University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

An experimental study of the effect of "human interest" factors on listenability

(USC Thesis Other)

An experimental study of the effect of "human interest" factors on listenability

PDF

Download a page range

Download transcript

Copy asset link

Request this asset

Transcript (if available)

Content A N EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF THE EFFECT
OF "H U M A N INTEREST" FACTORS O N LISTENABILITY
A D i s s e r t a t io n
P re s e n te d t o
th e F a c u lty o f th e G ra d u ate S ch o o l
The U n iv e r s ity o f S o u th ern C a lif o r n ia
I n P a r t i a l F u lf i llm e n t
o f th e R eq u irem en ts f o r th e D egree
D o c to r o f P h ilo so p h y
by
F r a n c is A rth u r C a r t i e r j J r .
June 1951
UMI Number: DP31977
All rights reserved
INFORMATION TO ALL USERS
The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted.
In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript
and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed,
a note will indicate the deletion.
Dissûrtatiôn PublisNng
UMI DP31977
Published by ProQuest LLC (2014). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author.
Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC.
All rights reserved. This work is protected against
unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code
ProQuest LLC.
789 East Eisenhower Parkway
P.O. Box 1346
Ann Arbor, Ml 48106 -1346
ph. 0 Si. 'SI C . 3A7
This dissertation, written by
................. F M N C I S A . CARTIER^^ .......................
under the guidance of /t.i.s... Faculty Committee
on Studies, and approved by all its members, has
been presented to and accepted by the Council
on Graduate Study and Research, in partial ful
fillment of requirements for the degree of
DOCTOR OF P H ILO SO P H Y
Dean
Date..
Committee on Studies
Chairman
TABIE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I INTRODUCTION ............................................................................ 1
I I REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE A N D STATEMENT
O F THE PROBLEM............................................................... 12
S tate m e n t o f th e p r o b le m ..............................................31
I I I TECHNIQUES A N D PROCEDURES...................................... . 33
P r e p a r a tio n o f m a t e r i a l s ........................................... 34
The s u b j e c t s ........................................................................49
The t e s t i n g p r o c e d u r e ................................................ 57
A n a ly s is o f t e s t s c o re s . . . . . . 59
IV PRESENTATION A N D INTERPRETATION OF THE DATA . 62
V S U M M A R Y ", CONCLUSIONS, A N D IMPLICATIONS . . . .
S u m m a r y ................................................................................. 7#
C o n c l u s i o n s ........................................................................Ô2
I m p l i c a t i o n s .............................................. ^3
BIBLIOGRAPHY........................................................... 97
APPENDIX A ..................................................................................................102
APPENDIX B ..................................................................................................117
APPENDIX C ..................................................................................................132
APPENDIX D ..................................................................................................147
APPENDIX E ................................. 150
APPENDIX F ..................................................................................................171
APPENDIX G ..................................................................................................173
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE page
I P a tte r n o f "R eading E ase" S c o r e s .................................... 21
I I P a tte r n o f "Human I n t e r e s t " S c o re s ......................... 22
I I I S t a t i s t i c a l C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f th e S t o r i e s * . 36
IV J u d g e s ’ R a tin g s o f th e R e a d e r s ........................................ 44
V C om position o f th e T e st Tapes
D is p o s itio n o f HI 1 5 , 30 and 50 V e rsio n s * . 4&
VI D i s t r i b u ti o n o f Sex and Age Among
th e S u b j e c t s .............................................................................50
V II Some C h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f th e S i tu a t i o n
D uring th e T e s t s ................................................................... 51
V III Com parison o f Mean I n t e l l i g e n c e Q u o tie n t
Among Groups o f S u b j e c t s .......................................... 53
IX Com parison o f R eading C om prehension G rade
P lacem ent Among G roups o f S tu d e n ts ................... 54
X Means C om prehension and C r i t i c a l R a tio s
Between T a p e s ........................................................................56
XI C o rre c tio n f o r Chance S u cce ss on M u ltip le -
C hoice T e s t ............................................................................ 60
X II Com parison o f C om prehension S c o re s
Grouped by H I ........................................................................63
IV
TABLE PAGE
X III Mean C o rre c te d C om prehension S co re and
S ta n d a rd E rr o r o f th e Mean f o r Each
S t o r y .................................................................................... 64
XIV D if fe re n c e s and C r i t i c a l R a tio s Among th e
T hree V e rsio n s o f Each S t o r y ..................................65
XV Number o f S u b je c ts A tta in in g S co res
Above and Below 7 * 0 0 .....................................................68
XVI Chi S quare f o r D i s tr i b u ti o n o f S u b je c ts
A tta in in g S c o re s Above and Below 7*00 . • • 68
XVII Number o f S u b je c ts A tta in in g S c o re s
Above and Below 4 * 0 0 .....................................................69
X V III C hi S q u are f o r D i s tr i b u ti o n o f S u b je c ts
A tta in in g S c o re s Above and Below 4*00 . . . 69
XIX M ale-Fem ale P erfo rm an ce D if fe re n c e s
1* G e n e r a l .............................................................................70
XX M ale-Fem ale P erform ance D if f e r e n c e s
2 . Between A verage Means f o r HI 15
V e rsio n s and HI 50 V e r s i o n s .......................................71
XXI C om parison o f Means o f T e s ts G rouped a s
"E a sy ", "M edium", and " D i f f i c u l t " .........................73
XXII C om prehension S c o re Q u art i l e s ........................................75
AN EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF THE EFFECT
OF "HUM AN INTEREST" FACTORS ON LISTENABILITY
CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION
As a s u b je c t o f in q u i r y , l i s t e n a b i l i t y may be d e
f in e d a s t h a t a r e a o f th e f i e l d s o f speech and p sy ch o lo g y
w hich i s i n t e r e s t e d i n th e c o m p re h e n s ib ility o f in fo rm a
t i o n a l speech* I t i s c o n c ern ed w ith m ethods o f sp e a k in g
in such a way a s to in s u r e th e maximum p o s s ib le com pre
h e n s io n from an a u d ie n c e , w h e th e r th e a u d ie n c e b e one p e r
son o r a v a s t num ber. I t i s t h e r e f o r e a ls o co n cern ed w ith
p r e d i c t i n g th e e x te n t t o w hich a g iv en sam ple o f in fo rm a
t i v e sp eech w i l l be com prehended by a g iv e n a u d ie n c e ,
w h e th e r t h a t a u d ie n c e i s a s p e c i a l i z e d o n e, l i k e c o lle g e
s tu d e n ts o r c i v i l e n g in e e r s , o r a more g m e r a l o n e, l i k e an
a v e ra g e r a d io a u d ie n c e or a b u s in e s s c o n v e n tio n . I t i s n o t
co n c e rn ed d i r e c t l y w ith p e r s u a s io n , w hich i s in th e dom ain
o f r h e t o r i c , w ith dram a o r i n t e r p r e t a t i o n , w hich a r e in th e
dom ain o f th e sp e e ch a r t s , o r w ith i n t e l l i g i b i l i t y , ^ vAiloh
1 I n t e l l i g i b i l i t y i s h e re ta k e n t o mean th e r e c o g -
n i z a b i l i t y o f s p e e c h , i . e . , i t s a r t i c u l a t i o n s c o re a s
m easured by th e num ber o f w ords i n a l i s t t h a t th e l i s t e n e r
can r e p e a t . I t i s W iat i s commonly u n d e r d is c u s s io n vdien a
laym an a s k s , "Can you h e a r m e?", and when a r a d io am ateu r
o r a i r p la n e r a d io o p e r a to r a s k s , "Can you re a d me?" I n t e l
l i g i b i l i t y i s n o t co n c ern ed w ith w h e th e r o r n o t th e id e a s
a s p e a k e r i s t r y i n g t o com m unicate can b e g ra sp e d by th e
l i s t e n e r . F o r exam ple, i f a p e rso n w ere t o s a y , " I g e t
ev ery word you s a y , b u t I d o n ’t u n d e rs ta n d w hat you a r e t r y
in g to t e l l m e," th e n th e sp eech o f th e p e rs o n t o whom he
— - 2
i s in th e dom ain o f sp eech s c ie n c e , b u t i t h a s a p p l ic a tio n
i n a l l th e s e a r e a s .
L i s t e n a b i l i t y i s co n c ern ed o n ly w ith th e e f f ic ie n c y
o f in f o rm a tio n a l sp eech o r th e in f o r m a tio n a l c o n te n t o f
speech even th o u g h d e s ig n e d f o r some p u rp o se o th e r th a n to
in fo rm . I f one m ethod o f s t a t i n g a p a r t i c u l a r f a c t o r
argum ent can b e shown t o b e more r e a d i l y com prehended by
an a u d ie n c e th a n a n o th e r m ethod o f s ta te m e n t, th e n th e
fo rm e r i s c o n s id e re d to be th e m ore e f f i c i e n t from a l i s t e n ^
in g compr eh v i s i b i l i t y p o in t o f v ie w , i . e . , t o have h i ^ e r
o r b e t t e r l i s t e n a b i l i t y . to b e more l i s t en a b le .
L i s t e n a b i l i t y i s a co n cep t and as a f i e l d o f r e
s e a rc h i s c l o s e l y a l l i e d to r e a d a b i l i t y . R e a d a b ility i s
th e f i e l d d e v o te d t o th e developm ent o f e f f i c i e n t s t y l e s
o f w r i t i n g f o r books and n ew sp ap ers and o th e r m a te r ia l de
s ig n e d t o be s i l e n t l y re a d by s p e c i f i c o r g e n e ra l a u d ie n c e s .
E f f i c i e n t i n t h i s c a s e means e a s i l y com prehended vdien r e a d .
A g iv e n s t y l e i s s a id to be e f f i c i e n t , e i t h e r i n
r e a d a b i l i t y o r l i s t e n a b i l i t y , when t h e l a r g e s t number o f
1 (C o n tin u e d )
h a s been l i s t e n i n g h a s had i n t e l l i g i b i l i t y b u t n o t l i s t e n
a b i l i t y .
A l e s s am biguous term f o r t h i s c o n c ep t i s
r e c o g n i z a b i l i t y ♦
3
s u b je c ts in th e a u d ie n c e c o n c e rn e d com prehends th e l a r g e s t
p e rc e n ta g e o f th e m a t e r i a l . I t i s n o rm a lly found t h a t seme
s u b je c ts com prehend a c o m p a ra tiv e ly l a r g e p e rc e n ta g e o f th e
m a t e r i a l , more s u b je c ts com prehend, s a y , h a l f o f i t , and a
s m a ll p e rc e n ta g e u n d e rs ta n d v e ry l i t t l e . R e la tiv e e f f i
c ie n c y may b e d e te m in e d by co m p ariso n o f mean com prehen
s io n by th e same o r com parable a u d ie n c e s o f d i f f e r e n t
sam p les o f w r i tte n o r spoken la n g u a g e . S in c e l i t t l e r e
se a rc h h a s been done on th e e f f i c i e n c y o f sp e ech in th e
f a c e - t o - f a c e s i t u a t i o n , l i s t e n a b i l i t y i s u se d i n t h i s
p a p e r to r e f e r o n ly t o th e e f f i c i v i c y o f t h e a u d ib le
a s p e c ts o f la n g u a g e , i . e . , w hat i s h e a rd from an unseen
s p e a k e r, a s on th e r a d i o .
The n eed f o r r e s e a r c h in l i s t e n a b i l i t y h a s been
i n d i c a t e d , f o r exam ple, by P . E . V ernon, who found t h a t
a b o u t h a l f o f B r i t a i n ’ s r a d io l i s t e n e r s seemed to com pre
hend and r e t a i n p r a c t i c a l l y n o th in g from th e a v e ra g e i n -
2
fo rm a tio n a l b r o a d c a s t. He f u r t h e r found t h a t many o f th e
l i s t e n e r s who r a t e d a program a s b e in g "m ost i n t e r e s t i n g "
P . E . V ernon, " I n v e s t ig a ti o n s o f th e I n t e l l i
g i b i l i t y o f E d u c a tio n a l B r o a d c a s ts ," p a p e r re a d b e fo re th e
B r i t i s h A s s o c ia tio n f o r th e Advancement o f S c ie n c e ,
S eptem ber 5 , 1 9 5 0 . ^
4
and s a id th e y le a r n e d a g r e a t d e a l from i t w ere among
th o s e who com prehended and r e ta in e d e x tre m e ly l i t t l e o f
th e c o n te n t o f th e b ro a d c a s t* ^ And T renam an, i n a s tu d y
o f th e c o m p re h e n s ib ility o f a BBC t a l k on s c ie n c e , found
t h a t , "• . .o n ly a b o u t 10^ o f th e p o p u la tio n c o u ld have
g ra s p e d v e ry much o f th e s c i e n t i f i c f a c t s and p r i n c i p l e s
o f t h i s b r o a d c a s t, a lth o u g h i t was in te n d e d f o r th e gen
e r a l p u b l ic , and t h e s p e a k e r had been a t g r e a t p a in s t o
make i t s im p le .
S i m i l a r l y , C h a ll and D i a l , 5 in a s tu d y o f A m erican
n e w s c a s ts , found t h a t many n e w sc a sts w ere to o d i f f i c u l t f o r
th e a v e ra g e l i s t e n e r , who, c o n s e q u e n tly , u n d e rs to o d f a r
l e s s o f th e news th a n th e n e w s c a s te rs ap p e ared to t h i n k .
One may w ith some j u s t i f i c a t i o n su p p o se , to o , t h a t th e
l i s t e n e r s w ere p ro b a b ly unaw are o f t h e i r la c k o f com pre-
^ h o c . c l t .
4 Jo sep h Trenam an, "U n d e rsta n d in g o f B ro a d c a s ts on
S c ie n c e ," p a p e r re a d b e f o r e th e B r i t i s h A s s o c ia tio n f o r th e
Advancement o f S c ie n c e , S eptem ber 5 , 1950, (raim eo .), p . 4*
5 J. s. C h a ll and H. E . D ia l, " P r e d ic tin g L is t e n e r
U n d e rsta n d in g and I n t e r e s t i n N e w s c a s ts ," E d u c a tio n a l
R esearch B u l l e t i n . XXVII (S ep tem b er 1 5 , 1 9 4 5 ), 141-153*
h e n s io n . Yoakum’ s s tu d y c o n fiim ed t h i s . ^
P ro b a b ly th e r e w i l l alw ays be a c e r t a i n num ber o f
l i s t e n e r s who n o t o n ly presum e t h a t th e y h av e u n d e rsto o d
a p a r t i c u l a r sam ple o f sp o k en la n g u a g e such a s an ite m o f
a n e w sc a st b u t who have i n f a c t o b ta in e d a p a r t i a l l y o r
c o m p le te ly e rro n e o u s im p re s s io n o f th e m a t e r i a l .
T h is s i t u a t i o n p r e s e n ts an o b v io u s p ro b lem to p e r
so n s i n t e r e s t e d in a d u lt e d u c a tio n and th e d is s e m in a tio n
o f in f o r m a tio n . What i s n o t so o b v io u s i s th e l a t e n t
d a n g e r. Democracy a s a form o f governm ent h a s i t s r o o ts
i n in fo rm ed p u b lic o p in io n . I f th e p u b lic i s i n s u f f i
c i e n t l y o r e rro n e o u s ly in fo rm ed c o n c e rn in g n a tio n a l and
w o rld a f f a i r s , p u b lic o p in io n c a n n o t b e e x p e c te d t o have
th e d e s ir e d c o rre sp o n d e n c e w ith th e f a c t s . In s h o r t , s in c e
i n t e l l i g e n t a c tio n r e q u i r e s i n t e l l i g e n t a p p r a i s a l o f th e
s i t u a t i o n , id ie re th e f a c t s a r e w ith h e ld from th e p u b l i c ,
p u b lic o p in io n and th e a c tio n r e s u l t i n g from i t a r e l i k e l y
t o b e in a d e q u a te . T h is i s t r u e w h eth e r t h e f a c t s a r e i n
t e n t i o n a l l y w ith h e ld from th e p u b lic by c e n s o rs h ip o r by
^ R. 0 . Yoakum, "The E f f e c t o f V o cab u lary D i f f i c u l t y
upon th e C om prehension o f R adio N ew s," (u n p u b lis h e d
M a s te r’ s t h e s i s . S t a t e U n iv e r s ity o f Iow a, 1 9 4 7 ), pp* 2 9 -3 2 .
6
u n i n t e n t i o n a l l y p r e s e n tin g t h e f a c t s in such a way a s t o
make them in c o m p re h e n s ib le o r o n ly p a r t i a l l y co m p re h e n sib le
t o th e p u b l i c .
F u rth e rm o re , i t i s n o n e th e le s s t r u e f o r i t s t r i t e
n e s s t h a t th e p u b lic h a s n ee d o f c o n s id e r a b le in fo rm a tio n
o f a m o r e - o r - le s s t e c h n i c a l n a tu re i n o r d e r to v o te i n t e l
l i g e n t l y an d , in d e e d , to c a r r y o u t t h e o rd in a ry b u s in e s s o f
l i v i n g i n o u r com plex s o c i e t y . P o o rly in fo rm e d o r m is in
form ed p e rs o n s in p o s i t i o n s o f c o n s id e r a b le r e s p o n s i b i l i t y
su ch a s e d i t o r s and t e a c h e r s a r e c a p a b le o f i n t e r f e r i n g
w ith th e s c i e n t i f i c p r o g r e s s o f th e n a t i o n . I t may w e ll be
t h a t such in d iv id u a ls a r e c a p a b le o f m ore damage t o th e
n a t i o n a l w e lfa re th ro u g h t h e i r ig n o ra n c e th a n i s th e gen
e r a l p u b l i c . But t h a t i s a n o th e r a rg u m e n t. The argum ent
h e r e i s o n ly t h a t th e im provem ent o f m ethods o f communica
t i o n w ith th e p u b lic i s n o t o n ly d e s i r a b l e b u t an im m ediate
n e c e s s i t y .
The im p lic a tio n s o f t h e s e f a c t s to th e problem o f
i n t e r n a t i o n a l sh o rt-w a v e b r o a d c a s ts sh o u ld b e o b v io u s . In
b r o a d c a s tin g to n a tio n s w here th e e d u c a tio n a l backg ro u n d
o f th e l i s t e n e r s i s lo w e r th a n i n t h i s c o u n tr y , extrem e
m e asu res m ust be ta k e n to a s s u r e a d e q u a te co m prehension
o f o u r m e ssag e .
7
One an sw er t o th e problem may l i e i n te a c h in g t h e
p u b lic to l i s t e n . C e r ta in ly t h a t l i n e o f a t t a c k sh o u ld
n o t be ab an d o n ed , b u t i t can n o t b e e x p e c te d t h a t t h e e n t i r e
p o p u la tio n can b e e d u c a te d in to more e f f i c i e n t l i s t e n i n g
h a b i t s . The p ro b lo n i s more r e a l i s t i c a l l y one f o r th e
r e a d a b i l i t y and l i s t e n a b i l i t y e x p e r t . And y e t no one h a s
co n c ern e d h im s e lf to any g r e a t e x te n t w ith l i s t e n a b i l i t y
u n t i l q u i t e r e c v i t l y . Some may sa y t h a t th e s e m a n tlc is ts
have done s o , b u t th e y w i l l be o n ly p a r t i a l l y c o r r e c t .
T ru e , th e sem a n t i c i s t s a r e c o n c ern ed w ith how w e ll we
u n d e rs ta n d W iat we re a d and h e a r , b u t from a d i f f e r e n t
p o in t o f v iew w hich i s p ro b a b ly b e s t d e s c r ib e d by rem ark
in g t h a t a l a r g e num ber o f t h e books and l e c t u r e s on
se m a n tic s w ith w hich t h i s w r i t e r h a s had e x p e rie n c e have
had v e ry low r e a d a b i l i t y and l i s t e n a b i l i t y . A l e c t u r e on
s e m a n tic s s h o u ld be co m p re h en sib le a s w e ll a s l o g i c a l l y
v a l i d .
T h ere w i l l be some o th e r s idio w i l l arg u e t h a t th e
p r o f e s s io n a l r a d io w r i t e r s , lo n g aw are o f th e p o o r l i s t e n
in g h a b i t s o f th e p u b l i c , have been w r i tin g t h e i r s c r i p t s
a c c o r d in g ly f o r many y e a r s . P r o f e s s o r V ernon’ s and C h a ll
and D i a l ’ s d a ta do n o t b e a r o u t t h i s arg u m en t. But th e
e f f o r t s o f th e r a d io w r i t e r s r a i s e a f u r t h e r i n t e r e s t i n g
p h ilo s o p h ic a l q u e s tio n . As th e w r i t e r s e e s i t , m ost r a d io
8
p r o f e s s io n a l s have been sim p ly a v o id in g s u b j e c t s w hich
w ere above t h e p u b l i c ’ s m e n tal l e v e l a s presum ed by th e
r a d io in d u s t r y . T h is i s no s o l u t io n o f th e p ro b le m . The
p roblem i s to p r e s e n t s u b je c ts r e g a r d le s s o f t h e i r p r e
sumed d i f f i c u l t y such a way a s t o make them com pre
h e n s i b l e . To l i m i t o n e s e lf t o th o s e s u b je c ts w hich can
e a s i l y be e x p la in e d i s to s id e s te p th e i s s u e .
O b v io u sly , l i s t e n a b i l i t y d o es n o t h o ld a l l th e
a n s w e rs . Nor i s t h e r e any a s s u ra n c e t h a t , when f u l l y de
v e lo p e d , t h i s new f i e l d o f i n v e s t i g a t i o n w i l l h av e enough
o f th e an sw ers even p a r t i a l l y t o a l l e v i a t e t h e p r e s e n t
s i t u a t i o n . I t i s n o t y e t c l e a r , f o r exam ple, w h e th e r
te c h n iq u e s o f e x p la n a tio n a r e w ith in th e sc o p e o f l i s t e n
a b i l i t y . We may v e ry l i k e l y d is c o v e r t h a t l i s t e n a b i l i t y
r e s e a r c h w i l l o n ly p r o g re s s h a n d -in -h a n d w ith e x p e rim e n ta l
r h e t o r i c . Such p ro b lem s o f e3q> lanation te c h n iq u e a s how
b e s t to a rra n g e m ajo r p o i n t s , vdien and how to u se v h a t
k in d s o f ex am p les, r e i t e r a t i o n , d e f i n i t i o n s , e t c . , a r e more
r i g h t l y q u e s tio n s o f r h e t o r i c th a n o f l i s t e n a b i l i t y , w hich
i s more d i r e c t l y co n c ern ed w ith th e la n g u a g e in w hich th e
p o i n t s , ex am p les, d e f i n i t i o n s , e t c . , a r e c a s t .
L i s t e n a b i l i t y , th e n , i s a s u b -a re a o f r h e t o r i c — and
one t h a t h as b een s o r e ly n e g le c te d . W e have p ro g re s s e d
o n ly so f a r a s to d e p lo re th e u s e o f h i ^ - f l o w n , p o ly
9
s y l l a b i c , p e r i p h r a s t i c o r a t o r y . B ut we h a r d ly even r e a l i z e
t h a t t h e tr e n d to w ard sim p le la n g u a g e in p u b lic sp e a k in g
may have come ab o u t b e c a u se a u d ie n c e s sim p ly do n o t com pre
hend com plex la n g u a g e , and p ro b a b ly an a u d ie n c e m ust com
p reh en d i f i t i s t o b e c o n v in c e d .
T h ere i s no d e n y in g t h a t many a sp e e c h w hich h a s
been p o o rly com prehended h a s n o n e th e le s s b een p e r s u a s iv e .
In d e e d , many a sp eech w ould l o s e p e r s u a s iv e n e s s in d i r e c t
p r o p o r tio n to th e d e g re e t o w hich i t i s u n d e rs to o d . F u r
th e rm o re , t h e r e i s l i t t l e t o com prehend i n many sp e e c h e s
o f c o n s id e r a b le p e rs u a s iv e -p o w e r. Many such sp e e c h e s a r e
n o t p u rp o s e ly s o , b u t r e s u l t from hazy th in k in g on t h e p a r t
o f th e s p e a k e r . I t i s a x io m a tic t h a t , t o sp eak c l e a r l y and
u n d e rs ta n d a b ly on a s u b j e c t , one m ust know vdiat one i s t a l k
in g a b o u t, and i t i s n o t i r r e l e v a n t to p o in t o u t t h a t many
sp e e c h e s la c k l i s t e n a b i l i t y from t h i s r e a s o n .
To sum u p , l i s t e n a b i l i t y i s a f i e l d o f e x p e rim e n ta l
r e s e a r c h d e a lin g w ith c h o ic e o f la n g u a g e f o r c l a r i t y and
c o m p re h e n s ib ility i n s p e e c h . As su c h , i t i s an im p o rta n t
s u b - a r e a o f r h e t o r i c . The u rg e n t n e c e s s ity o f i n t e n s i f y i n g
r e s e a r c h i n t o te c h n iq u e s o f in f o rm a tio n a l s p e a k in g i s e v i
d e n t from th e p u b l i c ’ s p r e s e n t need f o r in f o rm a tio n on
t e c h n i c a l , p o l i t i c a l and i n t e r n a t i o n a l d ev e lo p m e n ts, and
from th e d a ta found by C h a ll and D ia l, Yoakum, T renam an,
10
and P ro f e s s o r V ernon on th e p u b l i c ’ s la c k o f com p reh en sio n
o f b r o a d c a s t in f o r m a tio n .
The s tu d y r e p o r te d on th e fo llo w in g p a g e s p ro p o sed
t o c l a r i f y one a s p e c t o f th e problem s d is c u s s e d above— th e
e f f e c t on th e l i s t e n a b i l i t y o f spoken la n g u a g e o f th e
" p e rs o n a ln e s s " o f th e la n g u a g e s t y l e . The assu m p tio n s
t e s t e d w ere b a se d on p re v io u s r e s e a r c h i n th e a l l i e d f i e l d
o f r e a d a b i l i t y and in th e f i e l d o f b r o a d c a s tin g . They w erq
b r i e f l y , t h a t th e p e r c e n ta g e o f w ords w hich r e f e r d i r e c t l y
to p e o p le i s an in d e x o f th e " p e rs o n a ln e s s " o f la n g u ag e
s t y l e and t h a t in c r e a s e d " p e rs o n a ln e s s " r e s u l t s i n in c re a s e d
i n t e r e s t - v a l u e v iiic h i n tu r n in c r e a s e s c o m p r e h e n s ib ility .
The ex p erim en t was th e r e f o r e d e s ig n e d to t e s t t h e
e f f e c t on l i s t e n a b i l i t y W ien, o th e r f a c t o r s b e in g h e ld con
s t a n t , t h e s t y l e o f la n g u a g e was v a r ie d by in c r e a s in g and
d e c re a s in g th e p e rc e n ta g e o f " p e rs o n a l w o rd s ." T hree l e v e l s
o f la n g u a g e " p e rs o n a ln e s s " w ere em ployed and th e y w ere com
p a re d a t sev en d i f f e r e n t l e v e l s o f la n g u a g e d i f f i c u l t y .
T h is was done by com paring th e mean s c o re s o b ta in e d by
g ro u p s o f s u b je c ts on a t e s t o f com p reh en sio n a f t e r h e a rin g
th e re c o rd e d la n g u a g e sa m p le s.
The r e s u l t s w ere exam ined t o d e te rm in e d i f f e r e n c e s
i n l i s t e n a b i l i t y f o r a l l s u b je c ts and f o r d i f f e r e n t c l a s s i
f i c a t i o n s o f s u b j e c t s , th e d e g re e o f com p reh en sio n a t t a i n e d
11
by th e s u b j e c t s , and t h e c o n s is te n c y o f th e m ethod o f p r e
d e te rm in in g la n g u a g e d i f f i c u l t y . C e r ta in im p lic a tio n s
w ere d is c u s s e d .
CHAPTER I I
REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE A N D
STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
The e x p e rim e n ta l l i t e r a t u r e co n c ern ed w ith t h e
c o m p re h e n s ib ility o f la n g u a g e h as b een l a r g e l y d i r e c t e d ,
so f a r , a t problem s o f r e a d a b i l i t y . T h ere h a s been a grow
in g t r e n d i n c o lle g e and a d u lt e d u c a tio n c o u rs e s in E n g lis h
c o m p o sitio n to s t r e s s s im p l i c i t y o f la n g u a g e i n b u s in e s s
l e t t e r s , t e c h n i c a l r e p o r t s , governm ent p u b li c a t i o n s a n d , i n
g e n e r a l, a l l in f o rm a tiv e w r i t t e n la n g u a g e . Books on how to
w r i te sim p ly and c l e a r l y have e n jo y e d c o n s id e r a b le popu
l a r i t y b o th in t h i s c o u n try and i n E n g la n d ,^ and u s e le s s
c o n v e n tio n s o f b u s in e s s la n g u a g e and th e p e r ip h r a s i s so
common a t one tim e in governm ent memoranda and p u b lic a t io n s .
The g r e a t e s t d i f f i c u l t y fa c in g th e w r i t e r w ith t h i s new
a t t i t u d e h a s been t o d e te rm in e Wien he h as b een w r itin g
d i f f i c u l t la n g u ag e and when he h a s been w r i tin g sim p le
la n g u a g e . As an a id t o him , and a ls o a s an a id in s e l e c t
in g te x tb o o k s f o r sc h o o l c h ild r e n o f d i f f e r e n t g r a d e s .
1 E .G ., R u d o lf F le s c h , The A rt o f P l ^ n T alk (New
York: H arp er and B ro s . P u b l i s h e r s ,^ 9 4 5 7 ; S i r E rn e s t
G ow ers, P la in Words (London: H is M a je s ty ’ s S ta tio n e r y
O f f ic e , 1 9 4 8) ; R. G raves and A. H odge, The R ead er Over Your
S h o u ld e r (London: Jo n a th a n Cope, 1 9 4 3 )T How Doe¥ Your
W r i t i ng""Re ad ? (W ash in g to n , D. C. : U. S . Ü iv iï S e rv ic e
Com m ission, U. S . Governm ent P r i n t i n g O f f ic e , 1 9 4 6 ).
13
v a r io u s s t a t i s t i c a l fo rm u la s have been d ev elo p ed w ith which
la n g u a g e may be exam ined and i t s r e a d a b i l i t y d e te rm in e d .
A s c o re or more o f th e s e fo rm u la s h av e been su g
g e s te d , th e more o b je c ti v e o f w hich w ere b ased on such
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f th e la n g u a g e a s v o c a b u la ry d i v e r s i t y ,
v o c a b u la ry d i f f i c u l t y , s e n te n c e c o m p le x ity , and o th e r
c o u n ta b le o r o th e rw is e m e asu rab le f a c t o r s . Each system
met w ith some d e g re e o f s u c c e s s , b u t m ost w ere unw ieldy
in s tru m e n ts r e q u ir in g p r o h i b i t i v e am ounts o f tim e . I t i s
n o t th e i n t e n t o f t h i s p a p e r t o d is c u s s r e a d a b i l i t y
fo rm u la s i n g r e a t d e t a i l , b u t th e i n t e r e s t e d r e a d e r w i l l
f in d good sum m aries and b ib li o g r a p h ie s o f th e f i e l d in
a r t i c l e s by L o rg e ,^ D o lch ,^ and C h a ll.4
In 19 4 3, D r. R u d o lf F le s c h p u b lis h e d a m ethod o f
p r e d i c t i n g th e e a se w ith w hich a g iv e n sam ple o f p r i n t e d
la n g u a g e w ould b e com prehended by s c h o o l c h ild r e n a t
^ I r v in g L o rg e , " R e a d a b ility F o rm u lae— An
E v a lu a tio n ," E lem en ta ry E n g lis h . XXVI (F e b ru a ry , 1 9 4 9 ),
8 6 -9 5 .
3 E . W. D o lch , "The Use o f V o cab u lary L i s t s i n P re
d i c t i n g R e a d a b ility and in D ev elo p in g R e a d in g -M a te ria ls ,"
E lem en ta ry E n g lis h . XXVI (M arch, 1 9 4 9 ), 142-149*
4 Jean n e S . C h a ll, "T h is B u s in e s s o f R e a d a b ilit y ,"
E d u c a tio n a l R esearch B u l l e t i n . XXVI (J a n u a ry , 1 9 4 7 ), 1 -1 3 ,
d ig e S te d i n Ë d u c a tio n a l D ig e s t. X II (May, 1 9 4 7 ), 9 -1 1 .
14
v a r io u s g r a d e - le v e l s * ^ By a system o f m a th e m a tic a l p ro
j e c t i o n , b u t w ith o u t d i r e c t e x p e rim e n t w ith a d u l t s , he
e x te n d e d th e a p p l i c a b i l i t y o f t h i s fo rm u la to m a te r ia l
w hich ra n g e d in d i f f i c u l t y from t h a t a p p r o p r ia te f o r r e a d
e r s w ith lo w e r g ra d e -s c h o o l e d u c a tio n t o t h a t a p p r o p r ia te
f o r c o lle g e g r a d u a te s . T h is fo rm u la in v o lv e d a c o n s id e r a
t i o n o f (1) th e a v e ra g e num ber o f w ords p e r s e n te n c e a s a
m easu re o f s e n te n c e c o m p le x ity , (2) th e number o f a f f i x e s
p e r o n e-h u n d red w ords a s a m easure o f v o c a b u la ry d i f f i c u l t y ,
and (3 ) th e number o f p e r s o n a l w ords a s a m easure o f t h e
"human i n t e r e s t . "
The fo rm u la was p u b lis h e d in 1946 i n D r. F le s c h ’ s
b o o k . The A rt o f P la in T a lk .^ In s p i t e o f th e som eidiat
cumbersome ta s k o f c o u n tin g a f f i x e s t h a t th e fo rm u la im
p o sed upon th e g r a d e r , t h i s fo rm u la g a in e d w ide r e c o g n itio n
and use* I t was th e b a s is f o r r e v i s i o n o f th e s t y l e o f a t
l e a s t one n e w sp a p e r,^ and was a p ro m in en t p a r t o f a c o u rse
5 R. F le s c h , M arks o f R ead ab le S ty le (New Y ork:
C olum bia T e a c h e rs C o lle g e ," T 9 4 3 j•
6 F le s c h , The A rt o f P la in T a lk , o p . c i t .
7 D. R. M urphy, "How P la in T alk I n c r e a s e s
R e a d a b ility 45^ t o 6 6 ^ ." P r i n t e r ’ s In k . CCXX (S ep tem b er
1 9 , 1 9 4 7 ), 35-37* ^ ^
15
ta u g h t by D r. F le s c h a t th e G rad u ate S ch o o l o f t h e U n ited
S t a t e s Government D epartm ent o f A g r i c u ltu r e . A d v e rtis in g
men and o th e r s i n t e r e s t e d in h a v in g t h e g e n e ra l p u b lic
com prehend t h e i r m essag es e a s i l y and f u l l y from th e p r in te d
page w ere v e ry much i n t e r e s t e d , and i t i s p ro b a b ly im
p o s s ib le t o d e te rm in e a l l th e a p p l i c a t i o n s t o w hich th e
fo rm u la h a s been p u t C e r ta in ly i t may b e s a id t h a t i t
re c e iv e d th e w id e s t n o tic e and u se o f any such fo rm u la p re
v io u s ly p u b lis h e d .
