Programmed Learning and Personality Styles at the College Level

Abstract

Matched sections of freshman mathematics class em ployed. Experimental group used programmed text book for six weeks, while control group proceeded conventionally. Evidence is conflicting as both good and poor students benefit through using programmed materials. All high achieving students tend to be more precise, more intense, and to work more rapidly when compared to low achieving students. Experimental students make decisions more quickly and adjust to changing conditions more easily than do control students. Few major personality differences exist between groups, although control students show somewhat more hysteria, interests typical of opposite sex, paranoia, and schizo phrenia. Low achieving students exhibit relatively more depressive tendencies. Undoubtedly a wider use of programmed materials in college classes should be strongly encouraged. PROGRAMMED LEARNING techniques pre sent the same stimuli in an inflexible sequence. Such subject matter rigidity assumes equally uni form students. This lack of discrimination ques tions the whole concept of individual differences and unique personalities. The hypothesis of this study is that the con ditions and nature of the learner greatly influ ence the effectiveness of teaching machines. While the learner's academic ability is of im portance here, even more so is his approach to problems and his method of resolving frustrations.