LECTURE OUT LINES FOR STUDENT USE IN
INSTRUCTIONAL TELEVISION: A PILOT STUDY

Thesis for the Degree of M. A.
MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY
William T. Harrison
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ABSTRACT

LECTURE OUTLINES FOR STUDENT USE IN INSTRUCTIONAL
TELEVISION: A PILOT STUDY

by

William T. Harrison

while most of the research on instructional
television.deals with the relative effectiveness of
televised versus ”conventional" teaching. there is a
growing trend toward intestigation.ofj!§z§ to make
televised teaching more effective. One improvement of
the learning situation.that is suggested in the
literature is the use of lecture outlines by students
during the television.lesson.

The problem under investigation.here is:

Can.a greater amount of learning in televised

 

college-level courses be obtained with handout

outlines of the lectures for student use?

 

Fbr a beginning pilot study of the problem.it was
hypothesized that:
Students given an outline of the lesson being

presented in.a televised college course will

William T. Harrison

learn more than students in the same course
who do not receive an outline for that lessona

An experiment was designed to investigate this
hypothesis. An additional refinement of the study was
the inclusion of a second variable that was felt to be
relevant, which considered the level of ability/motivation
of the students. Two levels were used: "high achievers"
and "low achievers".

.An onpgoing televised freshman course in "the Process
of Communication" at Michigan State University was used
for the experiment. Assignment of subjects to levels was
based on the student's performance in the course. exclusive
of the experiment test. Two sections of the course.
which were well matched in terms of previous college
experience and past achievement of the students. were
used for the experimental and control groups.

A lecture outline was administered for two consecutive
lectures to the students in the experimental group.
Learning for both groups was measured by a set of
questions included on the final examination for the
course. An analysis of variance was performed on the
experiment question scores. A second analysis of
variance was performed. based on the difference between
scores on: (1) the eXperiment questions and

(2) the mid-term and final examination.questions

william.T. Harrison

for the course. In both cases, the analyses failed
to yield a significant difference in treatment or in
interaction between treatment and level.

The data does indicate. however. a trend toward
interaction between level and treatment: the outlines
appeared to increase the amount of learning for the
”low achievers". Because a large percentage of the
subjects failed to attend class on the two days of the
experiment. the actual number of students involved in
the study was 39 instead of the originally designated
108. It is felt that this low number of subjects is
in large part responsible for the lack of significant
results. and further study is encouraged on the basis
of the trend noted above.

LECTURE OUTLINES FOR STUDENT USE IN INSTRUCTIONAL
TELEVISION: A PILOT STUDY

by

William T. Harrison

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University
in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS
Department of Television and Radio

1966

-’Jr; “J 'I' xi //_r
.9on 7 / Z54 2 c - \

Major Professor

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Blend together over a period of about two years a
spark of enthusiasm for instructional television generated
by the ”showmnship" of Mr.“ William G. Mitchell. the
mediating and ever-questioning discourse of an experienced
educational television administrator. Dr. Colby Lewis.‘ and
the guidance and direction of a thorough research director.
Mr. Thomas Baldwin. The result is a small but hopefully
sound beginning in the world of experimental research in
instructional television.

This writer is indebted to a large number of people
who helped with this project. including Dr. Bradley
Greenberg. Dr. Gerald Miller and Mr. John Basehart of the
Department of Communication for their cooperation in
utilizing their class for the experiment. and the staff
of Closed Circuit Television for aid in auditioning and
recording the experiment lectures. Also he is indebted
to Mr. Robert Schlater for his assistance in administering
the experiment and his patient advice on many details
of this report. He is particularly appreciative of the
efforts of Mr. Baldwin. whose patience. guidance and
criticisms have been of great aid in completing this study.

11

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii
LIST OF TABLES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . iv
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Chapter
I. THE PROBLEM AND RELATED RESEARCH . . . . . 3

Review of the Literature . . . . . . . 3
The Problem Statement and Hypothesis . 7

II. WHommGY. O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 12

TheStudyDesigneeeeeeeeeee 12
Population and Sample Selection. . . . 13
Selection.of the Lectures Used . . . . 17
Construction.of the Outlines . . . . . 19
Administration.of the Experiment . . . 20

Construction.of the Testing
Ins trument O O O O O O O O O O O O 22

III. STATISTICAL DESIGN AND RESULTS . . . . . . 25

Method of Analysis . . . . . . . . . . 25
Derivation of Scores Used. . . . 26
Determination of the Level Assignment. 28
Analysis of variance of Zi-scores. . . 32
Analysis of Variance of D-scores . . . 33

IV. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS FOR FURTHER
RESEARCH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
APPENDICES
I. EXPERIMENT OUTLINES. . . . . . . . . . . . #1
II. EXPERIMENT TEST QUESTIONS. . . . . . . . . 52
LIST OF REFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . e 58

111

Table
1.

LIST OF TABLES

Mean.cumulative grade point average. total
credits. and standard deviation of
each for sections 201. 301. and #01 of
Communication 100. Spring. 1966 . . . .

Mean cumulative grade point average. accum-
ulated credits. and standard deviation
of each for the experimental and OOH!
trolgroups..............

Mean cumulative grade point average for
each cell using grade point as level
assignment criterion. . . . . . . . . .

Mean ”experiment" Z-scores (21) for each
cell using grade point as level assign-
mentoriterioneeeeeeeeeeeee

Mean "test” Z-scores (22) for each cell.
using grade point as level assignment
criterion 0 e 0.0 e e e e e e e e e e e

Nean.z -. 22-. and D—scores for each cell.
usIng 22 as level assignment criterion.

Analysis of variance data - Zl-scores . . .

Analysis of variance data - D-scores. . . .

iv

Page

15

21

29

29

30

31
32
33

INTRODUCTION

It seems generally accepted that it is no longer
necessary to demonstrate experimentally that television
is a useful tool in teaching. So many studies have been
conducted to determine the effectiveness of television
in instruction that almost any new study of the rela-
tionship between the effectiveness of televised teaching
and |‘conventional" teaching is bound to be redundant.
Herman Shibler (1). the director of educational services
for the Midwest Project on Airborne Television Instruction
(MPATI) . reported at an MPATI workshop in 1963 that the
fact that students learn efficiently from instructional
television "has been demonstrated now in hundreds of
schools. by thousands of students. in every part of the
United States. and in several other countries . . ."

Wilbur Sehramm (2) in the Stanford University report
of 1962 on educational television stated that in
"employing the usual tests that schools use to measure
the progress of their students. we can say with consi-
derable confidence that in 65 percent of a very large
number ( 393) of comparisons between televised and
classroom teaching there is no significant difference.

In 21 percent. students learned significantly m.

in 1b percent they learned significantly ;_e_9_s_ from
television.“ On the college level. Schramm reports

that 84 percent of the comparisons showed no significant
difference.

As early as 1957. following an extensive study of
the use of television in instruction at Pennsylvania
State University. Leslie Greenhill (3) stated that
"the question is not whether to use television. but
£93 to use it.‘I (Italics mine.)