In #une, 1948, F le s c h p u b lis h e d a new fo rm u la^
d i f f e r e n t i n many r e s p e c ts from th e o ld one and much e a s i e r
t o a p p ly . I t was a g a in b ased on th e num ber o f w ords p e r
s e n te n c e , b u t th e a f f i x co u n t gave way t o a co u n t o f th e
num ber o f s y l l a b l e s p e r 100 w ords, a f a c t o r id iic h c o r r e
l a t e d v e ry h ig h ly w ith th e a f f i x c o u n t and was much l e s s
8 R. F le s c h , "A R e a d a b ility Form ula in A c tio n ,"
E le m en ta ry E n ^ i s h . XXV (O c to b e r, 1 9 4 8 ), 3 4 4 -3 5 1 , g iv e s a
b r i e f summary o f serne o f th e u s e s to w hich th e fo rm u la h a s
been p u t. The w r i t e r h a s b ee n in fo rm ed by a fo rm e r member
o f t h e e d i t o r i a l s t a f f t h a t t h e fo rm u la h a s had c o n s id e r
a b le in f lu e n c e on th e s t y l e o f th e S ta n f o rd Law R eview , and
h a s le a r n e d t h a t a num ber o f p e rs o n s r e s p o n s ib le f o r th e
w r itin g o f te c h n i c a l r e p o r t s t o th e L e g is la t u r e o f th e S t a t e
o f C a lif o r n ia ( r e p ro p o se d highw ay p r o j e c t s , e t c . ) a r e
i n t e r e s t e d in tïïê fo rm u la .
9 R. F le s c h , "A New R e a d a b ility Y a r d s tic k ," J o u rn a l
o f A p p lie d P sy c h o lo g y , XXXII (J u n e , 1 9 4 8 ), 221-233*
16
la b o r io u s to com pute. The i n t e r e s t fa c to rs ^ w e re , i n t h e
new fo rm u la , s e p a r a te d e n t i r e l y from th e d i f f i c u l t y f a c
t o r s so t h a t t h e r e w ere tw o in d i c e s : one o f i n t e r e s t and
one o f d i f f i c u l t y . The p e rc e n ta g e o f p e rs o n a l w ords was
r e ta i n e d a s a f a c t o r i n th e d e te r m in a tio n o f t h i s in d e x o f
"human i n t e r e s t , " and a new f a c t o r , th e p e rc e n ta g e o f p e r
s o n a l s e n te n c e s , was a ls o com puted. L ike th e o ld fo rm u la ,
i t was b a se d on d a ta from th e M cC all-C rabbs re a d in g t e s t s
f o r c h i l d r e n , and t h o u ^ some a d u lt m agazines w ere a n a ly z e d
t o check th e a p p l i c a b i l i t y o f th e fo rm u la to a d u l t - l e v e l
re a d in g m a tte r , no e x p e rim e n ta l d a ta on them w ent i n t o th e
d e v is in g o f t h e fo rm u la .
The c o r r e l a t i o n s w ith th e c r i t e r i a w ere .7 0 f o r th e
d i f f i c u l t y in d e x fo rm u la and .43 f o r th e "human i n t e r e s t "
in d e x fo rm u la . I t sh o u ld be n o te d t h a t th e l a t t e r fo rm u la
p r e d ic te d o n ly th e e f f e c t o f "human i n t e r e s t " on com pre
h e n s io n , b u t i t was h y p o th e s iz e d t h a t t h e in d e x a l s o i n d i
c a te d some m easure o f a t t e n t i o n and m o tiv a tio n to f U r th e r
r e a d in g . In f a c t , Murphy fo u n d a 30 p e r c e n t to 50 p e r
c e n t in c r e a s e i n r e a d e r s h ip f o r an i t an i n a farm jo u r n a l
when i t s la n g u a g e was made m ore re a d a b le ( i n te rm s o f th e
o ld F le sc h f o rm u la ) . He o b ta in e d h i s d a ta from a s p l i t - r u n
Of th e ite m , h a l f o f h is s u b s c r ib e r s g e t tin g one v e r s io n
and th e o th e r h a l f g e t t i n g th e o th e r v e r s io n . From th e
17
r e a d e r s h ip d a ta he r e c e iv e d , he co n clu d ed t h a t t h e "m ost
im p o rta n t f a c t o r in th e fo rm u la f o r us seem s t o be th e
num ber o f p e rs o n a l r e f e r e n c e s * Put i n p le n ty o f names and
p e r s o n a l p ro n o u n s and y o u r r e a d e r - i n t e r e s t s c o re i s l i k e l y
to go u p ." ^ 0
S in c e th e "New R e a d a b ility Y a rd s tic k " was u sed in
th e p r e s e n t s tu d y , an e x t r a c t from th e a r t i c l e i n w hich i t
was p u b lis h e d f o l l o w s .
The c r i t e r i o n u sed in th e o r i g i n a l fo rm u la was
M cC all-C rabbs* S ta n d a rd t e s t le s s o n s i n r e a d i n g .H
The fo rm u la was so c o n s tr u c te d t h a t i t p r e d ic te d th e
a v e ra g e g ra d e l e v e l o f a c h i ld who c o u ld answ er c o r
r e c t l y t h r e e - q u a r t e r s o f th e t e s t q u e s tio n s ask ed
ab o u t a g iv en p a s s a g e . I t s m u ltip le c o r r e l a t i o n co
e f f i c i e n t was R = . 7 4 * I t was p a r t l y b a sed on
s t a t i s t i c a l f in d in g s e s ta b li s h e d i n an e a r l i e r s tu d y
by L o rg e .12
F o r many o b v io u s r e a s o n s , t h e g ra d e l e v e l o f
c h ild r e n a n sw e rin g t e s t q u e s tio n s i s n o t th e b e s t
c r i t e r i o n f o r g e n e ra l r e a d a b i l i t y . D ata a b o u t th e
e a se an d i n t e r e s t w ith which a d u l ts w i l l r e a d s e le c te d
p a s s a g e s w ould be f a r b e t t e r . But such d a ta w ere n o t
a v a ila b le a t th e tim e t h e f i r s t fo rm u la was d e v e lo p e d ,
and th e y a r e s t i l l u n a v a ila b le to d a y . So M cC all-
Grabbs* S ta n d a rd t e s t le s s o n s a r e s t i l l th e b e s t and
10 M urphy, l o c * c i t .
11 W. A. M cCall and L eiah M. C ra b b s, S ta n d a rd T e s t
L esso n s in R e ad in g , Books I I , I I I , IV , and V \New Y ork:
B ureau o T " P u b lic a ti o n s , T e a c h e r s .C o lle g e , Colum bia
U n i v e r s i t y , 1926)*
12 I r v in g L o rg e , " P r e d ic tin g R eading D i f f i c u l t y o f
S e le c tio n s f o r C hildren,** E le m e n ta ry E n g lis h R eview , XVI
(1 9 3 9 ), 229- 2 3 3 . .
18
m ost e x te n s iv e c r i t e r i o n t h a t can be fo u n d ; t h e r e f o r e
th e y w ere u se d a g a in f o r th e r e v i s i o n .
I n r e a n a ly z in g th e t e s t p a s s a g e s , th e fo llo w in g
e lv n e n ts w ere u se d :
(1 ) A verage s e n te n c e le n g th i n w o rd s. . . .
[A b b re v ia te d : s i 3
(2 ) A verage word le n g th in s y l l a b l e s , e x p re s s e d a s
th e num ber o f s y l l a b l e s p e r 100 w ords* [A b b re v ia te d :
wl3
(3 ) A verage p e rc e n ta g e o f " p e rs o n a l w ords*" *
[A b b re v ia te d : pw3 The * • . d e f i n i t i o n was s t a t e d a s
fo llo w s : A ll no u n s w ith n a t u r a l g e n d e r; a l l p ro n o u n s
e x c e p t n e u te r p ro n o u n s; and th e w ords p e o p le (u se d
w ith th e p l u r a l v e rb ) and f o l k s .
(4 ) A verage p e rc e n ta g e o f " p e rs o n a l s e n te n c e s ."
[A b b re v ia te d : ps3 T h is new e lem e n t was d e s ig n e d to
c o r r e c t th e s t r u c t u r a l sh o rtco m in g o f th e e a r l i e r i
fo rm u la , m en tio n ed above* By h y p o th e s is , i t t e s t s th e
c o n v e r s a tio n a l q u a l i ty and th e s to r y i n t e r e s t o f th e
p a s s a g e an aly zed * I t was d e f in e d a s th e p e rc e n ta g e o f
th e fo llo w in g s e n te n c e s : Spoken s e n te n c e s , m arked w ith
q u o ta tio n m arks o r o th e rw is e ; q u e s tio n s , commands,
r e q u e s t s , and o th e r s e n te n c e s d i r e c t l y a d d re s s e d to th e
r e a d e r ; e x c la m a tio n s ; and g r a m a tic a lly in c o m p le te
s e n te n c e s whose m eaning h a s to be i n f e r r e d from th e
c o n t e x t .
To make th e p r e d i c t i o n more a c c u a te , 13 o f th e 375
M c C all-C ra b b s’ p a s s a g e s t h a t c o n ta in e d p o e try o r
p ro b lem s in a r i t h m e t i c w ere o m itte d i n th e co u n t o f th e
f i r s t two e le m e n ts , w hich a r e d e s ig n e d to t e s t s o l e l y
p ro s e co m p reh en sio n . However, t h e s e 13 p a s s a g e s w ere
r e ta in e d i n t h e c o u n t o f t h e l a s t two e le m e n ts , w hich
a r e d e s ig n e d to t e s t human i n t e r e s t *
. . . Two m u l t i p i e - c o r r e l a t i o n r e g r e s s io n fo rm u la s
w ere com puted: one u s in g t h e f i r s t tw o e le m e n ts and
one u s in g th e l a s t tw o . T h is p ro c e d u re had th e advan
ta g e o f g iv in g in d e p e n d e n t p r e d ic tio n s o f th e re a d in g
e a s e and th e human i n t e r e s t o f a g iv e n p assag e*
19
F i n a l l y , th e r e s u l t i n g tw in fo rm u la s w ere e x p re s s e d
i n su ch a way t h a t maximum r e a d a b i l i t y ( i n b o th
fo rm u la s) h ad a v a lu e o f 1 0 0 , and minimum r e a d a b i l i t y
a v a lu e o f 0* • • •
The two r e g r e s s i o n fo rm u las* • .a r e :
Form ula A ( f o r p r e d ic tin g ^ re a d in g e a s e ” ): RE *
2 06.^35 - .846 wl - 1 .0 1 3 ’ s i .
The s c o re s com puted by t h i s fo rm u la have a ra n g e o f
0 t o 100 f o r a lm o st a l l sam ples ta k e n from o rd in a ry
p r o s e . A s c o re of 100 c o rre s p o n d s to th e p r e d i c t i o n
t h a t a c h ild who h a s co m p leted f o u r th g ra d e w i l l b e
a b le to an sw er c o r r e c t l y t h r e e - q u a r t e r s o f th e t e s t
q u e s tio n s to b e ask ed a b o u t th e p a s s a g e t h a t i s b e in g
r a t e d ; i n o th e r w o rd s, a s c o re o f 100 i n d i c a t e s re a d in g
m a tte r t h a t i s u n d e rs ta n d a b le f o r p e rs o n s who h av e
co m p leted f o u rth g ra d e and a r e , i n th e la n g u a g e o f t h e
U .S . C en su s, b a r e ly ”f u n c ti o n a l ly l i t e r a t e . ” The ra n g e
o f 100 p o in ts was a r r iv e d a t by m u ltip ly in g th e g ra d e
l e v e l p r e d i c t i o n by 1 0 , so t h a t a p o in t on th e fo rm u la
s c a le c o rre s p o n d s to o n e - te n th o f a g ra d e . H ow ever,
t h i s r e l a t i o n s h i p h o ld s t r u e o n ly up to ab o u t se v e n th
g ra d e ; beyond t h a t , th e fo rm u la u n d e r - r a t e s g ra d e l e v e l
to an in c r e a s in g d e g r e e . F i n a l l y , th e fo rm u la —W iich
p r e d ic te d g ra d e l e v e l a n d , t h e r e f o r e , d i f f i c u l t y — was
" tu r n e d a ro u n d ” by r e v e r s in g th e s ig n s t o p r e d i c t
’’re a d in g ease.*?
Form ula B ( f o r p r e d i c t i n g "human i n t e r e s t " ) : HI =
3 .6 3 5 pw + .314 p s .
S c o re s com puted by t h i s fo rm u la , to o , have a ra n g e
from 0 t o 1 0 0 . A s c o re o f 100 h a s th e same m eaning a s
i n F orm ula A. I t i n d i c a t e s r e a d in g m a tte r w ith enough
human i n t e r e s t t o s u i t th e r e a d in g s k i l l s and h a b i t s o f
a b a r e l y " f u n c t i o n a l l y l i t e r a t e " p e r s o n . A s c o re o f 0 ,
how ever, means h e re sim p ly t h a t t h e p a s sa g e c o n ta in s
n e i t h e r " p e rs o n a l w ords" n o r " p e rs o n a l s e n te n c e s " ; i n
c o n t r a s t t o F orm ula A, th e two e le m e n ts c o u n te d h e re
may b e t o t a l l y a b s e n t. S in c e th e z e ro p o in t c o u ld be
f ix e d i n t h i s way, th e s c o rin g was a r r iv e d a t by d iv id
in g th e ra n g e betw een 0 (a b se n c e o f b o th e le m e n ts ) and
100 ( p r e d i c t i o n o f co m p leted f o u r th g ra d e ) by 1 0 0 . The
fo rm u la t h e r e f o r e c o n ta in s no s t a t i s t i c a l c o n s ta n t.
20
The s ig n s w ere r e v e r s e d i n th e same f a s h io n a s i n
Form ula A. (B e fo re tr a n s f o r m a tio n , t h i s fo rm u la re a d :
Gyr = - .133 pw - .0115 p s * 8 .6 6 7 3 •) The m u ltip le
c o r r e l a t i o n c o e f f i c i e n t o f t h i s fo rm u la i s R * .4 3 0 6 .
S in c e th e c o r r e l a t i o n s o f t h r e e o f t h e f o u r e l e
m ents w ith th e c r i t e r i o n C^q w ere h i ^ e r th a n th o s e
w ith th e c r i t e r i o n Gy^, th e m u ltip le c o r r e l a t i o n w ith
th e c r i t e r i o n C50 was com puted f i r s t * As a second
s t e p , th e v a lu e s so found w ere u sed to p r e d i c t c r i
t e r i o n C yc, s in c e i t seem ed o b v io u s ly m ore d e s ir a b le
to p r e d i c t 75^ com prehension th a n 50^ co m p re h en sio n .
The c o r r e l a t i o n betw een t h e word le n g th f a c t o r
( s y l l a b l e c o u n t) and th e c o rre s p o n d in g a f f i x co u n t in
th e e a r l i e r fo rm u la was found t o b e r = . 6 7 . F o r
p r a c t i c a l p u rp o se s th e two m easu res may t h e r e f o r e be
c o n s id e re d e q u i v a le n t.
. . .F o rm u la B h a s a much lo w er c o r r e l a t i o n c o e f f i
c i e n t o f .43 a n d , a c c o r d in g ly , d o es n o t seem to con
t r i b u t e much t o th e m easurem ent o f r e a d a b i l i t y . I t
sh o u ld be rem em bered, . . . t h a t b e c a u se o f th e c r i
t e r i o n u s e d . Form ula B p r e d i c t s o n ly th e e f f e c t o f th e
two "human i n t e r e s t " e le m e n ts on co m p reh en sio n ; i n
o th e r w o rd s, t h e c o r r e l a t i o n c o e f f i c i e n t shows o n ly
to w hat e x te n t human i n t e r e s t i n a g iv en t e x t w i l l
make t h e r e a d e r u n d e rs ta n d i t b e t t e r . The r e a l v a lu e
o f t h i s fo im u la , h o w ev er, l i e s in t h e f a c t t h a t human
i n t e r e s t w i l l a l s o in c r e a s e th e r e a d e r ’ s a t t e n t i o n and
h is m o tiv a tio n f o r c o n tin u e d r e a d in g . 13
The i n d ic e s o b ta in e d w ith th e s e two fo rm u la s a r e to
b e i n t e r p r e t e d a c c o rd in g t o th e fo llo w in g t a b l e s , b o th o f
w hich w ere a b s t r a c t e d from th e a r t i c l e q u o te d a b o v e .
I t w i l l b e s e e n i n th e q u o ta tio n above t h a t F le s c h ’ s
New Y a rd s tic k was b a se d on a num ber o f somewhat q u e s tio n -
T3 R u d o lf F le s c h , "A New R e a d a b ility Y a r d s tic k ,"
J o u r n a l o f A p p lie d P sy c h o lo g y . XXXII (J u n e , 1 9 4 8 ), 221-233*
21
TA B LE I
PATTERN OF "READING EASE" SCORES
RE
D e s c r ip tio n
o f s t y l e
T y p ic a l
m agazine wl s i
0-30 Very d i f f i c u l t S c i e n t i f i c 192-m ore 29-m ore
30-50 D i f f i c u l t A cadenic 167 25
50-60 F a i r l y d i f f i c u l t Q u a lity
155
21
6 0 -7 0 S ta n d a rd D ig e s ts
147 17
7 0 -3 0 F a i r l y e a s y S lic k f i c t i o n
139 14
80-90 Easy P u lp f i c t i o n
131
11
90-100 Very e asy Comics 123- l e s s 3 - l e s s
22
TABLE I I
PATTERN OF "H U M A N INTEREST" SCORES
HI
D e s c r ip tio n
o f s t y l e
T y p ic a l
m agazine pw ps
0-1 0 D u ll S c i e n t i f i c 2 - l e s s 0
10-20 M ild ly i n t e r e s t i n g T rade
4 5
20— 40 I n t e r e s t i n g D ig e s ts
7 15
40— 60 H ig h ly i n t e r e s t i n g New Y o rk er 11 32
60-100 D ram atic F i c t i o n 17-m ore 58-m ore
23
a b le p re m is e s , p a r t i c u l a r l y a s r e g a r d s th e human i n t e r e s t
form ula* I t w as, h o w ev er, a r e a l s t a r t to w ard th e o b je c
t i v e m easurem ent o f i n t e r e s t f a c t o r s in language* E v id en ce
may b e found e lse w h e re t o s u p p o rt th e c o n te n tio n t h a t a
co u n t o f p e rs o n a l w ords m easu res some a s p e c t o f th e i n t e r
e s t f a c t o r , and t h a t in c r e a s e d i n t e r e s t r e s t u l s i n i n
c re a s e d c o m p re h e n s ib ility *
In 1935 Gray and L eary p u b lis h e d d a ta on an e x p e r i
ment îd iic h in d ic a t e d a c o r r e l a t i o n o f -*7133 betw een th e
num ber o f p e r s o n a l w ords i n a p a s s a g e an d t h e num ber o f
w ords i n th e p a s s a g e unknown t o 90 p e r c e n t o f s ix th - g r a d e
s t u d e n t s , and a c o r r e l a t i o n betw een t h e number o f p e r s o n a l
w ords and t h e group a v e ra g e r e a d in g s c o re i n th e t e s t s
v a r i o u s l y r e p o r te d a s *476 + *0753 and *450*^^
I n a m ore r e c e n t s tu d y o f e d u c a tio n a l b r o a d c a s ts i n
E n g la n d , h o w ev er, V ernon found t h a t , c o r r e l a t i n g F le s c h * s
i n d i c a t o r s o f "human i n t e r e s t " w ith l i s t s u a b i l i t y :
N paes o f I n d i v i d u a l s . P e rs o n a l P ro n o u n s. Types o f
P e o p le . R e p e titio n s o f P to a s e s . G onversationZ i^ and
C o fa m ^ ity -w ith -L is te n e r S e n te n c e s a l l y i e l d n e g l i g i b l e
r e s u l t s . TETs may w e ll b e due to th e f a i l u r e o f o u r
a n a ly s is t o d i s a s s o c i a t e th e s e f e a t u r e s c o m p le te ly from
^ W. S . G ray and B . E . L e a ry , What Makes A Book
R e ad a b le (C h icag o : U n iv e r s ity o f C hicago P r e s s , X9J5T7
p p . 11^ and 1 2 8 .
24
c o n te n t; ( f o r m ost o f them te n d e d to o c c u r f r e q u e n tly
In th e c o n s p ic u o u s ly u n s u c c e s s fu l ’L o c a l C o u n c il’
s e r i e s [one o f th e s e r i e s o f b r o a d c a s ts s tu d ie d ]
And t h o u ^ h e found t h a t t h e num ber o f p e r s o n a l w ords had
an i n t e r c o r r e l a t i o n o f *454 w ith t h a t group o f com prehen
s io n s c o re s w hich in d ic a te d an " in a d e q u a te " , i . e . , l e s s
th a n 25 p e r c e n t, co m p reh en sio n o f th e b r o a d c a s t, th e
i n t e r e o r r e l a t i o n w ith th e gro u p o f " a d e q u a te " s c o r e s (o n ly
ab o u t 65 p e r ce n t o f th e sam ple) was - . 4 0 3 Flesch’s
h i ^ e r i n t e r c o r r e l a t i o n , i t w il l b e rooaembered, was o b ta in
ed w ith c h i ld r e n w h ile V ernon’ s s u b je c ts w ere a d u l ts o f a
c o n s id e r a b le ra n g e o f i n t e l l i g e n c e .
V ernon’ s f in d in g s a p p e a r to s u p p o rt th e s ta te m e n t o f
H o llin g w o rth t h a t .
I n t r i n s i c i n t e r e s t o f th e s u b je c t m a tte r i s th e
m ost e f f e c t i v e f a c t o r i n s u s t a in in g a t t e n t i o n ; i f
t h i s i s la c k in g t h e o n ly r e s o r t i s t o a r t i f i c i a l
d e v ic e s * . . .The m e c h a n ic a l d e v ic e s f o r s u s ta in in g
a t t e n t i o n a r e o f te n i r r e l e v a n t , w eak, and t r a n s i e n t ;
t h e i r v a lu e i s g r e a t e s t when th e a u d ie n c e i s im m atu re,
in e x p e r ie n c e d , o r o f low i n t e l l i g e n e e . 17
1^ P . E . V ernon, "An I n v e s t i g a t i o n in to th e I n t e l l i '
g i b i l i t y o f E d u c a tio n a l B r o a d c a s ts ," (London: B r i t i s h
B ro a d c a s tin g C o rp o ra tio n , 1950) (m im eo), p . 5 8 .
16
I b i d . . p p . 4 6 , 5 2 .
17 H. L . H o llin g w o rth , P sy ch o lo g y o f t h e A udience
(New Y ork: A m erican Book C o ., 1 9 3 5), p • 6TT
25
P e rs o n a l w ords m ight w e ll b e c o n s id e re d "m e c h a n ic a l
d e v ic e s " u n d e r c e r t a i n c irc u m s ta n c e s .
R u d o lp h ’ s s t u d i e s o f a d v e r t i s i n g in d ic a te d t h a t
t e s t i m o n i a l copy a t t r a c t s th e g r e a t e s t r e a d e r s h ip , a b o u t
40 p e r c e n t h i ^ e r th a n any o th e r ty p e .^ ^ U n f o r tu n a te ly ,
he gave v e ry l i t t l e e v id e n c e t o s u p p o rt t h i s f i g u r e , b u t
th e p r i n c i p l e i s l o g i c a l and r e le v a n t to t h i s d is c u s s i o n .
A r i s t o t l e and many o th e r s have d is c u s s e d th e c o n v in c in g
pow er o f th e t e s t i m o n i a l , and i t i s n o t u n re a s o n a b le to
su p p o se t h a t te s tim o n ia l copy w ould have a r e l a t i v e l y h i ^
p e r c e n ta g e o f p e r s o n a l w o rd s.
Many s t u d i e s have in d ic a t e d t h a t a m ethod o f p r e
d i c t i o n o f r e a d a b i l i t y o r l i s t e n a b i l i t y w hich f a i l s to ta k e
i n t o ac co u n t th e in h e r e n t i n t e r e s t v a lu e o f th e c o n te n t t o
t h e l i s t e n e r i s doomed to some d e g re e o f f a i l u r e . Ludwig
r e p o r te d t h a t when a s p l i t - r u n i s s u e o f a farm w eek ly was
u se d to t e s t r e a d e r s h ip o f news ite m s w r i t t e n w ith v a ry in g
p r e d ic te d r e a d a b i l i t y (a c c o rd in g to th e o ld F le s c h
f o rm u la ) , i t was fo u n d t h a t , "When i n t e r e s t in th e c o n te n t
i s h i ^ , ’h a rd w o rd s’ and ’human i n t e r e s t ’ te n d to h av e
H. J . R udolph, A tte n tio n and I n t e r e s t F a c to r s i n
A d v e rtis in g (New Y ork: Funk & W a g n a lls, 1 9 4 7 )•
26
l e s s e f f e c t on r e a d e r s h ip th a n c o n t e n t I t m ust be
n o te d t h a t th e t e s t was f o r r e a d e r s h ip — how many r e a d e r s
w ere a t t r a c t e d to re a d th e s to r y t h r o u ^ — r a t h e r th a n
r e a d a b i l i t y . B ut i t may be assum ed t h a t th e e f f ic ie n c y
o f a n ew sp ap er ite m o r a n e w sc a st item in i t s jo b o f
p r e s e n tin g in fo rm a tio n to th e p u b lic depends f i r s t of a l l
on i t s b e in g re a d o r l i s t e n e d t o a t a l l , and second on i t s
b e in g com prehended. Thus r e a d e r s h ip and l i s t e n e r s h i p a r e
th e f i r s t r e q u i s i t e s t o r e a d a b i l i t y and l i s t e n a b i l i t y •
More d i r e c t l y to th e p o in t i s V ernon’ s f in d in g t h a t
" . . .b y f a r th e m ost o u ts ta n d in g r e s u l t o f o u r i n v e s t i g a
t i o n i s t h a t th e m ost im p o rta n t f a c t o r s m aking f o r i n t e l l i
g i b i l i t y a r e th e i n t e l l i g e n c e and e d u c a tio n a l le v e l o f t h e
l i s t e n e r s on th e one h an d , and th e i n t e r e s t a ro u s e d by th e
c o n te n t o f th e t a l k on th e o t h e r .
T h ere a r e re a s o n s f o r su p p o sin g t h a t t h e p e rc e n ta g e
o f p e rs o n a l w ords would b e an i n d i c a t i o n o f in h e r e n t con
t e n t i n t e r e s t . The f i r s t argum ent i s , o f c o u r s e , t h a t
19 M. C. Ludw ig, "H ard Words and Human I n t e r e s t :
T h e ir E f f e c t s on R e a d e rs h ip ," J o u rn a lis m Q u a r te r ly , XXVI
(1 9 4 9 ), 1 6 7 -1 7 1 . '
20 P . E . V ernon, " I n v e s t ig a ti o n s o f th e I n t e l l i
g i b i l i t y o f E d u c a tio n a l B r o a d c a s ts ." P a p er re a d b e f o r e
th e B r i t i s h A s s o c ia tio n f o r t h e Advancement o f S c ie n c e ,
S eptem ber 5 , 1 9 5 0 .
27
p e o p le a r e alw ays i n t e r e s t e d in p e o p le . The arg u m en t t h a t
when one t a l k s ab o u t p e o p le one u s e s l e s s a b s t r a c t i o n s i s
r e l e v a n t . Language w ith a h i ^ p e r c e n ta g e o f d i r e c t r e f e r
e n c e s to p e o p le i s m ore l i k e l y t o be ab o u t s im p le , c o n c re te ,
ev ery d ay m a tte r s th a n a b o u t p h ilo s o p h y , m a th e m a tic s ,
p o l i t i e s , econom ics, e t c . , how ever e le m e n ta ry th e l a t t e r
d is c u s s io n s may b e .
I n 1948, C h a ll and D ia l r e p o r te d an ex p e rim en t w ith
a t r a n s c r i b e d news b r o a d c a s t p la y e d to a g ro u p o f 100
c o l le g e fre sh m e n . They found a c o r r e l a t i o n o f .93
betw een l i s t e n e r s ’ ju d g m en ts o f i n t e r e s t and l i s t e n e r s ’
ju d g m en ts o f how w e ll th e y u n d e rs to o d . The judgm ent o f
i n t e r e s t c o r r e l a te d .8 2 w ith co m p reh en sio n a s m easured by
m u ltip ie - C h o ice q u e s tio n s im m e d ia te ly a f t e r th e t e s t . The
s tu d y , m o re o v e r, showed t h a t r e a d a b i l i t y fo rm u la e do have
some a p p l i c a b i l i t y to l i s t e n a b i l i t y s i t u a t i o n s . The c o r r e
l a t i o n betw een t h e p r e d ic te d r e a d a b i l i t y o f news s t o r i e s
(u s in g t h e o ld F le sc h fo rm u la ) and t h e i r l i s t e n a b i l i t y a s
22
m easu red by im m ed iate r e c a l l was .7 2 .
J . S . C h a ll and H. E . D ia l , " P r e d ic tin g L i s t e n e r
U n d e rsta n d in g and I n t e r e s t in N e w s c a s ts ," E d u c a tio n a l
R e sea rc h B u l l e t i n . XXVII (S ep tem b er 15, 1 9 4 7 ), 141-153 •
22
L o c. c i t .
23
23
H arwood’ s s tu d y c o n firm ed t h i s a p p l i c a b i l i t y .
E x am in a tio n o f h is d a ta showed t h a t th e e a se ra n k a s p r e
d ic te d by t h e F le s c h r e a d in g e a se fo rm u la and th e e a s e ra n k
o f th e same s t o r i e s a s in d ic a t e d by th e mean co m p reh en sio n
s c o r e s o f h is l i s t e n i n g g ro u p c o rre sp o n d e d c l o s e l y , th e
o n ly d i f f e r e n c e b e in g th e r e v e r s a l o f ran k o f th e two m ost
d i f f i c u l t s t o r i e s . T h is c o rre sp o n d e n c e w as, in f a c t , b e t t e r
th a n t h a t b etw een p r e d ic te d ran k and th e ra n k in d ic a te d by
th e mean co m p reh en sio n s c o r e s o f h i s r e a d in g g ro u p , i n
d i c a t i n g , p e r h a p s , t h a t th e fo rm u la p r e d i c t s l i s t e n a b i l i t y
b e t t e r th a n i t p r e d i c t s r e a d a b i l i t y . I t m ust be rem em ber
e d , how ever, t h a t mean s c o r e s from s to r y to s t o r y i n b o th
I
th e p r e s e n t s tu d y and Harwood’ s may n o t have b ee n com par
a b l e , f o r i t i s unknown w h e th e r th e t e s t q u e s tio n s w ere a l l
o f eq u a l d i f f i c u l t y . S t i l l , th e e v id e n c e i s i n t r i g u i n g .
H a r r e l l , Brown, and Schramm found t h a t , "a r a d io
l i s t e n e r rem em bers o n ly a b o u t h a l f th e ite m s w ith in a few
m in u te s a f t e r a n e w s c a s t." The h ig h e s t com prehension
s c o re s o b ta in e d by s u b je c ts on t h e v a rio u s ty p e s o f news
c a s t ite m s s tu d ie d w ere on "human i n t e r e s t " ite m s . The
23 K. A* Harwood, "An E3q>erim ental C om parison o f
L is te n in g C o m p re h e n s ib ility w ith R ead in g C o m p re h e n s ib ility ,"
{ u n p u b lish e d D o c to r’ s d i s s e r t a t i o n . U n iv e r s ity o f S o u th e rn .
C a l i f o r n i a , 1 9 5 0 ).
29
mean co m p reh en sio n o f "human i n t e r e s t " ite m s was n o t s i g
n i f i c a n t l y d i f f e r e n t from th e means o b ta in e d on o th e r
ty p e s o f ite m s , b u t th e a u th o r s a s c r ib e d t h i s t o th e sm a ll
num ber o f q u e s tio n s i n th e t e s t and c o n c lu d e d t h a t ,
" F u r th e r t e s t s may show t h a t human i n t e r e s t ite m s a r e
e a s i e s t o f a l l to ra a e m b e r.
B a x te r found t h a t , " ’F e a t u r e ’ s t o r i e s p e r t a i n i n g to
p a r t i c u l a r p e rso n s* . .h a d low i n t e r e s t v a l u e . B u t
t h i s r e s u l t sh o u ld b e c o n s id e re d in th e l i g h t o f th e con
d i t i o n s o f th e e x p e rim e n t i n w h ich , among o t h e r t h i n g s ,
c o n s id e r a b le " h a lo e f f e c t " may have b een in o p e r a t io n .
I t m ight b e co n c lu d ed t h a t i n t e r e s t h a s a c o n s id e r
a b le e f f e c t on co m p re h e n sio n . One m ust b ew a re , h o w ev er,
o f to o b ro a d a v iew o f t h i s c o n c lu s io n . Trenam an h a s con
s i s t e n t l y found t h a t , a s he s t a t e d i n one p a p e r.
The r e p o r t s show q u i t e c l e a r l y t h a t i t was th e
l i s t e n e r s vdio s a id th e y had en jo y e d th e s e b r o a d c a s ts
m ost V È 10 f e l t t h a t th e y had le a r n e d m ost from th em ;
Thomas H a r r e l l , D. E . Brown, and W. Schramm,
"Memory i n R adio News L is t e n in g ," J o u r n a l o f A p p lie d
P sy c h o lo g y , XXXIII (J u n e , 1 9 4 9 ), 148-1$J." ~
25 R ic h a rd H. B a x te r , "The M easurem ent o f L is te n e r
I n t e r e s t i n R e p r e s e n ta tiv e T ypes o f R adio News S t o r i e s , "
(u n p u b lis h e d M a s te r’ s t h e s i s . S t a t e U n iv e r s ity o f Iow a,
1946 ) .
