Development of a Self-Report Inventory for Assessing Individual Differences in Learning Processes

摘要

Five studies are presented-all related to the developmentand application of a self-report inventoryfor measuring individual differences in learningprocesses. Factor analysis of items derived by translatinglaboratory learning processes into the contextof academic study yielded four scales: Synthesis-Analysis, Study Methods, Fact Retention, and ElaborativeProcessing. There were no sex differences,and the scales demonstrated acceptable reliabilities.The Synthesis-Analysis and Elaborative Processingscales both assess aspects of information processing(including depth of processing), but Synthesis-Analysis assesses organizational processes, whileElaborative Processing deals with active, elaborativeapproaches to encoding. These two scales werepositively related to performance under incidentallearning instructions in both a lecture-learning andtraditional verbal-learning study. Study Methodsassessed adherence to systematic, traditional studytechniques. This scale was positively related to performancein the intentional condition of the verballearning study. The Fact Retention scale assessedthe propensity to retain detailed, factual information.It was positively related to performance in theincidental condition of the verbal-learning but notthe lecture-learning study. Future research and applicationsare discussed.