In l96l+ it was pointed out at the National Association
of Educational Broadcasters' Conference at the University
of Missouri (I!) that aa very important trend which began
to develop three or four years ago and is still continuing
is the exploration of new ways of using television to
solve educational problems. These have included various
combinations of instructional methods -- television plus
study guides or other printed materials . . ."

It is in the spirit of that trend in instructional
television research that this study has been conducted.

CHAPTERI

THE PROM! AND RELATED RESEARCH

Review of the Litegg
It is a common approach to the study of instructional

television to list and categorize claimed advantages and
disadvantages of television as a vehicle or tool of
teaching. This writer's initial experience with the approach
was a series of video taped lessons for future TV studio
teachers called "Through the TV Tube” (5). One of the
stated disadvantages of using television for instruction
was the impermanence of the visual image. or the "fleeting
nature“ of television. This term. coined by William
Mitchell. author of the above series; describes the nature
of television to show material on the screen for only a
limited amount of time. which subsequently disappears for
the rest of the lecture. This is unlike the outlines or
other forms of guidepcsts which the classroom teacher can
put on the chalkboard and leave in view of the student
for the remainder of the lecture.

Among other things. this “fleeting nature" of visual
information makes it difficult for the student to take

u

down notes. One of the considerations of pacing. at
least at the college level. is the allowance of enough
screen time for visual material which is to be copied
in the students' notes. This time spent copying may not
necessarily be required for the actual understanding or
learning of the information. except in recording it for
later study.

Discussion of this problem with William.Mitchell about
two years ago prompted further investigation into ways of
overcoming this limitation. particularly the possibility
of providing the student with part of his notes at the
beginning of each lesson.

Very few specific references to this problem or its.
solution appear in instructional television literature.
Those that do exist are usually "buried" in reports of
other considerations of instructional television. Of
those few references extant. a trend toward the suggestion
of lecture outline handouts for the TV student recurs.

IA specific reference to the use of outlines. though
not in handout form. is suggested in.a report by W. C.
Mcially (6) in 1958. In discussing a televised class in
the biological science area. he mentioned that:

the work was . . . carefully outlined. and
the outline was diligently followed. . . .
Since many of those enrolled are freshmen.
and since very few will take additional
work in biological sciences. . . . it was

felt that a definite outline would be more
helpful to the students. The outline was

put on . . . slides. The appropriate slide
is shown at the beginning of each lecture.
. . . At the end of the lecture the outline
is used again and attention is called to
exactly where we are.

Greenhill (7). in another report at the same convention.
stated that:

Several other supplements to televised
instruction have been studied: the use of
lecture notes (apparently he means the
allowing and encouraging of note-taking
‘versus no note—taking). tutoring by seniors.
and workbooks. Neither . .'. the use of
lecture outlines nor the provision of.
small-group tutorials by senior students
has yet been evaluated experimentally. but
student reactions to both procedures have
been.highly favorable.

Joseph M. wood (8) mentioned in,a report to the NAEB
conference on “Improvement of Teaching by Television"
in 196“ that he passed out written materials to his tele-
vised class in general biology:
When complex diagrams or charts are used.
I pass out mimeographed copies. The students
get these before lectures and then.annotate
them. Each handout serves two purposes:
(a) it lets the student think about what is
being said. rather than be engrossed in
copying it. and (b) it emphasizes what I
think is important.
Hood reports that he feels his supplemental handouts
have improved the quality of his televised lectures.
It is assumed that by quality he means the learning
or achievement gained by his students.
Another consideration of the use of outlines as supple-

ments to televised lectures is that of overcoming the

tendency toward passivity. or conversely. creating a

greater amount of interaction and participation within
the student. Schramm (2) states that television ”tends
to encourage a passive form.of learning rather than an
active seeking.” Nea Mdller (9) suggests this when.he
discusses the challenge of instructional television in:

finding out how to get maximum.active part-
icipation out of students. Ingenuity should
be used in solving this problem. various
ideas. such as test items and workbooks.
dovetailed right into the instructional period.
will occur to you . . .

Joseph Kanner (10) has suggested. as a result of a study
with military personnel that:

intercommunication.(with the instructor)
is not essential and the instructor can
use a variety of other methods to assure
student participation. such as asking the
student to call out. guess. or write down
‘32; materials. (Italics mine.)

Colby Lewis (11) in a paper dealing with observations
he has made of instructional television has hypothesized
that the TV lesson will be more effective "if the student
is stimulated to interact with the television.material".
He suggests that:

the lesson be designed to include overt
responses from.the student during the period
of the telecast. . . . Interaction.may be
promoted with material supplied to each
student at his desk. Thus he may be expected
to compare displays on the screen with
illustrations in his text. or to correct
an.assignment..or to complete an.outline
which will provide him with notes on the
lesson or reinforce his responses to the
material being taught.

Dr. Lewis states early in his paper that "in telling
you about these conditions. I confess that they are just
hypotheses which need much more testing."

Apparently no further testing of this or the other
related ideas discussed above has occurred. To begin to
fill this gap in experimental knowledge about ways of_
increasing the effectiveness of televised instruction. a
pilot study dealing with the achievement-gain effects of

handout outlines of a televised lecture was constructed.

The Problem Statement and Hmthesis
For purposes of investigating the notion.of using

handout outlines to increase learning in the televised
college-level course situation. let the research problem

be stated as follows:

Can.§ greater amount of learning in televised
college-level cgurses be obtained with handout
gutIines of the Iectures for student use?

As with all discussions about any phase of education
and instructional television. it is necessary to define
what is meant by some of these terms. There are many
kinds of learning. of outlines. and perhaps even of
lectures which. in various combinations can be very

different indeed.

By “learning“ is meant here the achievement level of
the student as indicated by his score on an objective
written examination following emosure to the televised
lesson. A greater amount of learning would be indicated
by a higher number of correct responses to the testing
instrument.

The definition of "handout outline“ is necessarily
arbitrary. There are several kinds of outlines which
might be used. and perhaps an infinite number of degrees to
which the detail of an outline might be carried. Consid-
eration of the anticipated function of the outline is
necessary to arrive at a definition.

The outline as developed for the experiment has four
general functions:

1. to provide the student with a well organised.

complete set of class notes.

2. to free the student from extensive note copying.
thus allowing more attention to thinking about what
is being said or shown.“ rather than to details
being copied.

3. to provide opportunity to the student for a greater
amount of interaction with the concepts being
presented. and

It. to generally increase attention to the lesson in
progress by cueing the student to the important
points.‘

9

The first function.- providing a good set of notes.
must be included in the outline in an obvious way to
the student so that he will use it instead of taking notes
in his usual manner. If for any reason the student feels
he will not get in writing all that he perceives to be
necessary (even if much of it is not considered to be
necessary to that extent by the instructor). it is likely
that the student would abandon the outline during the
lecture. thus losing the other three advantages. (This
aspect is probably particularly important in the exper-
imental situation where the student is not used to using
outlines.)