30
b u t t h e num ber o f e s s e n t i a l p o in ts th e y c o u ld a f t e r
w ard r e c a l l b o re no r e l a t i o n t o th e d e g re e o f e n jo y
ment th e y e x p e rio ic e d o r t h e am ount th e y s a i d th e y
had l e a r n e d . 26
Trenam an o b se rv e d e ls e v d ie re .
I n t e r e s t i s o b v io u s ly im p o r ta n t, b e c a u se vàien i t
d ro p s below a c e r t a i n p o in t th e l i s t e n e r s w itc h e s o f f .
But vÈiat e x a c t l y d o es i t mean? T h ere i s p r a c t i c a l l y
no c o n s ta n t l i n k betw een i n t e r e s t and b ackground
k n o w led g e. T h ere i s , h ow ever, a s l i g h t te n d e n c y f o r
b ack g ro u n d know ledge t o b e com bined w ith u n d e rs ta n d in g
o f th e b r o a d c a s t. I n o th e r w o rd s, w hat a l i s t e n e r g e t s
o u t o f th e programme i s d ep en d en t to some e x te n t on th e
know ledge (and n o t t h e i n t e r e s t ) t h a t he b r in g s to i t .
What he d e s c r ib e s a s i n t e r e s t (o r a p p r e c ia tio n ) seem s
to b e h i s r e c o g n itio n o f th e f a c t t h a t th e s u b je c t
h o ld s so m e th in g o f s i g n i f i c a n c e t o him . I t i s im
p o s s ib le to g iv e a m ore s p e c i f i c d e f i n i t i o n , b e c a u se
t h i s a t t i t u d e i s a p u r e ly p e r s o n a l o n e .27
P i l l s b u r y rem in d s u s t h a t , " I n t e r e s t . . . i s n o t
d ep en d en t upon th e o b j e c t , b u t upon th e n a tu r e o f t h e man
t o whom th e o b je c t i s p r e s e n t e d ."2 ^
So i t ap p e a re d t h a t t h e r e was much t o be le a r n e d
ab o u t i n t e r e s t f a c t o r s b e f o r e a l i s t e n a b i l i t y fo rm u la co u ld
26 J. T renam an, "R ep o rt on t h e T h ird E x p e rim e n ta l
S e r i e s — ’The R is in g G e n e ra tio n ’ ," BBC F u r th e r E d u c a tio n
E x p e rim e n t, London, May, 1950 (m im eo), p . 6 .
27 J . Trenam an, " R e p o rt on t h e F o u rth E x p e rim e n ta l
S e r i e s — ’Does I t Make S en se T oday’ ," BBC F u r th e r E d u c a tio n
E x p e rim e n t, London, A u g u st, 1950 (m im eo), p . 4»
2^ W a lte r B. P i l l s b u r y , A tte n tio n (London:
Swan, S o n n e n sc h e in , 1 9 0 3 ), p .
31
be d e v is e d , o r , in d e e d , b e f o r e many o f th e m ost b a s ic
p r i n c i p l e s o f l i s t e n a b l e la n g u a g e m ig h t be d e te rm in e d -
The c o r r e l a t i o n found by C h a ll and D ia l betw een th e
p r e d i c t i o n s o f th e f i r s t F le s c h fo rm u la and l i s t e n a b i l i t y
( • 7 2 )^ ^ in d ic a t e d a p r o f i t a b l e l i n e o f a t t a c k on p ro b lem s
o f l i s t e n a b i l i t y . I t was f o r th e s e re a s o n s t h a t t h e s tu d y
r e p o r te d h e r e to o k a s i t s problem th e e x a m in a tio n o f one
f a c t o r o f F le s c h ’ s "human i n t e r e s t " fo rm u la a s a p r e d i c t o r
o f l i s t e n a b i l i t y . (The a p p l i c a b i l i t y o f th e " re a d in g
e a s e " fo rm u la o f t h a t " Y a rd s tic k " was more d i r e c t l y exam
in e d by H arw ood.
i
S ta te m e n t o f t h e p ro b le m . The p ro b lem o f t h i s s tu d y
was to i n v e s t i g a t e th e a p p l i c a b i l i t y o f th e F le s c h "human
i n t e r e s t " fo rm u la t o l i s t e n a b i l i t y . I t was a p p a re n t t h a t
th e " p e rs o n a l s e n te n c e s " elem en t c o n tr ib u te d c o m p a ra tiv e ly
l i t t l e , a n d t h e r e f o r e i t was d e c id e d to i n v e s t i g a t e th e
" p e rs o n a l w ords" elem en t a lo n e . The p ro b lem th e n red u c e d
i t s e l f t o s i x m ajo r q u e s tio n s :
29 C h a ll and D ia l , o^* c i t .
30 Harwood, ojg. c i t .
31 N ote th e b e t a s in th e fo rm u la : HI = 3*635 pw
+ .314 p s .
32
1 . What e f f e c t d o es in c r e a s in g th e HI s c o re o f
spoken la n g u a g e by one o r two s te p s i n F le s c h * s f i v e - s t e p
s c a l e o f "human i n t e r e s t " have on th e l i s t e n a b i l i t y o f th e
la n g u a g e ?
2 . Does such an e f f e c t , i f a n y , v a ry a c c o rd in g to
th e d i f f i c u l t y le v e l o f th e la n g u ag e a s m easu red by th e
F le s c h " re a d in g e a s e " fo rm u la?
3- Does su ch an e f f e c t , i f a n y , v a ry w ith th e
l i s t e n i n g a b i l i t y o f t h e s u b je c ts ?
4* Does th e HI s c o re o r in c r e a s in g th e HI s c o re
o f spoken la n g u a g e h av e a d i f f e r e n t e f f e c t on i t s l i s t e n
a b i l i t y f o r m ale and f o r fe m a le l i s t e n e r s ?
5* What p e rc e n ta g e o f co m prehension can te n th - g r a d e
j u n i o r h i ^ s c h o o l s tu d e n ts be e x p e c te d to o b ta in from a
re c o rd e d sp eech ?
6* A re t h e d i f f i c u l t y - p r e d i c t i o n s o f th e F le s c h
" re a d in g e a s e " fo im u la c o n s is te n t Wien c e r t a i n f a c t o r s o f
th e la n g u a g e o f th e m a te r ia l o th e r th a n th o s e m easured by
t h a t fo rm u la a r e v a r ie d s l i ^ t l y ?
CHAPTER I I I
TECHNIQUES A N D PROCEDURES
The co n d u c t of th e e x p e rim e n ts was u n d e rta k e n in
t h r e e m ain s ta g e s w hich w i l l be d e s c r ib e d in o r d e r . They
w ere (a) th e p r e p a r a tio n o f th e t e s t m a t e r i a l s , (b ) th e
t e s t i n g o f th e s u b j e c t s , and (c ) th e a n a ly s i s o f th e t e s t
s c o r e s . The d e s c r i p t i o n g iv e n below sh o u ld b e s u f f i c i e n t
t o g iv e c o n te x t to th e l a t e r d is c u s s io n o f th e f in d in g s ,
b u t th e r e a d e r who d e s i r e s an e x tre m e ly d e t a i l e d d e s c r i p
t i o n o f th e te c h n iq u e s and p ro c e d u re s o f t h i s e x p e rim en t
i s r e f e r r e d to th e d i s s e r t a t i o n b y K. A. H arw ood.^ The
2
p r e s e n t e x p e rim e n t was one o f t h r e e W iich w ere co n d u cted
a t th e same tim e , w ith th e same s p e a k e r , w ith e s s e n t i a l l y
th e same t e s t m a t e r i a l s , and w ith s u b j e c t s drawn from t h e
same p o p u la tio n o f j u n io r h ig h s c h o o l s t u d e n t s . The m ethod
o f p r e s e n ta ti o n o f th e m a te r ia l s v a r ie d from s tu d y to stu d y .
T hese d if f e r e n c e s i n p r e s e n t a t i o n w i l l be m e n tio n ed p a re n -
T K enneth A. Harwood, "An E x p e rim e n ta l C om parison
o f L is te n in g C o m p re h e n s ib ility w ith R ead in g C om prehensi
b i l i t y , " (u n p u b lis h e d D o c to r’ s d i s s e r t a t i o n . The U n iv e r s ity
o f S o u th e rn C a l i f o r n i a , 1 9 5 0 ), p p . 2 3 -7 8 .
2 The t h i r d w as, Leo Goodman-M alamuth, "An E x p e ri
m e n tal S tu d y o f th e E f f e c t o f R ate o f S p eak in g on L is te n in g
C o m p reh en sio n ," ( t e n t a t i v e t i t l e ) (D o c to r’ s d i s s e r t a t i o n .
The U n iv e r s ity o f S o u th e rn C a l i f o r n i a , i n p r o g r e s s ) .
34
t h e t i c a l l y i n th e c o u rs e o f th e p r e s e n t d e s c r i p t i o n o f th e
m ethod so t h a t th e r e a d e r may ju d g e th e c o m p a r a b ility o f
th e t h r e e s t u d i e s .
P r e p a r a tio n o f m a t e r i a l s . A n tic ip a tin g th e p o s s i
b i l i t y t h a t th e e f f e c t o f th e num ber o f p e r s o n a l w ords on
t h e l i s t e n a b i l i t y o f la n g u a g e m ig h t v a ry w ith th e e a s e o r
d i f f i c u l t y o f th e accom panying g ra m m a tic a l f a c t o r s o f
la n g u a g e , i t was d e c id e d to c o n d u c t th e t e s t s a t se v en
l e v e l s o f d i f f i c u l t y . T h ese l e v e l s o f d i f f i c u l t y w ere
d e te rm in e d by a p p l i c a t i o n o f F le s c h ’ s "New R e a d a b ility
Y a r d s t i c k C h o i c e o f s t o r i e s f o r th e t e s t s was d e t e r
m ined by th e fo llo w in g c o n s id e r a ti o n s :
(a ) t h a t th e s t o r i e s b e o f g e n e ra l and a b o u t e q u a l
i n t r i n s i c i n t e r e s t to b o th m ale and fem ale s u b j e c t s ;
(b) t h a t th e p o s s i b i l i t y o f any o f th e s u b je c ts
h a v in g p re v io u s know ledge o f th e m a t e r i a l b e low ;
(c ) t h a t th e m a te r i a l b e n o t e a s i l y " d a te d " o r
i d e n t i f i e d w ith any p a r t i c u l a r news e v e n t;
(d) t h a t th e m a te r ia l h av e c o n t i n u i t y , sound a s
much l i k e o r d in a r y r a d io sp eech a s p o s s i b l e , and b e com-
^ R u d o lf F le s c h , "A New R e a d a b ility Y a r d s tic k ,"
J o u rn a l o f A p p lie d P s y c h o lo g y , XXXII (J u n e , 1 9 4 8 ), 221-233
35
p l e t e w ith in i t s e l f r a t h e r th a n g iv in g t h e im p re s s io n o f
h av in g been e x t r a c te d from a lo n g e r n a r r a t i v e ; and
(e ) t h a t th e s to r y show p ro m ise o f b e in g r e w r i tte n
w ith o u t damage to th e c o n te n t to m eet th e s t a t i s t i c a l
re q u ire m e n t s •
The s t a t i s t i c a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s o f th e s t o r i e s w ere
d e te rm in e d by th e re q u ire m e n ts o f th e F le s c h " Y a rd s tic k "
f o r c e r t a i n l e v e l s o f r e a d in g e a se and human i n t e r e s t
( h e n c e fo r th a b b r e v ia te d RE and H I ) . They a r e sum m arized
i n T a b le I I I . I t w i l l b e se e n fro m t h i s t a b l e t h a t th r e e
v e r s io n s o f each o f se v en d i f f e r e n t s t o r i e s w ere u se d in
t h i s e x p e rim e n t•
Seven s t o r i e s w ere s e l e c t e d (and somewhat r e w r i tte n )
so t h a t each e x e m p lifie d th e m id -p o in t o f one o f th e sev en
s te p s in th e F le s c h s c a le o f r e a d a b i l i t y . T h u s, th e r e was
a s t o r y ( I c e Cream) w ith RE 9 5 * 1 ,^ a n o th e r s t o r y (Pow er)
w ith RE 8 5 . 2 , a n o th e r w ith RE 75*0, and so o n . Each o f
t h e s e se v en s t o r i e s h ad HI o f 3 0 *3, r e p r e s e n tin g th e m id
p o in t o f th e m iddle s te p o f t h e F le s c h s c a le o f "human
i n t e r e s t . " T h is HI s c o re was d ep e n d en t e n t i r e l y upon t h e
4 I t was im p o s s ib le , w ith a p a s s a g e o f o n ly 300
w o rd s , to a t t a i n a n RE s c o re c l o s e r t o 95*0, th e t r u e m id
p o in t o f th e s t e p . O th e r s i m i l a r d i f f e r e n c e s from t r u e .
m id -p o in ts i n RE o r HI o c c u rre d f o r t h e same r e a s o n .
36
TA BLE I I I
STATISTICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE STORIES
S to ry
Number
T i t l e &
"R ead
a b i l i t y " RE
No. o f
No. o f N o .o f P e rs o n a l
HI S e n te n c e s S y l l a b l e s Words
V II Ic e Cream
9 5 -1 50.9 25 353
42
(Very
9 5 .1 30 .3 25 353 25
E asy;
9 5 .1
1 5 .8
25 353 13
I Power S 5 .2
50.9 23 385 42
(E asy) 85.2
30.3 23 385 25
85.2 1 5 .8
23 385 13
VI N o rth P o le 7 5 .0
50.9
21 416 42
(F a i r l y 7 5 .0
3 0 .3
21 416
25
E asy) 7 5 .0 1 5 .8 21 416
13
I I Suzanne 6 5 .0
50.9 19 446 42
(S ta n d a rd ) 6 5 .0
30.3 19 446
25
6 5 .0 1 5 .8
19 446
13
V DDT
55.3 50.9 17 475
42
( F a i r l y
55.3 30.3 17 475 25
D i f f i c u l t )
55.3
1 5 .8
17 475 13
I I I I n s t r u c t o r
3 9 .9 50.9 15
520 42
( D i f f i c u l t )
3 9 .9 30.3 15
520
25
3 9 .9
1 5 .8
15
520
13
IV M iddletow n
1 5 .1 50.9 9
560 42
(V ery
1 5 .1 3 0 .3 9
560
25
D i f f i c u l t )
1 5 .1
1 5 .8
9
560
13
37
num ber o f p e rs o n a l w ords in th e s t o r y , a s th e o n ly o th e r
f a c t o r in th e fo rm u la , p e r s o n a l s e n te n c e s , was h e ld co n
s t a n t a t z e ro th ro u g h o u t t h e s tu d y . The sev en s t o r i e s so
c o n s tr u c te d may be se e n i n A ppendix A.
(T h ese same sev en s t o r i e s w ere u sed in e x a c tly th e
same form by Harwood and M alamuth in t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e ex
p e rim e n ts * Harwood p r e s e n te d them in tw o w ays: a s a l i s t e n
in g t e s t and a s a re a d in g t e s t . M alam uth p r e s e n te d them a s
l i s t e n i n g t e s t s a t fo u r r a t e s o f p r e s e n t a t i o n .)
Two o th e r v e r s io n s o f each o f t h e s e sev en s t o r i e s
w ere th e n d e v is e d . One was o b ta in e d by r e w r i tin g th e s t o r y
i n su c h a way as t o i n c r e a s e i t s HI by one f u l l s te p in th e
F le s c h s c a le o f "human i n t e r e s t . " The o th e r was o b ta in e d
by r e w r itin g i t i n such a way a s t o d e c re a s e i t s HI by one
f u l l s te p i n th e F le s c h s c a le o f "human i n t e r e s t . " A ll r e
w r i ti n g was done i n su ch a way t h a t th e num ber o f w ords
rem a in ed c o n s ta n t i n a l l v e r s io n s o f a l l s t o r i e s a t 300
w o rd s, t h a t th e num ber o f s e n te n c e s and s y l l a b l e s rem ain ed
c o n s ta n t f o r t h e RE, and th e s e n s e o f th e m a te r ia l rem ain ed
i n t a c t . As l i t t l e change a s p o s s i b le was made in t h e
g ra m m a tic a l c o n s tr u c tio n o f th e la n g u a g e , and th e o r d e r o f
th e id e a s was n o t d i s t u r b e d . I t was p o s s i b le to do t h i s
.w ith a lm o st no a l t e r a t i o n o f th e c o n te n t o f th e s t o r i e s , a s
w i l l b e seen by co m p ariso n o f th e f o llo w in g s e n te n c e s from
38
S to ry V I. The f i r s t i s from th e HI 15 v e r s i o n , th e second
i s th e same s e n te n c e a s i t o c c u rre d i n th e HI 50 v e r s io n .
T h is sq u a d ro n f l i e s th e p o le q u i t e r e g u l a r l y
b e c a u se i t s a ssig n m e n t i s t h a t o f a f l y i n g w e a th e r
s t a t i o n c o v e rin g a r e a s w here i t w ould b e h a rd to
e s t a b l i s h w e a th e r s t a t i o n s on th e g ro u n d .
They f l y t h e p o le q u i t e r e g u l a r l y b e c a u s e t h e i r
a s sig n m e n t i s p r e t t y much t h a t o f b e in g f l y i n g w e a th e r
men c o v e rin g a r e a s # i e r e th e y c o u ld n o t e s t a b l i s h
t h e i r w e a th e r s t a t i o n s on t h e g ro u n d .
The seco n d i s e a s i l y se e n t o b e t h e v e r s io n w ith th e h ig h e r
/
"human i n t e r e s t . " I t c o n ta in s f i v e " p e r s o n a l w ords" w here
a s th e f i r s t c o n ta in s n o n e . An e x te n d e d exam ple o f t h e r e
w r itin g p ro c e d u re a p p e a rs i n A ppendix D. H ere th e s to r y
h a s been r e w r i t t e n from HI 3 0.3 to HI 50.9* I t w ill b e
se en t h a t th e num ber o f s e n te n c e s rem ain ed u n ch an g ed , t h a t
th e num ber o f w ords d e l e te d e q u a le d t h e num ber o f w ords
ad d e d , and t h a t th e num ber o f s y l l a b l e s d e le te d e q u a le d th e
num ber o f s y l l a b l e s a d d e d . I t was n o t found p r a c t i c a b l e t o
re d u c e o r in c r e a s e th e HI o f any s t o r y more th a n one f u l l
s te p and s t i l l m a in ta in th e p r o p e r RE f o r th e s t o r y w ith o u t
m ajo r a l t e r a t i o n s in th e c o n te n t o r g ram m a tic al s t r u c t u r e .
T h ere w ere now t h r e e v e r s io n s o f each o f th e sev en s t o r i e s .
T hese t h r e e v e r s io n s e x e m p lifie d HI s c o re s o f 15 .8 ( m ild ly
i n t e r e s t i n g ) , 3 0 .3 ( i n t e r e s t i n g ) , and 5 0 .9 ( h ig h ly i n t e r e s t -
i n g ) .
39
C o n s tru c tio n o f m u ltip le - c h o ic e t e s t s on th e
m a t e r i a l i n each o f th e se v e n s t o r i e s fo llo w ed * I t was
found p o s s i b le to c o n s tr u c t f i f t e e n q u e s tio n s o f th e f i v e -
c h o ic e ty p e f o r each s t o r y . S in c e th e m a t e r i a l was un
changed from v e r s io n to v e r s io n , t h e t e s t o n , e . g . , th e ■ ■
" I c e Cream" s t o r y {RE 9 5 * 1 , HI 30*3) was j u s t a s a p p lic a b le
to th e " I c e Cream" s t o r y (RE 95*1, HI 5 0 .9 ) and t o th e " I c e
Cream" s to r y (RE 9 5 * 1 , HI 1 5 * 8 ). T hese t e s t s w ere con
s t r u c t e d a c c o rd in g to a c c e p te d p r i n c i p l e s , th e c o r r e c t
an sw e rs b e in g random ized i n p o s i t i o n , no t r i c k q u e s tio n s
b e in g a s k e d , t h e d i f f i c u l t y o f th e la n g u a g e i n t h e q u es
t i o n s b e in g c o n t r o l l e d a s c l o s e l y a s p o s s i b l e , th e i n
c o r r e c t an sw e rs seem ing re a s o n a b le and p e r t i n e n t so a s n o t
t o make th e c o r r e c t an sw e rs o b v io u s, and so o n .
The t e s t s w ere th e n m im eographed. Each t e s t o f
f i f t e e n q u e s tio n s made one p a g e . The sev en t e s t s , c o v e re d
by an i n s t r u c t i o n s h e e t and s e p a r a te d by b la n k p a g e s , w ere
s ta p l e d i n t o a t e s t b o o k l e t .
An an sw er s h e e t w as p re p a re d and m im eographed. The
an sw er s h e e t fo rm , i n s t r u c t i o n s h e e t , t e s t q u e s tio n s , and
an sw er key may b e se e n i n A ppendix E .
( I d e n t i c a l t e s t b o o k le ts and an sw er s h e e ts w ere u sed
by M alam uth i n h is ex p e rim en t and by Harwood f o r th e l i s t e n
in g t e s t s i n h is e x p e rim e n t.)
40
The s p e a k e r f o r th e ex p e rim en t was c a r e f u l l y ch o sen
a s w i l l b e d e s c r ib e d b e lo w . T h ese p r e c a u tio n s w ere ta k e n
i n s p i t e o f th e e v id e n c e found by Haiman t h a t a s p e a k e r
w ith g r e a t e r s k i l l can p e rh a p s o b ta in a s l i g h t l y g r e a t e r
d e g re e o f co m p reh en sio n from h i s a u d ie n c e th a n a w eak er
s p e a k e r , b u t t h a t , " . . .g iv e n th e c o n d itio n s o f th e ex
p e r im e n t. ♦ . i t i s p o s s i b le f o r an a v e ra g e p e rs o n to s e c u re
e s s e n t i a l l y th e same d e g re e o f co m p reh en sio n a s a s p e a k e r
o f s u p e r io r s k i l l and p e r s o n a l i t y ," ^ and V ernon’ s f in d in g
t h a t , "Good o r p o o r d e l i v e r y . . . a f f e c t l i s t e n e r s ’ im
p r e s s io n s o f th e e a s e o f th e t a l k w ith o u t i n f a c t i n f l u e n c
in g t h e i r s c o r e s ." ^ N e lso n , t o o , fo u n d t h a t t h e r e was no
s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e i n c o m p re h e n s ib ility among th e f i v e
n e w s c a s te r s u se d i n h i s s tu d y
H ow ever, N ic h o ls found e v id e n c e t o s u g g e s t, b u t n o t
t o e s t a b l i s h , t h a t s p e a k e r e f f e c t i v e n e s s in f lu e n c e d l i s t e n -
5 F . S . H aim an, "An E x p erim en t in In fo rm a tiv e
S p e a k in g ,’’ Q u a r te r ly J o u r n a l o f S p eech , XXIV (O c to b e r,
1 9 4 8 ), 3 5 5 - W Ü . ------------------------------
6 p . E . V ernon, " I n v e s t i g a t i o n s o f th e I n t e l l i g i b i l
i t y o f E d u c a tio n a l B r o a d c a s ts ," p a p e r r e a d b e f o r e th e
B r i t i s h A s s o c ia tio n f o r th e Advancem ent o f S c ie n c e ,
S ep tem b er 5 , 1 9 5 0 .
7 H. E . N e ls o n , "The E f f e c t o f V a r ia tio n o f R a te on
th e R e c a ll by R adio L is te n e r s o f ’S t r a i g h t ’ N e w s c a s ts ,"
S peech M onographs, XV (1 9 4 8 ), 1 7 3 -1 8 0 .
41 .
in g c o m p re h e n sio n ,^ and Knower, P h i l l i p s an d K oeppel found
t h a t , "Good s p e a k e rs p ro d u ced a g r e a t e r amount o f r e c a l l
th a n p o o r s p e a k e r s ." ^ Both th e s e e x p e rim e n ts in v o lv e d l i v e
sp e a k in g s i t u a t i o n s r a t h e r th a n r a d io l i s t e n i n g ( a s d id
H aim an’ s ) . T h ere i s s t i l l some d o u b t, a p p a r e n tly , ab o u t
th e ir r e le v a n c y o f " s p e a k e r e f f e c t i v e n e s s ."
So a s to k eep c o n s ta n t a s many f a c t o r s a s p o s s i b le
and to make i t more p o s s i b le f o r th e s tu d y to be d u p lic a te d
i f some o th e r e x p e rim e n te r sh o u ld d e s i r e t o do so i n th e
f u t u r e , i t was d e c id e d n o t to u se th e b e s t s p e a k e r a v a i l
a b l e , b u t one who was r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f th e " a v e ra g e t r a i n e d
s p e a k e r" such a s m ight be h e a rd on th e s t a f f o f a l o c a l
b r o a d c a s tin g s t a t i o n . He would b e com petent and t r a i n e d ,
b u t o f no g r e a t e r o r l e s s th a n a v e ra g e " r a d io p e r s o n a lity "
and sp e a k in g a b i l i t y . T h u s, i t w ould b e p o s s i b le to g iv e a
r e l a t i v e l y o b je c ti v e d e f i n i t i o n o f t h e s p e a k e r ’ s a b i l i t y .
F our s p e a k e rs w ere s e l e c t e d who a p p e a re d to m eet th e s e
a
R. G. N ic h o ls , " F a c to r s in L is te n in g Comprehen
s i o n ," Speech M onographs, XV (1 9 4 8 ), 1 5 4 -1 6 3 .
9 F r a n k lin H. Knower, D avid P h i l l i p s and F e rn
K o ep p el, " S tu d ie s in L is te n in g to I n fo r m a tiv e S p e a k in g ,"
J o u rn a l o f Abnorm al an d S o c ia l P sy c h o lo g y , XL ( J a n u a ry ,
T943")T87::gF:------------------------------- ^ ^
42
r e q u ir e m e n ts . Each o f th e f o u r s p e a k e rs h ad p r o f e s s io n a l
e x p e rie n c e a s a r a d io an n o u n c er o r n e w s c a s te r .
Each s p e a k e r made a ta p e r e c o r d in g o f two o f th e
t e s t s t o r i e s : "M iddletow n" (RE 15*1, HI 3 0 .3 ) , and "N o rth
P o le " (RE 75*0, HI 30*3)* The r e c o r d in g s w ere a l l made in
a s m a ll, r e l a t i v e l y a c o u s t i c a l l y dead room , on p a p e r-b a c k e d i
\
m a g n e tic re c o rd in g t a p e and u s in g a S o u n d -m irro r m odel |
BK-401 and A c o u s tic a l m odel BA-106 m icro p h o n e . The r a t e
was 150 w ords p e r m in u te . S in c e a l l s t o r i e s w ere 300 w ords
in l e n g th , each r e c o r d in g was two m in u te s lo n g . R a te was
c o n t r o l l e d to w ith in o n e - h a lf seco n d o v e r th e two m in u te s .
L oudness was k e p t c o n s ta n t . T hese e ig h t tw o -m in u te r e c o r d
in g s w ere th e n s p l i c e d t o g e t h e r i n random o r d e r i n t o a
lo n g e r ta p e w ith t e n se co n d s o f s i l e n c e betw een each r e a d
i n g .
E x p e rt judgm ent w as th e n so u g h t a s t o W iich o f th e
fo u r s p e a k e rs m ost n e a r l y ap p ro ac h ed th e c o n c ep t o f an
" a v e ra g e t r a i n e d sp e a k e r" Wien h e a rd re a d in g exam ples o f
th e t e s t s t o r i e s . The ju d g e s , n in e te e n g r a d u a te s tu d e n ts
a t th e U n iv e r s ity o f S o u th e rn C a l i f o r n i a , a v e ra g e d 31 y e a r s
o f a g e , f i v e y e a rs o f p r o f e s s io n a l e x p e rie n c e , in c lu d in g
te a c h i n g , i n sp e e c h , and h ad ta k e n an a v e ra g e o f f i f t y - f i v e
s e m e s te r u n i t s o f c o lle g e sp eech s tu d y .
43
The ju d g e s s a t a s a g ro u p and w ere a s k e d to r a t e
each r e c o r d in g a s to W ie th e r i t was (1) c l e a r l y b e t t e r
th a n , (2) somevdiat b e t t e r t h a n , (3 ) v e ry much l i k e , (4 )
somewhat p o o r e r th a n , o r (5 ) c l e a r l y p o o r e r th a n t h e i r
id e a o f th e r e a d in g o f an a v e ra g e t r a i n e d s p e a k e r .
The i n s t r u c t i o n s h e e t g iv e n and r e a d to th e ju d g e s
may b e seen i n A ppendix F . A b o o k le t o f e ig h t form s l i k e
t h e exam ple e n c lo s e d i n t h e r e c t a n g le a t t h e b o tto m o f th e
i n s t r u c t i o n s h e e t was p ro v id e d f o r e a c h ju d g e . A f te r th e
f i r s t re a d in g had been p la y e d on t h e ta p e r e c o r d e r , th e
m achine was s to p p e d and th e ju d g e s w ere a llo w e d to m ark th e
f i r s t form i n th e b o o k le t w ith t h e i r r a t i n g o f t h a t r e a d - [
i n g . The m achine was th e n r e s t a r t e d and t h e second re a d in g
was p la y e d , a f t e r w hich t h e m achine was s to p p e d and t h e
ju d g e s r a t e d t h a t r e a d in g on th e seco n d form i n t h e b o o k let^
and so on th ro u g h o u t th e e ig h t r e a d i n g s .
A summary o f th e ju d g e s ’ r a t i n g s i s shown i n th e
fo llo w in g t a b l e .
The means shown a r e th e a v e ra g e r a t i n g s o f th e
ju d g e s vdien v a lu e s from one t o f i v e a r e a s c r ib e d t o th e
r a t i n g s from " c l e a r l y b e t t e r th a n " to " c l e a r l y p o o re r
th a n " an a v e ra g e t r a i n e d s p e a k e r . The two m eans and a v e r
ag e d e v ia tio n s f o r each s p e a k e r w ere a v e ra g e d and th e n
com pared. A mean o f 3*00 would h av e i n d ic a t e d t h a t in t h e
TABLE IV
JUDGES’ RATINGS OF THE READERS
44
R eading A B C D E F G H
R e ad e r 1
3 4
1 2
4
2
3
RE o f
Story-
1 5 .1 1 5 .1 1 5 .1
7 5 .0
15*1 7 5 .1 75^1 75*1
Mean
1 .7 9
2 .3 7 2^09 2^74 2^79
3 •21
3 .3 7 2-53
A .D . •66 •66 •68 •86 •42 • 75 • 70 • 76
45
ju d g e s ’ e s tim a tio n th e s p e a k e r was r e p r e s e n t a t i v e o f an
a v e ra g e t r a i n e d sp e a k e r# Two o f th e f o u r s p e a k e r s , 2 and
4 , o b ta in e d com bined means w ith in #08 and #05 o f t h i s
optimum# Such a m in u te d i f f e r e n c e i n su c h a c ru d e m easu re
was c l e a r l y n o t a r e l i a b l e i n d i c a t o r o f w hich o f th e two
s p e a k e rs to choose# But an e x a m in a tio n o f th e com bined
a v e ra g e d e v ia tio n s showed t h a t th e r a t i n g s o f S p e a k e r 2
w ere c o n s id e r a b ly l e s s v a r i a b l e th a n th o s e o f S p e a k e r 4
(#56 a s com pared to #72)# From a s t a t i s t i c a l p o in t o f
v ie w , t h e r e f o r e . S p eak e r 2 was th e m ore d e s i r a b l e r e p r e
s e n t a t i v e o f an a v e ra g e t r a i n e d s p e a k e r , and he was c h o se n
t o make th e r e c o r d in g s f o r th e e x p e rim e n t #
(T h is s p e a k e r , w hose sp eech e x e m p lifie d t h e G e n e ra l
A m erican d i a l e c t commonly spoken i n C a l i f o r n i a and by m ost
r a d io a n n o u n c e rs t h r o u ^ o u t t h e n a t i o n , a l s o made a l l th e
r e c o r d in g s f o r th e e x p e rim e n ts r e p o r te d by Harwood and
M alam uth# The r e c o r d in g s w ere a l l made on th e same m achine
a s d e s c r ib e d s u p r a , in th e same room , u n d e r th e same con
d iti o n s # The s p e a k e r was t h e p r e s e n t w r i t e r # )
The r e c o r d in g s o f th e s t o r i e s f o r t h e e x p e rim e n t
p r o p e r w ere made a t th e r a t e o f 150 w ords p e r m in u te# T h is
r a t e was ch o sen a f t e r c o n s id e r a tio n o f F ra n k e ’ s s tu d y \idiich
i n d i c a t e d t h a t th e r a t e o f re a d in g m ost s a t i s f a c t o r y t o
c r i t i c a l l i s t e n e r s f e l l b etw een 140 and 185 w ords p e r
46
m i n u t e . Syllabic r a t e was c o n t r o l l e d w ith in th e tw o -
m in u te le n g th o f th e r e c o r d in g by m a rk in g 1 5 -sec o n d ch e ck
p o in ts on th e s c r i p t . T hese check p o in ts w ere d e te rm in e d
by d iv id i n g th e num ber o f s y l l a b l e s i n th e s to r y by e ig h t
( th e num ber o f f if t e e n - s e c o n d i n t e r v a l s ) . The r e s u l t was
th e num ber o f s y l l a b l e s to b e re a d i n each f if t e e n - s e c o n d
i n t e r v a l and t h e s c r i p t was so m arked. The s p e a k e r s a t
b e f o r e th e m icrophone f a c in g a l a r g e , s tu d i o - ty p e e l e c t r i c
c lo c k w ith a sweep seco n d -h an d and com pared th e tim e w ith
th e m arks from tim e t o tim e a s he r e a d . An a llo w a n c e o f
p lu s o r m inus o n e - h a lf seco n d was t o l e r a t e d . If> how ever,
i
th e tim in g o f th e r e a d in g was o f f a t an y p o in t by more th a n
t h i s am ount, th e r e c o r d in g was e r a s e d and re -m a d e .
Each r e c o r d in g was p re c e d e d by th e w ords " s t o r y
num ber ( th e n u m b er)" and a s i l e n c e o f a b o u t te n s e c o n d s .
E v ery e f f o r t was made t o make a l l th e r e c o r d in g s a s n e a r ly
co m p arab le a s p o s s i b le in te rm s o f c l a r i t y o f d i c t i o n ,
am ount and m anner o f i n f l e c t i o n and p h r a s in g , and so o n .
