Research into the effects of overt versus covert responding in a learning situation has produced contradictory results. The present study was undertaken to clarify some of these findings. Three response modes were compared across three levels of difficulty for men and women with high and low reading ability-a total of 180 college students classified in 36 groups. Comparisons were made on four dependent measures of recall. Consistent differences were found as a function of reading ability; sex was also shown to have significant effects. Few differences were found for difficulty level or response mode. The results demonstrated that (a) reading ability must be controlled in studies of learning involving meaningful verbal material; (b) an unknown sex factor influences learning or recall of meaningful material; (c) the recall of ideas from meaningful material is influenced by the amount of material; (d) the facilitating influence of overt responding is limited by the independent and dependent variables involved in the learning or performance situation.
The effecu of stimulus changes on activity in 20 food-deprived and 20 nondeprived adult rau were smdied using a photo-relay method, direct observation, and bar-press rate. Differences in activity as measured by the photo-cells and differences in bar-presses were significant ( P < ,001) for stimulation, deprivation, and the interactions. Ss in the stimulus change groups had the highest activity counts, their most frequent single behavior being exploration. The results confirmed the utility of the photo-relay system of measurement, demonstrated that stimulus change differentially affected the activity of deprived and nondeprived Ss, and supported the conclusion that stimulation sensitized S to its internal state to which it then reacted.
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