The second function. in addition to directing attention
to the concepts instead of to the detailed wording or
graphing as pointed out by flood in his use of outlines.
overcomes Mitchell' s "fleeting nature" of televised
presentation. By providing in written form the important
elements of the informtion presented. the disappearance
of these elements from the screen before they can be fully
copied is no longer a problem. The necessity for slowing
down the pace of the lesson so they can be copied is
overcome. and the student can attend more fully to the
lesson as it progresses.

The third function of the outline is probably
considered an even more important problem to solve than

the second. One of the most common concerns of instructors

10
dealing with televised teaching is the lack of direct
interaction.between the student and the instructor.
Colby Lewis (11) has stated that "since television is
basically one-way. it is important to compensate for this
limitation by promoting as much interaction.as possible.“
He has suggested that the completion of an outline of the
lecture would create a situation of interaction between
the student. the lesson on television.and the outline
which requires the active response of the student to
complete it.

The fourth item is perhaps but a summary of the others.
yet may be worth considering as an end in itself. The
mere fact that the outline presents the challenge of
completion. with the resulting reward that a good set of
notes is created demands greater attention to the lesson
than might otherwise obtain. If the student is motivated
to take notes at all. it can be assumed he will make the
effort to fill in the outline. and the resulting increased
attention will be likely to increase the amount learned.
This may be particularly true in the later parts of a
lecture when attention becomes more difficult to sustain.

Let "outline" be defined. then. as a topic outline.
of standard form.'with each item consisting of one or a few
words which describe the topic of that subdivision it
heads. The detail of the outline is carried down.through
the subdivisions only as far as necessary to allow for

efficient annotation of that information which the student

11

is expected to extract from the lecture and record for
later use.‘ Where possible. indication is given of the
number of items or points of information that are
expected to be added to the outline.

Also included are any graph grids. chart forms. or
other types of graphic notations which the student would
otherwise have to copy down in order to plot the graphed
information given. The outline would include the
coordinate labels. scales. or other drawings with space
and directions (if necessary) to record tabular. arithmetic
or other graphic information. (See Appendix I for
examples.)

No section of the lecture should be left out. although
those that are minimally important would receive noticably
less space and subdividing in the outline than more
important sections.“

with this set of conditions which define the outline
considered in this problem. let the following be hypothesized
for purposes of experimental study:

Stu ent ven an out no of the as on be

ented n tee co eecoursew
In none tnnn ntudents in the gm nnnnne

w onot eive ut neotte n

CHAPTER II

METRODOLO G!

The Stud; Desig
To test this hypothesis a study was designed using twa

groups of college students to which a set of televised
lessons would be shown. One group.“ which shall be called
the experimental group. would receive an outline of each
lecture. while the other. the control group. would receive
no outline." Each group would then be tested for the
amount of information learned from the televised lessons
and a comparison of test scores from each group would be
made.“

It was also determined that each group would be divided
into two levels representing a general combined notion of
ability and motivation. as measured by past achievement in
college courses. and that the analysis of the results of the
testing instrument would be analysed for interaction
between treatment and level. (Note later in Chapter III
that past achievement as reflected in grade point average
did not seem to be a good determinant of level within this
course. A different criterion was used during the

analysis stage of the study.) As a pilot study it was felt

12

13

that this analysis would be useful to determine further
study of the problem even though the hypothesis formulated
does not consider interaction between these two independent

'uubl .. e

PonnIntion and Mle Selection
A regularly televised course at Michigan State Uni-

versity was chosen for the experiment .‘ While there are
some disadvantages to approaching the problem by using an
existing multi-section televised course. it was felt that
the results obtained in a regular classroom situation. where
student motivations and attitudes represent a "normal"
student environment. would be more useful and perhaps more
val id in a pilot study than would a contrived experimental
situation.

The televised course chosen for the experiment was
Communication 100 (”The Process of Communication”). a
freshman. survey-type course taught over Michigan State
University's closed circuit television system by the
department of Communication." Three of the five sections
receiving the course by television were taught at the same
time (early in the afternoon) in classrooms located within
dormitory complexes. (The other into sections were
presented at night -- one in a dormitory classroom and one
in a regular classroom building. Both had enrollments too
small to be considered.) Because it was desirable to use

14.:

existing sections as the groups for the experiment without
disturbing the “status quo" of the classroom. it was
necessary to determine if any two of these three sections
matched closely enough in ability and in experience with
college courses to be used in this way.

The Michigan State University Housing Office indicated
that. where possible. dormitory assignments are made on
the basis of the student's indicated major area of interest.
When this is no longer possible as dormitories begin to
fill up. assignments continue to be made simply on the
basis of available space. No assignment is made on the
basis of ability or past perfornnce level of the student.

In most cases. the students who indicate an interest
in the social sciences and/or who will be taking the
Basic College courses (a series of ”core" courses required
of all students) are assigned to the Wilson-Wonders
complex or to the Brody group of dormitories. Many courses
of that nature are presented in these two complexes of
dormitories which. along with several other complexes
on the Michigan State campus. are designed as “living-
learning units" with classrooms. faculty offices and
teaching laboratories within the dormitory buildings. Two
of the Communication 100 sections were held in these two
groups. (The third was in MacDonnel Hall. another "living-
learning” complex which tends to house older students.)

15

It was assumed that in most cases a student would
select that section which met in his own dormitory complex.
Therefore. the section in wonders Hall (section 201) and
the section in Brody Hall (section I+01) were predicted to
be very similar.

To verify this. the cumulative grade point average and
the total number of credits earned by each student in the
three sections was obtained from the Registrar's Office.
From this data the mean grade point average and mean
number of credits for each group was determined. along
with the standard deviation for each. These are shown in
Table 1.

TABLE i.--Mean cumulative grade point average. total cred-
its. and standard deviation of each for sections 201.“ 301
and #01 of Communication 100. Spring. 1966

 

 

 

Grade Po int Average Total Credits

 

Section 1:

 

Mean S.D. Mean S.D.
201 51 2 .‘15 . 579 39 .9 3“. 1
301 ‘12 2.20 .528 68.8 55.1

#01 57 2.01 .505 ”7.2 35.1}

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

16

The above data correlates with the conclusion drawn
earlier that sections 201 and #01 would in fact prove to
be simdlar enough to consider ”equal" for experimental
purposes. None of the grade point means of the three
groups was considered to vary meaningfully from the others;
However. the mean.number of credits obtained in section 301
indicates a more experienced group than the other two.
(Approximately # terms in college is indicated as average
while the other two sections indicate an.average of 2} to
3 terms experience. assuming 15-18 credits per term.)

Also. the much smaller number of students in section.301.
compared with the other two sections. tends to confirm the
desirability of using sections 201 and #01 for the
experiment.

These two sections. according to Table i. do match
very closely in college experience. and also in.past
achievement level (which was assumed to be the most valid
indicator of a student's motivation and ability that is
readily available). It was assumed that any other
extraneous sources of error were randomly distributed
through both groups .m would not affect the results obtained.

Following this selection.and evaluation.of the groups
for the experiment. section.#01 was randomly selected as
the experimental group with section 201 remaining as the
control group.

1?