P a r t i c u l a r a t t e n t i o n was p a id to c o m p a r a b ility o f i n f l e c
t i o n and o th e r te c h n iq u e s o f d e l iv e r y w ith in th e t h r e e
P h y l l i s E . F ra n k e , "A P re lim in a r y S tu d y V a lid a t
in g th e M easurem ent o f O ra l R eading R a te i n Words p e r
M in u te ," (u n p u b lis h e d M a s te r ’ s t h e s i s . S t a t e U n iv e r s ity o f
Iow a, 1939)*
47
v e r s io n s o f each s to ry *
Volume was c o n t r o l l e d a s c l o s e l y a s p o s s ib le by th e
o p e r a to r o f th e m achine imdiile t h e r e c o r d in g s w ere b e in g
m ade. But a f u r t h e r check on volum e was made by p la y in g
each r e c o r d in g a t a f ix e d d i s t a n c e from a m icro p h o n e i n a
s tu d i o o f KTRO, th e c a r r i e r - c u r r e n t b r o a d c a s tin g s t a t i o n
a t th e U n iv e r s it y , and o b s e rv in g th e movement o f th e
n e e d le o f t h e volum e i n d i c a t o r on th e c o n tro l-ro o m p a n e l
a t a f ix e d l e v e l o f a m p l i f i c a t io n by th e s tu d io a p p a r a tu s .
By means o f a g ra d u a te d te m p la te a f f i x e d b e n e a th
th e p la y -b a c k volume d i a l o f th e ta p e r e c o r d e r , i t was
p o s s i b le t o d e te rm in e and r e c o r d th e c o r r e c t s e t t i n g f o r
t h i s volum e dicüL i n o r d e r to o b ta in th e s e t t i n g f o r each
r e c o r d in g vdiich gave an e q u iv a le n t m easurem ent o f a v e ra g e
volum e on th e volume i n d i c a t o r m e te r i n th e s tu d io c o n t r o l
room . I t was found t h a t some s l i ^ t a d ju s tm e n ts in p la y
b ack volum e would be n e c e s s a r y t o co m p en sate f o r v a r i a t i o n
o f a v e ra g e re c o rd e d volum e from s t o r y t o s t o r y . A c a rd
i n d i c a t i n g th e a d ju s tm e n t f o r ea ch r e c o r d in g was a f f i x e d
to th e c h a s s is o f th e m achine w here th e o p e r a to r co u ld
r e f e r to i t b e f o r e p la y in g any g iv e n r e c o r d in g .
The tw e n ty -o n e r e c o r d in g s w ere s p lic e d to g e th e r i n t o
t h r e e d i f f e r e n t t a p e s . The d i s p o s i t i o n o f ea c h s to r y i s
shown by th e fo llo w in g t a b l e .
48
TABLE V
COMPOSITION OF THE TEST TAPES
D is p o s itio n o f HI 1 5 , 30 and 50 V e rsio n s
S to ry Number I I I I I I IV V VI V II
RE ( a p p ro x .)
85 65
40
15 55 75 95
Tape E HI 15 HI 50 HI 15 HI 50 HI 15 HI 50 HI 15
Tape F 30 30 30 30 30 30 30
T ape G
50 15
50
15
50
15
50
49
I t w i l l be s e e n t h a t a l l o f t h e s t o r i e s o f m id d le
HI w ere com bined i n t o Tape F and th e o th e r s w ere d iv id e d
a l t e r n a t e l y b etw een T apes E and G,
(The d a ta o b ta in e d on s c o r e s f o r Tape F a f t e r th e
t e s t s w ere co m p leted w ere u sed by Harwood i n h i s s tu d y
com paring l i s t e n i n g w ith r e a d in g and by M alam uth in h is
s tu d y o f r a t e o f p r e s e n t a t i o n . )
The s u b j e c t s . The s u b j e c t s w ere draw n from th e
u n io n se c o n d a ry s c h o o l sy stem o f Com pton, C a l i f o r n i a . A ll
w ere i n th e t e n t h g ra d e and a v e ra g e d b etw een f i f t e e n and
s ix t e e n y e a r s o f a g e . T h ese s u b j e c t s w ere ch o sen a s b e in g
th e m ost e a s i l y a v a i l a b l e s u b j e c t s b e s t a p p ro x im a tin g th e
presum ed a v e ra g e l i s t e n i n g a b i l i t y o f t h e p o p u la tio n o f th e
U n ite d S t a t e s . H ow ever, no a ssu m p tio n s o f a d i r e c t n a tu r e
a r e to be made c o n c e rn in g any p o p u la tio n o th e r th a n th e one
u n d e r i n v e s t i g a t i o n . The f o llo w in g t a b l e s sum m arize i n
fo rm a tio n c o n c e rn in g th e s u b je c ts and th e p r e s e n ta ti o n o f
th e t e s t s t o th em . They w ere t e s t e d i n n in e c l a s s e s .
The s u b j e c t s ’ i n t e l l i g e n c e q u o tie n ts a s m easu red by
th e C a l i f o r n i a T e s t o f M en tal M a tu r ity and t h e i r r e a d in g
co m p reh en sio n g ra d e p la c e m e n ts a s i n d ic a t e d by th e P ro g r e s
s iv e A chievem ent T e s ts (A dvance B a t t e r y , Form A) w ere made
a v a i l a b l e to th e w r i t e r . The s u b j e c t s h ad ta k e n t h e above
50
TABLE VI
DISTRIBUTION O F SEX A N D AGE A M O N G THE SUBJECTS
G roup M ale F em ale N
Mean ag e
i n y e a r s
Tape E
53 51 104 15*53
Tape F 60 60 120
1 5 .5 8
T ape G
53 53 106 1 5 .5 8
51
TABLE V il
SOM E CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SITUATION
DURING THE TESTS
C la s s Tape D ate A pproxim ate Htanber o f
num ber p r e s e n te d S ch o o l (1949) h o u r s u b je c t s
12 1 E n te r p r is e
5 /1 1
9 -1 0 am
39
16
E Lynwood
5/13
10-11 am
27
20 E Lynwood
5/13 2-3
pm
3^
1 F R o o s e v e lt
4 /2 9
1 0 -1 1 am 40
3
F R o o s e v e lt
4 /2 9
11-12 am
40
5
F R o o s e v e lt
4 /2 9
1 -2 pm 40
15
G Lynwood
5/13
9-10 am
29
13
G E n te r p r is e
5 /1 1
10-11 am •
41
19
G Lynwoo d
5/13 2-3
pm 36
■ 52
t e s t s ab o u t t h r e e m onths b e f o r e th e e x p e rim e n t. T hese
d a ta w ere exam ined b y g ro u p s f o r p o s s i b le s i g n i f i c a n t
d i f f e r e n c e s .
The N’ s r e p o r te d h e re d i f f e r s l i g h t l y from th o s e i n
o t h e r t a b l e s . A f t e r a l l o th e r c o m p u ta tio n s had been d o n e,
i t was found t h a t no IQ d a ta w ere a v a i l a b l e f o r f i v e s u b
j e c t s i n G roup E and f o r s i x i n G roup G, and t h a t no r e a d
in g p la c e m e n t d a t a w ere a v a i l a b l e f o r two s u b j e c t s i n G roup
E and e i g h t i n G roup G. I t was n o t f e l t t h a t t h e s e s l i ^ t
l o s s e s o f d a t a would g r e a t l y a f f e c t t h e m eans.
As i n d ic a t e d i n T a b le T i l l , no s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r
ence i n mean IQ was fo u n d among th e t h r e e g ro u p s .
T a b le IX shows t h a t t h e r e was a s i g n i f i c a n t s u p e r i
o r i t y o f r e a d in g co m p reh en sio n g ra d e p la c e m e n t o f th e Tape
F g ro u p o v e r th e Tape E g ro u p ( t ^ = 3 .4 2 , t ^ ^ ~ 2 .6 0 ) .
T h is d i f f e r e n c e i s n e a r ly a g ra d e ( . 8 1 ) . No s i g n i f i c a n t
d i f f e r e n c e was found betw een e i t h e r th e Tape E o r th e Tape
F g ro u p s and th e Tape G g ro u p .
The e f f e c t s o f t h i s d i f f e r e n c e i n re a d in g com pre
h e n s io n g ra d e p lacem en t on t h e r e s u l t s o f th e ex p e rim e n t
w ere unknow n. I t was n o t f e l t , h o w ev er, t h a t i t i n v a l i
d a te d th e s tu d y . Even i f th e Tape F g ro u p had been
e lim in a te d e n t i r e l y , co m p ariso n o f th e E and G g ro u p s ,
Tidiich a p p e a re d t o be q u i t e co m p arab le i n t h i s r e s p e c t .
53
E h
i
M
g
&
g
I
E H
g
I
M
Pi
O
o
g
o
m
8
g
I
O
§
to to
c 5 o
• *
•
r-\
Pi
•
o
O N
jti r4
O O N
c ! j to
N O
C h
•
C h iH rH
•H
T J
•
H C M
N O
C O
•
1 * 4 rH
-d - C M
C 5 rH o
•
•
C Q
« H
C h
•H N O
tj
(V \
»
to O
o
s O N C M o
rH rH
G
e
C M l> - C M
M C M O
# • •
C O t — i rH rH
,
to to < T \
o N O
C M
#
C O C M rH cn
r — \ rH rH
tr\ rH O N
g v O to C ^
(3
#
Q ) V N to
o o q
r4 iH rH
M P = 4 a
A 0 )
1 = 1 + > O Q )
Q )
O C O• *
P 4 A a.
^ 0 ) fl c d (d c d
C Î J + > o E H E h E h
54
M
I
m
E H
§
Q
g
co
ë
s
I
0
1
1 — 1 - d
to NO
•
1 — 1 rH
•
Pi
•
o N
-d -
•
x« ON
C5
ir s C M
(H C N Î C M
«H
* •
•H
M -d-
•
C M
CO î*4
•
LT\
nO
C ÎJ - d
• •
C Q
«H
C h
•H 1 — 1
T f to
k ,
•
1 — )
O
to
s o C M ON
rH 1 — 1
f
to NO r ^
m rH 1 —1 1 — 1
• • •
co
•
1 — 1 rH o
H to O - r ^
• * •
CO 1 — 1 rH rH
ü to C M
cd NO - d rH
o
•
S ON O O
rH 1 — 1
_ T3 M O
O . 0)
0 +3
0) C D o
O 10
*«
A ç u O i
(4 (D
f i cd cd cd
O +> o E h Eh EH
55
would h av e y ie ld e d s u f f i c i e n t d a ta upon w hich t o b a s e t h e
c o n c lu s io n s o f th e s tu d y . I n any c a s e , i t w i l l be seen
b elo w t h a t th e s u p e r i o r re a d in g co m p reh en sio n g ra d e p l a c e
m ent o f th e Tape F s u b j e c t s a p p a r e n tly d id n o t w a rra n t t h e
c o n c lu s io n t h a t th e y w ere t h e s u p e r io r l i s t e n e r s .
A f u r t h e r check on th e c o m p a r a b ility o f th e g ro u p s
was made by com puting th e mean co m p reh en sio n s c o r e f o r each
ta p e a s a v d io le. S in c e th e v a r i a t i o n a t t r i b u t a b l e to HI
s c o re was f a i r l y e v e n ly d iv id e d each way betw een T apes E
and any d i f f e r e n c e betw een th e m eans w ould i n d i c a t e
t h a t some o th e r f a c t o r was in f lu e n c in g th e s c o r e s . As w i l l
b e se e n by th e f o llo w in g t a b l e , a s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e
( t o = 3 * 3 9 , t^Q 2 ^ = 2 .6 0 ) was fo u n d b etw een t h e mean s c o re
f o r Tape E a s a w hole and th e mean s c o r e f o r Tape G a s a
w h o le . F u rth e rm o re , th e mean s c o re f o r Tape F a s a w hole
showed a p o s s i b ly s i g n i f i c a n t s u p e r i o r i t y ( t g = 2 .0 0 ,
t* 0 5 " 1 .9 7 ) Wien com pared to th e mean s c o r e f o r Tape E a s
a v diole. I t i s unknown w hat a c c o u n te d f o r t h e s e d if f e r e n c e ^
Tape E h e ld f o u r HI 15 s t o r i e s and t h r e e HI 50
s t o r i e s , W iile Tape G h e ld f o u r HI 50 s t o r i e s and t h r e e
HI 15 s t o r i e s . (S ee T a b le V, s u p r a .) The p r e d i c t i o n
would t h e r e f o r e b e f o r a v e ry s l i g h t d i f f e r e n c e i n fa v o r
o f Tape G, th e ta p e w ith th e h ig h e r a v e ra g e H I . A verage
EE was o f c o u rs e th e same f o r each t a p e .
56
TABLE X
M EA N COMPREHENSION A N D CRITICAL RATIOS BETW EEN TAPES
Tape Mean S .D . S .E.jg
d i f f s .
S . E . d i f f
C .R .
P ë P G P ë
£
7 .9 9
3 .2 2 .12 .3 4 .61 .17 .18 2 .0 0 3*39
F
8.33 3.49
.12
• 27
.1 8 1.50
G 8 .6 0 3-40
•13
57
b u t i t was e x p e c te d , s in c e th e y e x i s t e d , t h a t th e y would
h av e an e f f e c t on th e co m p ariso n o f means b etw een d i f f e r e n t
HI v e r s io n s o f i n d i v i d u a l s t o r i e s . Even i f t h e r e w ere
r e a l l y no e f f e c t on l i s t e n a b i l i t y a s c r i b a b l e to v a r i a t i o n
o f H I, t h e r e w ould b e a s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e shown b e c a u æ
o f th e s e u n e x p la in e d f a c t o r s , e . g . , t h e s u p e r io r l i s t e n i n g
a b i l i t y o f th e g ro u p o f s u b j e c t s who h e a rd Tape G. No such
sim p le r e s u l t a p p e a re d , a s w i l l b e s e e n . I n an y c a s e , th e
a l t e r n a t i n g o f HI 50 and HI 15 v e r s io n s th ro u g h th e two
ta p e s ( s e e T a b le V, s u p r a ) made i t p o s s i b l e t o c a n c e l o u t
m ost o f t h i s d i f f e r e n c e i n com paring th e g ro u p ed means f o r
a l l th e HI 15 v e r s io n s o f a l l th e s t o r i e s w ith a l l th e HI
50 v e r s io n s o f a l l th e s t o r i e s .
The t e s t i n g p r o c e d u r e . The s u b j e c t s w ere t e s t e d in
n in e c l a s s e s a t t h r e e s c h o o ls a s w as se e n i n T a b le V II .
The same two p e rs o n s c o n d u c te d a l l th e t e s t s , , g iv in g th e
same i n s t r u c t i o n s a c c o r d in g to a p r e - a r r a n g e d p a t t e r n . A ll
t e s t s w ere co n d u c te d in c la s s ro o m s i n w hich th e s u b j e c t s
n o rm a lly had i n s t r u c t i o n a t t h a t h o u r an d a l l rooms w ere
e s s e n t i a l l y s i m i l a r in r e s p e c t t o s i z e , l i g h t i n g , v e n t i l a
t i o n and a c o u s t i c s , a l l o f w hich w ere a d e q u a te i n t h e
o p in io n o f th e e x a m in e rs . T e s ts w ere co n d u c te d i n c o o p e ra
t i o n w ith th e r e g u l a r te a c h e r o f th e c l a s s . The t e s t s had
58
been so d e s ig ie d a s t o r e q u i r e a b o u t f o r t y m in u te s in c lu d
in g i n s t r u c t i o n s , and c o u ld t h e r e f o r e be p r e s e n te d d u rin g
an o r d in a r y c l a s s p e r io d w ith no d i s r u p t i o n o f t h e s c h o o l
s c h e d u le .
When th e s u b je c ts e n te r e d th e room , th e y fo u n d a
t e s t b o o k le t and an an sw er s h e e t on e a ch d e s k . They w ere
t o l d n o t t o open th e b o o k le ts . The t e a c h e r in tr o d u c e d th e
e x p e rim e n te rs who e x p la in e d t h a t t h e s tu d e n ts w ere t o t a k e
a l i s t e n i n g t e s t , b u t t h a t t h e i r s c o r e s w ould n o t become
a p a r t o f t h e i r s c h o o l r e c o r d s and t h a t th e y w ere n o t t o b e
g ra d e d on i t .
Each s u b je c t was i n s t r u c t e d t o f i l l o u t t h e an sw er
s h e e t w ith th e d e s i r e d in f o rm a tio n : nam e, a g e , s e x , g r a d e ,
and s c h o o l. They w ere th e n i n s t r u c t e d on how t o m ark th e
an sw er s h e e t and o th e r d e t a i l s o f th e p ro c e d u re o f th e
t e s t . When t h e s u b j e c t s i n d ic a t e d t h a t th e y u n d e rs to o d a l l
t h e i n s t r u c t i o n s , one o f th e ex a m in e rs a c te d a s p r o c t o r and
th e o th e r o p e ra te d t h e ta p e r e c o r d e r p la y - b a c k .
S to ry num ber one w as p la y e d , th e m ach in e s to p p e d , and
t h e s u b je c t s a llo w e d two m in u te s t o an sw er th e q u e s t io n s .
(R ou#i p re v io u s e x p e rim e n t had d e te rm in e d t h a t two m in u te s
was q u i te s u f f i c i e n t to an sw er th e f i f t e e n q u e s t i o n s .) The
s u b j e c t s w ere th e n i n s t r u c t e d t o t u r n to th e n e x t p a g e ,
W iich was b la n k , and th e m ach in e was a g a in s t a r t e d and
59
s t o r y num ber two was p la y e d . The m achine w as th e n s to p p e d ,
th e s u b j e c t s i n s t r u c t e d t o t u r n t o th e q u e s tio n s f o r s t o r y
num ber tw o , and so on f o r t h e se v e n s t o r i e s .
A n a ly s is o f t e s t s c o r e s . The f i r s t s te p a f t e r
d e te r m in a tio n o f t h e t o t a l num ber o f c o r r e c t r e s p o n s e s f o r
each s u b je c t f o r each s t o r y was t o c o r r e c t t h e s e s c o re s f o r
ch an ce s u c c e s s . T h is was done a c c o rd in g to th e m ethod
d e s c r ib e d by G u i l f o r d . A l l f u r t h e r s t a t i s t i c a l a n a ly s is
was done w ith t h e c o r r e c te d s c o r e s th u s o b ta in e d .
M eans, s ta n d a r d d e v i a t i o n s , s ta n d a r d e r r o r s o f
m ean s, c h i s q u a r e s , and q u a r t i l es w ere com puted by th e
cu sto m ary s t a t i s t i c a l fo rm u la s a s d e s c r ib e d by G u ilf o r d .
As a s t a t i s t i c a l t e s t o f th e s i g n i f i c a n c e o f d i f f e r
e n c e s , th e c r i t i c a l r a t i o was em ployed. The c r i t i c a l r a t i o
(C .R .) i s o b ta in e d by d iv id in g th e d i f f e r e n c e betw een two
m eans by th e s ta n d a r d e r r o r o f th e d i f f e r e n c e . I t i s
t h e r e f o r e t h e r a t i o o f th e d i f f e r e n c e t o i t s s ta n d a r d
e r r o r . A c r i t i c a l r a t i o e x c e e d in g 3 .0 i n d i c a t e s t h a t th e
J . P . G u ilf o r d , P sy c h o m e tric M ethods (New Y ork:
M cG raw -H ill, 1 9 3 6 ), p . 4 4 5 .
G u ilf o r d , c i t .
60
TABLE XI
CORRECTION FOR CHANCE SUCCESS O N MULTIPLE-CHOICE TEST
Raw s c o re
(X)
C o rre c te d s c o re
(%c)
Raw s c o re
(X)
C o rre c te d s c o re
(Zc)
15 15 .00 7
5 .0 0
14 13.75 6 3 .7 5
13
12.50
5
2 .5 0
12
11.25 4 1 .2 5
11 1 0 .0 0
3
0 .0 0
10
8.75
2 0 .0 0
9
7.50 1 0 .0 0
8 6 .2 5 0 0 .0 0
61
ch a n ce s a r e b e t t e r th a n 99*9 i n 100 t h a t " a d i f f e r e n c e a s
l a r g e o r l a r g e r th a n th e o b ta in e d d i f f e r e n c e w ould n o t h av e
a r i s e n b y ch an ce from th e f l u c t u a t i o n s o f sa m p lin g i f th e
t r u e d if f e r e n c e w as z e r o ." ^ ^ When t h i s s t a t i s t i c ex c ee d s
3 * 0 , th e d i f f e r e n c e i s c o n s id e re d t o be s i g n i f i c a n t , "and
a r a t i o betw een 2 and 3 , t h o u ^ n o t re g a rd e d a s s i g n i f i c a n t ,
i s c o n s id e re d to b e s u g g e s tiv e o f a t r u e d i f f e r e n c e ." ^ ^
The s t a t i s t i c s f o r T a b le XXI w ere o b ta in e d by summing
th e r e s p e c t i v e N, sum o f fX ^, and sum o f fx ^ f i g u r e s f o r th e
d i s t r i b u t i o n s t o b e com bined and p ro c e e d in g a s th o u g h th e s e
t h r e e sums w ere s t a t i s t i c s o f one l a r g e d i s t r i b u t i o n . T h is
p ro c e d u re a c c o u n ts f o r t h e f a c t t h a t th e N’ s a p p e a r tw ic e
and t h r e e tim e s a s l a r g e a s m ig h t b e e x p e c te d from exam ina
t i o n o f th e o th e r t a b l e s and f o r th e f a c t t h a t th e means
a p p e a r co m p arab le i n s i z e to th e means f o r s in g l e s t o r i e s «
^ D # G♦ A d k in s, C o n s tru c tio n and A n a ly s is o f
A chievem ent T e s ts (W ash in g to n , D. C.; U. 3 . S ovem m ent
P r i n t i n g o f f i c e , 1 9 4 7 ), p • 132*
15 I b i d . . p p . 1 3 2 -1 3 3 .
CHAPTER IV
PRESENTATION A N D INTERPRETATION OF THE DATA
A com bined mean w as o b ta in e d f o r co m p reh en sio n
s c o r e s f o r a l l se v en s t o r i e s w ith HI 1 5 , and s i m i l a r l y ,
f o r a l l th e v e r s io n s w ith HI 30 and a l l t h e v e r s io n s w ith
HI 50* The r e s u l t s a p p e a r i n T a b le X II . No s i g n i f i c a n t
d i f f e r e n c e was found among t h e s e t h r e e m eans* I n g e n e r a l ,
t h e n , v a ry in g th e HI o f th e s t o r i e s by one o r two s te p s i n
th e s c a le h ad no s i g n i f i c a n t e f f e c t on th e l i s t e n a b i l i t y
o f th e s t o r i e s *
The n e x t d i f f e r e n c e s exam ined w ere th o s e among t h e
m eans o b ta in e d f o r each o f t h e t h r e e v e r s io n s o f each
s t o r y . As shown by T a b le s X III and XIV, no s i g n i f i c a n t
d i f f e r e n c e , a s w ould h av e been i n d i c a t e d by a c r i t i c a l
r a t i o e x c e e d in g 3 .0 0 , was found* In t h r e e in s t a n c e s t h e r e
was an i n d i c a t i o n t h a t th e d i f f e r e n c e m ig h t b e a t r u e one*
I t a p p e a re d t h a t t h e r e may h av e b een a s i g n i f i c a n t s u p e r i
o r i t y o f b o th t h e HI 30 and t h e HI 15 v e r s io n s o f S to ry VI
o v e r th e HI 50 v e r s io n o f t h a t s t o r y ( t ^ = 2 .0 8 and 2 .3 3 ,
r e s p e c t i v e l y ; t^Q ^ = 1 .9 7 , t * = 2 .6 0 ) . I t w i l l be n o te d
t h a t th e HI 50 v e r s io n o f S to ry VI f e l l i n Tape G, th e ta p e
h e a rd b y th o s e c l a s s e s w hich showed a s i g n i f i c a n t l i s t e n i n g
s u p e r i o r i t y o v e r th e c l a s s e s w hich h e a rd T ape E .
63
TABLE X II
COMPARISON OF COMPREHMSION SCORES GROUPED BY HI
D if f e r e n c e • d i f f G«E.
HI Mean S .E .^ T ri" " 3 '0 '....H I ' 13 ÏÏT'3îT
-mrjr
H I 30
" ■ ■ ■ H I '13
50 8 .2 5
.12 .08 .09 .14 .1 4 • 57 .6 4
30
8.33
.12 .01
.14 .0 7
15 8 .3 4
.12
64 ,
TABLE X III
M EA N CORRECTED COMPREHENSION SCORE A N D STANDARD ERROR
OF THE M EAN FOR EACH STORY
S to ry
num ber RE HI Mean S.E .gi N
V II
95 50 1 0 .6 5 .26 106
30 1 0 .3 6 .26 120
15
9 .9 8 .28 104
I
85
50 1 0 .0 1 .32 104
30
9 .7 9 .31
120
15
1 0 .0 1 .30 104
VI
75
50
8.33 .37 104
30
9 .3 5
.32 120
15
9 .5 2
.35
106
I I
65
50
9 .3 4 .29 104
30 8 .9 6 .34
120
15
9 .5 2
.35 105
V
55
50 8 .2 2 .32 106
30 8 .1 9 .31
120
15 7 .6 7 .33 104
I I I 40 50
5.51 .31 106
30 5.50 .34
120
15 4.93
.28 104
IV
15 50
5 .6 9 .35 104
30
6 .1 5 .35
120
15
6 .7 8
.39
106
65
TABLE XIV
DIFFEREMCES AND CRITICAL RATIOS
A M O N G THE THREE VERSIONS OF EACH STORT
S to r y
num ber RE HI
D if f e r e n c e
S .E
• d i f f 0 .] I .
HI 30 HI 15 HÏ 3D " ‘ HT "I? HI..30 " H1’ "T?
V II
95 50 .2 9 .37 .39
.78 1 .7 2
30 .38 .39 .97
I
85
50 .2 2 0 .0 0
.45 .44 .49
0 .0 0
30 .22
.44
.50
VI
75
50 1 .0 2
1 .1 9 .49 .51
2 .0 8
2.33
30
.1 7 .47 .37
I I
65
50 .38 .1 8
.45 .45 .8 4
.40
30 .56
.49 1 .14
V
55 50
•03 .55 .45 .46 .07
1 .2 0
30 .52 .46 1.13
I I I 40 50 .0 1 .58
.47
.42 .02 1 .3 8
30
.57 .45 1 .2 7
IV
15
50 .46 1 .0 9 .49
.52
.94
2 .1 0
30
.63
.52 1 .2 1
66
The t h i r d i n d i c a t i o n o f th e p o s s i b i l i t y o f a t r u e
d i f f e r a i c e o c c u rre d b etw een th e m eans f o r t h e HI 15 and
HI 50 v e r s io n s o f S to ry IV ( t ^ = 2 .1 0 , t^Q^ = 1 .9 7 ,
t . o i - 2 .6 0 ) . The HI 15 v e r s io n a p p e a re d t o b e s u p e r io r
in l i s t e n a b i l i t y . T h is v e r s io n a l s o f e l l i n Tape G.
The c o n t r a d ic to r y n a tu r e o f t h e s e c irc u m s ta n c e s su p
p o r te d th e p o s s i b i l i t y t h a t t h e s e few d i f f e r e n c e s c o u ld
h av e b een c a u se d by ch an ce f a c t o r s .
T aken a l l i n a l l , th e i n d i c a t i o n s o f t h e s e r e s u l t s
w ere t h a t v a ry in g th e HI s c o re by one o r two s te p s (fro m
15 to 30 and to 5P) i n t h e ü v e - s t e p s c a le h ad n e g l i g i b l e
e f f e c t on th e l i s t e n a b i l i t y o f any i n d iv i d u a l s t o r y r e g a r d
l e s s o f i t s d i f f i c u l t y (RE) l e v e l .
V ernon r e p o r te d a h ig h e r i n t e r e o r r e l a t i o n betw een
" in a d e q u a te " s c o r e s and p e r c e n ta g e o f p e r s o n a l w ords th a n
betw een " a d e q u a te " s c o r e s and p e r c e n ta g e o f p e r s o n a l
1
w ords* From t h i s e v id e n c e i t was h y p o th e s iz e d t h a t t h e
p o o r e r l i s t e n e r s may have been more a f f e c t e d b y t h i s f a c t o r
th a n th e g ro u p a s a w h o le . The d a ta w ere t h e r e f o r e exam
in e d f o r d i f f e r e n c e s b etw een t h e num ber o f s u b j e c ts o b ta in -
I P . E . V ern o n , "An I n v e s t i g a t i o n in t o th e I n t e l l i
g i b i l i t y o f E d u c a tio n a l B r o a d c a s ts ," (London: B r i t i s h
B ro a d c a s tin g C o r p o r a tio n , A udience R e se a rc h D e p a rtm e n t,
N ovem ber, 1950) (mimeo) .
67
in g an " a d e q u a te " s c o re on th e HI 15 v e r s io n s and on t h e
HI 50 v e r s io n s . T a b le XVI shows t h a t no s i g n i f i c a n t d i f
f e r e n c e was found when th e " a d e q u a te " s c o re was a r b i t r a r i l y
s e t a t 7 * 0 0 . T a b le X V III shows t h a t no s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r
en ce was found lA en th e " a d e q u a te " s c o re was a r b i t r a r i l y
s e t a t 4 * 0 0 .
V ary in g th e HI o f th e s t o r i e s by two s te p s i n
F le s c h ’ s f i v e - s t e p s c a le o f "human i n t e r e s t " d i d n o t make
th e s t o r i e s s i g n i f i c a n t l y l e s s o r more l i s t e n a b le f o r th e
p o o r e r l i s t e n e r s .
I t was th o u g h t t h a t t h e r e m ight b e s e x d if f e r e n c e s
in th e d a ta i n v iew o f th e p o p u la r b e l i e f t h a t women a r e
m ore i n c l i n e d t o be i n t e r e s t e d i n " p e rs o n s " th a n m en. How
e v e r , p e rfo rm a n c e o f m a le s and fe m a le s w ere n o t s i g n i f i c a n t
l y d i f f e r e n t when m easu red o v e r th e e n t i r e s e r i e s o f t e s t s .
Nor was an y s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e in p e rfo rm a n c e fo u n d
when m ale and fe m a le s c o r e s w ere com pared w ith in o r b etw e en
t h e v e r s io n s w ith h ig h e s t HI (HI 50) and lo w e s t HI (HI 1 5 ) .
I n o th e r w o rd s, n e i t h e r t h e HI 15 n o r th e HI 50
v e r s io n s w ere th e m ore l i s t e n a b l e f o r e i t h e r m ale s u b j e c t s
o r fem a le s u b j e c t s , n o r d id v a r y in g th e HI s c o re o f th e
s t o r i e s by two s te p s have any s i g n i f i c a n t l y d i f f e r e n t
e f f e c t on t h e l i s t e n i n g co m p reh en sio n o f m ale s u b je c ts a s
com pared to t h a t o f fe m a le s u b j e c t s .
68
TABLE XV
HUM BER OF SUBJECTS ATTAINING SCORES
ABOVE A N D BELOW 7 .0 0
S c o re HI 15 HI 50
Above 7 .0 0
477
488
Below 7 .0 0 256 246
TABLE XVI
CHI SQUARE FOR DISTRIBUTION O F SUBJECTS ATTAINING
SCORES ABOVE A N D BELOW 7 .0 0
C e ll
fo
( f o - f h ) ^ ( f o - f h ) V f h X ^ ^ X^5
a
477 484 7 49 .1 0
b 488
484 4 16 .03
c 256
249 7 49 .20 .3 9 3 .8 4
d 246 250 4 16 .0 6
69
TABLE 2 V II
NUM BER OF SUBJECTS ATTAINING SCORES
ABOVE A N D BELOW 4 .0 0
S co re HI 15 HI 50
Above 4*00
604 603
Below 4*00
129 131
TABLE X Y III
CHI SQUARE FOR DISTRIBUTION OF SUBJECTS ATTAINING
SCORES ABOVE A N D BELOW 4*00
C e ll
^0 ^o*"^h
( f o - f h ) 2
a
604 601
3
9 *01
b 603 602 1 1 .00
c 129 132
3 9 *07 .0 9 3*64
d
131
132 1 1 .0 1
70
TABLE XIX
MALE-FEMALE PERFORMANCE DIFFERENCES
1# G e n e ra l •
Means
S 'E 'm
D if f e r e n c e
S . B . d l f f
G .R .
M ale 8.23
•14 •13
•20
•65
Fem ale 8 .3 6
.13
71
I
E h
c\i ON t o
Q t o U N
• •
•
•
1 — 1 - ±
w
pcî O C M A
a
• * *
s O
•H
to (V\
pq -4*
< U
#
*>
o
t o t o t o
Q C M C M C M
1 — 1
• # •
w
44
44 t o t o
c •H C O C M C M
c 3 T J
• #
•
0)
q
•
t o
o C O pq C M
•H
•
to
u
< D
> C f\ r4 UN
Q C M H r4
0
• * •
r4 Ü
d
H 0 t o -4-
îx: ÎH O o O
0
« •
q
44
o 44
44 •H C M
Q P Q iHI
(Q
q
•
c 3
C D
S
O ON
1 — 4 ON
< D C M iH C M 1 — 1
W
# « • « •
c d C O
S h
0
>
<*; d ON H C M
C o r4
(T\ C M - 4
d 0
« # • •
0 t o t o to t o
0
»
■ p o - 4 r - 4 C M
0
C V .
NO C ^ NO
m
< r\
«
cv
m o Q
— ' — '
•
0
•
0
#
d
•
d
0 o 0 o
d * r 4 d • H i
o 0 o 0
•i4 d
• r4
d
0 0 0 0
d > d >
0 0
> O > UN
U N 1 — 4
o
UN
U N I — 1 r-4 H
P C D C
M H
K r4 P C r4
H iH
d d
O O
d 4 4 d 4 4
O O
4 4 0 4 4 0
d d
0 O 0 Q
d Ü d O
O 0 O 0
O O
0 0
0 0
r- 4 1 — 1
0 0 0 0
1
rH
0 0
8 44 8 4 4
0 0 0 0
h O h O b O b J O
c d 0 0 0
d d d d
0 0 0 0
> > > >
< 4 < 4
« 4 p q o n
72
In an a tte m p t t o d e te rm in e i f a lo n g e r p a s s a g e w ith
a g r e a t e r n im b er o f q u e s tio n s w ould p ro d u c e d i f f e r e n t r e
s u l t s , o r i f b r o a d e r g ro u p in g o f d i f f i c u l t y - r a t i n g s w ould
show a d i f f e r e n t e f f e c t , th e s t o r i e s w ere g ro u p ed i n t o
t h r e e c l a s s i f i c a t i o n s : *Œ asy^, M edium *', and ”D if f lc u lt^ ^ •
The fo llo w in g g ro u p in g s w ere made a t each o f th e t h r e e
l e v e l s o f H I; The s c o r e s f o r th e two s t o r i e s w ith lo w e s t
p r e d i c te d d i f f i c u l t y (RE 15 and RE 40) w ere com bined, th e
s c o r e s f o r th e t h r e e s t o r i e s w ith medium p r e d ic te d d i f f i
c u l t y (RE 5 5 , HE 6 5 , an d RE 75) w ere com bined, and th e
s c o r e s f o r th e tw o s t o r i e s o f g r e a t e s t p r e d ic te d d i f f i c u l t y
(H I 85 and HI 95) w ere co m b in ed . At each HI l e v e l , th e
m eans f o r each o f t h e s e t h r e e d i s t r i b u t i o n s w ere co m p ared .
