six drawing represents a typical example of six concepts respectively. 2 serieses are used preliminary learning ones and 13 serieses are used learning ones, the series being consisted of six different drawings. Ss were required to learn the names (nonsense syllables) of drawings presented to them singly and successively, in one after another series. The criterion of concept attainment was 5 successive correct responses through the drawing of the series. Ss were allowed to make 65 trials at the maximum.
    Results were as follows:
    (1) In the both groups of retarded and normal Ss, concepts of concrete objects were attained rapidly than that of forms and numbers.
    (2) There were no significant differences between performances of groups of retarded and normal Ss in concepts of concrete objects. But performances of retarded group was significantly inferior to that of normal group in concepts of forms and numbers.
    Experiment II
    Purpose: Exp. II is to examine the effects on abstractness of learning materials in dicrimination reversal shift.
    Subjects: Ss consists of a group of 30 retarded children (IQ 50-80) and a group of 30 normal children (IQ 97-128), the groups being matched on the basis of M. A.(6 years old).
    Materials and procedure: Discrimination reversal shift tasks consists of Task I (concrete objectssize), Task II (concrete objects-number) and Task III (form-number). Dimensions consists of two equal values, respectively. The criterion of learning for initial and reversal learning was 9 correct responses in 10 trials and 5 consecutive correct responses in the last half of 10 trials. Testing was terminated after 60 trials for Ss did not reach this criterion on both learnings.
    Results were as follows:
    (1) In the initial learning, the mean number of trials needed to attain concepts in Task III was more than that in Task I and Task II.
    (2) Both groups were difficult to reverse in Task I (especially, dimension of size) and this tendency was more remarkable in retarded group than normal group.
    (3) Furthermore, it was founded the tendency that normal group was easy to reverse in the tasks, while retarded group was difficult to reverse in Task II and Task III.
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  • Norihiko Kitao, Yoshiko Hata
    1971 Volume 19 Issue 4 Pages 232-241
    Published: December 31, 1971
    Released on J-STAGE: February 19, 2013
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of instruction on the conceptual classification of pre-school children. Exp. I was designed to examine the hypothesis that the instruction including conceptual terms would facilitate the conceptualization for classification in the stage of development under which the Ss have not learned to use the terms (hypothesis I). A 2×3 factorial design was used, which incorporated two instructions (the specific instruction given or not) and three age levels (4, 5, and 6 years). 120 children who took part in the experiment were assigned to six groups of 20 subjects each. The Ss in the specific instruction groups were given the terms of supper-ordinate concepts for each instance in addition to the general instruction. After the instruction, the Ss were requested to classify 16 picture-cards into four categories and to verbalize the reasons for classification. Each card involved one familiar object belonging to one of the four class concepts: fruits, vegetables, flowers and birds.
    With a considerable modification of the experimental method, Exp. II was carried out to test the hypothesis that the instruction with the conceptual terms would be more effective for classification than the explanatory instruction to describe common distinctive features (hypothesis 2). 57 children from the age of 4. 5 to the age of 5. 5 years were divided into three groups of 19 subjects each, equated in age: the group instructed the conceptual terms, the group given the explanatory instruction and the control group. The tasks used in Exp. II were the same as in Exp. I. However, the class concepts were beats, birds, fishes and insects, and the matching method was adopted in pre-and post-tasks. After the pre-task, the Ss were given the specific instruction followed by the post-task and transfer-task. The transfer-task consisted of the different cards from the pre-and post-tasks.
    The main results may be summarized as follows.
    1. The instruction with conceptual terms in Exp. I increased the percentages of both classification and verbal reports on each conceptual category in the age groups of 4 and 5 years, but did not increase in the age group of 6 years.
    2. In Exp. II, the instruction with conceptual terms had the same effects. as in Exp. I. The explanatory instruction, however, had no effect on conceptualization. These diverse effects according to the instructions were confirmed not only by the post-task but also by the transfer-task.
    The results obtained support both hypothesis 1and 2. A discussion was made on the relationship between the stage of development and the effect of instruction, emphasizing a role of verbal mediation.
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  • 1971 Volume 19 Issue 4 Pages 241-
    Published: 1971
    Released on J-STAGE: February 19, 2013
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
  • [in Japanese]
    1971 Volume 19 Issue 4 Pages 242-244
    Published: December 31, 1971
    Released on J-STAGE: February 19, 2013
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Download PDF (377K)
  • 1971 Volume 19 Issue 4 Pages 245-246
    Published: December 31, 1971
    Released on J-STAGE: February 19, 2013
    JOURNAL FREE ACCESS
    Download PDF (348K)
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