Se;ectinn.of the Lecture; Used
The next step in preparing the experiment was the

selection of the particular lectures to be used and the
construction.of the outlines. It is necessary. however.
to mention briefly at this point themethod of testing the
results of the experiment because this affected the choice
of lectures to be used.

To conform to the status quo as much as possible. it
was decided to use as the measuring instrument a set of
questions to be included on the final examination at the
end of the term. These questions would be generally the
same as the questions elsewhere in.the final examination.
The use of an immediate post-test. while desirable in some
ways. would have created an.obviously contrived experi-
mental situation and would hate been very difficult to
administer within the framework of the course presentation.

Returning now to the experimental lecture selection.
it was necessary to choose lectures which did not include
material available to the student in.any of his text
assignments; Otherwise he would have been able to consult
sources supplementing the lecture material in his assigned
reading during the time between the lecture and the
examination. and the effects of the outline would tend to
be diminished.

18

It was assumed. incidentally. that the physical
distance between viewing locations would overcome any
tendency toward interaction between group assignment and
treatment: if the experimental and control subjects mingled
socially during the tine between the lectures and the
examination period. the effects of the experiment might
tend to be destroyed. There was no reason to believe.
however. that this oocured to a significant degree.

It was considered to be highly desirable to choose
lectures which were pro-recorded on video tape so that the
outline could be constructed as accurately as possible.
Hhile all of the lectures which the students in the course
viewed were pro-recorded. nest of then were put on tape
the morning of the same day they were shown which would
give very little time betwun the original presentation
and replay of the tape for constmmcting a good outline for
inn-class use.

After examination of the schedule of lecture topics for
the term. twa consecutive lectures were chosen which
satisfied the above criteria. They covered a topic not
included in the tart for the course. and they were recorded
several weeks before being presented in the classroom. For
these reasons. then. "The Diffusion of News Events” and
“The Effects of TV Violence on Viewers". taught by
Dr. Bradley Greenberg and presented on May 23rd and 25th.
1966; were chosen for the experiment. It should be noted

19

that the lectures had been prepared and recorded before
Dr. Greenberg had any knowledge of the experiment; i.e.
no effort could possibly have been nude to tailor the
lectures to the experimental conditions.

chtruction of the Outlines

Once the lectures had been chosen. the next step was
the construction of the outlines for those lectures that
were to be handed out to the students in the experimental
group." The video tape of each lecture was viewed and
extensive notes were taken. it the same time. an audio
recording of the lecture was made from the video tape.

This audio recording was subsequently reviewed several more
times and the original notes of the television lecture were
revised and expanded. evolving into the final outlines.
They were then taken to Dr. Greenberg who reviewed then
and approved their use for his lectures.

While it cannot be said that the outlines were ”pre-
tested" in the norml sense of the word. there was a
check made on them to the extent that each outline was
“tried out" by an upperclass student who was not taking
the course. For each of the two lectures a student was
given a copy of the outline and asked to listen to the
audio tape of the lecture. filling in the outline as
indicated by the directions on it. In spite of the lack
of video. both students. did quite well in filling out

C a

20

nearly every item. including the graphs. Both of then
reported that the outlines they used corresponded well
with the lectures and-were not misleading or confusing
in any way. *

Hith this verification of the outline designs. they
were duplicated on a “ditto” machine and prepared for
handing out to the experimental subjects. A sample of
each is contained in Appendix I.

W
On the first day of the experiment. May 23. 1966. the

students in both the experimental group and the control
group were asked to sign an attendance sheet at the door
upon entering the classroom. In the experimental group
each student was given a copy of the outline for that
day's lecture and told to read the directions at the top.
In each group an‘observer certified that all students
present had signed the attendance sheet. that the TV sets
were working. that they were tuned to the proper channel.
and that the sound level was adequate. The same procedure
was repeated on the 25th of May using the second outline
for the other lecture in the experiment.

It should be noted at this point that an unforseen
problem developed in the study. It was the week of my 23rd
that the weather first turned warm after an unusually cold
spring. is a result: with warm and sunny weather on the

21

experiment days. the attendance at sections 201 and #01
of Communication 100 at one-forty in the afternoon was
very low. Only 15 students attended both lectures in the
control group (which has an enrollment of 57) and only

2h attended both lectures in the experimental group (which
had an enrollment of 51). This factor. uncontrollable in
the study design used. reduced the total number of subjects
from.a potential 108 to an.actual number of 39. It became
necessary to re-evnluate the actual control and experi-
mental groups in.order to be able to arrive at any
meaningful conclusions from.the test data.

Using the criteria of evaluation.again.that was used
with the original groups (cumulative grade point storage
and total number of credits completed). the mean values
and standard deviations of each were computed for those
subjects who actually participated and are presented in
Table 2;

TABLE 2.5-Mean cumulative grade point average. accumulated
credits. and standard deviation.of each. for the experi-
mental and control groups g

 

 

 

 

Grade Point Average Total Credits
Group n . -
Mean S.D. mean S.D.
Control 15 2.21 {705 h5.h 35.8
Experi-
mental 2b 2.16 .590 49.0 36.8

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

22

It can be seen that the selective factor controlling
attendance was apparently the same for both groups and
that the actual control and experimental groups are quite
homogeneous: in fact. they are more closely matched in
these ways than.were the originally designated groups

in Table i:

ggggtructign.g; the Testing Instrument
As mentioned earlier: the entire design.attempted to

make use of and maintain the “normal“ classroom situation
as much as possible: This included designing the testing
procedure to correlate with the students' expectations
about tests for the course: A.previous final examination
for the Communication 100 course was reviewed to determine
the style of questions used. It was a multiple choice
type of machine-scored test with both general and detailed
questions about the course content: It was also determined
that the subjects for this experiment had earlier in the
term.experienced a similar style of testing in.a midterm
examination. Thus; multiple choice questions with 5
alternate answers for each were designed;

8ixteen.questions were constructed ( 8 from.each
lecture) to comprise the measuring instrument for the
experiment. (See Appendix II for a listing of the questions.)
Mr. Jack Basehart; the ”class coordinator“ for Communication
100. hadlagreed to the inclusion of up to 20 mmltiple

23

choice questions. but there simply was not enough material
upon which to base more than 16 questions. Constructing

as many as 16 was difficult. and as a result of the
limitation of material the complexity and detail of the
questions was necessarily more extensive than the questions
on the rest of the final examination. (This can be seen

from the generally lower mean score on these questions when _
compared with the mean for the rest of the final examination.)

The questions were submitted to Mr. Basehart. who was
responsible for compiling the final enmination for the
course. He evaluated the questions as being appropriate
to the material covered and for the freshmen students
taking the course. The questions were then turned in to
the Communication Department for inclusion on the
mimeographed forms of the test.

All students in the course. including these.:not involved
in the experiment at all. were given the questions on the
experiment lectures. though no scoring nor evaluating of
their responses to those questions was included in the
grade for the examination. It was decided to do this in
order not to favor the experimental group. should the
outlines actually be an aid to those students in obtaining
a higher score on the examination.

The test was administered to all students in the course
(including both the experimental subjects and the control
subjects) at the same time on the 6th of June and in the

2“

same lecture auditorium. Mr. Basehart. who administered
the examination. confirmed that all students had an equal
amount of time on the test and that there were no disturb-
ances or other adverse conditions which would have
negatively affected the validity of the test results.