The r e s u l t s a p p e a r i n T a b le XXI. No s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r
e n c e s w ere fo u n d .
T h is g ro u p in g a l s o p ro v id e d a t e s t o f th e e f f e c t o f
th e a p p a re n t o v e r - a l l l i s t e n i n g s u p e r i o r i t y o f th e c l a s s e s
w hich h e a rd Tape G (See C h a p te r I I I ) . F o r th e ”Easy**
s t o r i e s , V II and I , a s i g n i f i c a n t l y h ig h e r mean w ould b e
e x p e c te d on th e HI 50 s t o r i e s b e c a u se b o th S to r y V II , HI
5 0 , and S to ry I , HI 5 0 , w ere i n Tape G, w h ile th e HI 15
v e r s io n s o f th e s e two s t o r i e s w ere i n Tape E . No such s i g
n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e was fo u n d .
73
B
I
I
I
C J
C O
& H
I
ë
C O
§
I
o
o
t:
5
O
s
«
I
s
I
c
D -rH O ON -±CM
UN rH ON O C M ï>«rH
. • 1 — 1
• • • • # *
1 — 1 rH
o
o ON C ^ r -
ON to NO
•
•
•
«
lUN
ON ON
<30 t o UN ON
• 0 H C M C M C M C M ONCr\
M 44
• • • •
• 44
CO *H
O -C O NO ON
r r \ C M C M ON
•
•
#
UN -4" ON t o t o N O _±
0 rH O N O C M O C M O
44
• • • •
44
•H
TJ O UN o C M
£ > N C M C M C M
* • •
O O 'Û O - 4 - 0 UN O Q P
a iH - d " 0
rH NO rH rH ^ r H
C M C M C M ONONCN C M C M C M
a
•
O O rH
ON O N O -4* u n -4-
C M C M C M pH rH C M C M C M C M
• • • • • • • • • •
CO
•
VQUNVO v O - 4 - O O C M rH
&q ON rH ON ON UN UN Z^-NO
•
• • • • • • * • •
CO C M ON C M ON ON ON ON ON ON
ONtO ON ONONiH O CMnO
O N O O n NO t o ON NO t o t o
g
• • • • • • • • •
O O ON t o t o t o UN UN UN
1 — 1 1 — I
H O o UN O O UN O O L C N
Pd UNCN iH UNONrH UNONrH
r0
0 0
0 q
{>
•H •H H xi M ^
u , 0 M qtH M M T 3 M q >
o
B
> 0 > M q H 0 1 — 4
-p o
0
C O Ü
&
•H
■ g
I
•H +3
4-4 H
44 P
•H Ü
Q •
-
S i m i l a r l y , f o r t h e "Medium" s t o r i e s , t h e a p p a re n t
s u p e r i o r i t y o f Tape G l i s t e n e r s sh o u ld have in f lu e n c e d th e
r e s u l t s i n c e , o f th e t h r e e HI 15 v e r s io n s g ro u p ed to g e t h e r
h e r e , two w ere in Tape G and o n ly one in Tape E . Of th e
t h r e e HI 50 s t o r i e s , two f e l l ih Tape E and one i n Tape G.
H ow ever, a g a in no s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e ap p e a re d *
F i n a l l y , th e g ro u p in g o f th e tw o " D i f f i c u l t "
s t o r i e s . I I I and IV , p e r m itte d c o m p le te c a n c e l l a t i o n o f
th e Tape G l i s t e n e r s ’ a p p a re n t s u p e r i o r i t y s in c e , in b o th
c a s e s , th e two v e r s io n s w ere i n d i f f e r e n t t a p e s . H e re ,
th e n , was a c l e a r - c u t t e s t o f th e e f f e c t o f HI w ith th e
a p p a r e n t s u p e r i o r i t y o f th e T ape G l i s t e n e r s , e f f e c t i v e l y
c a n c e lle d o u t . Ho s i g n i f i c a n t d i f f e r e n c e was found*
T a b le XXII p r e s e n ts th e q u a r t i l e s f o r a l l g ro u p s *
Though i t c o u ld n o t b e s a id t h a t a l l q u e s tio n s w ere o f
e q u a l d i f f i c u l t y (w h ich , i n c i d e n t a l l y , e x p la in s \diy no
d i r e c t co m p ariso n s o f s c o r e s h av e been made betw een
s t o r i e s ) , i t was f a i r l y p l a i n t h a t o n e - h a l f o f th e su b
j e c t s o b ta in e d s c o r e s in d i c a t i n g t h a t th e y com prehended
o n ly a b o u t h a l f o f w hat th e y h e a r d , w h ile a f o u r th o f th e
s u b j e c ts w ere a p p a r e n tly in c a p a b le o f co m p reh en d in g more
th a n a t h i r d o f th e m a te r ia l* Only a f o u r th o f t h e su b
j e c t s a p p e a re d t o com prehend a s much a s t w o - th ir d s o f th e
m a te r i a l *
75
TABLE XXII
COM PREHENSION SCORE QUARTILES
S to ry RE HI
Qi
Median
Q3
V II
95 50 9 .3 1
1 1 .1 1 1 2 .6 2
30 9 .1 0
1 1 .0 4 1 2 .3 1
15
à . 46 1 0 .4 8 ' 1 2 .1 3
I
Ô5
50
g . 54
1 0 .5 0 1 2 .2 1
30
7 .4 1
10 .46 1 2 .3 1
15 7 .9 5
1 0 . gg 1 2 .2 0
VI
75
50
5 .3 7
g.g2 1 1 .1 5
30 6 .7 8 9 .9 6 1 2 .1 4
15 7 .0 3 9 .9 4
1 2 .5 0
I I
65
50
7 .2 9 9 .4 8 1 1 . go
30 6 .2g 9 .4 6 12.16
15 g . 59
1 0 .1 0 1 2 .0 3
V
55
50
5 .8 9
g . 48
1 0 . g3
30 5 .7 5 8 .7 5 1 0 .5 1
15 5.63
7 .4 2 1 0 .2 4
I I I 40 50 2 .9 5 5 .4 5 7 .9 4
30 2 .5 0 5 .7 6 g . 23
15 3 .1 9 4 .7 7 6 .7 1
IV
15
50 2 .7 8
5 .4 3 g .2 4
30 3 .3 5 5 .6 3 9 .1 3
15 3 .4 7
7 .0 1 1 0 .1g
76
I t was n o t p o s s ib le t o p r e d ic t -vdiat th e sc o r e s would
have been in a more r e a l i s t i c r a d io - lis t e n in g s it u a t io n .
I t may have been th a t s o c i a l f a c i l i t a t i o n a lo n e made th e s e
sc o r e s h ig h er than would have been a tta in e d under normal
liv in g -r o o m li s t e n i n g c o n d itio n s . C e r ta in ly the t e s t s were
conducted w ithou t d is t r a c t in g aroun d-the-h ouse n o is e s , con
v e r s a tio n s and in te r r u p tio n s , poor rad io r e c e p t io n , and
o th e r f a c t o r s th a t tend t o reduce normal radio l i s t e n i n g
com prehension. Furthermore, th e s u b je c ts had f o r e
knowledge th a t they were to be t e s t e d on th e m a te r ia l.
I t may be f a i r l y s a f e l y assumed th a t th e s e sc o r e s would
have been even low er under norm al, u n c o n tro lled radio
l i s t e n i n g c o n d itio n s .
The com prehension sc o r e s su b s ta n tia te d th e view s o f
s e v e r a l re se a r c h e r s th a t l i s t e n e r s comprehend much l e s s o f
what they l i s t e n t o than i s commonly supposed, e s p e c ia lly
by the l i s t e n e r s . At b e s t th e mean comprehension was about
tw o -th ir d s and a t w orst l e s s than a t h ir d . I t should be
remembered th a t t h e s e s c o r e s were a tta in e d on m u ltip le -
c h o ic e q u estio n s and th e r e fo r e r e p r ese n t aided as w e ll as
immediate r e c a l l •
77
In s p it e o f some evid ence th a t knowledge n o t mea
sured by r e c a ll q u e stio n s i s r e ta in e d by the l i s t e n e r ,^
i t seems obvious th a t th e r e i s room for improvement in th e
l i s t e n i n g e f f ic ie n c y o f the s u b je c ts t e s t e d and probably
in th a t o f the gen eral p u b lic •
That the th r e e v e r sio n s o f each sto r y having an
i d e n t i c a l sc o re on the "reading ease" s c a le o f F le s c h ’ s
New R e a d a b ility Y ard stick showed no s ig n i f i c a n t d iff e r e n c e
in l i s t ena b i1 i t y in d ic a te s th a t the d if f ic u lt y - p r e d ic t io n s
o f the formula were c o n s is te n t over t h e range o f s t y l e -
v a r ia tio n ex e m p lifie d by th e th r e e d if f e r e n t v e r s io n s ,
i . e . , i t may in d ic a te th a t s l i g h t l y d if f e r e n t s t y l e s of
w r itin g do not u p set th e p r e d ic t iv e valu e o f th e RE
form ula. This s t y le - v a r i a t io n was, o f co u rse, concerned
on ly w ith f a c t o r s o f language oth er than th o se measured
d ir e c t ly by th e RE form ula.
2 "In one experiment I have found th a t whereas
a f t e r a week l i s t e n e r s f a i l e d to a s s o c ia t e about o n e -th ir d
o f what they had heard w ith th e o r ig in a l b ro a d ca st, th ey
have tr a n sfe r r e d a g r e a t d eal to t h e ir g en era l knowledge
and can produce over 90^ o f th e id ea s ^ éien q u estion ed
in d i r e c t l y ." L e tte r dated 29th January, 1951, from
Joseph Trenaman, A ssis ta n t Further Education O ffic e r ,
B r itish ,B r o a d c a s tin g C orporation. The experim ent w i l l
be p u b lish e d .
CHAPTER V
SUM M ARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND IMPLICATIONS
Summary. This study examined the a p p li c a b ilit y to
spoken language o f the "human in te r e s t" formula o f F le s c h ’s
"A New R e a d a b ility Y a r d s t i c k . T h e formula was as fo llo w s :
HI = 3 .6 3 5 pw + .3 1 4 p s, where HI was an index o f p r e d ic te d
co m p reh en sib ility and in t e r e s t ; pw was the percen tage o f
; "personal words," e . g . , y o u . p e o p le , p u rf him, e t c . ; and
>ps was the p ercen tage o f "personal se n te n c e s," e . g . , se n
ten ces addressed to the reader, verbatim co n v er sa tio n ,
c o n v e r s a tio n -lik e se n te n c e s, e t c . ^It was apparent from i t s
low w eigh ting th a t ps co n trib u ted r e l a t i v e l y l i t t l e to the
form ula. Furthermore, the in t e r a c t io n s o f ps w ith pw were
, unknown and assumed to be complex J I t was, th e r e fo r e , con
sid er ed w ise to t e s t the e f f e c t o f pw alon e on l i s t e n a b i l i t y
( i . e . , on the c o m p r e h e n sib ility o f spoken lan gu age).
The study asked s ix major q u e stio n s:
1. What e f f e c t does varyin g the HI sco re o f spoken
language by one or two ste p s in F le s c h ’s f i v e - s t e p s c a le
o f "human in te r e s t" have on the l i s t e n a b i l i t y o f the
language?
^ R. F le sc h , "A New R e a d a b ility Y ard stick ," Jour
n a l o f Applied P sy ch o lo g y . XXXII (June, ig 4 8 ) , 221-233.
79
2 . Does such an e f f e c t , i f any, vary according to
the d i f f i c u l t y o f the language as measured by the F lesch
' "reading ease"form ula?
3 . Does such an e f f e c t , i f any, vary w ith the
l i s t e n i n g a b i l i t y o f the su b je c ts?
4. Does the HI score or varying the HI sco re o f spo-,
j ken language have a d if f e r e n t e f f e c t on i t s l i s t e n a b i l i t y ;
I ;
: fo r m^le and fo r fem ale lis t e n e r s ?
5 . What p ercen tage o f comprehension can te n th -
grade ju n io r high sch o o l stu d eh ts be exp ected to o b tain
; from recorded speech?
: 6 . Are the d if f ic u lt y - p r e d ic t io n s o f the F lesch
"reading ease" formula c o n s is te n t when a p p lied to spoken
language and when c e r ta in fa c t o r s o f the language o f the
^ m a te r ia l o th er than th o se fa c to r s measured by th a t formula
are v a ried s li g h t ly ?
Seven 300-word s t o r ie s were s e le c t e d and prepared so
th a t each e x e m p lifie d a m id-p oint o f one o f the seven ste p s
o f d i f f i c u l t y from "very easy" to "very d i f f i c u l t " as p re
d ic te d by the RE formula o f F le s c h ’s "New R e a d a b ility
Y a r d s tic k ."2 The RE formula was as fo llo w s : RE = 206,835
- .846 wl - 1 .0 1 5 s i , where RE was an index o f p red ic te d
2 Loc. c i t .
80
reading ease; wl was the number o f s y ll a b le s per 100 words
(a measure o f average word le n g t h ) : and s i was the number
of se n ten ce s per 100 words (a measure of sen ten ce len g th
and hence sen ten ce co m p lex ity ). No "personal sen ten ces"
occurred in any o f the s t o r i e s . A ll seven s t o r ie s were
drawn from m a te r ia ls o r i g in a l ly designed to be broadcast :
newswire r e le a s e s , radio t a lk s , e t c . A ll seven s t o r ie s
were so chosen and d evised as to have id e n t ic a l HI s c o r e s ,
HI 50, the c e n te r -p o in t of the HI s c a le .
C areful r e v is io n s were a lso made o f each s to r y ,
keeping the id ea s I n ta c t and very s im ila r ly worded, w ithout
changing the RE o f any s to r y , but in c r e a sin g the HI o f each i
sto r y by one f u l l step in the s c a le (to HI 5 0 ). This i n
volved in c r e a sin g the p ercentage o f "personal words" in
such a way th a t a l l other elem ents of the "Yardstick"
form ulas remained u n a lter ed . S im ila r r e v is io n s were made
d ecrea sin g the HI o f each sto r y by one f u l l s t e p ( to HI 1 5 ).
A f if t e e n - q u e s t io n f iv e - c h o ic e m u ltip le -c h o ic e t e s t
o f comprehension was con stru cted coverin g the con ten t of
the seven s t o r i e s . As the id ea s remained in t a c t in the
r e v ise d v e r s io n s , a given t e s t was a p p lic a b le fo r any of the
th ree forms o f the s to r y . These t e s t s were mimeographed
and sta p led in to t e s t b o o k le ts covered by an in s tr u c tio n
s h e e t. An an sw er-sh eet form was a ls o mimeographed.
A speaker was chosen by n in e te en judges (graduate
stu d e n ts , many o f whom had tea ch in g ex p erien ce in speech) as
bein g very c lo s e to t h e ir id ea o f an "average tr a in e d
sp eaker," The speaker had p r o fe s s io n a l b road castin g
e x p e r ie n c e .
The speaker made tape record in gs o f each o f the th ree
v e r sio n s o f each o f the seven s t o r i e s at a speaking r a te o f I
i 150 words per m inute, w ith r a te c o n tr o lle d by ch eck -p o in ts
a t f ift e e n - s e c o n d in t e r v a ls w ith in the read in g. Timing was
accu rate to w ith in o n e -h a lf second. Average volume was
c o n tr o lle d as much as p o s s ib le w ith in s t o r i e s and was
c o n tr o lle d from s to r y to s to r y by c a lib r a t io n o f the p la y
back volume d ia l o f the tape recorder w ith a rad io stu d io
volume in d ic a to r .
The s t o r ie s were e d ite d in to th ree tap es o f seven
s t o r i e s each. Tape P h eld a l l the HI 30 v e r sio n s o f the
seven s t o r i e s , and the HI I 5 and HI 50 v e r sio n s were
d iv id ed a lt e r n a t e ly between Tapes E and G, The s t o r ie s were
in the same order on a l l th ree ta p e s.
Each tape was p resen ted to a d if f e r e n t group o f
over 100 ten th -grad e p u p ils in Compton, C a lifo r n ia . The
p r e s e n ta tio n fo llo w ed the same p a ttern in a l l th ree ca ses
and c o n s is te d o f p la y in g the f i r s t sto r y and then a llo w in g
the s u b je c ts two m inutes (found to be q u ite s u f f i c i e n t ) to
82
answer the f i f t e e n q u e stio n s on th a t s to r y . The second
s to r y was then p layed and the s u b je c ts answered the q u es
tio n s r e le v a n t to th a t s to r y , and so on.
C o n c lu sio n s. 1. In g e n e r a l, varying the HI score
o f the s t o r i e s by one or two ste p s in F le s c h ’s f iv e - s t e p
s c a le o f "human in te r e s t" had no s i g n i f i c a n t e f f e c t on the
l i s t e n a b i l i t y o f the s t o r i e s .
2. This appeared to be tru e r e g a r d le ss o f the d i f f i
c u lty le v e l o f the sto r y as measured by the F lesch "reading
ease" form ula.
3 . Varying the HI o f the s t o r i e s by two s te p s did not
make them s i g n i f i c a n t l y l e s s or more lis t e n a b le fo r the
poorer l i s t e n e r s .
4. N eith er o f the th ree l e v e l s o f HI was more
lis t e n a b le than another l e v e l fo r e it h e r male s u b je c ts or
fem ale s u b je c ts , nor did varying the HI sco re o f the
s t o r i e s by one or two ste p s have any s i g n i f i c a n t l y d i f f e r
ent e f f e c t on the li s t e n i n g comprehension o f the male subr
j e c t s as compared to th a t o f the fem ale s u b je c ts .
5. The comprehension sc o res were con sid ered to be
low. One h a lf o f the su b je c ts ob tain ed sc o res in d ic a tin g
th a t they comprehended on ly about h a lf o f what they
heard, w h ile a fo u r th o f the s u b je c ts were apparently
in cap ab le o f comprehending more than a th ir d o f the m ater-
83
ial. Only a fourth of the subjects appeared to comprehend
as much as two-thirds of the material.
6. The difficulty-predictions of the Flesch "reading
ease" formula appeared to be fairly consistent for spoken
language over the range of style-variation exemplified by
the three different versions of the seven stories. (No
observation was made as to the accuracy of these predic
tions . )
Implications. The "human interest" formula of
Flesch’s New Readability Yardstick does not appear to be
useful as a predictor of listening comprehensibility, what
ever its applicability to reading comprehensibility. It
may be that, if the experiment had included versions differ
ing by more than two steps in the HI scale, a significant
difference in listenability would have been found, but if
the formula is only capable of measuring such gross differ
ences, its value as a scale-type predictor of listenability
is still questionable. The HE formula, however, promises to
be a useful basis for the development of a listenability
formula.
It appears that the mere mechanical rewriting of a
script so as to increase the percentage of personal words
is no answer to the problem of writing of more "personal"
language. There are reasons for supposing that the
84
p e r so n a l-n e ss o f the m a te r ia l w i l l c o r r e la te h ig h ly w ith
i t s i n t e r e s t - v a l u e . B esid es the reason s g iv en by F le sc h ,
th ere are the sta tem en ts o f many exp erien ced w r ite r s and
e d it o r s . T heir sen tim en ts are w e ll ex p ressed by John M .
S id d a ll who, when he wrote the a r t i c l e quoted below, was
e d it o r o f The American M agazine.
One th in g on ly in t e r e s t s a l l human b ein gs always^
and th a t i s the human being h im s e lf. . . .
. . . Much reading m atter i s unpopular and never
a t t r a c t s a wide reading p u b lic [becau se] the readeerj) "
s e e s n oth in g in i t fo r h im s e lf. Take an a r t i c l e ,
w e ' l l say, e n t i t l e d "The F in a n c ia l System o f
Canada." I t looks d u ll, d o e sn 't i t ? I t looks d u ll
because you ca n ’t q u ite see where i t a f f e c t s you.
Now take an a r t i c l e e n t i t l e d "Why i t i s e a s ie r to
g e t r ic h in Canada than in the U nited S t a t e s ." T hat's
d if f e r e n t I Your in t e r e s t i s aroused. You wonder
wherein th e Canadian has an advantage over you. You
look in to the a r t i c l e to fin d out whether you c a n 't g et
an id ea from i t .
Yet the two a r t i c l e s may be b a s i c a l l y a lik e , d i f f e r
ing on ly in treatm en t. One bores you and the o th er
in t e r e s t s you. One bores you because i t seems remote.
The oth er i n t e r e s t s you because the w r ite r has had the
s k i l l to t r a n s la t e h is f a c t s and id e a s in to terms
th a t are p erso n a l to you. The minute you become
p erson al in t h is world you become in t e r e s t i n g . . , .
Underneath i t , somehow, l i e s a g re a t law, the law
o f s e r v ic e . You ca n ’t exp ect to a t t r a c t p eop le u n le ss
you do som ething fo r them .3
Presumably th e a r t i c l e on high fin a n c e , even i f
^ John M . S id d a ll, "'Where Do I Come In ? ' Asks the
Human B ein g," in E rnest Brennecke and D. L. Clark, Magazine
A r t ic le W riting (New York: M acmillan, I 9 3 0 ) , pp. 3 8 1- 8 2 .
85
loaded w ith p erson al words in the F le sc h ia n se n se , would be
l e s s in t e r e s t in g and a t t r a c t few er readers than the one
w r itte n from the p o in t o f view o f an in d iv id u a l making more
money in Canada, even i f the l a t t e r a r t i c l e were w r itte n
e n t i r e l y in the p a ssiv e v o ic e . I t i s l i k e l y , however, th at
the second a r t i c l e would have the h ig h er p ercen tage o f
p erson al words, fo r the p o in t o f view would to some e x te n t
determ ine the s t y l e o f w r itin g . But i t appears th a t i t i s
t h is i n i t i a l view p oint o f the w r ite r which r e s u lt s in
p e r so n a l-n e ss in w r itin g , and not m erely h is use o f
"personal words." The p r a c t ic a l co n clu sio n appears to be
th a t , however e f f i c i e n t p r e d ic in t form ulas may be in t h e ir
proper r o le o f p r e d ic tin g , th ey are not n e c e s s a r ily v a lu a b le
in p ro v id in g r u le s fo r the w r ite r .
The HI r a tin g may s t i l l be o f v a lu e , however, in a
way not in v e s t ig a t e d in t h is stu d y. Some oth er method o f
in q u ir y , such as Murphy's s tu d ie s o f s p lit - r u n s in a news
paper, ^ may show the form u la's v a lu e . I t may be th a t
language w ith a high HI r a tin g w i l l prove to be more e n te r
ta in in g , more a t t r a c t i v e , or may c r e a te b e t te r r e c e p t iv it y
in the l i s t e n e r . I f so , the formula may be a u s e fu l
d ev ice fo r p r e d ic tin g whether l i s t e n e r s w i l l be a ttr a c te d to
^ D. R. Murphy, "How P la in Talk In cr ea se s Readership
k5% to 66^," P r in t e r 's In k . CCXX (September 19, 19^7).
PP^ 35-37.
86
and h eld by a b road cast.
The study rep orted here and the two s tu d ie s under
taken at the same tim e by Malamuth and Harwood examine on ly
obvious and e a s i l y measured a sp e c ts o f sp eech , i . e . , the
r a t io o f s y ll a b le s to words, words to s e n te n c e s , p erson al
words to t o t a l words, and the r a te o f p r e s e n ta tio n .
In sh o r t, th e se s t u d ie s , and most o f the oth er
stu d ie s done in the co m p r e h e n sib ility o f speech , have
touched on ly the vocabulary and r a te o f speaking and l i t t l e
e l s e . I t may w e ll be th at s y n ta c tic elem en ts p la y a
g r e a te r r o le in l i s t e n a b i l i t y than the vocabulary lo a d , or
th a t some measure o f the a b str a c tn e ss o f the language based
on a s y n ta c tic rath er than a vocabulary measurement w i l l
g iv e "U S a b e t te r y a r d s tic k fo r p r e d ic tin g the d i f f i c u l t y o f
a ,p a ssa g e . For example, to take a case at random, one might
advocate as a s y n ta c tic measure o f d i f f i c u l t y the number o f
forms o f "to .be" occu rrin g per 100 words in the p assage.
I t may be supposed th a t th ere w i l l be more vague u se o f
"to be" than any o th er verb and th a t w r ite r s, w i l l be l e s s
sure what they mean by "is" than o th er verbs and th e r e fo r e
be l e s s c le a r . A count o f "to be" forms a ls o g iv e s a
measure o f the number o f p r e d ic a te s c a s t in ( 1 ) the
p r o g r e ssiv e (was g o in g ), ( 2 ) the p a ssiv e (are to be s e n t ) ,
and (3) p r e d ic a te nom inatives ( I t was I who sp ok e). Each
o f .t h e s e may be thought o f as l e s s lis t e n a b le than the
87
"straighten" way of stating the proposition (I went. Send
these, I spoke), though the progressive may be harder to
condemn than the others. Since "to be" forms are invariably
short (was, am, are, is, been, were, being) a count of them
per 100 words will have a low intercorrelation with
syllables per 100 words and would presumably add substan
tially to a multiple correlation if they measure any aspect
of comprehensibility.
Criteria may be found to argue in favor of many other
syntactical measures of the comprehensibility of language:
the ratio of transitive to intransitive verbs, the percent-
age of sentences with subject, verb and object in that
order, the percentage of sentences with personal (Flesch's
definition) subjects and objects, the percentage of words
that occur between the beginning of the sentence and the
predicate of that sentence, the percentage of sentences cast
in the passive voice, and so on.
But even when we have investigated all such
possibilities, we will still have to admit that our research
has been limited to vocabulary and syntax and rate, the only
aspect of delivery that is easily measured.^ It may be that
5 And we may fin d th a t i s not so e a sy . W e have s t i l l
to s o lv e the rath er b a sic q u e stio n o f whether the speaker
who sp eak s, when he sp eak s, at 200 words per minute but w ith
freq u en t pauses th a t lower h is o v e r - a ll r a te to I 50 words
per minute i s r e a lly speaking a t a ra te comparable to the
speaker who u ses a stea d y 1 5 0 -w ord-per-m inute r a te .
88
these will suffice for prediction of comprehensibility of
spoken language, assuming always, as in this study, an
"average trained speaker. We may find that a few factors
of vocabulary and syntax coupled with a measure of rate (be
it syllabic rate, rate of presentation of "ideas" or some
other temporal measure) will give us a good enough yardstick
for practical purposes in predicting the listenability of
newscasts, educational broadcast talks, and lectures.[^It
is more probable, however, that research will have to be
continued into delivery techniques such as the use of
pause, inflection, changes of loudness and voice quality,
and so on. And it is even more probable^ that research will
have to go on into explanation techniques and rhetorical
principles of informative speaking.
In any case, i t appears certain that we must learn
more about the psychology of interest, for as we saw in our
discussion of Vernon's findings, interest seems to be a
prime (if not the prime) factor in determining comprehension
of spoken language. Finding measuring-sticks for the
interest factors of a radio script for presentation to the
general public will be no easy task.
But listenability researchers are not entirely in
the dark. There is Thorndike's statement that "... there
is some probability that the interest shown by the teacher
89
and by th ose in the c la s s whose conduct has a p r e s tig e
valu e w i l l in flu e n c e o th ers to have the I n te r e s t in
q u e s t i o n . If Thorndike s e e s eth os a t work in the i n
flu e n c in g o f academic i n t e r e s t , other tech n iq u es o f p ersu a s
ion might w e ll be con sid ered in the p r e s e n ta tio n o f inform a
t iv e m a te r ia l. I t would seem, from th e se f a c t s , th a t the
p r e s e n ta tio n o f in form ation through speech must concern
i t s e l f w ith s e l l i n g i t s product as w e ll as making i t con
sumable. Nor i s the one p ro cess so d i s t i n c t from the o th e r,
fo r , as Thorndike has p o in ted o u t.
I n te r e s t or lik in g may be in crea sed by fr e e in g the
a c t i v i t y from c e r ta in r e p e lla n t fe a tu r e s which are o f
l i t t l e or no valu e to the le a r n e r . I f the response
to + Sg + So i s d i s l i k e , whereas the response to
S i + Sg i s li k i n g , and i f So i s v a lu e le s s , we
o b v io u sly make a g rea t p ed a gogical improvement by
e lim in a tin g So. For example, co n sid e r the u se o f
[some d i f f i c u l t words] in books on s c ie n c e fo r
b eg in n e rs. . . .Such a person might l i k e s c ie n c e ,
but not lik e a book f u l l o f such words. He su r e ly
would have an in c r e a se d p r o b a b ility o f in t e r e s t i f
th o se words were rep la ced by e a s ie r e q u iv a le n t s .7
And Trenaman has in d ic a te d t h a t, in broadcast t a lk s , ". . .
the f a c t o r o f i n t e l l i g i b i l i t y la r g e ly determ ines the
com position o f the a c tu a l au dience. . . .
^ E. L. Thorndike, Adult I n t e r e s t s (New York;
M acmillan, 1935) j p. 26.
^ I b id . , pp. 41-42.
^ Joseph Trenaman, "Understanding Radio T alks,"
Q u arterly Journal o f S p eech , XXXVII (A p r il, I 9 5 I ) , 1 7 3 - 7 8 .
Here Trenammi u ses the term " i n t e l l i g i b i l i t y " as synonymous
w ib h - " lis te n a b ility " as u s e d .in the p resen t stud y.
i 90
There are other complications, too, which force the
presenter of information into rhetorical techniques. There
|is the case of the person who is not simply ignorant of the
■facts, but previously misinformed. In some cases, the
problem will be made difficult simply because the listener
has heard false statements or has misinterpreted true state-
ipents. It is difficult to say whether the one situation
presents a different problem from the other. And there will
be other situations in which the listener will hold erroneous
belefs and, furthermore, be emotionally attached to them.
These persons must not only be made to grasp the information
presented to them, but convinced that it is true. "Even a
scientist may be prejudiced against your idea and will go to
very little effort (may even resist) to understand you.
So far, this discussion has been concerned with
information in the sense of known fact such as a news event,
scientific discoveries, etc. But it becomes obvious from
the last sentences of the preceding paragraph that there
will come a day when the questions, "What is a 'known fact*?"
must be answered. Whether or not such questions are answer-
able, they serve at least to indicate that a "speech to
inform" is inevitably a "speech to convince." There is no
^ R. 0. Kapp, The Presentation of Technical Informa
tion (London; Constable and Co., Ltd., 1948), pp. 21-22.
91
dividing line, except that possibly a "speech to informV is
one given to an audience which may reasonably be expected to
believe what the speaker says, while a "speech to convince"
is one given to an audience which is expected to be less
receptive.
As happens so often in discussions of rhetoric,
audience analysis reappears as a guiding principle.
It has been said by some that systematic simplifica
tion of informative writing and speech will destroy
literary style and reduce Informative language to formula.
This is in theory a negligible danger, for by definition,
read^able or listenable language is thatlanguage which best
accomplishes its purpose of presentation of information.
But in practice, there is a danger that information special
ists will place too much emphasis on writing according to
formulas developed by experiments on isolated elements of
successful literary styles and may develop a repulsive style
which will thwart their purpose. Whatever research may
uncover in the way of hints to such writers will never
release them from the responsibility of writing attractive
English. As Kapp has said, "The aim of a good functional
style is to maintain receptivity in the person addressed,
and even persons not suspected of knowing a good style when
I b i d . , p. 1 5 .
92
they hear I t are a ffe c t e d by I t .
There i s a fu r th er danger in the p o s s i b i l i t y th a t
in form ation s p e c i a l i s t s may assume th a t what i s lis t e n a b le
or readable fo r eig h t-g r a d e graduates w i l l be even more
lis t e n a b le or readable fo r h ig h -sc h o o l grad u ates. I t i s
q u ite p o s s ib le th a t, in sim p lify in g the language w ith
which a c e r ta in s e t o f f a c t s i s p resen te d , the apparent ^
im portance and "face v a lid it y " o f th o se facts may be reduced. /
Thus, one w r ite r , u sin g a "style p a ttern ed a f t e r F lesch * s
p recep ts o f r e a d a b ilit y , fin d s i t n ece ssa r y to s t a t e in the
p refa ce to h is book:
Warning! This book i s d e c e p tiv e ! I t i s w r itte n
in a s t y l e new to most o f you. The p a tte r n , in f a c t ,
i s a p io n e er in g e f f o r t to take the s t r a in out o f
reading te c h n ic a l l i t e r a t u r e . I t i s based on Dr.
Rudolf F le s c h ' s p le a fo r p la in t a lk . I t reads
e a s i l y , as you w i l l d isc o v e r . Therein l i e s a danger.
Do not be m isled in to moving along a t top speed
lo o k in g fo r the im portant p o in ts . I f you do, you
w i l l m iss most o f them. . . .Read i t c a r e f u lly . Pay
c lo s e a t te n t io n to every l i n e . I have p laced
"WARNING!" sig n s at s e v e r a l p la c e s . These are not
only to emphasize a s p e c i f i c f a c t o r , but they are
a ls o th ere to remind you th a t every page needs
8 tu d y in g --n o t ju s t read in g.
Ross ap paren tly f e e l s , as do some o th e r s , th a t
sim ple language d e tr a c ts from the p r e s tig e o f th e id e a s i t
I b id . , p . 16.
John R oss, T e __ _______ ___________
(New York: O ffic e Research I n s t i t u t e , 1948), P . ix
IP
John R oss, Techniques o f Systems and Procedures
93
e x p r e s s e s . Does he a ls o imply c o n s c io u s ly or u n c o n sc io u sly
th a t sim ple language does not have the a tte n tio n and i n t e r
e s t valu e o f more complex language? I t w i l l be remembered
th a t Vernon's experim ents a c t u a lly showed a p o s it iv e c o r r e la
tio n between com p lexity o f language and comprehension s c o r e s .
