Behavior and Social Issues最新文献

Recent studies have shown that biased search results can produce substantial shifts in the opinions and voting preferences of undecided voters – a phenomenon called the “search engine manipulation effect” (SEME), one of the most powerful list effects ever discovered. We believe this is so because, unlike other list effects, SEME is supported by a daily regimen of operant conditioning. When people conduct searches for simple facts (86% of searches), the correct answer invariably turns up in the top position, which teaches users to attend to and click on high-ranking search results. As a result, when people are undecided, they tend to formulate opinions based on web pages linked to top search results. We tested this hypothesis in a controlled experiment with 551 US voters. Participants in our High-Trust group conducted routine searches in which the correct answer always appeared in the first search result. In our Low-Trust group, the correct answer could appear in any search position other than the first two. In all, participants had to answer five questions during this pre-training, and we focused our analysis on people who answered all the questions correctly (n = 355) – in other words, on people who were maximally impacted by the pre-training contingencies. A difference consistent with our hypothesis emerged between the groups when they were subsequently asked to search for information on political candidates. Voting preferences in the High-Trust group shifted toward the favored candidate at a higher rate (34.6%) than voting preferences in the Low-Trust group (17.1%, p = 0.001).

Early readers who have learned letter–sound correspondences do not always learn to read words through best practice reading instruction. This suggests a missing stimulus control for textual responses and the literature lacks an intervention to address this problem. Five kindergarten students who did not learn textual responses from reading instruction participated in this study. We used a combined pre- and posttest and multiple probe design to test the effects of a composite-to-component vocal phoneme segmentation (CtCVPS) intervention on the number of correct untaught (a) textual responses, (b) dictated written spelling responses, (c) vocal phoneme blends, (d) abstracted vocal phoneme segmentations, as well as (e) cumulative correct textual responses during reading instruction before and after the intervention. During the CtCVPS intervention participants were taught to listen to a set of composite words and vocalize the component phonemes. Correct responses emerged across all variables for all participants as a function of the intervention and all participants learned new textual responses from reading instruction after the CtCVPS intervention. These findings demonstrated that acquiring a generalized vocal phoneme segmentation repertoire through the CtCVPS intervention established necessary stimulus control for textual responding. Implications on the role of acquiring composite-to-component responses through the vocal phoneme segmentation intervention in learning to read and write are discussed.

In this paper, we reflect on the existing literacy achievement gap in the United States, the interconnected variables that contribute to this social justice issue, and the history of the federal government’s response to this problem. We offer one part of a potential social justice solution to this deeply rooted and complex educational problem: a response shaped by the evidence-based methodology of Direct Instruction Reading. After contextualizing the literacy achievement gap, we detail the history of Direct Instruction efficacy, highlight key components of the methodology, and briefly summarize decades worth of research that demonstrate its consistent ability to increase marginalized students’ access to quality reading instruction. Together, these illustrate the potential for transforming student outcomes as one part of a solution for the injustice of the literacy achievement gap.

Many Australian students fail to meet an acceptable standard of reading proficiency. This can negatively impact their academic progress, social, and emotional well-being, and increase their risk of developing challenging behaviors. These risks and challenges have been found to compound over the lifetime of the learner. Unfortunately, the proportion of Australian students who fail to meet reading proficiency standards increases as they move through their years of schooling, and reading difficulties disproportionately affect historically marginalized groups. This has raised concerns about the effectiveness of instructional approaches used within the Australian education system, particularly in reading, and prompted discussions of reform. The purpose of this review paper was to examine the contributions of the science of reading and science of behavior to our collective knowledge regarding reading development and effective reading instruction, and how this knowledge is currently being used in the Australian context. We provide a discussion on the current state of reading instruction and achievement in Australia by considering national trends, inequities, and systemic challenges. Implications and recommendations to address inequities in reading outcomes, using both the science of reading and science of behavior, are discussed.