The raw scores for the 16 questions. then. comprised
the data upon which the analysis of the effects of the
experiment was performed.

CHAPTER III

STATISTICAL DESIGN AND RESULTS

lethgd of Anglzgis
To statistically evaluate the results of the experi-

ment two methods of relating the scores obtained on the
testing instrument were designated. In each case a level
of significance of .05 was predetermined as the null
hypothesis rejection.level.

The first method was the use of the scores from.the
experimental questions on.the final examdnation for a
direct comparison.of treatment and level. using an
analysis of variance for two independent variables.‘ While
this would normally be'sufficient to verify the hypothesis
set forth in this study. the lack of random assignment of
subjects to treatment makes the use of a second method of
analysis desirable.

This second method was a comparison of the mean
numerical value in each cell of the 2 X 2 design for
the difference between.each subject's performance oni

1. the experiment lecture questions on the final

examination. and

2. all the other questions on the mid-term.and final

examinations;

25

26

This second approach measures each group's performance on
the experimental material against its own performance on
the rest of the course material. Note the difference
between this kind of comparison and the more direct compar-
ison of the first method. This method tends to rely less
on the equal distribution.of relevant factors of ability.
etc. that is inherent in.randomization. Therefore; it
provides a check on the assumption of the essentially
random.assignment of students to course sections as
explained in the previous chapter. If the two groups were
in fact similar in all relevant aspects except for treat-
ment. the degree to which a significant difference is
obtained should be about the same.

Because of the unequal number of subjects in.oach of
the cells. a special computational formula for the
analysis of variance computation was used (12). This is
the most conservative kind of analysis of variance which

can be performed on the data.

Derivation of Scores Used
The final examination and mid-term.examination for

Communication 100 consisted of a mimeographed form.of
multiple choice questions and a machine-scored answer
sheet. In each case. the scoring machine computed the
number of correct responses and printed that number on the

edge of each sheet. For the final examination. only the

2?

“nonpexperimental“ material was machine-scored and
tabulated in this manner as the questions on the experiment
lectures were not considered in the final examination
grade. The experiment questions were later scored by
hand. and an experiment raw score was written on each
answer sheet. Also. the raw score for each subject's
performance on the mid-term examination.was obtained from
the instructor's records.

The three scores for each subject (the experiment raw
score. the final examination.raw score. and the mid-term
raw score) were converted to Z-scores. Means and standard
deviations derived from.scores of thc‘tgtgl sample populsn
tion were used for obtaining each Z-score.

The Z-score for the questions on the experiment
lecture material is referred to as the “experiment"
Z—score. or 21. 22 is the mean.of the Z-scores for the
mid-term and final examinations for each student and is
referred to as the "test” Z-score. In all cases a
numerical value of 10 was added to each original stcore
to make all values positive: an adjusted Z-score of 10.0.
therefore. is the mean score for the sample population.

One further manipulation of the scores should be
mentioned here; This was the computation of the numerical
value for each subject indicating the difference between
his performance on the experimental material and the two

28

regular tests in the course. This difference value
was arrived at as follows:

(Zl-Zz)+10=D
A D-score of 10 indicates that the student did equally
well on the experimental and nonpexperimental test
material. A D-score higher than 10 indicates a better
performance on the experimental test material: a D-score
of less than 10 indicates a better performance on.the

nonpexperimental test material.

Determination of the Level Assignment

It was mentioned earlier in the discussion of the

study design that each treatment group would be divided
into two levels representing a general notion of ability
and motivation. as represented in the student's achievement
in previous college courses. The cumulative grade point
average for each subject was used to determine the level
assignment. (This criterion.was later changed as explained
below.) The mean.grade point average of all subjects
determined the dividing line between the two levels which
are labeled as "high achievers” and "low achievers".
Using this grade point mean (2.17). subjects from.each
treatment group were assigned to the appropriate cells
of the 2 X 2 design. The resulting mean grade point
averages for each of the cells are shown in Table 3.

The mean 21's ("experiment" Z-soores) for each cell

were then computed and are shown in Table h.

29

TABLE 3.--Mean cumulative grade point average for each cell
using grade point as level assignment criterion

1

 

 

 

f;
Level Control Group Experimental Group
High Achievers 2.73 2.72
Low Achievers 1.61 1.75

 

 

 

 

 

TABLE h.-- mean ”experiment” stcores (21) for each cell
using grade point as level assignment criterion

 

 

 

Level Control Group Experimental Group
High Achievers 9.92 10.61
Low Achievers 10.02 9.61

 

 

 

 

 

It became evident through observation of these tables
that the criterion of grade point average for determining
the level of ability/motivation in.this course was perhaps
invalid. The distribution.of grade point averages shown.in
Table 3 obtains a sizable difference in the mean for each
level. but thc'Zl's in Table 4 do not reflect the same
relationship. While the experimental group appears to
differentiate between.levels as one would expect. the control
group does not. The difference between levels is a great

deal smaller than expected and the relationship is reversed.

30

This anomaly in the control group data caused a reconp
sideration of the criterion used for level assignment.
There appears to be reason for suspicion.of the grade
point average criterion when.one looks at the resulting
mean.22's ("test“ Z-soores) for the same level assignment
of subjects. These are shown in Table 5. A simdlar.
though not as great. apparent discrepancy of performance
in this course relative to past performance in.other

courses appears.

TABLE 5.-- mean."test" Z-scores (2%) for each cell. using
grade point as level assignment criterion

 

 

 

'Level Control Group Experimental Group
High Achievers 10.65 11.0b
Lou Achievers 10.05 9.03

 

 

 

 

 

When.one observes the?1 scores. 2% scores and grade
point average relationships for individual subjects.
several inconsistencies in both groups between grade point
average and performance in Communication 100 are found.

.At this point it seemed no longer worthwhile to
pursue the statistical evaluation of the variances among

these four cells for significant difference when the criterion

31

for assignment to each level is so questionable. A
new criterion was necessary.

One that seemed more appropriate for determining level
assignment was the "test" Z—score itself (Z2). This
more accurately represents general ability and motivation
in the course with which the study is dealing. When the
subjects were reassigned to levels on this basis. the
resulting 21's for each cell appeared to correlate more
meaningfully and the anomaly disappeared. The results of

the revised level assignment appear in Table 6.

TABLE 6.-- Mean Z - Z -. and D-sccres for each cell. using
- Z2 as level assignment criterion

 

 

Control Group Experimental Group
Level

 

n21 22 151 n 21 22 15

 

High
Achiev-q 10 10.144 11.22 9.22 11 10.4“ 11.41% 9.00
0138

Low ’
Achiev- 5 9.03 8.68 10.35 13 9.6? 8.116 11.22
ers

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. The D-score is the mean of the (21 - 2;? + 10)
computed for each subject.

with the subjects assigned to level on this basis. the
mean Z1 scores present a more meaningful relationship.