He ex p la in ed t h is by sa y in g :
As I see i t , the answer i s th a t t h is p a r tic u la r
s e r ie s o f 50 ta lk s p o sse sse d variou s unusual fe a tu r e s .
Many o f the Current A f f a ir s , S cien ce and o th er ta lk s
which aroused most in t e r e s t and were b e s t reproduced
by l i s t e n e r s happened to be ra th er complex in s t y l e
and language, whereas E n g lish and C lear Thinking and
oth er ta lk s th a t bore the hallm arks o f good language
and s t y l e were r e l a t i v e l y u n in te r e s t in g , and so
y ie ld e d poorer s c o r e s . ^3
But th a t may not be the whole answer.
I t may be supposed, to o , th a t a h ig h ly educated
audience would be annoyed or even in s u lte d by to o -sim p le
language. Treneman s t a te d the problem w e ll.
I f the speaker aims too low the m a jo rity above w i l l
probably r e se n t b ein g ta lk e d down to and may c lo s e
t h e ir minds to what he has to sa y . I f he aims too
high he w i l l become u n i n t e l l i g i b l e to the m a jo rity
in the lower groups. . . . Whatever he d oes, w ith in
reason ab le l i m i t s , he w i l l gain h is g r e a t e s t a p p r e c i
a tio n from th ose who are on ly on the verge o f
u n d erstan d in g.^4
Kapp gave a p a r t ia l r e p ly to R o ss's problem when he s a id .
^8 p. 0 , Vernon, I n v e s tig a tio n s o f the In t e l l i g i b i l i t y
o f E d u cation al B r o a d c a sts. Paper read b efo re the B r it is h
A ss o c ia tio n fo r the Advancement o f S c ie n c e , September 5^ 1950.
Trenaman, pp. c i t .
94
"Don't communicate a s ig n if ic a n t f a c t or fig u r e w ithout
communicating what the s ig n if ic a n c e Is," ^ ^ but the problem
i s apparen tly more complex than t h i s . C onsider, fo r example,
C h risto p h er's attem pt to apply P le s c h 's f i r s t formula to
le g a l language.
As an experim ent we attem pted to reduce to p la in
ta lk a ca se comment th a t rated 6 . 5 —very d i f f i c u l t - as
i t was p resen ted in one o f our intram ural i s s u e s .
The f i r s t attem pt brought i t down to 4 . 8 - - f a i r l y
d i f f i c u l t ; t h is e f f o r t seemed to improve r e a d a b ility
w ithout s a c r i f i c i n g su b stan ce. Another tr y reduced
the F lesch sco re to 2 . 3 - - f s i r l y easy; but t h is attem pt
seemed to prove th a t th ere can be too o f a
good th in g . I t h ard ly made sen se to us; ap p aren tly,
when you are w r itin g fo r e x p e r ts , extreme s im p lic it y
sometimes f a i l s to convey meaning. Furthermore, the
low score made i t no more understandable to laymen
w ithout a c o lle g e ed u cation . They were as p u zzled as
they had been by p revious d r a f ts .
A mere h in t o f fu r th e r co m p lica tio n s may be g iv en by
McCaul, who d escrib ed an experim ent w ith 241 stu d en ts in
seven th through ten th grad es. The s u b je c ts were s p l i t in to
four groups according to t h e ir a t tit u d e s toward i n t e r
n a tio n a lly known p erso n s. Each group was g iv en the same
sto r y to read, w ith the ex c ep tio n th a t the name o f the
"hero" was d if f e r e n t . A c o n tr o l group read the sto r y w ith
the name Tom in s e r te d . I t was found th a t th e p u p ils ' i n i
t i a l a t t it u d e s tended to in flu e n c e t h e ir in te r p r e ta t io n o f
Kapp, op. cit., p. 1 8 .
Warren ¥. Christopher, "President's Page,"
Stanford Law Review, I (January, 1949)? v-vl.
95
the exp erim en tal m a te ria l in at le a s t one r e sp e c t: The ^
m otives they a sc rib ed to the persons about whom th ey read.
And Lund in te r p r e te d the r e s u lt s o f h is stud y as in d ic a tin g
th a t "our b e l i e f s are not dependent upon the a v a ila b le
evid en ce a lo n e, but are d e f i n i t e l y warped, even a g a in st
ev id e n c e, by our d e s ir e s . In f a c t , more than h a lf o f the
d eterm in ation o f our b e l i e f in a p r o p o s itio n seems to flow
from our d e s ir e s w ith r e sp e c t to i t s co r re ctn e ss." ^ ^ Does a
s im ila r mechanism work a g a in st comprehension?
I t i s p la in then th a t we need more in form ation about
the vocabulary and s y n ta c tic elem ents o f l i s t e n a b i l i t y , a
c le a r e r n o tio n o f e f f i c i e n t d e liv e r y te c h n iq u e s, and
s c i e n t i f i c bases fo r a s e t o f r h e t o r ic a l p r in c ip le s o f
p r e s e n ta tio n o f in fo rm a tio n . Having th e s e , we must go on to
d isc o v e r ^*±he in te r -o p e r a tio n s o f com prehension, c o n v ic tio n ,
and i n t e r e s t . F in a lly , a f t e r the m orp h ological, q u a lit a t iv e
is s u e s in a l l th e se q u e stio n s have been d e fin e d , we must
fin d the b e st q u a n tita tiv e measures o f them. W e must c a l l
to g e th e r , i f we are to fin d the b e st tech n iq u es o f p r e se n ta
tio n o f in fo rm a tio n , the reso u rces o f r h e t o r ic , ed u ca tio n a l
IT
Robert L. McCaul, "The E ffe c t o f A ttitu d e s on
Reading I n t e r p r e t a t io n ," Journal o f E d u cation al R esearch ,
XXXVII (February, 1944), 451-57.
F. H. Lund, "The Psychology o f B e l i e f ," Journal o f
Abnormal P sychology, XX (A p r il, 1925;, quoted from ,H. L.
H o llin g w o rth , Psychology o f the Audience (New York: American
Book-Co.-,-1935) / p. 1 1 7.
96
p sych ology, and com m unications. C e r ta in ly , no one f i e l d o f
i n v e s t ig a t io n , as the f i e l d s are c u r r e n tly d e lim ite d , h old s
a l l the an sw ers,

BIBLIOGRAPHY
A. BOOKS
A dkins, D. C •, C on struction and A n a ly sis o f Achievement
T e s t s . W ashington, D. C * : Ü• S.G overnm ent P rin tin g
O ffic e , 1 9 4 7 .
Brenneke, E . , and D. L. C lark, Magazine A r t ic le W ritin g .
New York: M acm illan, 1942.
F le s c h , R udolf, Marks o f Readable S t y l e . New York:
Teachers C o lle g e , "Columbia U n iv e r s ity , 1943*
________ , The Art of P la in T alk . New York : Harper, 1946.
Gowers, S ir E r n est, P la in Words. London: His Ma je sty %
S ta tio n e r y O f fic e , 1 548.
Graves, R ., and A. Hodge, The Reader Over Your S hou ld er.
London: Jonathan Cope, Ï54T»
Gray, ¥m. S . , and B* E. Leary, What Makes a Book
R eadable. Chicago: U n iv e r s ity o f Chicago ï^ress, 1935^
G u ilfo r d , J . P ., Psychom etric M ethods. New York:
McGraw-Hill, 1536 • - %
H oU ingw orth, H. L ., Psychology o f the A udience. New
York? American Book Company,*^93$ •
How Does Your W riting Read. W ashington, D. C. : U. S .
C iv il S ervie e Commis s i on, U. S . Government P rin tin g
O f f ic e , 1946.
Kapp, Reginald 0 . , The P r e se n ta tio n o f T ech n ical
In form ation . London; C onstable ,"T[947 •
M cCall, W. A ., and Lelah M. Crabbs, Standard Test Lessons
in R eading, Books I I , I I I , IV, and V. New York:
Nur’ eau^or P u b lic a tio n s , Teachers C o lle g e , Columbia
U n iv e r s ity , 1926.
P ills b u r y , W alter B . , A tte n tio n . London: Swan,
Sonnenschein and Company, L im ited , 1908.
99
R oss, H. John, Technique o f Systems and P roced u res*
New York: O ffic e o f Research I n s t i t u t e , 1948•
Rudolph, Harold J . , A tte n tio n and I n t e r e s t F a cto rs in
A d v e r tis in g • New York: Fimk and W agnalls, 1947•
Thorndike, Edward L ., Adult I n t e r e s t s * New York:
M acm illan, 193 5•
B. PERIODICAL ARTICLES
C h a ll, Jeanne S . , '^This B u sin ess of R ea d a b ility ,"
E ducational Research B u l l e t i n . XXVI (January, 1 9 4 7 ),
Ï - I 3 . d ig e ste d in E ducational D ig e s t . XII (May.
1 9 4 7 ), 9 -1 1 .
C h a ll, Jeanne S . , and H* E. D ia l, " P red ictin g L is te n e r
U nderstanding and I n t e r e s t in N ew scasts,"
E ducational Research B u lle t i n , XXVII (September 13,
m T F 7 T : c r - i T j ; ---------------------------------
C hristoph er, Warren M., " P r e sid e n t’s Page," Stanford
Law Review. I (January, 1 9 4 9 ), v - v i .
D olch, E. W., "The Use o f Vocabulary L i s t s in P r e d ic tin g
R ea d a b ility and in D eveloping Reading M a te r ia ls,"
Elementary E n g lis h . XXVI (March, 1 9 4 9 ), 142-194*
F le s c h , R ud olf, "A New R e a d a b ility Y a r d s tic k ,” Journal of
A pplied P sy ch o lo g y . XXXII (June, 1 9 4 8 ), 221-“ ^3T*
. "A R e a d a b ility Formula in A ctio n ," Elementary
E n g lis h . XXV (O ctober, 1 9 4 8 ), 344-351*
Haiman, Franklyn S . , "An Experiment in In form ative
Speaking," Q u arterly Journal o f Speech. XXIV
(O ctober, 1 5 4 8 ) ,3 6 5 - 3 6 0 7
H a r r e ll, Thomas W., Donald E. Brown, and W. Schramm,
"Memory in Radio News L iste n in g ," Journal o f Applied
P sy ch o lo g y . XXXIII (June, 1 9 4 9 ), -----
100
Knower, F ran klin H ., David P h i l l i p s , and Fern K oeppel,
" S tu d ies in L is te n in g t o In form ative Speaking,"
Journal o f Abnormal and S o c ia l P sy ch o lo g y , XL
{ ■ JaiiiiaryT l94 5 ---------------------------
L orge, I r v in g , " P r ed ictin g Reading D i f f i c u l t y of
S e le c t io n s fo r C h ild ren ," Elementary E nglish Review,
XVI (O ctober, 1 9 3 9 ), 229 -25'3T
________ , " R ea d a b ility Formulae— An E v a lu a tio n ,"
)^lementary E n g lis h . XXVI (February, 1 9 4 9 ), 86-95*
Ludwig, M. C. , "Hard Words and Human I n te r e s t: T heir
E f f e c t s on R eadership," Journalism Q u arterly.
XXVI (1 9 4 9 ), 16 7 -1 7 1 .
Lund, F . H ., "The Psychology o f B e l i e f ," Journal o f
Abnormal P sy ch o lo g y . XX (A p r il, 1 9 2 3 ).
McCaul, Robert L*, "The E ffe c t o f A ttitu d e s Upon Reading
I n te r p r e ta tio n ." Journal o f E ducational R esearch.
XXXVII (February ,nOT5T7 ■ 451^ = ^ 4 5 7 ^
Murphy, D. R ., "How P la in Talk In c r e a se s Readership 43^
t o 66^." P r in t e r ’ s Ink, CCXX (September 19# 1 9 4 7 ),
3 5 - 3 7 . “ “
N ic h o ls , Ralph G ., "Factors in L iste n in g Comprehension,"
Speech Monographs. XV (1 9 4 8 ), 134-163*
Trenaman, Joseph, "Understanding Radio T alks," Q u arterly
Journal o f Speech . XXXVII (A p r il, 1 9 5 1 ), IT T H T ^
C. UNPUBLISHED MATERIALS
B a x ter, Richard H. , "The Measurement o f L iste n e r
I n t e r e s t in R ep re sen ta tiv e Types o f Radio News
S t o r ie s ." Unpublished M aster’ s t h e s i s . S ta te
U n iv e r s ity o f Iowa, 1946.
Franke, P h y llis E . , "A P relim in ary Study V a lid a tin g th e
Measurement o f Oral Reading Rate in Words per M inute."
Unpublished M aster’ s t h e s i s . S ta te U n iv e r s ity o f
Iowa, 1 9 3 9 .
101
Goodman-Malamuth, Leo, "An Experim ental Study of th e
E ffe c t o f Rate o f Speaking on L is te n in g Comprehension^
( t e n t a t iv e t i t l e ) . D octor’ s d is s e r t a t io n . The
U n iv e r sity o f Southern C a lifo r n ia , in progress*
Harwood, Kenneth A*, "An Experim ental Comparison of
L is te n in g C om p reh en sib ility w ith Reading Compre
h e n s i b i l i t y ." Unpublished D o cto r’ s d is s e r t a t io n .
The U n iv e r sity o f Southern C a lif o r n ia , 1950 *
N elso n , Harold E ., "The E ffe c t o f V a r ia tio n o f Rate on
the R e c a ll by Radio L iste n e r s o f ’S t r a ig h t ’ News
c a s t s ." Unpublished D octor’ s d i s s e r t a t i o n . S ta te
U n iv e r s ity o f Iowa, 1947*
Trenaman, Joseph, "Report on th e Third Experim ental
S e r ie s — ’The R isin g G en eration ’ ." BBC Further
Education Experim ent, B r it is h B roadcasting Corpora
t i o n , London, May, 1950.
. "Report on th e Fourth Experim ental S e r ie s —
^boes I t Make Sense Today’ ." BBC Further Education
Experim ent, B r it is h B road castin g C orporation, London,
August, 1 9 5 0 .
. "Understanding o f B roadcasts on S c ie n c e ." Paper
read b efo re th e B r it is h A ss o c ia tio n fo r th e Advance
ment o f S c ie n c e , September 5, 1950.
Vernon, F . ‘E., "An I n v e s t ig a tio n in to th e I n t e l l i g i b i l i t y
of E ducational B road casts." B r it is h B roadcasting
C orporation, Audience Research Department, Novanber,
1950 .
. " I n v e s tig a tio n s o f the I n t e l l i g i b i l i t y o f
E ducational B ro a d ca sts." Paper read b efo re th e
B r it is h A sso c ia tio n f o r th e Advancement o f S c ie n c e ,
September 5 , 1950.
Yoakam, Richard E . , "The E ff e c t o f Vocabulary D if f ic u l t y
Upon th e Comprehension o f Radio News." Unpublished
M aster’ s t h e s i s . S ta te U n iv e r s ity o f Iowa, 1947*
APPEHDIX A
THE STORIES—HI 30-3
A N D
THEIR SOURCES
103
STORY NUMBER ONE
Ray Sm ith saw vAiat pow er, used f o r e v i l , d id to
E urope. He le a r n e d t h a t t o have power can be bad and t o
u se power can b e w o rse . He saw TA a t Am erican power h as
done t o h e lp s u f f e r i n g m ankind, and he f e l t humble b e f o r e
th e s iz e o f Am erican pow er. I t made him w ish t h a t wisdom
co u ld be g iv e n to a l l who have pow er. I t f e l t s tra n g e to
le a v e th e la n d o f th e h a v e -n o ts and come back t o th e home
o f th e h a v e s . The f i r s t n ig h t in New York he was s u r
p r is e d to see a s t o r e s e l l i n g c i g a r e t t e s . He h a d n ’t
bought c i g a r e t t e s in a s t o r e f o r f o u r y e a r s . H e’s im
p o rte d them from A m erica. The custom s d u ty was se v e n ty
c e n ts a p a c k . When a shipm ent was l a t e , h e ’d buy th e n in
a s t a t i o n a t a d o l l a r f i f t y a p ac k . The p o r t e r s bought
them from th e s o l d i e r s f o r e i g h t y - f i v e c e n ts . He’s been
home f o r some tim e now, but s t i l l c a n ’t p a s s a c i g a r
s t o r e w ith o u t w an tin g t o ru sh i n and buy te n c a rto n s a l l
a t o n c e . ^ He had a r e a l t r e a t th e f i r s t day b a c k . He
went to a h o te l room, s tr e t c h e d o u t on t h e b e d , and c a lle d
room s e r v i c e . He o rd e re d an i c e cream so d a . Then he
c a l l e d f o r th e v a l e t to p r e s s h i s s u i t and had th e b e l l
boy buy a l l th e p a p e rs . He had h is shoes s h in e d , b o u ^ t
ta lc u m powder, and g o t a c a r to n o f r a z o r b l a d e s . He had
104
a h o t b a th and th e n to o k a show er. Almost any of th e s e
sim p le p le a s u r e s would have ta k e n one day to th r e e weeks
to g e t i n E urope. The d e la y s had been w ith o u t end. I t
f e l t r e a l l y good to be home. But he c o u ld n ’t f i g u r e out
why Americans seemed so unhappy. Even to d a y he wonders
i f A m ericans know how much power th e y h a v e .
S o u rce: David S choenbrun, "An O range." T a lk s . 1 3 :2 0 -2 3 ,
Ja n u a ry , I 9 4 8 . /
105
STORY NUMBER TWO
T h e re ’ s someone i n F ra n ce who w ants to buy h im s e lf
a p a i r o f b a th in g tr u n k s t h a t d is s o lv e i n w a te r. This
p e c u l i a r r e q u e s t became known in t h i s c o u n try b ec au se o f
th e s tr a n g e job h e ld by a F re n c h -b o rn American woman
named Suzanne W eatherby. S h e’ s t h e s o r t of f o re ig n ag en t
c o n n e cte d w ith f o r e ig n commerce. The o f f i c e was an
a t t i c u n t i l Suzanne saw p o s s i b i l i t i e s of tu r n in g i t in to
a p e n th o u se a p a rtm e n t. The casem ent windows a r e curved
a t th e to p to g iv e a m e d iev a l a tm o sp h e re . And th e a r c h
way betw een th e l i v i n g room and d in in g room can be c lo s e d
o f f w ith h eav y , b la c k , c h u r c h lik e d o o r s . But S uzanne’ s
job i s a n y th in g b u t s i n i s t e r . S h e ’ s a f o r e ig n a g e n t who
does n o th in g more s u b v e rs iv e th a n buying t i r e s f o r
f o r e ig n a u to s and sh ip p in g th a n o v e r s e a s . The unique
sh opping s e r v ic e i s n e a r l y a y e a r - a n d - a - h a l f o ld now and
b u s in e s s i s g r e a t . S h e ’l l buy a n y th in g f o r anyone i n a
f o r e ig n c o u n try tAo h a s money t o spend b u t h as no chance
to g e t h e r e t o spend i t . Sometimes she shops fo r v i s i t i n g
E uropeans vâio a r e in New Y ork, b u t f e e l c o m p le te ly l o s t
i n th e c i t y cro w d s. Suzanne and h e r s t a f f work e i t h e r a s
shopping e s c o r t s or p e r s o n a l sh o p p e rs w orking on t h e i r
own. The o r i g i n a t o r o f t h i s f o r e ig n shopping s e r v i c e i s
106
th e d a u g h te r o f an American d e n t i s t on th e s t a f f o f t h e
American H o s p ita l i n P a r i s . The fa m ily h a s l i v e d i n
P a r is n e a r ly f o r t y y e a r s . D uring t h e war Suzanne and
I
h e r m other came t o th e U n ite d S t a t e s . But m other h as
gone back now and t h e o n ly d a u g h te r o f th e fa m ily i s !
d o in g v e ry w e ll f o r h e r s e l f in th e p en th o u se a p a rtm e n t. ]
Suzanne h as th r e e women on h e r s t a f f who speak a t l e a s t |
two f o r e ig n la n g u a g e s . They ta k e tu r n s w ith th e sh o p p in g ;
Suzanne h a s n ’t had a v a c a tio n s in c e sh e opened th e j
!
b u s i n e s s .
S o u rce: U n ited P re s s R a d io , D isp a tc h sig n e d JC a t 3 :3 7
a .m ., J u ly 27, 1948, a s r e c e iv e d by t e l e t y p e
a t r a d io s t a t i o n KUSC, Los A n g e le s.
107
STORY NUMBER THREE
C arl Jo n es te a c h e s g e n e r a l b io lo g y i n a M in n eso ta
h i ^ school* He b e l i e v e s in th e r i g h t o f e v e ry boy and
g i r l in h i s c l a s s e s to make up h is own mind as to th e
v a l i d i t y o f th e th e o r y o f e v o l u tio n . N e v e r th e le s s , he
f e e l s t h a t h i s p u p ils sh o u ld a l l know e x a c tl y vAat th e
th e o r y o f b i o l o g i c a l e v o lu tio n i s . C o n seq u en tly he la y s
out a u n it o f work c o v e rin g p erh ap s elev en d a y s . D uring
t h i s tim e th ro u g h l e c t u r e s , th ro u g h c l a s s d is c u s s io n and
th ro u g h r e f e r e n c e c o n s u l t a t i o n , he b r in g s i n th e ev id en ce
o f p a le o n to lo g y , em bryology, c o m p a ra tiv e anatom y, and
h y b r i d i z a t i o n . W ith h i s c l a s s he exam ines t h e ev id e n c e
from th e s e fo u r f i e l d s o f know ledge v e ry c r i t i c a l l y . He
p o in ts out d e f i n i t e l y t h a t to e v e ry man th e e v id en ce
means som eth in g d i f f e r e n t and t h a t s c i e n t i s t s i n t e r p r e t
th e same s e t of f a c t s in v a r io u s w a y s ., Jones u se s
l a n t e r n s l i d e s and e x h i b i t s mounted specim ens a s he com
p a r e s th e t h e o r i e s of Darwin w ith th e t h e o r i e s o f
Lam arck. E v id en ce i s f i t t e d t o g e t h e r , and t h e u n i t ends
w ith a summary by th e i n s t r u c t o r . D is re g a rd in g p e rs o n a l
o p in io n s , h i s summary aims to g iv e th e a v a i l a b l e re a s o n s
se
f o r , and th e r e a s o n s f o r n o t , a t t a c h i n g w eight to th e
t h e o r i e s o f e v o l u tio n . T his p a r t i c u l a r group o f
108
s c i e n t i s t s , he s t a t e s , does n o t a t t a c h much w eight t o a
th e o ry o f e v o lu tio n fo r v a r io u s em b ry o lo g ic a l re a so n s*
On th e o th e r hand, t h a t group o f s c i e n t i s t s a t t a c h e s
g r e a t w eight t o a th e o ry f o r v a r io u s a n a to m ic a l re a s o n s * 1
At no tim e d u rin g th e d is c u s s io n does he make a c a t e g o r i
c a l s ta to n e n t on one s id e o r th e o th e r* When th e u n i t i s
c o m p leted , every s tu d e n t in h is c l a s s may n o t b e l i e v e i n
th e v a l i d i t y o f th e th e o r y o f e v o lu tio n , b u t a t l e a s t
ev e ry member o f h is c l a s s w i l l know vAat t h e th e o ry
a c t u a l l y means* The i n s t r u c t o r who fo llo w s t h i s p a t t e r n
need n e v e r f e a r t h a t h i s ac a d o n ic freedom w i l l b e ta k e n
from him .
S o u rce: H. H. K irk , "Academic Freedom: Are W e Ready f o r
I t ? " Modem S peeches on B a sic I s s u e s (New York:
H oughton-M ifjplin Corapany , 1 5 3 9 ), PP• 9 3 -1 0 0 .
109
STORY NUMBER FOUR
The p i c t u r e o f th e p e o p le o f a t y p i c a l American
com munity, b ased upon s t a t i s t i c a l r e s e a r c h , i s l i t t l e
s h o r t of d e v a s t a t i n g . H e re ’ s a tow n (w ith an anonymous
name) o f f o r t y thousand p e o p le , c a r e f u l l y s e le c te d b e
c a u se o f t y p i c a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s w hich i t s h a re s w ith
a p p ro x im a te ly one hundred f i f t y o t h e r c o n m u n ities in
Am erica o f r e l a t i v e l y com parable s i z e . These men a n d ,
women, p re d o m in a n tly n a tiv e - b o r n men and women, have p a r
t i c i p a t e d g e n e ro u s ly i n e v e ry m a te r ia l com fort lA ic h i n
th e l a s t f o r t y y e a r s h a s become a d i s t i n g u i s h i n g c h a r
a c t e r i s t i c o f our American c i v i l i z a t i o n . I t ’ s a com
m unity W iere th e women and g i r l s w ear s i l k d r e s s e s and
s i l k s to c k in g s , h o u ses a r e eq u ip p ed w ith te le p h o n e s ,
e l e c t r i c i r o n s , and o th e r l a b o r - s a v i n g d e v ic e s , and two
out o f every t h r e e f a m i l i e s own an a u to m o b ile . But
h e r e ’ s a p o p u la tio n w here b u s i n e s s - c l a s s men re a d con
s id e r a b ly l e s s th a n th e y d id f o r t y y e a rs ag o , t h e American
M agazine and th e S a tu rd a y E vening P o st have from s i x t y to
ones hundred tw en ty tim e s a s many p eo p le s u b s c rib in g as
A t l a n t i c M onthly or H a rp e r’ s o r New R e p u b lic . and lA e re
a p p r e c i a t i o n o f m usic o r l i t e r a t u r e i s p r a c t i c a l l y non
e x i s t e n t among t h e n . H e re ’ s a community in w hich money
n o ]
i s p re d o m in a n tly th e c r i t e r i o n o f a man’ s v a lu e and i
w here h is w orth i s e v a lu a te d by h i s a b i l i t y to m a in ta in
h i s p o s i t i o n or g e t ahead i n th e c o m p e titiv e p e c u n ia ry j
r a c e . I t ’ s a p la c e vAere a b ig o te d and narrow c o n s e rv a - ;
tis m dom inates p e o p le ’ s p o l i t i c a l , s o c i a l , and economic
a c t i v i t i e s , and in which men and women h u rry a t so v e ry
f e v e r i s h a pace t h a t th e y have no tim e l e f t to c o n s id e r
th e p u rp o se s and m eaning o f l i f e . H e re ’ s a coimiunity o f
p eo p le t h a t a t b ottom i s dom inated by t h e i r f e a r o f
o ffe n d in g a g a i n s t th e m a jo r i ty , a n erv o u s a n x ie ty to
ru n w ith th e h e r d , and d im in is h in g of s p i r i t u a l f o r c e to
th e g e n e ra l l e v e l . M iddletow n i s a community where ev ery
man and woman co n fo rm s.
S o u rce: Raymond B. F o s d ic k , " ’M iddletow n’— and th e Way
O u t," Modem S peeches on B a sic I s s u e s (New
York: h o u ^ to n-Mi f f 1 inTC omp an y , 1539 ) ,
p p . 22-2 5*
1 1 1 ”!
STORY NUMBER FIVE
T h e re ’ s an old w iv e s ’ t a l e o f m ed iev al Germany
which had p eo p le b e l ie v i n g moths would not a t ta c k woolen
c l o th e s which had been dyed g r e e n . S c i e n t i s t s d is c o v e re d
t h a t t h i s was n o t t r u e . But now th e y t h i n k t h a t t h e r e
was a chem ical in a p a r t i c u l a r y e llo w dye t h a t d id k i l l
c l o th e s m o th s. T h is ch em ical from th e old w iv e s ’ t a l e
tu r n e d o u t to be one o f o u r m ost im p o rta n t d is c o v e r ie s
o f th e w ar. I t s h i s t o r y b e g in s a t th e B ureau o f E nto
mology R e sea rc h L a b o ra to ry a t O rlan d o , F l o r i d a , back i n
November, n in e te e n f o r ty - tw o . One o f t h e i r m ajor
problem s a t t h a t tim e was t o d e v e lo p new m a te r ia l s and
m ethods to p r o t e c t o u r f i g h t i n g men from d is e a s e -
c a r r y in g i n s e c t s . Now, t h e r e i s n ’t any g r e a t e x p lo s io n ,
b r i l l i a n t f l a s h o f l i g h t , or a n y th in g v ery s p e c ta c u la r i n
an i n s e c t w ar. But t h e r e ’ s an enemy w ith a k i l l i n g
p o t e n t i a l f a r d e a d l i e r th a n b u l l e t s . The men and women
a t O rlando w ere a tte m p tin g e v e ry th in g to f in d th e b e s t
p o s s ib le m ethod o f p r o t e c t i n g t h e h e a l t h o f o u r boys
from th e s e d is e a s e c a r r i e r s . F i n a l l y , from a Sw iss
company, th e y r e c e iv e d an unknown m a te r ia l from w hich t
I
th e y e x t r a c te d two gram s— two th im b le s f u l o f a su b s ta n c e
t h a t was t o be found l a t e r to have o c c u rre d in t h a t
112 I
y e llo w d y e. One im a g in e s t h e s c i e n t i s t may have been a j
I
l i t t l e weary a s he la b e le d h i s l a t e s t newcomer number !
one thousand one hundred s e v e n . Along w ith t h e h u ndreds I
I
t
o f o th e r c h e m ic a ls , he p u t t h e s e l i t t l e th im b le s f u l
th ro u g h h is u s u a l la b o r a to r y a n a ly s is • Then he knew.
He had found a new p o te n t i n s e c t d e s t r o y e r . The in fo rm a
t i o n went im m ed ia tely to m i l i t a r y men. At f i r s t , manu
f a c t u r e r s even made i t i n k e t t l e s , l i k e a p p le b u t t e r ,
i n th e basem en ts o f t h e i r homes, or i n any way to g e t
t h i s new weapon to our f i g h t i n g men. And t h e new
weapon, w hich th e y c a l l e d DDT, d id th e jo b .
S o u rce: Joseph T o n k in , "DDT," T a l k s . 1 3 :3 1 , A p r i l,
1 9 4 8 . . -
113
STORY NUMBER S IX
Joe Thompson i s a new spaper r e p o r t e r . He c a n ’t
say vAat th e N orth P ole lo o k s l i k e from th e a i r . He
a c t u a l l y n e v e r g o t t h e r e . But he can t e l l what i t f e e l s
l i k e to be f ly in g w ith a B -tw e n ty -n in e crew on a w e a th e r
o b s e rv a tio n m is s io n , h e a d in g t o th e P o le , and h a v in g a
f i r e s t a r t i n th e c a b in ab o u t t h r e e and a h a l f h o u rs
away from th e P o le . T h a t’s lA a t happened t o him . And
h e ’ s h e re t o t e l l th e s to r y b e c a u se th e A lask a A ir
Command t r a i n s i t s a i r crew s th o r o u g h ly . And b e c a u se
ev e ry crew member i s a man you c o u ld t r u s t your l i f e t o .
Joe d i d . And t h a t t r u s t was k e p t . A ll fo u rte e n of
th e m a r e b a c k . The m is sio n he fle w was a r e g u l a r l y
sc h e d u le d f l i g h t to th e N orth Pole c a r r i e d on by th e
T hree-H undred S i x t y - f i f t h W eather R eco n n aissan ce
S q u ad ro n . They f l y th e p o le q u i t e r e g u l a r l y b ecau se
t h e i r assignm ent i s p r e t t y much t h a t o f a f l y i n g w ea th er
s t a t i o n # c o v e rin g a r e a s w here you c o u ld n ’t have w e a th e r
s t a t i o n s on th e g ro u n d . The in fo rm a tio n th e y g e t i s
im m ed ia tely se n t back f o r u se i n A la sk a , Canada and th e
U n ite d S t a t e s . The k in d o f w e a th e r th e y have a t th e
N orth P ole f r e q u e n tly a f f e c t s th e k in d o f w e a th e r w e’r e
g e t t i n g back home a day o r two l a t e r . B -tw e n ty -n in e
114
f l i n t s to th e P ole a r e n o t jo y r i d e s - T hey’ r e c o s t l y
and dangerous m is s io n s . J o e ’ s had s u r e p ro o f of t h a t .
The f i r e t h a t broke out in h is p la n e was u n d e r c o n t r o l
in t e n m in u te s. ' T his was b ecau se ev ery man knew h i s
jo b and no one g o t p a n ic k y . They w ere, how ever, p r e
p a re d t o b a i l o u t by p a ra c h u te o v er t h e A r tie i c e ca p .
The A ir F o rce p e rs o n n e l had been g iv en s u f f i c i e n t t r a i n
in g to ta k e c a r e of th e n s e lv e s i f th e y e v e r d id have to
h i t th e s i l k o v e r th e A r c tic r e g io n .
S o u rce: Joe W ershba, "N orth P o le ," T a lk s . 1 3 :5 6 ,
A p r i l, 1 9 4 8 . .
1 15
STORY NUMBER SEVEN
E ig h t lu c k y S a in t Louis K ids have been chosen f o r
what th e y th in k i s th e dream job o f th e y e a r . They e a t
i c e cream su n d aes f o r p a y . The k id s a r e th e b e s t o f
some two hundred S a in t L ouis y o u n g s te rs who answ ered an
ad p la c e d by th e B lake Syrup Company. The ad c a l l e d on
boys and g i r l s f o r w hat th e firm c a l l s i t s " t a s t e
j u r y . " The e ig h t y o u n g s te rs show up on F rid a y s and
t a s t e su n d aes o f a l l k in d s . T hey’r e f r e e t o c r i t i c i z e
o r p r a i s e th e sy ru p to p p in g s so th e firm can g e t an id e a
what k id s l i k e and d i s l i k e . Andy th e y a r e p aid s i x t y - f i v e
c e n ts an hour f o r t h e i r w ork. C hoosing th e ju r y w asn’t
e a s y . The f i m ’ s o f f i c e was packed w ith boys and g i r l s
and t h e i r moms. The k id s w ere se rv e d sundaes o f a l l
k in d s and ask ed t o name them so B la k e ’s ju d g e s co u ld
r a t e t h e i r se n se o f t a s t e . I f th e k id s got t h r o u ^
e ig h t f l a v o r s w ith o u t a m iss, th e y got in to th e f i n a l s .
I t was odd how many f lu n k e d . S c o re s claim ed t h a t w alnut
was t o f f e e , o r maybe fu d g e . Few were l e f t f o r th e f i n a l s .
