No abstract

This study tested the hypotheses that interpretations increase clients' motivation to change and that interpretations identifying causal factors clients can directly control lead to greater client change than interpretations identifying causes clients cannot directly control. Thirty-six students who were experiencing problems with procrastination were assigned to 1 of 12 conditions defined by three interview conditions and four interviewers. Students received two interviews 1 week apart. In one interpretation condition the interviewers worked from a casual framework of procrastination as caused by a lack of effort, poor self-discipline, and ambiguous goals. In the other interpretation condition the interviewers saw procrastination as a symptom of underlying conflicts and resentments stemming from unresolved conflict with parents. In the third condition the interviewers refrained from any statements of opinion but reflected the students' ideas about the nature and causes of their procrastination. The results generally supported the hypotheses.

The present study compared the effects of paradoxical and self-control counselor directives on subject change over a 4-week period. Thirty-two subjects who reported having a serious and recurring procrastination problem were randomly assigned to either of two directive interview conditions (paradoxical or self-control) or to a no-interview control condition. Dependent measures included weekly subject ratings of problem frequency, perceptions of problem controllability, expectation, to change, and satisfaction with behavior, as well as a measure of subjects' perceptions of the interviewer. Results indicated that both directive groups exhibited generally greater improvement over time than controls and that the opposing forms of direction promoted different change patterns on self-report measures of problem frequency and controllability. Specifically, subjects exposed to paradoxical directives reported a sharper rate of change in their procrastination without viewing their problem behavior as significantly more controllable. The implications of these results for counseling practice are discussed.

Computerized quizzes are becoming more available to psychology students and instructors. We hypothesized that students' ineffective use of such quizzes would predict poor course performance. Students in a personalized system of instruction life span human development course used 26 computerized, multiple-choice chapter quizzes to help them master the course textbook. Students who used a "prepare-gather feedback-restudy" strategy were more successful than students using quizzes to learn course material. We discuss these findings in the context of helping students become more effective learners.

Good teaching is good teaching: An emerging set of guiding principles and practices for the design and development of distance education. DEOSNEWS, 8(12).