Note that there is no difference in Z1 ("experiment")

32

performance for the "high achievers". The outline

appears to have had no effect. However. at the "low
achievers" level. the subjects in the experimental group
seem.to have learned more than those in the control

group -- a difference of almost 2/3 of one standard

deviation exists between these two cells. This indicates
a trend. at least. toward interaction between treatment
and level. The outline seems to have helped low achievers

learn more from the televised lesson.

Analysis of variance of Zl-scores

 

 

In order to determine the significance of the apparent
interaction. an analysis of variance of the mean Zl-scores
in Table 6 was performed. Because of the unequal number
of subjects in each cell. an adaptation of the analysis
of variance procedure for unequal frequencies in subclasses

was used (12). The results of this analysis of 21 appear

 

 

 

in Table 7.
TABLE 7.-- Analysis of variance data - Zl-scores
3
7:32:13; 8.89 d..f. 111.8. F (F.95) i (F.99)
Treatment 0.10 1 0.10 1.08 4.12 7.41
Level 1.20 1 1.20 12.97 4.12 7.41
Inter-
action 0.09 1 0.09 0.97 4.12 7.41
Error 35 0.0925

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

33

This analysis shows only the difference between levels
to be significant. Neither the treatment nor any inter-
action between treatment and level is indicated to exist
at the significance level determined to be necessary for
rejection of the null hypothesis (.05).

Analysis of Vgiance cg D-sggres

when an analysis of variance of the same design was
performed on the D-scores discussed above. similar results

were obtained. These are shown in Table 8.

TABLE 8.-- Analysis of variance data - D-scores

 

 

 

3:32:13; s.s. d.f. m.s. F (F35) (13.99)
Treatment 0.12 1 0.12 0.85 4.12 7.42
Level 2. 81 1 2.81 19.93 4.12 7.42
1:12:31: 0.28 1 0.28 1.99 4.12 7.42
Error 35 0.141

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note that the D—score is an indicator of relative
performance and that the significant difference in Level
(at the .01 level) indicates that the 12! achievers did
relatively better on the experimental test while the high
achievers did relatively better on the non-experimental

material. regardless of treatment. (See again the fi-columns

34

in Table 6.) None of the information available fully
explains this relationship. but it may be that it is a
function.of the small number of questions which results
in a smaller range of scores for the experiment test

(16 questions versus a possible 150 for the combined mid-
term and final examination scores). The reliability of
the experiment is doubtful when one considers that a chance
change of. for example. two answers on the experimental
test creates a difference of almost one full standard
deviation.while a great many more answer changes would be
required for the same difference in deviation on the
mid-term and final examinations. The reliability of the
D-score is additionally limited by the small number of
subjects in each cell.

Another explanation for this relationship might be
that the two experiment lectures were actually biased in
the direction.of the treatment. Dr. Greenberg gave only
three lectures in the course. two of which were the exper-
iment lectures. Three other instructors presented the
remainder of the course series.

Additionally. it has been suggested by two nonpstudent
observers of the course that Dr. Greenberg's lectures were.
in fact. better organized than the others. If this is
true. the effect would be much the same as that of the
outlines themselves in.helping to structure the lectures

for the students. It would. therefore. tend to narrow

35

the difference between the amount learned by the ”low
achievers" and the amount learned by the “high achievers".
creating the D-score relationship noted above. This
narrowing effect may have occured because the "low
achiever". the less motivated and/or less capable student.
is more dependent upon.organization.of the lecture
material for effective learning.

Whatever the reason for the "low achievers" doing
relatively better on the experiment material while the
“high achievers" did relatively poorer. the use of the
D-score analysis adds an interesting dimension.to the
evaluation of the experiment. and is to be considered in
constructing further studies of the use of outlines.

CHAPTER IV

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS
FOR FURTHER RESEARCH

The statistical data presented in the last section is
such that the conclusions to be drawn.here are fairly
obvious. Even a brief look at the results of the analyses
will be sufficient to see that the data does not statis-
tically support the hypothesis presented in this study.
Furthermore. if a significant difference had been obtained.
it would have been but a beginning in the collection of
information for designing handouts for future terms in
Communication 100 or other televised courses.

As the pilot experiment of an untested concept evolved
into being. many problems of control became evident that
were not contemplated at the outset. and which may help to
explain the lack of conclusive evidence in support of the
theory presented.

The lack of control of the subjects' attendance at the
experiment lectures was the most detrimental aspect of the
study design that needed correction. Had most of the 108
originally designated subjects been present at the two
experiment lectures. the results of the study would have

been.much more meaningful. Also. the lack of control of

36

37

interaction between the two groups during the time after
the experiment lectures and before the final examination
may have been at least partly responsible for the results
of the study. There is no way of knowing whether or not
the outlines given to the experimental group were made

available by some of these students to those who were in

-7:

the control group before the final examination.
These problems could have been.avoided by using a
selected group of subjects in.some kind of special experb

 

imental situation rather than.attempting to use an.onpgoing
televised college course in as "natural" a situation,ast
possible. This is not to say. however. that it is now
thought by this writer to be the better way to approach

the problem. Whether or not that is the case remains
unknown.at this time. though the arguments offered earlier
for the use of a regularly televised course are still felt
to be valid ones.

It also must not be construed that the experiment is
considered.to be of no value. True enough. the problem
presented was not statistically solved. Yet. even with
such limited data. the observed tendency in that data
toward support of the hypothesis. particularly for the
"low achievers”. is at least indicative of the worthiness
of investigating the problem further.

Recalling that the 21 for the experimental group "low
achievers“ was well over one-half of a.standard deviation

higher than that of the control group "low achievers”.

38

the speculation that the lecture outline helps these
students learn more is encouraged. It follows that the
outline would be more effective with the "low achiever?
because of its aid in emphasizing: (1) the structure.
(2) the important points of information. and (3) the
direction of the lecture. Also. the "low achiever“ would
tend to be encouraged to fill in the outline because of
the reward of a better set of class notes than.he would
otherwise usually obtain. 0n the other hand. the ”high
achiever". who is more capable and/or more strongly
motivated. will be more likely to learn the material in
any case. with or without the aid of the outline.

However. the best that can.be said specifically as
a result of this study is limited:‘ forthis particular
sample of students in Communication 100. Spring term.of
1966. there appears to be a pggsible positive influence
on achievement of learning for "low achievers" through
the use of handout outlines of televised lectures. though
the tendency is not statistically significant.

In further research on the effectiveness of handout
outlines a number of things might be kept in mind as a
result of this study. One of the primary improvements in
design would obviously be a larger sample of students as
subjects. Additionally. a greater control should be
obtained over the communication across groups. if possible.
during the time between.administering the experiment and

39

testing it. In this study no way of controlling or
measuring this kind of interaction was used: it was simply
assumed that it did not occur because of the physical
distance between the dormitories. In.a future study this
kind of separation of groups may not exist and some control
will have to be exercised in this respect.

Another improvement. perhaps second in importance only
to the attendance problem. would be the use of a larger
number of lectures in the experiment. This would give a
greater amount of material upon.which to base a testing
instrument. which in turn would allow for a more reliable
discrimination of the difference between the amount of
learning for each of the groups.