A b ig ju g o f c a s t o r o i l was p u t where th e k id s could s e e ;
i t . T h is was to rem ind them t o sto p i f th e y th o u g h t i t
was w is e . And th e y to o k th e h i n t . One y o u n g s te r g o t to
th e l a s t sundae to be t e s t e d . Then he h e ld h i s s id e s and
116 ,
g roaned t h a t i t w a s n 't v o r th i t . Ed B la k e , head o f th e ;
'
f irm , says t h a t c h o ic e s f o r t h e ju r y w eren ’t b ased j u s t
on t a s t e s c o r e s . Some o f th e k id s were p l a i n c u te and
c o u ld n ’t be l e f t o u t . But i t was a l l on th e s q u a r e . ;
B lake l i k e d one l i t t l e g i r l a l o t . But she j u s t would
n o t say t h a t th e caram el sundae w asn’t p e a c h . He had to
p a s s h e r u p .
S o u rce: U n ite d P re s s R ad io , D isp a tc h s ig n e d ¥K a t 2:56
a .m ., J u ly 27, 1 9 4 8 ,.as re c e iv e d by t e l e t y p e
a t ra d io s t a t i o n KUSC, Los A n g e le s.
APPENDIX B
THE STORIES— HI 15 . g
l i a !
STORY NUM BER ONE
Hay Sm ith saw what pow er, used f o r e v i l , d id t o
E u ro p e. I t was c l e a r t h a t to have power can be bad and
to u se i t can be w o rse . He saw lA a t Am erican power has
done t o h e lp s u f f e r i n g m ankind, and f e l t humble b e f o re
th e s iz e of American pow er. I t b ro u g h t a b o u t th e w ish
t h a t wisdom could b e g iv e n to a l l who have pow er. I t
f e l t s tr a n g e le a v in g th e la n d o f th e h a v e -n o ts and
coming back to th e home of th e h av e s. The f i r s t n ig h t
in New York i t was a s u r p r i s e to se e a s t o r e s e l l i n g
c i g a r e t t e s . He h a d n ’ t bought c i g a r e t t e s i n a s t o r e fo r
fo u r y e a r s . One im p o rte d them from A m erica. Customs
du ty was se v e n ty c e n ts a p a c k . When a shipm ent was
l a t e , one had to buy them i n a s t a t i o n a t a d o l l a r f i f t y
a p a c k . The p o r t e r s bought them from t h e s o l d i e r s f o r
e i g h t y - f i v e c e n t s . He’ s been home f o r some tim e now,
b u t s t i l l c a n ’t p a s s a c i g a r s t o r e w ith o u t w an tin g to
ru s h in and buy te n c a r to n s a l l a t once. The f i r s t day
back was a r e a l t r e a t . He went t o a h o te l room, s t r e t c h
ed out on th e bed, and c a l l e d room s e r v i c e . F i r s t an
c >
i c e cream soda was o r d e r e d . Then th e v a l e t was c a l l e d
to p r e s s h i s s u i t , and th e b e llb o y sen t f o r a l l th e
p a p e r s . He had h is sh o e s s h in e d , bought ta lc u m powder,
L
119!
and g o t a c a rto n o f r a z o r b la d e s * A h o t b a th was f o l - j
lowed by a show er. Almost any o f t h e s e p l a i n p le a s u r e s |
would have ta k e n one day t o t h r e e weeks to g e t i n '
E urope. D elays had been e n d l e s s . I t f e l t m ighty good ,
to be home. But i t was h ard t o f ig u r e o u t \é iy Americans
seemed so gloom y. Even to d ay he w onders i f Am ericans
know how much power t h i s n a tio n h a s .
120
STORY NUMBER TWO
T h e re ’ s someone in F ra n ce who w an ts to buy a p a i r
o f b a th in g tr u n k s t h a t d is s o lv e in w a te r. The re a so n
t h i s p e c u l i a r r e q u e s t became known i n t h i s c o u n try i s
b e c a u se o f th e s tr a n g e job h e ld by a F re n c h -b o rn Ameri
can named S uzanne. S h e’ s a s o r t of f o r e ig n a g e n t con
n e c te d w ith f o r e i g i commerce. The o f f i c e used to be an
a t t i c u n t i l Suzanne saw p o s s i b i l i t i e s o f t u r n i n g i t in to
a p e n th o u se a p a rtm e n t. The casem ent windows a r e curv ed
I
a t th e to p to g iv e a m edieval a tm o sp h ere. And th e a r c h - ;
way betw een th e l i v i n g room and d in in g room can be
c lo s e d o f f w ith heav y , b la c k , c h u rc h lik e d o o rs . But t h e I
!
job i s a n y th in g b u t s i n i s t e r . S h e’ s a f o r e ig n a g e n t vdio |
does n o th in g more s u b v e rs iv e th an b u y in g t i r e s t o f i t
f o re ig n a u to s and sh ip p in g th a n o v e r s e a s . The u n iq u e
shopping s e r v ic e i s n e a r ly a y e a r - a n d - a - h a l f old now a n d ’
b u s in e s s i s boom ing. I t w i l l buy p r a c t i c a l l y a n y th in g
f o r anyone in a f o r e ig n c o u n try who has money to spend
b u t has no chance to g e t t h e r e t o spend i t . Sometimes
t h e r e ’ s sh o p p in g t o do f o r v i s i t i n g E uropeans who a r e in
New Y ork, b u t f e e l c o m p le te ly l o s t in th e c i t y crow ds.
The b u s in e s s h as a s t a f f which works e i t h e r a s shopping
e s c o r t s o r p e rs o n a l s h o p p e rs . The o r i g i n a t o r o f t h i s
1 2 1 1
f o r e ig n shopping s e r v ic e i s th e d a u g h te r o f an American i
I
d e n t i s t on th e s t a f f o f th e American H o s p ita l i n P a r i s .
The fa m ily h a s l i v e d i n P a r is n e a r l y 40 y e a r s . D uring ;
th e w ar Suzanne and h e r m o th er came t o th e U n ited ;
S t a t e s . But m o th er h as gone b ack now and th e o n ly
d a u ^ t e r o f th e fa m ily i s d o in g v e ry w ell i n th e p e n t
house a p a rtm e n t. T here a re t h r e e o th e r women on th e
s t a f f Tftho speak a f o re ig n la n g u a g e . They ta k e t u r n s
w ith th e sh o p p in g . Suzanne h a s n ’t had a v a c a tio n s in c e
th e b u s in e s s was opened.
122
STORY NUMBER THREE
C a rl Jones te a c h e s a c o u rs e in g e n e ra l b io lo g y
i n a M in n eso ta high school* He b e l i e v e s in th e r i g h t
o f ev e ry s tu d e n t in h i s c l a s s e s to make up h is own mind
a s to th e v a l i d i t y o f t h e th e o ry of e v o lu tio n * N ever
t h e l e s s , he f e e l s t h a t th e p u p ils sh o u ld a l l know e x a c t
l y what th e th e o r y o f b i o l o g i c a l e v o lu tio n is * Con
s e q u e n tly a u n it o f work i s l a i d o u t c o v e rin g p erh ap s
elev en d a y s . D uring t h i s tim e th ro u g h l e c t u r e s , th r o u ^ i
c l a s s d is c u s s io n , and th ro u g h r e f e r e n c e c o n s u l t a t i o n , he
b r in g s in th e e v id en ce o f p a le o n to lo g y , em bryology,
c o m p a ra tiv e anatom y, and h y b r i d i z a t i o n . With th e c l a s s
he exam ines th e e v id e n c e from t h e s e f o u r f i e l d s o f
know ledge v ery c r i t i c a l l y . He p o in ts o u t d e f i n i t e l y
t h a t to ev e ry p e rso n th e e v id en ce means som ething d i f
f e r e n t and t h a t s c i e n t i s t s i n t e r p r e t th e same s e t o f
f a c t s in v a rio u s w ays. L a n te rn s l i d e s a re used and
mounted specim ens e x h i b ite d a s he com pares t h e t h e o r i e s
o f Darwin w ith th e t h e o r i e s o f Lam ark. E vidence i s
f i t t e d t o g e t h e r , and th e u n i t ends w ith a summary by
th e i n s t r u c t o r . D is re g a rd in g any p e r s o n a l o p in io n s ,
h i s summary aim s t o g iv e th e a v a ila b le re a s o n s f o r , and
th e re a s o n s f o r n o t , a t ta c h in g w eight t o t h e t h e o r i e s
123
o f e v o lu tio n * T h is p a r t i c u l a r group o f s c i e n t i s t s , he
s t a t e s , d o es n o t a t ta c h v e ry much w eig h t t o a th e o r y o f
e v o lu tio n f o r v a r io u s e m b ry o lo g ic a l r e a s o n s . On th e
o th e r h and, t h a t group o f s c i e n t i s t s a t t a c h e s g r e a t
w eight to a th e o r y fo r v a rio u s o th e r re a s o n s . At no
tim e d u rin g th e l e c t u r e s i s a c a te g o r ic a l s ta te m e n t made
on one s id e o r th e o t h e r . When t h e u n i t i s co m p leted ,
ev e ry s tu d e n t i n th e c l a s s may n o t b e l ie v e i n t h e v a l i d
i t y o f th e th e o ry o f e v o lu tio n , b u t a t l e a s t e v e ry mem
b e r o f th e c l a s s w i l l know j u s t what th e th e o ry a c t u a l l y
m eans. The i n s t r u c t o r who fo llo w s t h i s p a t t e r n need
n e v e r f e a r t h a t academ ic freedom w i l l b e d e s tr o y e d .
12/T^
STORY NUMBER FOUR
The p i c t u r e o f a t y p i c a l American com munity, b ased
upon s t a t i s t i c a l r e s e a r c h , i s l i t t l e s h o r t o f d e v a s ta tin g
Here i s a town (w ith an anonymous name) o f f o r t y tho u san d
p eo p le w hich was c a r e f u l l y s e l e c t e d b e c a u se o f t y p i c a l
c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s t h a t i t h as i n common w ith a p p ro x im a te ly
one hundred f i f t y o th e r com m unities i n Am erica o f r e l a
t i v e l y com parable s i z e . These men and women, p red o m i- |
I
n a n t l y n a t iv e - b o r n , have p a r t i c i p a t e d g e n e ro u s ly in e v e r y '
m a te r ia l com fort W iich i n t h e l a s t f o r ty y e a r s h a s b e
come a d is t i n g u i s h i n g c h a r a c t e r i s t i c o f American c i v i l i z a
t i o n . I t ’ s a community vdaere th e women and g i r l s wear
s i l k d r e s s e s and s i l k s to c k in g s , t h e h o u se s a r e equipped
w ith te le p h o n e s , e l e c t r i c i r o n s , and o th e r la b o r - s a v in g
d e v ic e s , and two o u t o f ev e ry t h r e e f a m i l i e s own an a u to
m o b ile . But h e re i s a p o p u la tio n where th e b u s in e s s
c l a s s men re a d c o n s id e r a b ly l e s s th a n th e y d id f o r t y
y e a r s ago, th e American M agazine and th e S a tu rd a y Evening
P o st have from s i x t y to one hundred tw enty tim e s a s many
s u b s c r i b e r s a s A t l a n t i c M onthly o r Har*per’ s o r New
R e p u b lic , and where th e a p p r e c ia t io n o f m usic o r l i t e r a
t u r e i s now p r a c t i c a l l y n o n - e x i s t e n t . H e re, to o , i s a
community in which money i s p re d o m in a n tly th e c r i t e r i o n
125
o f a man’ s v alu e and where h i s w orth i s u s u a lly e v a lu a te d
by th e a b i l i t y to m a in ta in h i s p o s i t i o n o r g e t ahead i n
th e c o m p e titiv e p e c u n ia ry r a c e . I t ’ s a p la c e viiere a
b ig o te d and narrow c o n s e rv a tis m d o m in ates p o l i t i c a l ,
s o c i a l , and economic a c t i v i t i e s , and i n T ^ich p e o p le
h u r ry a t so v ery f e v e r i s h a p ace t h a t t h e r e i s no tim e
l e f t t o c o n s id e r th e p u rp o se s and th e m eaning o f l i f e .
H ere i s a community o f p eo p le t h a t a t bottom i s dom inated
by t h e i r c o n s ta n t f e a r o f o ffe n d in g a g a i n s t th e m a jo r ity ,
a nerv o u s a n x ie ty to run w ith th e h e r d , and d im in is h in g
o f s p i r i t u a l f o r c e to th e g e n e ra l l e v e l . M iddletown i s
a community # i e r e everyone conform s*
126 i
STORY NUMBER F IV E
T h e re ’ s an o ld w iv e s ’ t a l e o f m edieval Germany
M iich once had p eo p le b e l ie v i n g t h a t moths would not
a t t a c k w oolen c lo th e s W iich had been dyed g r e e n .
S c i e n t i s t s d is c o v e re d t h a t t h i s was n o t tr u e * But now
th e y th in k t h a t t h e r e was a ch em ical i n a c e r t a i n y e llo w
dye, t h a t did k i l l c l o t h e s moths* T h is chem ical from
th e o ld w iv e s ’ t a l e tu r n e d o u t t o be one o f th e most
im p o rta n t d is c o v e r ie s o f th e w ar. I t s h i s t o r y b e g in s a t
th e B ureau o f Entomology R esearch L a b o r a to r ie s a t
O rlan d o , F l o r i d a , back i n November, n i n e t e e n - f o r t y - t w o .
One o f th e m ajor problem s a t t h a t tim e was t o d ev elo p
new m a te r ia l s and m ethods t o p r o t e c t o u r f i g h t i n g f o r c e s
from d is e a s e c a rr y in g i n s e c t s . Now, t h e r e i s n ’t any
g r e a t e x p lo s io n , any b r ig h t f l a s h o f l i g h t , o r a n y th in g
v ery s p e c ta c u la r i n an i n s e c t w a r. But t h e r e ’ s an enemy
w ith a k i l l i n g p o t e n t i a l f a r d e a d l i e r th a n b u l l e t s . The
s c i e n t i s t s a t O rlando w ere t r y i n g t o d e te rm in e th e b e s t
p o s s ib le method o f p r o t e c t i n g th e h e a lth o f our tr o o p s
from th e s e d is e a s e c a r r i e r s . F i n a l l y , from a Sw iss
company, th e y re c e iv e d an unknown m a te r ia l from which
th e y e x t r a c te d two gram s— two th im b le s f u l— o f a sub
s ta n c e t h a t was to be found l a t e r to have o c c u rre d in
127
t h a t y e llo w d y e . One im ag in es th e s c i e n t i s t may have
been a b i t weary a s he la b e le d t h i s l a t e s t newcomer
number o n e -th o u sa n d -o n e -h u n d re d -se v e n • Along w ith th e
h u n d red s o f o th e r c h e m ic a ls , he put th e s e l i t t l e th im b le s
f u l t h r o u ^ h is u s u a l la b o r a to r y a n a ly s is . Then he knew.
A new potŒ it i n s e c t d e s tr o y e r had been found* The i n
fo rm a tio n went im m ed iately t o t h e m i l i t a r y . At f i r s t ,
m a n u fa c tu re rs even made i t i n k e t t l e s , l i k e ap p le b u t t e r ,
i n th e b asem ents of homes, o r i n any way to g e t t h i s new
weapon t o our b a t t l e f r o n t s . And t h e new weapon— T^diich
i s c a l l e d DDT— d id th e j o b .
izè
STORY NUMBER S IX
Joe Thompson i s a new spaper r e p o r t e r . He c a n ’t
say vàxat t h e N orth P ole lo o k s l i k e from th e a i r . He
a c t u a l l y n e v e r got t h e r e . But he can t e l l what i t f e e l s
l i k e t o be f l y i n g w ith a B -tw e n ty -n in e crew on a w ea th er
o b s e r v a tio n m is s io n , h ea d in g t o th e p o l e , and h a v in g a
f i r e s t a r t i n th e c a b in a b o u t t h r e e and a h a l f h o u rs
away from t h e p o l e . T h a t’ s imhat happened t o him . And
h e ’ s h e re to t e l l th e s to r y b ec au se th e A laska A ir Com
mand t r a i n s i t s a irc re w s th o r o u g h ly . And b e c a u se every
crew member i s someone a p e rs o n c o u ld t r u s t h i s l i f e t o .
Jo e d id * And t h a t t r u s t was k e p t . A ll fo u r te e n o f them
a r e b a c k . The m is s io n he fle w was a r e g u l a r l y sc h ed u le d
f l i g h t to th e N orth P ole c a r r i e d on by th e T hree hundred
s i x t y f i f t h W eather R e co n a issa n ce S quadron. T his
squadron f l i e s th e p o le q u ite r e g u l a r l y b e c a u se i t s
assig n m en t i s t h a t o f a f ly in g w eath er s t a t i o n c o v e rin g
a r e a s w here i t would be h a rd t o e s t a b l i s h w e a th e r s t a
t i o n s on th e g ro u n d . The in fo rm a tio n each f l i g h t g e ts
i s q u ic k ly s e n t back f o r u se in A la sk a , C anada, and th e
U n ited S t a t e s . The k in d o f w e a th e r a t th e N orth Pole
f r e q u e n tly a f f e c t s th e k in d o f w e a th e r t h a t shows up
back home a day o r two l a t e r . B -tw e n ty -n in e f l i g h t s to
129
th e p o le a re not jo y rid e s* They’ re c o s t l y and dangerous
m issio n s* J o e ’ s had c e r t a in p ro o f o f th a t* The f i r e
t h a t s t a r t e d in th e p la n e was under c o n tr o l in te n
m inutes* T h is was b eca u se everyon e knew h is job and no
one g o t panicky* The crew was, how ever, prepared to
b a i l out by p arach u te o v er th e A r c tic ic e cap* The A ir
F orce p erso n n el have had enough t r a in in g t o tak e ca re o f
th e o c c a sio n i f th e y ev er do have to h i t th e s i l k o v er
th e A rc tic *
130
STORY NUMBER SEVEN
E ight lu ck y S a in t L ouis k id s have been p ick ed f o r
what th e y th in k i s th e dream jo b o f th e year* They ea t
i c e cream sundaes fo r pay * The k id s are th e b e s t o f some
two hundred S a in t L ou is k id s who answ ered an ad p la ced by
th e B lake Syrup Company* The ad c a lle d on p r o sp e c ts fo r
what th e fim a c a l l s i t s ’’T a ste Jury*” The e ig h t k id s
I
show up on F rid a y s and t a s t e sundaes o f a l l k in d s . They’ re
I
f r e e to p r a is e or blame th e syrup to p p in g s so th e firm can
g e t an id e a what k id s l i k e and d i s l i k e . And th e t a s t e r s
a re p a id s i x t y - f i v e c e n ts an hour fo r th e work. Choosing
the ju ry was no snap* The fir m ’ s o f f i c e was packed w ith
young h o p e fu ls and t h e i r p a r e n ts . The k id s were served
sundaes o f a l l k in d s and asked t o name them so company
ju d g es co u ld r a te t h e ir se n se o f ta s te * I f th e k id s g o t
through e ig h t fla v o r s w ith o u t a m is s , th e y got in th e
f in a ls * I t was odd how many flun k ed * S co r e s claim ed th a tj
w alnut was t o f f e e , o r maybe fudge* There were few l e f t ,
f o r th e f i n a l s * A b ig jug o f c a s to r o i l was put where th e
k id s co u ld se e i t . T his was a rem inder t o c a l l a h a lt i f .
any thought i t was w ise * And l o t s to o k th e h i n t . One k id |
g o t to th e l a s t sundae t o b e t e s t e d . Then he h eld h is
s id e s and groaned th a t i t w asn’t worth i t . Ed B la k e, head
13l"^
o f th e fir m , says th a t c h o ic e s f o r th e ju r y w eren ’t
b ased j u s t on t a s t e s c o r e s . Some o f th e k id s w ere p la in
c u te and c o u ld n ’t be l e f t o u t. But i t was a l l on th e
sq u a r e . Blake lik e d one s n a il g i r l a l o t , but she
w ouldn’t say th a t th e caram el sundae w asn’t p ea ch . He
had t o p a ss th e y o u n g ster u p .
APPENDIX C
T H E STORIES—HI 5 0 .9
133
STORY NUMBER ONE
Ray Smith saw what pow er, u sed f o r e v i l , did to
Europe. He le a r n e d th a t to have power can be bad and t o
u se power can be worse* He saw what our American power
has done to h elp s u f f e r in g p e o p le , and he f e l t humble
b e fo r e th e s i z e o f i t * I t made him w ish th a t wisdom
could be g iv en to a l l p eo p le who have power* He f e l t
str a n g e t o le a v e th e land o f th e h a v e -n o ts and come back
to th e home o f the haves* H is f i r s t n ig h t in New York
he was s u r p r is e d t o se e s t o r e s s e l l i n g c i g a r e t t e s . He
hadn’t bought c ig a r e t t e s in a s to r e f o r fo u r y e a r s . He’ d
im ported them from A m erica. The custom s duty was se v e n ty
c e n ts a p ack . When sh ip m ents were l a t e , h e ’d buy them in
a s t a t i o n a t a d o lla r f i f t y a pack* P o r te r s bought them
from s o ld ie r s fo r e i g h t y - f i v e c e n t s . He’ s been home fo r
some tim e but he s t i l l c a n ’t p a ss c ig a r s t o r e s w ith o u t
w an tin g t o rush in and buy h im s e lf te n ca rto n s a l l a t
o n ce. He had a r e a l t r e a t h i s f i r s t day b ack . He went
to h is h o t e l room, s tr e tc h e d h im s e lf o u t on h i s b ed , and
c a lle d room s e r v ic e . He ord ered an i c e cream so d a . Then
he c a lle d th e v a le t to p r e s s h is s u i t and had th e b e llb o y
buy a l l th e p a p e rs. He had h is sh o es sh in e d , bought
talcu m powder, and g o t h im s e lf a ca rto n o f ra zo r b la d e s .
134 '
He to o k a h ot bath and a sh ow er. Any o f t h e s e sim p le
p le a s u r e s would have tak en him one day t o th r e e weeks to
g e t in Europe. D elays had been e n d le s s . He f e l t m i^ t y
good to b e home. But he c o u ld n ’t fig u r e out Wiy every
American he saw seemed so unhappy. Even tod ay he wonders
i f American men and women know how much power th e y h a v e.
13 5
STORY NUMBER TWO
T h ere’ s a man in France who w ants t o buy h im s e lf
a p a ir o f men’ s b a th in g tru n k s th a t d is s o lv e in w a te r .
The rea so n h is p e c u lia r r e q u e st became known in our
cou n try i s b eca u se o f th e unusual job h eld by a F rench-
born American woman named Suzanne W eatherby. S h e’ s a
s o r t o f fo r e ig n agen t co n n ected w ith f o r e ig n commerce.
Her o f f i c e was an a t t i c u n t i l she saw p o s s i b i l i t i e s o f
tu r n in g i t in t o a p en th ou se apartm ent. The casem ent
windows a re curved a t th e top t o g iv e a m ed iev a l atm os
p h e r e . And th e archway betw een h er l i v i n g room and
d in in g room can be c lo s e d o f f w ith b la c k , c h u r c h lik e
d o o r s. But Suzanne’ s job i s an yth in g but s i n i s t e r .
S h e’ s a fo r e ig n agen t who d oes n o th in g more su b v e r siv e
than b u yin g t i r e s fo r European au tos and sh ip p in g them t o
f o lk s o v e r s e a s . Her unique shopping s e r v ic e i s n e a r ly a
y e a r -a n d -a -h a lf old now and b u s in e s s i s boom ing. S h e’l l
buy a n y th in g fo r p eo p le in a fo r e ig n cou n try who have
money to spend b u t no chance to g e t h ere t o spend i t .
!
Som etim es sh e shops fo r v i s i t i n g Europeans vîtio are in
New York, but f e e l c o m p le te ly l o s t in crow ds. Suzanne
^ and h er s t a f f work a s shopping e s c o r ts or p erso n a l shop
p e rs w orking on t h e ir own. The o r ig in a to r o f t h i s
[ sh op p in g _ s e r v i.c_e„ls_a_woman_whose_ f a t h e r . i s _an . American —
136
s t a f f d e n t is t o f th e American H o s p ita l in P a r is . Her
f o lk s have liv e d in P a ris n e a r ly f o r t y y e a r s . During th e
war Suzanne and h er m other and fa th e r came to th e U nited
S t a t e s . Her m other and f a th e r have gone back now and th e
o n ly d augh ter o f th e fa m ily i s d oing v ery w e ll f o r h e r
s e l f in h er p en th o u se. Suzanne has th r e e women on her
s t a f f who speak a fo r e ig n la n g u a g e. They take tu rn s w ith
th e sh o p p in g . Suzanne h a sn ’t had a v a c a tio n s in c e she
opened h er b u s in e s s .
137
STORY NUMBER THREE
Carl Jones te a c h e s g en era l b io lo g y in a M innesota
h ig h s c h o o l. He b e lie v e s in th e r ig h t o f ev e r y boy and
g i r l in h is c l a s s e s t o make up h is own mind as to th e
v a l i d i t y o f t h e o r ie s o f e v o lu t io n . N e v e r th e le s s , he
f e e l s h i s p u p ils should u nd erstan d what th e th e o r y o f
b io lo g ic a l e v o lu tio n i s . C onseq uently he o u t lin e s a
stu d y u n it f o r than c o v e r in g perhaps e le v e n d a y s . During
t h i s p erio d th r o u # i h is le c t u r e s , through h is c l a s s d is
c u s s io n and r e fe r e n c e c o n s u lt a t io n , he g iv e s them e v i
dence from p a le o n to lo g y , em bryology, com p arative anatomy,
and h y b r id iz a t io n . With h i s c l a s s he exam ines ev id e n c e
from t h e s e fo u r f i e l d s o f know ledge very c r i t i c a l l y . He
p o in ts out d e f i n i t e l y th a t to every man th e ev id e n ce
means som ething d if f e r e n t and th a t p eo p le in te r p r e t s im i
l a r s e t s o f f a c t s in v a r io u s w ays. Jones u se s la n te r n
s l i d e s and e x h ib it s mounted sp ecim ens a s he compares
Darwin’ s t h e o r ie s w ith th e t h e o r ie s o f Lamark. E vidence
i s f i t t e d to g e t h e r , and Jones ends th e u n it w ith a sum
m ary. D isr eg a rd in g h is p erso n a l o p in io n s , h is summary
a tta n p ts to g iv e them th e a v a ila b le rea so n s f o r , and the
re a so n s fo r n o t, a tta c h in g w eig h t to th e t h e o r ie s o f
e v o lu t io n . T his p a r t ic u la r group o f p e o p le , he e x p la in s
1 3 6
t o them , d oes n o t a tta c h v ery much w eigh t t o a th e o ry o f
e v o lu tio n fo r v a rio u s em b ry o lo g ica l r e a s o n s . On th e
o th e r hand, th a t group o f p eo p le a tta c h e s g r e a t w eight
to a th e o ry fo r v a rio u s re a so n s o f t h e ir own. At no
tim e d u rin g th e d is c u s s io n d o es he make c a t e g o r ic a l
sta te m e n ts on one s id e or th e o th e r . When t h e ir u n it i s
co m p leted , every boy and g i r l in J o n es’ s c l a s s may n o t
b e lie v e in t h e v a l i d i t y o f th e th e o ry o f e v o lu tio n , but
a t l e a s t ev ery member o f h is c l a s s knows Wiat th e th eo ry
a c t u a lly means* The man or woman who f o llo w s t h i s te a c h
in g p a tte r n need n ev er fe a r t h a t h i s academ ic freedom
w i l l be taken from him .
STORY N U M BER FOUR
The p ic t u r e o f t h e p eo p le o f a t y p ic a l American
community, b ased upon s t a t i s t i c s d e s c r ib in g them , i s
alm ost d e v a sta tin g * H ere’ s a community (w ith an
anonymous name) o f f o r t y thousand men and women, c a r e
f u l l y s e le c t e d b eca u se o f c h a r a c t e r is t ic s th e y sh a re
w ith th e men and women o f ap p ro x im a tely one hundred f i f t y
o th e r com m unities in America o f r e l a t i v e l y com parable
s iz e * T hese men and women, p red om inan tly n a tiv e -b o r n
men and women, have p a r t ic ip a t e d in ev ery m a te r ia l com
f o r t which in th e l a s t f o r t y y e a r s has become a d is
tin g u is h in g c h a r a c t e r is t ic o f our American c i v i l i z a t i o n *
I t ’ s a community ^ e r e women and g i r l s wear s i l k d r e s s e s
and s t o c k in g s , p eo p le have te le p h o n e s , e l e c t r i c ir o n s ,
and o th e r co n v en ie n c es in t h e ir h o u se s, and two in every
th r e e f a m ilie s own t h e ir own au to m o b iles* H ere’ s a I
community o f p eo p le where b u s in e s s men read c o n sid e r a b ly ;
l e s s than th ey d id f o r t y y e a r s a g o , th e American M agazine
and th e Saturday E vening P o st have from s i x t y to one
hundred tw en ty tim e s a s many p eo p le su b sc r ib in g a s
A t la n t ic M onthly or H arper’ s or New R ep u b lic, and where
a p p r e c ia tio n o f m usic or l i t e r a t u r e i s a lm o st non
e x is t e n t among them . H ere’ s a community o f p e o p le fo r
140
whom money i s p redom inantly t h e ir c r it e r io n o f a man’ s
v a lu e and W iere h is w orth i s ev a lu a ted by h is a b i l i t y
to m a in ta in h is p o s it io n or g e t ahead in th e c o m p e titiv e
p ecu n ia ry race* I t ’ s a p la c e where a b ig o te d , narrow
co n se rv a tism dom inates p e o p le ’ s p o l i t i c a l , s o c i a l , and
econom ic a c t i v i t i e s and in w hich men and women hurry a t
so f e v e r is h a p ace th a t th e y have no tim e l e f t t o con
s id e r th e p u rp oses and m eaning o f t h e ir le a v e s* H ere’ s
a community o f p eo p le dom inated b a s ic a l ly by t h e ir f e a r
o f o ffe n d in g the m a jo r ity , t h e ir n e u r o tic a n x ie ty to run
w ith th e h erd , and d im in ish in g o f t h e ir s p i r i t u a l fo r c e
t o th e g en era l le v e l* M iddletown i s a com nunity o f
p eo p le where every man and woman con form s.
141
STORY NUMBER F IV E
/r h e re ’ s an old w iv e s ’ t a l e th e y used t o t e l l in
m ed ieval Germany w hich had p e o p le b e lie v in g moths
w ouldn’t a tta c k t h e i r w oolen c lo th e s i f th ey had them
dyed g r e e n . R esearch men d isc o v e r e d t h i s w asn’t t r u e .
But now th ey b e lie v e th e r e was a ch em ical in a p a r t ic u la r
y e llo w dye th a t did k i l l c lo th e s m oths. T h is ch em ical
from th e old w iv e s ’ t a l e turned out to be among our most
im portant d is c o v e r ie s o f the war. I t s h is t o r y b eg in s a t
our Bureau o f Entom ology R esearch L aboratory at O rlando,
F lo r id a , back in N ovanber, n in e te e n -f o r t y - tw o . One o f
t h e ir major problem s a t t h a t tim e was f o r them t o d evelop
new m a te r ia ls and m ethods to p r o te c t our f ig h t in g men
from d is e a s e c a r r y in g i n s e c t s . Now, th ey don’t fa c e any
e x p lo s io n s , b r i l l i a n t f la s h e s o f l i g h t , or an yth in g v ery
s p e c ta c u la r in an in s e c t w ar. But t h e y ’ve an enemy w ith
a k i l l i n g p o t e n t ia l f a r d e a d lie r than b u l l e t s . Our men
and women a t Orlando w ere tr y in g ev ery way th ey knew to i
d e te m in e th e b e s t method o f p r o te c tin g th e h e a lth o f our
boys from th e s e d is e a s e c a r r ie r s . F in a lly , from a S w iss
b u sin essm an , th ey r e c e iv e d an unknown m a te r ia l from which '
i
th ey e x tr a c te d two grams— two th im b le s fu l— o f a su b sta n ce
th ey l a t e r found had been p resen t in th a t y e llo w d y e.
142
One can im agine our r e se a r c h man was a l i t t l e weary a s he
la b e le d h is l a t e s t newcomer number o n e-th o u sa n d -o n e-
hundred-seven . Along w ith hundreds o f o th er c h e m ic a ls,
he put th e s e l i t t l e th im b le s fu l through h is u su a l la b o r a
to r y a n a l y s i s . Then he knew. He had found a p o ten t
in s e c t d e s tr o y e r . H is f in d in g s went im m ed iately to our
m ilit a r y men. At f i r s t , m an u factu rers made i t in
k e t t l e s , lik e ap p le b u t t e r , in th e basem ents o f t h e i r
hom es, or in any way to g e t our new weapon t o our f i g h t
in g men . T his new weapon— which th e y c a lle d DDT— d id
th e j o b .
143
STORY NUMBER S IX
Joe Thompson i s a newspaperman* He ca n ’t say
what th e North P ole lo o k s l i k e from th e air* He a c t u a lly
n ev er got th e r e * But he can t e l l h is re a d e rs vdiat i t
f e e l s l i k e t o be f ly in g w ith a B -tw en ty -n in e crew on one
o f t h e ir w eather o b se r v a tio n m is s io n s , h ead ing t o th e
P o le , and h avin g a f i r e s t a r t in the ca b in about th r e e
and a h a l f hours away from th e Pole* T h a t’ s # i a t happen
ed to him* He’ s h ere t o t e l l th e s to r y b eca u se our
A laska A ir Command t r a in s i t s airmen th orou gh ly* And
every crewman i s a man you co u ld t r u s t your l i f e to *
Joe d id . And th a t t r u s t was k e p t. A ll fo u r te e n o f them
a re b ack . The m issio n he fle w was a r e g u la r ly sch ed u led
f l i g h t to th e North P ole flow n by our T hree-hundred-
s ix t y - f i f t h W eather R eco n a issa n ce Squadron* They f l y
th e P ole q u ite r e g u la r ly b eca u se t h e ir a ssig im e n t i s
p r e tty much th a t o f b ein g f ly in g weathermen c o v e r in g
I
a re a s where th e y cou ld n o t e s t a b lis h t h e ir w eather s t a
t io n s on th e ground * The in fo r m a tio n th e y g e t th e y imme
d ia t e l y send back fo r u s e in A la sk a , Canada and th e U nited
S ta te s* The kind o f w eather th ey r e p o r t from th e North
P o le o fte n in flu e n c e s w eather w e’ re g e t t in g back home a
day or two la t e r * The B -tw e n ty -n in e f l i g h t s th ey make to
144
th e P ole are n o t jo y r id e s . They^re c o s t l y , d angerous
m is s io n s . J o e ’ s had c e r ta in p ro o f o f th a t h im s e lf .
