The implications of these results for assessing symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity in college students are discussed.

91 upper-level undergraduates completed the Attributional Style Questionnaire and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale; scores on these inventories were correlated with students' cumulative grade point averages. Students with pessimistic attributional style scores had higher depression scores than students with optimistic attributional style scores and those with higher depression scores had lower grade point averages. The need for longitudinal evaluation of changes in these associations is discussed.

The purpose of this study was to compare student performance on unproctored open book online exams to performance on traditional proctored paper and pencil exams. Data were collected over 12 semesters from students enrolled in a hybrid upper-level psychology course at a southeastern liberal arts university (N=274). In each semester the course was taught by the same instructor. During six semesters students completed the exams online and were allowed to use their textbook and notes; during the other six semester the students took the exams in the classroom, with the instructor present, and without access to their books and notes. Students scored significantly higher on the online exams compared to students who took the paper and pencil exams. Students who took the online exams scored significantly lower on the other course assignments compared to students who took the exams in the classroom. Additionally, students who took the online exams earned more As and Bs in the course than students who took the classroom exams. Implications for effectively incorporating online testing into a hybrid course are discussed.

~sP~cFIRST OBJECTIVE OF THIS RESEARCH was to come the demographic and academic profiles of introductory iology students who completed Web-based courses (n = 62) to those who completed traditional lecture-based courses (n = 77). The second objective was to determine the extent to which demographic variables (age, gender, and race), academic variables (high school grade point average, and verbal and quantitative Scholastic Assessment Test scores) differentially predicted exam performance in the two learning environments. The demographic and academic profiles of students in the two learning environments were similar, with the exception of racial composition. The Web-based courses had a significantly lower percentage of racial minorities than the lecture-based courses. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated that race was a significant predictor of exam performance in the Web-based courses but not in the lecture-based courses.

The performance of gerbils, hooded rats, and albino rats was compared under signaled and unsignaled free-operant leverpress avoidance. Within-groups comparisons revealed that asymptotic shock rates did not differ for either domestic rat strain between signaled and unsignaled conditions; gerbils received significantly fewer shocks when the signal was present. Betweengroups comparisons showed that gerbils received fewer shocks than either rat strain under the signaled condition and fewer shocks than the hooded rats under the unsignaled condition. All groups had substantially lower response rates when the signal was present. In addition, all groups made many more responses, proportionally, during the period preceding shock when the signal was present than when it was absent. An explanation of these findings is proposed that emphasizes differences in selective processes that operate upon wild stocks in comparison to domesticated species.Does the presence of a preaversive signal affect avoidance responding in rodents in comparison to an unsignaled procedure? The answer to this question is unequivocally yes. Does the change in responding result in reduced shock rates? Although the answer to this question is generally affirmative (Gilbert, 1971;Keehn, 1959;Myers, 1964Myers, , 1977Sidman, 1955), a number of studies indicate that procedural, parametric, and species variables can have potent effects. With respect to the latter point, we have recently reported that both wild black rats (Powell, 1976b) and Mongolian gerbils (Powell, 1976a) avoided shocks much more successfully under signaled vs. unsignaled avoidance in comparison to domesticated rats. In fact, under some conditions the domesticated animals received approximately the same number of shocks with the signal present as in its absence. The domesticated rats also had generally lower response rates in both studies than the black rats and gerbils.Our explanation for the differences described above is that nondomesticated animals maintain higher levels of activation/arousal than domesticated animals, because this characteristic is selected for in the natural environment, whereas no similar selective pressure operates for domesticated animals.

The relationship between parent relations and college students' academic performance was examined in two studies using samples of students enrolled in two southeastern liberal arts universities (N = 466). T scores on the Relations with Parents subscale on the college version of the Behavior Assessment System for Children-2 served as the measure of student perception of parent relations and academic performance was measured using official university GPA and probation/suspension data. Results for the first study indicated a significant positive correlation between parent relations scores and GPAs. Additionally a significant negative correlation was found between parent relations scores and probation/suspension status. When gender differences were examined, parent relations scores accounted for more variance in academic performance for women than men. Systematic replication of the study at a nearby liberal arts university produced findings congruent with the initial investigation. Implications for college personnel who work with academically at-risk students are discussed.

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This study compared Web-based and lecture-based Gerontology and Psychology of Aging courses in terms of student performance, demographic and academic characteristics of students enrolled in the courses, and extent to which these characteristics differentially predicted outcomes of learning in the two course types. Participants for this study were 289 undergraduate students who completed a Psychology of Aging or Gerontology course, taught in either a Web-based or lecture-based format. Evaluation of student performance indicated percentage of points earned in the two course types did not differ significantly. Although students in Web-based courses tended to be older and were more likely to be upperclassmen than students in lecture-based courses, student profiles did not differ in terms of gender, race, grade point average, and Scholastic Assessment Tests (SAT) scores. Additionally, demographic and academic variables did not differentially predict course performance. The results of this study suggest a similar market in terms of demographic and academic characteristics of students for Web-based and lecture-based gerontology courses. Moreover, the findings suggest student learning outcomes in the two course formats are comparable.