Should such an improved replication of this study result
in significant support of the hypothesis. it is recommended
that the study be carried further to include an investigation
of the use of outlines with different class levels. both
in high school and college. and with different types of
course content. Also. studies of different types of
outlines under otherwise similar conditions should be
conducted.

Additionally. study is recommended of the effect on
attitude toward the course. apart from.learning achievement.
that the use of lecture outlines has. In several instances
favorable comments or other responses were observed when

the outlines were given out during the experiment that

40

indicated an effect of improving attitude toward the
lecture being presented. However; no system of measuring
attitude was used in.this study. This kind of measurement
might be useful in planning outlines and their use in
televised courses.

This degree of testing is felt to be necessary before
any generalized conclusions can be meaningfully drawn
about the effectiveness of lecture outlines for student
use in instructional television. The test described

'herein is but a small beginning.

- it's—m? ‘8‘ ‘fflfi‘l‘wm

J an hw'fx“

APPENDIX I

EXPERIMENT OUTLINES

A. The Diffusion of News Events

Following is the outline handed out to the subjects

in the experimental group on may 23. 1966.

41

42

COMMUNICATION 100

Effect of Mass Communication: The Diffusion of News Events

May 23, 1966

This outline is designed to aid you in taking notes for this
lecture. You may do with it as you wish -- it will not be
collected nor in any way used, except by you in preparation
for your final exam. Ample space has been provided for your
own additional notes to complete the outline.

 

I.

II.

Cumulative %
informed 48

Introduction

A. Stages in the diffusion process

B. Questions to be concerned with for this lecture

1.

2.
Study #1 -- Diffusion pattern of 3 different news events
A. Three events used

1.
2.
3.

B. Graph of the data collected: Portion of the public that knew
of the event at any given time:

 

 

96
80

 

 

64

 

 

32

 

16

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

4 8 12 4 8 12 4 8 12
Time of Day

43

C. General conclusions on diffusion pattern

General curve of diffusion is labeled

 

D. Regarding all the events:
1. Treatment by the media

2. Time for diffusion
3. Per cent uginformed after 30 hours
4. Word of mouth diffusion

E. First sources ascribed to (average for all events)

F. Regarding the uninformed --

G. Behavior of the public, once informed by the Mass Media
1. Those who learn via TV or radio

2. Those who have used several of the Mass Media

H. Hypothesis concluded from above:

As news impact declines,4interpersonal communication declines
also.

III. Study #2 - Examination of the above hypothesis

A. Hypothesis: ( a new approach to the above idea)

Interpersonal communication is most important as a first source
of information for those events which are maximally important
and those which are minimally important.

Mb

1. Importance vs. Awareness of news events

2. Different levels of importance of events:
a. Important to everyone -
b. Important to only a few -

c. In the middle, the "modal" events -

3. Graphic representation of the hypothesis

% who became
aware through
I§_communication

 

 

0% 100%
People aware of news event (%)

B. Study design
1. Four general "clusters" of events at different awareness levels

2. Results:

50

% who became 15
aware through 12
13 communication 9
6

3

 

25% 50% 75% 100%

People aware of news event (%)

45

3. Addition of Kennedy Assasination story (E)

4. Media providing first sources of information

a. Headline, bulletin events

b. Other events

5. The uninformed

IV. Diffusion of news about the Kennedy Assasination

1. Interpersonal communication

2. Rate of diffusion

3. Use of telephone

B. The Effects of TV Violence on Viewers

Fbllowing is the outline handed out to the subjects

in the experimental group on May 25. 1966.

1*?

COMMUNICATION 100

Effects of Mass Communication: The Effects of TV Violence on Viewers

May 25, 1966
This outline is designed to aid you in taking notes for this
lecture. You may do with it as you wish -- it will not be
collected nor in any way used, except by you in preparation for

your final exam. Ample space has been provided for your own
additional notes to complete the outline.

I. Introduction: Extent of violent content on TV

II. Types of Violence on TV

III. Effects on children -- pre-school through elementary age

A. Two notions regarding these effects

1. Catharsis Hypothesis

2. Behavioral model to imitate

B. Experimental research -- Pre-school children

1. Purpose of study

48

2. Study design (define a, b, and c below)

 

 

 

 

 

 

a. Film b. Angered c. Behavior
EXperi-
mental
Control
a. Film
b. Angered
c. Behavior
3. Conclusions of the study
IV. Effects on College students
A. Study #1
1. Purpose
2. Study design
a. Angered b. Orientation to c. Film d. Behavior

film subject

 

.Experim. l

 

Control I

 

 

 

a. Angered

b. Orientation to film

c. Film

d. Behavior

3. Conclusions of the study

 

49

B. Study #2 - a variation of #1

1. Purpose

2. Study design
a. Fight film

b. Track film

Angered Film Behavior

 

Group A l

 

 

 

Group B l

 

3. Conclusions of the study

C. Study #3 - further variation of #1

1. Purpose

2. ”Stooge" name variation

Stooge Angered Fight Film
name

Behavior

 

group A l

 

 

 

Group B l

 

 

3. Conclusions of the study

 

50

D. Study #4 - variation of #3

1. Purpose

2. "Stooge" name variation

Stooge Angered Fight Film
name

A | I f
Gm. B l l 1

3. Conclusions

E. Study #5 -

1. Purpose
2. Procedure
a. Word List
b. Reward variation
c. Behavioral situation
Rewarded (how) 7 Behavior

Group A I

Group B - I

3. Conclusions

IV. Questions rated from the above experiments

 

Behavior

51

V. Kinds of children more likely to watch violence on TV
A.
B.

C.

VI. Long-term implications of exposure to violent content

A. Attitudes and values

B. Make-believe or real?

C. Repeated exposure

D. Other

VII. Degree to which a child reacts to violent or hostile content

A.

B.

C.

APPENDIX II

EXPERIMENT TEST QUESTIONS

52

53

The following multiple-choice items are taken from the
class lectures on diffusion.of news stories and effects
of television violence:

101. In the study of the diffusion pattern of three
different news events. all three curves were:

*1.

2.

3.
h.

5.

approximately the same and were somewhat "S”
shaped. giving us the S-curve label for news
story diffusion patterns.

exactly the same. looking like an "S“. giving us
the S-curve label for news story diffusion
patterns e

dissimilar and no accurate shape or label could
be applied.

approximately the same and looked somewhat like
a "U", giving us the U-curve for news story
diffusion patterns.

exactly the same. except for a shift on the graph
due to the time of day the story "broke" and
they looked like a "U". giving us the Uecurve
for news story diffusion patterns.

102. In the study of the diffusion pattern of three
different news events:

1.
*2.

3.

4.
5.

complete diffusion took place in 24 hours.

all the events were given bulletin treatment by
the mass media.

about 30 per cent of the population was uninformed
30 hours after the first news release about the
event.

complete diffusion.was accomplished to 100%

of the public after 30 hours.

1 and 2 are both correct.

103. For the first time in any diffusion study the
was of significant importance in the diffusion
process of the Kennedy assassination story.

*3:

5.

