Patterns of Discrimination Learning Set in Preschool Children, Fifth Graders, College Freshmen, and the Aged Problem.-This study explores patterns of discrimination learning set in preschool children, fifth graders, college freshmen, and the aged. Major objectives.-The objectives are (1) to study the development of discrimination learning set in the four age groups indicated above and (2) to seek consistencies in each group's manner of attacking problems. Procedures.-The subjects for this study will be selected from nursery school children, fifth graders in public school, college freshmen at the University of Buffalo, and aged adults in community centers and homes for the aged. The subjects will be selected in a random manner from the 5th grade and college populations, and all available subjects will be used in the nursery schools, homes for the aged, and community day centers. A series of 10 problems per day will be presented to each subject. Each problem involves a pair of stimuli; the subject is to learn which of the two stimuli is correct. He will be allowed four trials on each problem, and the shift from one problem to the next will be made without comment from the experimenter. The training will continue until the subject has reached a criterion of five successive problems in which no more than one error is made on trials 2, 3, and 4. The data will consist of records of correct and incorrect responses for each subject in each test session until the criterion is reached. An analysis will be made of the frequency of a particular kind of error and the frequency of correct responses as a function of the number of previous problems that have been experienced by the subject. This analysis will provide an indication of the development of learning set. A second analysis of the frequency of correct responses and certain of the errors on the within-problem trials will reveal the development of specific habits as opposed to the generalized set. Comparisons of the frequency of errors and correct responses in the different age groups will provide information about the effects of age on the development of learning set and on the learning of specific habits. BILLEY LEVINSON and HAYNE W. REESE, assistant professors, Department of Psychology, University of Buffalo, Buffalo, N.Y. Project No. 1059. Duration: 9 months. Concepts of Over- and Underachievement Problem. This study explores the concepts of over- and underachievement. Major objective. The objective is to develop a thorough yet clear and understandable critique of the concepts of over- and underachievement and of procedures for appraising them. Procedures. The procedures for carrying out the study will be threefold. Conferences will be held with interested and knowledgeable people who have written about the subject; a review will be made of the educational literature dealing with the problem; and from data gathered through conferences and a review of the literature, a careful exposition of the problem will be developed. The report will probably include sections on the historical development of the problem, some of the common fallacies found in research designs in this area, and the statistical and logical rationales which underlie the concepts of under- and overachievement. ROBERT L. THORNDIKE, Professor of Educa tion, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York, N.Y. Project No. "D". June 1960-June 1961. RESEARCH ON: IV. ADMINISTRATIVE PROBLEMS THE ADMINISTRATOR Role of the Elementary, Junior High, and Problem. This study proposes to investigate the role of the principal in public education. Major objectives.-The objectives are (1) to develop the theoretical structure and hypotheses for the research; (2) to collect and examine a body of preliminary data related to central problems of the inquiry; (3) to develop research instruments and the sampling procedure; and (4) to obtain the cooperation of school systems in the research. Procedures. This is a one-year pilot study to determine the feasibility of obtaining a sample and developing the instruments to be used in a long-range study. Previously collected data from six Massachusetts school systems related to the principal's role will be examined for their implications for this study. Information from principals, teachers, superintendents, and others will be gathered to explore problems related to the theoretical and empirical problems of the research. Role-concept systems will be examined for their implications. Finally, instruments and interview schedules will be pretested. The precise population and sampling procedures will be determined and an assessment made of the willingness of school systems to participate in a long-range study. NEAL GROSS, Professor of Education, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Project No. 714. Duration: 1 year. 71 Procedures for Identifying Persons With Potential for Problem. In this study an attempt is made to develop better procedures than are now available for identifying persons who have the characteristics and potential abilities needed to serve effectively in administrative positions in public schools. Major objectives.-The objectives are (1) to describe a number of personality, social, and cognitive factors common to administrators and (2) to supplement them with characteristics of administrative jobs in order to develop a battery of instruments that will distinguish between effective and ineffective administrators. Procedures. In this first phase of an anticipated long-range project, a small group of effective and ineffective administrators will constitute the sample. The subjects will be administered the Life History Questionnaire and will be interviewed for 3 or 4 hours to determine what the symbolic meaning of educational administration is for each and to trace its development. On the basis of information obtained from the questionnaire and the interview, a battery of instruments will be collected to measure interpersonal needs and values, cognitive orientations and abilities, and job characteristics. The battery will probably include measures such as the Test of Type Indicators, the Fundamental Interpersonal Relations OrientationBehavior (FIRO-B), and the Taxonomy of Situations. The analysis will determine how well the measures differentiate effective and ineffective administrators. EDGAR L. MORPHET, Professor of Education, University of California, Berkeley, Calif. Project No. 677. Duration: 1 year, 4 months. Education for Innovative Behavior in Executives Problem. This study attempts to identify the determinants of innovative administrative behavior and to determine whether such behavior can be encouraged through education. Major objectives.-The objectives are (1) to determine the relationship of personal factors and organizational climate to innovative administrative behavior, (2) to develop experimental educational programs designed to stimulate innovative administrative behavior. and (3) to assess the differential effects of these programs upon the performance of administrators drawn from distinct organizational climates. Procedures. A sample of 150 to 200 persons at grade levels from GS 11 to GS 17 will be drawn from 15 to 20 Federal agencies in the Washington and Chicago areas. An attempt will be made to achieve an adequate range and distribution of types of agencies (e.g., defense, nondefense, headquarters, field, security), grade levels, years of service, age, and education. Data on aptitude and personality factors and perceptions of organizational climate will be collected in testing sessions of approximately 6 hours for each subject. The Positional Performance Inventory, which contains 30 items, each describing a personal characteristic or type of administrative situation, will be administered to an immediate superior of the subject and to a coworker. Nelson's Leadership Practices Survey, each item of which describes a management problem and the alternative practices for attacking the problem, will also be administered to each subject, who will be asked to select the practice which would be most typical in his organization. The data obtained from this instrument will be used to determine the effects of aptitude and personality factors and perceived organizational climate upon innovative behavior. Some of the above tests will be given to new samples immediately before and six months after a training program designed to stimulate innovative administrative behavior. Standard correlational and analysis of variance techniques will be used for analysis of the data. BERNARD JAMES, Director, Center for Programs in Government Administration, University of Chicago, Chicago, Ill.; and HAROLD GUETZKOW, Professor of Psychology and Sociology, Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill. Project No. 975. Duration: 2 years. August 1960-July 1962. Role of the Elementary, Junior High, and Problem. This study continues the work of project 714 in examining the role of the principal in public education. Major objectives.-The objectives are (1) to determine the distinguishing and common elements in the roles of the elementary, junior high, and senior high school principals as viewed by principals and occupants of related positions, (2) to investigate the degree to which the role performance of principals conforms to their definition of professional standards for their behavior, (3) to isolate the role conflicts to which principals are exposed and the methods used to resolve them, (4) to investigate determinants and consequences of differential role definition and consensus on the principal's roles, |