EXPERIMENTAL PREVENTION OF UNDERACHIEVEMENT AMONG INTELLIGENT IMPULSIVE COLLEGE STUDENTS.

Abstract

An investigation was made of several methods of preventing academic underachievement among university students identified by test score as impulsive. Sixty-four impulsive entering freshman with Scholastic Aptitude Test scores (SAT) of 1000 or more were assigned in equal numbers to one of four conditions: (1) students were paid a weekly amount, contingent upon their attending a weekly group counseling session; (2) students were paid a weekly amount, contingent upon their demonstrating that they had completed their previous week's mathematic assignment; (3) students were paid a weekly amount with no contingent effort required; (4) unpaid control -- no direct interventions were attempted beyond an initial testing for impulsivity prior to the beginning of the semester. Sixty-four non-impulsive entering freshmen served as additional controls in each of the four conditions. The main results were that weekly counseling significantly improved the final grades of impulsive students. Paying students to study mathematics was only effective among impulsive students with SAT scores of 1060 or more. Among this more intelligent group, however, final grades were significantly improved in comparison to the grades of the control group. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jul 01, 1969
Accession Number
AD0691288

Entities

People

  • David Kipnis
  • Jerome H. Resnick

Organizations

  • Temple University

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Counseling
  • Intervention
  • Mathematics
  • Psychological Tests
  • Students
  • Universities

Fields of Study

  • Education

Readers

  • Government Contracting/Procurement.
  • Psychological Intervention/Treatment for Stress, Anxiety, PTSD, and Related Emotional and Cognitive Health Symptoms.
  • Psychometric Testing or Psychological Assessment.