TV

time of day the story "broke“

telephone

day of the week the event took place
tremendous pepularity of the person insolved.

(* indicates correct answer)

104.

105.

106.

107.

54

The "modal” news events Dr. Greenberg spoke of
resulted in:

1. the greatest amount of interpersonal communi-
cation among the 3 kinds of events.

2. the same amount of interpersonal communication
about the event as the other kinds.

3. the least amount of interpersonal communication
about the event among the three kinds of events.

4. varying amounts of interpersonal communication.
depending on the specific events.

5. "modal" events had nothing to do with inter-
personal communication in Dr. Greenberg's lecture.

In the study of four "clusters“ of news events at
different awareness levels:

1. about 30% of the public first learned of a news
event through interpersonal communication in all
cases. .

2. about 9 or 10% first learned of a news event
through interpersonal communication only in.the
maximally and minimally important categories.

3. interpersonal communication.as a first source
was not considered.

4. only 3 to 5% learned of events of minimal
importance through interpersonal communication.

5. about 18 to 20% first learned of a news event
through interpersonal communication in the
maximally and minimally important categories.

In the diffusion studies of news about the Kennedy
assassination it was found that learned of
the event through .

1. 25%. interpersonal communication.

2. 0%. interpersonal communication.

a. 5%. telephone calls from others.
. 75%. mass media.

5. 2 and 3 are both correct.

The rate of diffusion of news about the Kennedy
assassination was complete within one hour.

1. 50%
2. 75%
3. 90%
4. 35$

5. 25%

108.

109.

110.

111.

55

The results of the four news ”clusters" study

a.

52

the hypothesis that "as news impact

declines. interpersonal communication declines also."

supports

contradicts

does not affect

did not have anything to do with
none of the above

In.the University of Wisconsin study of college
students the experiment group of subjects tended to:

1.
2.
3.
u.
5.

administer more shock than did the control subject.
thus disoonfirming the catharsis hypothesis.
administer less shock than did the control

subjects. thus confirming the catharsis hypothesis.
administer more shock than did the control subjects.
thus confirming the catharsis hypothesis.
administer less shock than did the control subjects.
thus disconfirming the catharsis hypothesis.

the findings had nothing to do with the catharsis
hypothesis.

The catharsis hypothesis states that the viewing of
violence on television:

1.
2.
3.
h.
5.

is an.outlet for reducing aggressive tendencies
and is supported by experimental research.
tends to build up aggressive tendencies and is
supported by experimental research.

neither reduces nor builds up aggressive tend-
encies and is supported by survey research.

is an outlet for reducing aggressive tendencies
and is supported by survey research.

tends to build up aggressive tendencies and is
supported by survey research.

The results of the study involving the word list

the other findings in the college student

studies regarding TV violence.

2
3.
4.
5.

1.

contradicted

supported

did not have anything to do with

gave no evidence of support or contradiction.
though the study was involved with

none of the above

112.

113.

114.

56

In relating the findings of experimental research
regarding TV violence on pre-school children and
on college students we find that:

1.

2.

3.

e 4.

5 of

the catharsis hypothesis is supported in both
cases.

the catharsis hypothesis does not hold true for
pre-school children but it does for college

8 tudent 8 e

the catharsis hypothesis does not hold true for
college students but it does for pro-school
children.

the catharsis hypothesis does not seem to be true
in either case:

the catharsis hypothesis does not seem.to be true
for college students. but the results are inconp
elusive for pre-school children.

One of the differences in study design.between.the
University of Uisconsin college student studies and
the pro-school children studies was that:

1.

'I' 2"

3.

4.
5.

the college students were angered after seeing
the film; while the pro-school children.were
angered before seeing the film;

the college students were angered before seeing
the film. while the pro-school children were
angered after seeing the film.

the film shown the pre-schcolers was of a
realistic nature and the film shown the college
students was of a fictional nature.

bath 1 and 3e

none of the above.

In the University of Wisconsin college student
studies. the variation.of the "stooge's" name

in the behavior of the subjects.

 

1.
2.

3;

e 4.
5.

made a veg: small difference.

was of no consequence.

resulted in inconclusive evidence: there was no
definite pattern.

made a significant difference.

the ”stooge" name was not varied in whose
studies.

115.

116.

57

Which one of the following is NOT one of the
factors which Dr. Greenberg mentioned regarding
the extent to which a child reacts to violent or
hostile content:

1.
2.
3.

*5.

the extent to which a child has learned values
of inhibiting aggressive behavior.

the intensity of the hostile tendencies elicited
in the violent content.

the strength of the child's aggressive habit.
the degree of association between the content
and the post-exposure environment.

the type of hostility or violence portrayed

in the content.

Dr. Greenberg gave three aspects of a child's
personality or environment which tend to account
for a greater amount of time spent in viewing
violent content on television. Which of the
following is one of those items?

1{

2.

2:

*5.

Amount of violent content viewed by other members
of the family.

Amount of frustration acquired by the child in
school.

Degree of success in other non-school activities.
All of the above.

None of the above.

5.

7.

 

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Shibler. HermanHL. "What Research Says About ETV."
Speech given to MPATI Workshop Directors.
August. 1963.

Schramm. Wilbur. Educatiogg; Television: The Next
Ten Years. Stanford: tanford niversity ress.
1962- P0 53:67.

Greenhill. Leslie. “In Search of Factual Data."
College Teachigé by Television. (Edited by

ohn C. Adams. . B. Carpenter and Dorothy R.
Smith.) Washington: American Council on
Education. 1958. p. 76.

. "Research on Instructional Television.

Past and Future.” imgrovement of Teaching By

Television. (Edits y on . riff th and

mwaennan.) Columbia. Missouri:

University of Missouri Press. .964. p.19.

Mitchell. William G. Thro h the TV Tube. (A
television study guide.) EainevaIIe. Florida:
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19 .

McNally. W. 0. "Concepts of Televised Instruction."
lle e Teachi b Te evision. (Edited by
gohn E. Idams. C. E. Cifpenter and Dorothy R.
Smith.) Washington: American Council on
Education. 1958. p. 192.

Greenhill. Leslie. I'In Search of Factual Data.“
College Teaching bE Television. (Edited by
c n . . . . arpen er and Dorothy B.
Smith.) Washington: American Council on
Education. 1958. p. 79.

Wood. Joseph M. "Higher Education." rovement
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E. Griffitfi and ESnald W. MacLennan.) Columbia;
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P- 57-

58

9.

10.

11.

12.

59

Miller. Neal. "Principles of Learning by Televised
Instruction." College Teachifig by Television.
(Edited by John . ans. 0. . Carpenter a
Dorothy R. Smith.) Washington: Amcrican Council
on Education. 1958. p. 38

Kanner. Joseph H. "Future Trends in Television
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Review 5: 520: Fall 1957.

Lewis. Colby. "Some Conditions Which Favor the
Success of Instructional Television Ventures."
A paper delivered at the NAEB Region 3 Conference.
University of Indiana. Bloomington. Indiana. 1964.

Walker. Helen M. and Lev. Joseph. Statistical
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I9350 P0 3810

 

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