They had th e f i r e t h a t s t a r t e d in h i s p lane under c o n tr o l
in ten m in u te s. T h is was la r g e ly b ecau se every man knew
h i s job and no man l o s t h is head. They w ere, h ow ever,
prepared t o b a i l out by p arach u te o v er th e A r c tic i c e
ca p . The A ir F orce crewmen had had s u f f i c i e n t t r a in in g
fo r th en to take c a r e o f th e m se lv e s i f th e y e v e r had t o
b a i l out in th e A r c t ic .
145
STORY NUMBER SEVEN
E i ^ t lu ck y S a in t L ouis k id s have b een chosen f o r
what th e y th in k i s t h e ir dream job o f th e y e a r . They
e a t i c e cream sundaes fo r p a y . These boys and g i r l s are
th e b e s t o f some two hundred S a in t L ouis y o u n g ster s Wio
answered an ad p la c e d by th e Blake Syrup Company. The ad
c a lle d on boys and g i r l s fo r Wiat th e firm c a l l s i t s
"T aste Jury." The e ig h t y o u n g ste r s show up on F rid a y s
and t a s t e sundaes o f a l l k in d s . They’re f r e e t o c r i t i
c i z e or p r a is e Ed B la k e ’ s syrup to p p in g s so h is firm can
g e t an id e a what young p eo p le l i k e and d i s l i k e . B lake
pays them s i x t y - f i v e c e n ts an hour f o r t h e ir w ork.
S e le c t in g th e ju r y w asn’t e a s y . B la k e ’ s o f f i c e was pack
ed w ith young boys and g i r l s and t h e ir moms. The k id s
were serv ed sundaes o f a l l k in d s and asked t o name them
so B la k e ’ s ju d g es co u ld r a te t h e ir se n se o f t a s t e . I f
th e y got through e ig h t f la v o r s w ith ou t a m is s , th ey got
in t o th e f i n a l s . I t was odd how many o f them flu n k ed .
S co re s o f them claim ed w alnut was t o f f e e , o r maybe
fu d g e . Few were l e f t f o r th e f i n a l s . A b ig ju g o f
c a s to r o i l was put Wnere th e y co u ld s e e i t . T h is was t o
remind them t o sto p i f th e y thought i t w is e . They to o k
th e h in t . One boy got t o th e l a s t sundae to be t e s t e d .
14 6 ~ '
Then he h eld h is s id e s and groaned th a t i t w asn’t worth
i t . Ed B la k e, who heads th e fir m , sa y s h is c h o ic e s f o r
th e ju r y w eren ’t based j u s t on t a s t e s c o r e s . Some o f th e
g i r l s w ere p la in c u te and he c o u ld n ’t le a v e them o u t.
But i t was a l l on th e sq u a re. B lake lik e d one sm a ll g i r l
a l o t . But she w ouldn’t say th e caram el sundae wasn’t
p ea ch . He had to p a ss h e r u p .
APPENDIX D
E x h ib it shovd.ng r e w rit e o f S to ry I I
from Hi 30 to HI 5 0 . S tr ik e o u t in d ic a t e s
words d e le te d from HI 30 v e r s io n ( e . g . ,
eem een e). U nderscore in d ic a t e s words
added t o HI 30 v e r s io n ( e . g . , a m an).
ikè
REW RITE O F STO RY I I FR O M HI 30 T O HI 50
T h ere’ s eem eene a man in France who w ants t o buy
h im s e lf a p a ir o f men’ s b a th in g tru n k s th a t d is s o lv e in
w a te r . T h is The reason h is p e c u lia r r e q u est became
known in t h i s our country 5^ b eca u se o f th e etspange
unusual job h e ld by a F rench-bom American woman named
Suzanne W eatherby. S h e’ s a s o r t o f f o r e i g i agent con
n e c te d w ith fo r e ig n commerce. The Her o f f i c e was an
a t t i c u n t i l Suaaane she saw p o s s i b i l i t i e s o f tu r n in g i t
in to a p en th ou se ap artm en t. The casem ent windows are
curved a t th e top to g iv e a m ed ieval atm osphere. And
th e archway betw een th e h er l i v i n g room and d in in g room
can be c lo s e d o f f w ith h eavy, b la c k , ch u rch lik e d o o r s .
But Suzanne’ s job i s an yth in g but s i n i s t e r . S h e’ s a
fo r e ig n agen t who d oes n o th in g more su b v e r siv e than
buying t i r e s fo r fe r e ig R European a u to s and sh ip p in g
them ^ fo lk s o v e r s e a s . The Her unique shopping s e r v ic e
i s n e a r ly a y e a r -a n d -a -h a lf old now and b u s in e s s i s g r e a t
boom ing. S h e’l l buy an yth in g fo r aayeae p eo p le in a
fo r e ig n country who h as have money to spend but h as no
chance to g e t h ere to spend i t . Som etim es she shops fo r
v i s i t i n g Europeans Wio are in New York, but f e e l com
p l e t e l y l o s t in th e e i t y crow ds. Suzanne and h er s t a f f
14 9 :
work e it h e r as shopping e s c o r t s or p er so n a l shoppers
w orking on t h e ir own. The o r ig in a to r o f t h i s fe r e ig n
shopping s e r v ic e i s th e daugh ter e f a woman whose
f a th e r i s an American s t a f f d e n t is t en th e s t a f f o f th e
American H o sp ita l in P a r is . The fa m ily has Her f o lk s
have liv e d in P a r is n e a r ly fo r ty y e a r s . During th e war
Suzanne and h er m other and fa th e r came t o th e U n ited
S t a t e s . But Her m other and f a th e r has have gone back now
and th e o n ly daughter o f the fa m ily i s d oing v ery w e ll
fo r h e r s e lf in th e h er p en th ouse ap artm ent. Suzanne has
th r e e women on h er s t a f f who speak a t le a s t twe a fo r e ig n
la n g u a g e s. They tak e tu rn s w ith th e sh op p in g. Suzanne
h a sn ’t had a v a c a tio n s in c e sh e opened th e h er b u s in e s s .
n
APPENDIX E
LISTENING TEST BOOKLET,
Â N SV /ER SHEET, A N D A N SW ER K EY
151
LISTENING TEST— INSTRUCTIONS
1 . D O N O T OPEN THIS BOOKLET UNTIL TOLD.
2 . D O N O T WRITE, O R M A K E A N Y KIND O F MARKS, O N THIS
BOOKLET.
3* On your copy o f th e ANSW ER SHEET p le a s e w r ite your
name, your c l a s s , e t c . in t he spa c e s a s p ro v id ed .
4 . You a r e about to h ear sev en sh o r t s t o r i e s v ery much
lik e th o s e you m ight h ear on a r a d io n e w sc a s t.
L is te n very c a r e f u lly to t h e s e s t o r i e s .
5# As soon a s each reco rd in g i s ended, th e m achine w i l l
be sto p p ed , and you w i l l be t o ld to tu m th e page
and answ er th e q u e s tio n s .
6 . Each q u e stio n h as f i v e p o s s ib le a n sw ers. Choose th e
answ er CLOSEST T O W H A T W A S SAID IN THE STORY.
7* Then, O N T H E A N SW ER SHEET p la c e a c i r c l e around th e
number o f your answ er o p p o site th e number fo r th e
p roper q u e s tio n . C ir c le o n ly O N E answer fo r each
q u e s ti on.
5 . A fte r you have answ ered a l l th e q u e s tio n s , t u m to
th e n ex t p age, which i s b la n k , and WAIT.
152
STORY NUMBER ONE
1 . The man’ s name i s : 1) Rex Smith 2) Robert Smith
3) Roland Smith 4) R ichard Sm ith 5) R&y S m ith.
2* Mr. Smith retu rn ed from: 1); Europe 2) A sia
3) A u s tr a lia 4) South America 5) A fr ic a .
2 " Mr. Smith r e tu r n e d t o : New York 2) W ashington
3) San F ra n c is c o 4) Los A ngeles 5) New O rle a n s .
4 . The s i z e o f American power abroad made Mr. Smith f e e l :
1) con fu sed 2% humble 3) proud 4) co n ten t
5) amazed.
H is f i r s t day back he w ent: 1) home 2j t o a h o te l
* * 3) to th e P r e ss Club 4) to a r e s o r t to th e
Y.M .C.A.
6 . Mr. Smith had not bought c ig a r e t t e s in a s t o r e fo r :
1) 1 y ea r 2) 2 y e a r s 3) 3 y ea r s 4 4 4 y ea r s
5) 5 y e a r s .
7* He had im p o rted c i g a r e t t e s from: 1) E ngland 2) S pain
3) th e U n ited S t a t e s 4) Turkey 5) E gypt-
5 . Customs duty on im ported c i g a r e t t e s was: 1) 50^ a
pack 2 4 70ÿ a pack 3) 90ÿ a pack 4) $1-20 a pack
5) $1-50 a p ack .
9* When shipm ents o f c ig a r e t t e s w ere l a t e he had to buy
them in : 1) an a l l e y 2) a h o te l 3) a park 4) a
s t a t io n 5) a w areh ou se.
1 0 . S o ld ie r s so ld t h e ir c ig a r e t t e s fo r : 1) 550 a pack
2) 650 a package 3) 750 a package 4L % 0 a package
5) 950 a p ack ag e.
1 1 . Mr. Sm ith has been back fo r: 1) a week 2) a day
3) a month 4) 3 weeks 5) some t im e .
1 2 . R ight a f t e r he s tr e tc h e d out on th e b ed , he ordered:
1) a s p e c ia l e d it io n 2) a tu rk ey sandwich 3) d in n er
4) a ca r to n o f c ig a r e t t e s 5) an i c e cream so d a .
153
13 * A fte r h is f i r s t o r d e r , he c a lle d fo r : 1) th e w a ite r
and v a le t 2)^ th e b e llb o y and room c le r k 3) th e room
c le r k and copy boy 4) th e copy boy and w a ite r
5) th e v a le t and b e llb o y .
1 4 - Mr. Smith bought: 1) h a ir to n ic and mouth wash
ra zo r b la d e s and soap 3) soap and h a ir t o n ic
4) talcu m powder and ra zo r b la d e s 5) mouth wash
and talcum powder.
15 - Mr. Smith had: 1) a b ath and h a ir c u t 2j a bath and
shower 3) a h a ir c u t and show er 4) a m anicure and
h a ir c u t 5) a shower and m an icu re.
154
STORY NUMBER T W O
1 . Someone in France wants t o buy: 1) a p a ir o f b a th in g
trunks 2) a d o u b le -b r e a ste d s u it 3) a s e t o f a i r
p lane lu g g a g e 4) an e l e c t r i c ra zo r 5) used t ir e s *
2 . Suzanne was b om in : 1) th e U n ited S ta t e s but i s a
French c i t i z e n 2) France but i s an American c i t i z e n
3) France and i s a French c i t i z e n 4) th e U nited
S ta te s and i s an American c i t i z e n 5) th e U nited
S ta te s and i s a U nited S t a t e s c it iz e n *
3* Suzanne’ s o f f i c e used to be: 1) an a t t i c 2) a b a se
ment 3) a c a fe 4) a ch a p el 5) a s t o r e .
4* Suzanne’ s o f f i c e i s now: 1) a garage 2) a sm a ll
“ “ house 3) in a department s t o r e 47 in a w arehouse
5) a p en th ou se ap artm ent.
Suzanne i s : 1) an a d v e r tis in g manager 2) a t r a v e l
agent 3) a p r o fe s s io n a l shopper 4) a s e c r e ta r y
57 a n urse
6 .
J t Cl IXU.X o c .
Suzanne’ s b u s in e s s i s now: 1) 3 y e a r s o ld 2) two and
a h a lf y ea r s o ld 3) 1 y ea r o ld 4) 2 y e a r s o ld
5) a y ea r and a h a lf o ld .
7* Suzanne’ s f a th e r i s : 1) a p h y sic ia n 2) a d e n t is t
3) a surgeon 4) a p e d ia tr ic ia n 5) a p s y c h i a t r i s t .
8 . Suzanne’ s fa th e r i s on th e s t a f f o f: 1) th e American
" H o sp ita l in P a ris 2) th e French H o sp ita l in New York
3) the American H o sp ita l in New York 4) th e French
H o sp ita l in P a r is 5) th e French H o sp ita l in B o sto n .
9* Suzanne’ s fa m ily liv e d in : 1) P a r is n e a r ly 30 y ea rs
2) New York n e a r ly 30 y e a r s 3) P a ris n e a r ly 20 y ea r s
4) New York n e a r ly 40 y e a r s 5) P a r is n e a r ly 40 y e a r s .
1 0 . Suzanne came to the U n ited S ta te s : 1) during th e war
2) a y ea r a f t e r th e war 3) a y ea r b e fo r e th e war
4) 3 y e a r s b e fo r e the war 5) 3 y ea r s a f t e r th e war.
155
1 1 . On her s t a f f , Suzanhe h as; 1) 3 o th e r women 2) 5
o th e r women 3) 1 o th e r woman 4) 7 o th e r women
5) 9 o th e r women.
1 2 . Each woman on Suzanne’ s s t a f f ; 1) i s a tr a in e d
p h o n eticia n 2) i s an ex p ert on in te r n a tio n a l law
3) i s a b le t o speak a fo r e ig n language 4) i s a
grad u ate n u rse 5) i s lic e n s e d t o carry a gun.
13 * S in c e she opened h er b u s in e s s , Suzanne: 1) h a sn ’t
bought any t i r e s 2) h a sn ’t made a p r o f it 3) h a sn ’t
had a v a c a tio n 4) h a sn ’t been in New York 5) h a sn ’t
been asked to buy b a th in g tr u n k s .
1 4 . Suzanne i s : 1) one o f 5 d augh ters 2) one o f 4
d au gh ters 3) one o f 2 d au gh ters 4) one o f 3
d a u ^ t e r s 5) an o n ly d a u g h ter.
15 * Suzanne’ s m other: 1) i s s t i l l in New York 2) went
back to P a r is b e fo r e th e war 3 ) went back t o P a ris
a f t e r th e war 4) n ev er l e f t P a ris 5) d ie d .
156
STORY NUM BER THREE
1 . Jones te a c h e s a co u rse in : 1) p sych ology 2) zo o lo g y
3) botan y 4) p h y sio lo g y 5) b io lo g y .
2 . Jones te a c h e s in : 1) M innesota 2) W iscon sin
3) M ichigan 4) Iowa 5) In d ia n a .
2# Jones te a c h e s in a: 1) u n iv e r s it y 2) grade sc h o o l
3) c o l le g e 4) high sc h o o l 5) tra d e s c h o o l.
4# He la y s out a u n it o f work co v e r in g perhaps: 1) 7 days
2) 9 days 3) H days 4) 13 days 5) 15 d a y s.
J o n es’ te a c h in g methods in c lu d e : 1) f i e l d t r ip s and
s l i d e s 2) le c t u r e s and term p r o j e c t s 3) te r n
p r o je c ts and f i e l d t r i p s 4) le c t u r e s and c la s s
d is c u s s io n 5) s l i d e s and v i s i t i n g l e c t u r e r s .
6* In e x p lo r in g t h e th e o ry o f b io lo g ic a l e v o lu tio n ,
Jones b r in g s in th e ev id en ce o f: 1) etym ology
2) h ydrology 3) p sych ology 4) p a le o n to lo g y
5) e th n o lo g y .
7* Jones p o in ts out to th e c l a s s , th a t t o ev ery man th e
ev id en ce: 1) means th a t th e th e o r y o f e v o lu tio n i s
f a l s e 2) means th e same th in g 3 ) means th a t th e
th e o ry o f e v o lu tio n i s tr u e 4) means som ething d i f
f e r e n t 5) i s m o stly m e a n in g le ss.
8 . Jones shows; 1) la n te r n s l i d e s and mounted sp ecim ens
2) 40 f la s h ca rd s 3) m icr o film and l i v e specim ens
4) m ovies 5) anim ated m o d els.
9* Jones compares th e t h e o r ie s o f: 1) Darwin and
Graumont 2) Darwin and P a ssy 3) Lamarck and Passy
4) P assy and Graumont 5) Darwin and Lamarck.
1 0 . The stu d y u n it ends w ith : 1) a f i e l d t r i p 2) a
summary 3) a le c t u r e by an o u ts id e ex p ert 4) a
d eb ate 5) a m otion p ic t u r e .
157
1 1 . During th e d is c u s s io n o f b i o lo g ic a l e v o lu t io n , Jones
n e v e r : 1) g iv e s ev id en ce a g a in s t a th eo ry 2) makes
a c a t e g o r ic a l s t a t orient 3) summarizes th e argum ents
fo r a th e o ry 4) le a v e s out h i s p e r so n a l o p in io n s
5) p r e s e n ts v is u a l su p p o r t.
12 # The name o f th e in s t r u c t o r i s : 1) Jean Jones
2) Robert Jones 3) Kenneth Jones 4) C arl Jones
5) Marvi n Jone s •
13 ♦ W ith h i s c l a s s , he exam ines th e ev id en ce from:
1) 6 f i e l d s o f knowledge 2) 2 f i e l d s o f know ledge
3) 4 f i e l d s o f know ledge 4) ^ f i e l d s o f knowledge
5) 10 f i e l d s o f know ledge.
1 4 * When th e u n it i s com p leted , ev ery stu d en t in th e
c la s s : 1) sh o u ld understand and b e lie v e in th e th e o ry
o f e v o lu tio n 2) may b e lie v e in th e th eo ry o f e v o lu
t i o n and sh ou ld understand i t 3) may understand th e
th eo ry and sh ould b e lie v e in i t 4) must understand
and b e lie v e in i t 5) need n e it h e r b e lie v e nor under
stand th e t h e o r ie s o f e v o lu tio n .
15 * T h is method o f te a c h in g : 1) endangers r e lig io u s
freedom 2) red u ces n e g a tiv e in d u c tio n 3) e lim in a te s
human e r r o r s 4) d oes not a llo w independent th in k in g
5) p r o te c ts academ ic freedom .
158
s io R Y NUM BER FOUR
1 . The p o p u la tio n o f t h is t y p ic a l American community is ;
1 ) 4 0,000 2 ) 22,000 3 ) 68,000 4 ) 120,000
5 ) 1 3 0 , 0 0 0 -
2 . The town s tu d ie d was ch osen b eca u se o f c h a r a c t e r is t ic s
i t sh a res w ith about: 1) 500 o th e r com m unities o f
about th e same s i z e 2) 150 o th er com m unities o f about
th e same s i z e 3) 250 o th e r com m unities o f about th e
same s i z e 4) 750 o th e r s 5) 1 ,0 0 0 o t h e r s .
2* The men and women o f t h i s town are: 1) p red om inan tly
n a tiv e -b o r n 2) r e l a t i v e l y poor 3) m o stly fo r e ig n -
b o m 4) la r g e ly of A m erica n -Irish d escen t
5) A m erican-Scandanavian d e s c e n t.
4* In t h is town a u to m o b iles a re owned by: 1) two ou t o f
th r e e f a m ilie s 2) 3 out o f 4 f a m ilie s 3) 1 out o f 2
f a m ilie s 4) 4 out o f 5 f a m ilie s 5) 3 out o f 5
f a m i l i e s .
B u s in e s s -c la s s men o f th e town read: 1) a l i t t l e more
than th e y d id 40 y e a r s ago 2) a l i t t l e l e s s than th e y
did 40 y ea r s ago 3) c o n sid e r a b ly more than th ey d id
40 y e a r s ago 4) c o n sid e r a b ly l e s s than th ey did 40
y ea r s ago 5) about a s much a s th e y did th e n .
6 . The m agazines w hich have th e g r e a te s t number o f su b
s c r ib e r s in th e town a re: 1) Saturday E vening P ost and
H arper’ s 2) American and New Republic" 3) American
and 8aturday Evening P ost 4 / H a rp er^ and New
R ep ub lic 5T Saturday E v a iin g P ost an5 New R epublic «
2 * In t h i s town a p p r e c ia tio n o f m usic and l i t e r a t u r e i s :
1) e s s e n t i a l fo r s o c i a l r e c o g n itio n 2) w e ll-d e v e lo p e d
3) p r a c t ic a lly n o n -e x is te n t 4) co n fin e d m ainly to th e
fa m ily group 5) c h a r a c t e r is t ic o f th e community.
8 . The c r it e r i o n o f a man’ s v a lu e in t h i s community i s :
1) a r t i s t i c a p p r e c ia tio n 2) a n c e str y 3) earning
power 4) i n t e g r i t y 5) e d u c a tio n .
159
9* S o c ia l, p o l i t i c a l and econom ic a c t i v i t i e s a r e
governed by: 1) m oderate lib e r a lis m 2) m oderate
co n serv a tism 3) narrow co n serv a tism 4) broad
lib e r a lis m 5) a m id d le -o f-th e -r o a d a t t i t u d e .
1 0 . The p eop le examined a r e , in r e la t io n t o o th er U .S .
com m unities: 1) much p oorer 2) much r ic h e r
3) somewhat p o o rer 4) t y p ic a l 5) somewhat r ic h e r .
1 1 . The pace o f l i f e in t h i s community i s : 1) somewhat
h u r ried 2) n e it h e r h u rried nor l e i s u r e l y 3) somewhat
l e i s u r e l y 4) v ery l e i s u r e l y 5) v ery h u r r ie d .
1 2 . The p eop le o f t h i s town are dom inated by a f e a r o f:
1) God 2) la b o r tr o u b le 3) w idespread p o l i t i c a l
co rru p tio n 4) econom ic c o n tr o l 5l o ffe n d in g a g a in s t
th e m a jo r ity .
1 3 . These p eo p le e x h ib it a n ervou s a n x ie ty to : 1) be good
2) be i n d i v i d u a l i s t i c 3) a t t a in i n t e l l e c t u a l
s u p e r io r ity 4) g e t back t o th e s o i l 5) run w ith
th e h erd .
1 4 * The town shows a d im in ish in g o f: 1) s p ir i t u a l fo r c e
2) bank c le a r a n c e s 3) b ir t h s p er thousand p o p u la tio n
4) m a te r ia l com forts 5) in d u s t r ia l a c t i v i t y .
1 5 . The name o f th e town i s : 1) Mason C ity 2) M iddletown
3) B u rlin g to n 4) Lannisburg 5) C e n t e r v ille .
160
STORY NUM BER FIVE
1 . An old t a l e had p eo p le b e lie v in g th a t moths would n ot
a tta c k w oolen c lo th e s th a t had been dyed: 1) y e llo w
2) b lu e 3) green 4) red 5) p u rp le*
2» T h is o ld t a l e o r i g i n a t e d in : 1) S w itz e rla n d 2) F ra n c e
3) Belgium 4) Germany 5) H o lla n d .
3* D D T was d evelop ed a t a government la b o r a to r y in :
1 ), F lo r id a 2) C a lifo r n ia 3) T enn essee 4) Texas
5) W ashington.
4# U n ite d S t a t e s r e s e a r c h e r s d is c o v e re d DDT in th e month
o f: 1) Ja n u a ry 2) S e p to n b e r 3) O c to b e r
4) December 5) Novem ber.
^ . The la b o r a to r y # i e r e DDT was d e v e lo p e d was t h e :
“* 1) Bureau o f P lan t R esearch L aboratory 2) Department
o f A g r ic u ltu r e R esearch L aboratory 3) Bureau o f
Standards R esearch L aboratory 4) Bureau o f
Entomology R esearch L aboratory 5) Army R esearch
L a b o ra to ry •
6 . DDT was d is c o v e re d by U n ite d S ta te s r e s e a r c h e r s in :
" 1) 1940 2) 1943 3) 1941 4) 1944 5) 1 9 4 2 .
7* DD T was d isc o v e re d in a su b sta n ce th a t was r e c e iv e d
from a company in : 1) H olland 2) France 3) Belgium
4) S w itz er la n d 5) Luxembourg.
8 . The su b sta n ce r e c e iv e d from Europe was t e s t e d alon g
w ith : 1) d ozen s o f o th e r s 2) hundreds o f o th e rs
3) th ou san ds o f o th e r s 4) hundreds o f thousands o f
o th e r s 5) m illio n s o f o t h e r s .
9 . DDT was d isco v e r e d in a su b sta n ce th a t had occurred
in a m ed ieval: 1) green dye 2) y e llo w dye 3) red
dye 4) b lu e dye 5) purple d y e .
1 0 . From th e unknown m a te r ia l r e c e iv e d from Europe, the
U nited S ta te s r e se a r c h e r s e x tr a c te d a new su b sta n ce
in th e amount o f: 1) two pounds 2) two grams
3 ) two ounces 4 ) two p in t s 5) two l i t e r s .
161
1 1 . The unknown m a te r ia l was la b e le d number: 1) 556
~ 2) 1 ,1 0 7 3) 2 ,1 0 7 4) 193 5) 1 ,0 0 0 .
1 2 . In fo rm a tio n o f th e d isc o v e r y went im m ed iately to :
1) th e P r e sid en t 2) th e O .W .I. 3) th e O .D.T.
4) th e m ilit a r y 5) th e F .B .I .
1 3 . At f i r s t m anu factu rers even made DDT in : 1) pans
2) s t i l l s 3) k itc h e n ovens 4) k e t t l e s 5) b a r r e ls .
1 4 * D ise a se c a r r y in g in s e c t s are a m ilit a r y enemy:
1) about a s dangerous as combat 2) o n ly a l i t t l e
l e s s dangerous than combat 3) f a r more dangerous
than combat 4) a l i t t l e more dangerous than combat
5) f a r l e s s dangerous than com bat.
15 * The s c i e n t i s t put th e unknown su b sta n ce through:
1) u su a l la b o r a to r y a n a ly s is 2) s p e c ia l a n a ly s is
3) sp ec tr o g ra p h ic a n a ly s is 4) cu rso ry a n a ly s is
5) in te r m e d ia te a n a ly s is .
162
STORY NUM BER SIX
1 . The name o f the newspaperman i s : 1) Joe Wershba
" 2) Joe Baker 3) Joe Turner 4) Joe Bab son
5) Joe Thompson-
2 . He went : 1) p art o f the way t o th e N orth P ole
2) a l l th e way to th e North P o le 3) none o f th e way
to th e North P o le 4) a l l th e way to G reenland
5) a c r o ss the p o le to I c e la n d .
He fle w in a: 1) B-25 2) B-36 3) B-24 4) B-17
5) B -2 9 .
The number o f
1 ) 14 2 ) 1 0
men in th e p la n e , in c lu d in g J o e, was
3) 12 4) 16 5) 8 .
2 * The f l i g h t was fo r th e purpose o f d oin g: 1) ground
re c o n n a issa n c e 2) a e r ia l mapping 3) w eather
o b se r v a tio n 4) hydrographic su rv ey s 5) ic e b e r g
s p o t t in g .
6 . A f i r e s ta r te d v*ien th e plane was: 1) 1 1 /2 hours
from th e P o le 2) 3 l / 2 hours from th e P ole 3) 4
hours from th e P ole 4) 2 hours from th e P ole
5) 2 1 / 2 hours from th e P o le .
7 . The f i r e s ta r te d in the : 1) t a i l 2) wing 3) engine
4 ) ca b in 5) bomb-bay.
8 . The a ir crew was tr a in e d by th e : 1) A r c tic D efen se
Command 2) O peration Snowshoe 3) 2nd A ir F orce
4) A laska A ir Command 5) 2nd A irborne D iv is io n .
9* Joe fle w w ith an a ir cre w o f th e : 1) 365th Weather
R eco n n a issa n ce Squadron 2) 100th W eather R econn ais
sa n ce Squadron 3) 2 2 1 st W eather R econ n aissan ce
Squadron 4 ) 453rd W eather R econ n aissan ce Squadron
5 ) 766th Weather R econ n aissan ce Squadron.
1 0 . This squadron f l i e s to the P o le: 1) ev ery Thursday
2) o n ly r a r e ly 3) o n ly on s p e c ia l assignm en t
4) when storm s are coming 3) q u ite r e g u la r ly .
163
1 1 . The in fo rm a tio n th ey send back i s used in : 1) Canada
and th e U nited S ta t e s 2) A laska and th e U nited S ta te s
3) A la sk a , Canada, and th e U nited S ta t e s 4) A la sk a ,
Canada, the U nited S t a t e s , and M exico 5) England and
th e U nited S t a t e s .
1 2 . The kind o f w eather th e y rep o rt from th e North P ole
o fte n a f f e c t s th e kind o f w eather in th e U nited S ta te s:
1) an hour o r two l a t e r 2) a month l a t e r 3) two
weeks l a t e r 4) a day or two l a t e r 5) a week l a t e r .
13 . The onergency in th e p lane was under c o n tr o l in :
1) f i v e m in u tes 2) 10 m inu tes 3) f i f t e e n m inutes
4) 35 seconds 5) 25 se c o n d s.
1 4 * The a ir c re w was fo rc e d t o : 1) b a il ou t 2) c r a sh -la n d
3) put out a f i r e 4) dump t h e i r bombs 5) lan d on
th e ic e - c a p .
1 5 . The crew had e n o u ^ tr a in in g to : 1) land on th e
A r c tic ic e -c a p 2 ) f i r e a ro c k e t 3) h i t th e s i l k
4) b u ild ig lo o s 5) prepare a w alrus as fo o d .
164
STORY NUM BER SEVEN
1 . The number o f c h ild r e n ch osen fo r th e job was:
1) 4 2) 8 3) 6 4) 12 5) 1 0 .
2 . The c h ild r e n l i v e in : 1) M in n ea p o lis 2) Los A ngeles
3) S t . L ouis 4) I n d ia n a p o lis 5) New O rlea n s.
3* They were chosen from a group o f a p p lic a n ts o f about:
1 ) 100 2 ) 200 3 ) 300 4 ) 400 5 ) 5 0 0 .
4* The c h ild r e n were h ir e d by th e : 1) Acme Topping
Company 2) M illa r d I c e Cream Company 3) B lake
Svrup Company 4) D ennison Soda F ountain Company
F o ste r F reeze Company.
_5* They were h ir e d t o : 1) t e s t sundaes 2) p ose fo r
a d v e r tis in g p ic t u r e s 3) t e s t sod as 4) e a t i c e
cream 5) t e s t i c e cream c o n e s .
6 . They work o n ly on: 1) Thursdays 2) Sundays
3) Saturdays 4) F rid a y s 5) Mondays.
7* The c h ild r e n are p a id : 1) 200 an hour 2) 650 per hour
3) 400 p er hour 4) 750 p er hour 5) n o th in g .
8 . The number o f f la v o r s th a t th e a p p lic a n ts had to name
c o r r e c t ly to g e t in to th e f i n a l s was: 1) 12 2) 4
3) 16 4) 20 5) 8 .
9* P laced v h ere th e k id s cou ld se e i t was a jug o f:
1) v in e g a r 2) cod l i v e r o i l 3 ) c h o c o la te syrup
4) c a s to r o i l 5) su lp hu r and m o la s s e s .
1 0 . The spokesman fo r th e company was a man named:
1) Ed B lake 2) B i l l Short 3) D ick Abbott
4) Frank Barlow 5) George W heeler.
1 1 . The lu ck y c h ild r e n were chosen fo r th e job on th e b a s is
o f: 1) t a s t e sc o r e a lo n e 2) c u te n e s s o f th e c h ild
alon e 3) p e r fe c t t a s t e s c o r e and c u te n e ss combined
4) c u te n e s s and f a i r l y good t a s t e sc o re 5) n e a tn e ss
and o r i g i n a l i t y .
165
12 . Many o f t h e c h i ld r e n c o n fu se d w a ln u t w ith : 1) caram el
or fudge 2) t o f f e e or b u tte r s c o tc h 3) fudge or
b u tte r s c o tc h 4) caram el or b u tte r s c o tc h 5) t o f f e e
or fu d g e .
13 * The lu c k y c iiild r e n w ere p ic k e d by : 1) a g ro u p o f
ju d ges 2) v o te o f the p a r en ts 3) u se o f p olygrap hs
4) v o te o f th e c h ild r e n 5) a company r e p r e s e n t a t iv e .
1 4 * The k id s were h ir e d b ecau se th e company wanted to :
1) know what i c e cream c h ild r e n l i k e and d i s l i k e
2) know w hat to p p in g s c h i l d r e n l i k e an d d i s l i k e
3) know ^ a t sod as c h ild r e n l i k e and d i s l i k e
4) know what typ e o f ic e cream cones k id s l i k e and
d i s l i k e 5) know how much i c e cream th e average kid
can e a t .
166
ANSW ER SHEET
( l a s t name/
I f i r s t namej { I n i t . }
( classT i school)
TageT ( la t e of b irth )
( c i r c l e )
(Male Female
STORY #1
1 . 1 2 3 4 5
2 . 1 2 3 4 5
3. 12345
4 . 1 2 3 4 5
5 * 1 2 3 4 5
6 * 1 2 3 4 5
7* 1 2 3 4 5
8 . 1 2 3 4 5
9.1234 5
1 0 . 1 2 3 4 5
2JL. 1 2 3 4 5
1 2 . 1 2 3 4 5
11* 1 2 3 4 5
2 ^ . 1 2 3 4 5
15 . 1 2 3 4 5
STORY #2
1*1 23 4 5
2 . 1 2 3 4 5
3 . 1 2 3 4 5
4* 1 2 3 4 5
i * 1 2 3 4 5
6 . 1 2 3 4 5
7* 1 2 3 4 5
8 . 1 2 3 4 5
9 . 1 2 3 4 5
1 0 . 1 2 3 4 5
1 1 . 1 2 3 4 5
1 ^ . 1 2 3 4 5
13 . 1 2 3 4 5
14 . 1 2 3 4 5
15 . 1 2 3 4 5
167
STORY #3 STORY #4 STORY #5
1 . 1 2 3 4 5 1. 1 2 3 4 5 1. 1 2 3 4 5
2. 1 2 3 4 5 2. 1 2 3 4 5 2 . 1 2 3 4 5
2. 1 2 3 4 5 1. 1 2 3 4 5 2- 1 2 3 4 5
4% . 1 2 3 4 5 4- 1 2 3 4 5 A/ 1 2 3 4 5
5- 1 2 3 4 5 5. 1 2 3 4 5 2- 1 2 3 4 5
6- 1 2 3 4 5 6. 1 2 3 4 5 6. 1 2 3 4 5
7 - 1 2 3 4 5 7 - 1 2 3 4 5 7 - 1 2 3 4 5
8. 1 2 3 4 5 8 - 1 2 3 4 5 8 - 1 2 3 4 5
2 - 1 2 3 4 5 2* 1 2 3 4 5 2 - 1 2 3 4 5
10- 1 2 3 4 5 10- 1 2 3 4 5 10- 1 2 3 4 5
U;- 1 2 3 4 5 11- 1 2 3 4 5 11- 1 2 3 4 5
12- 1 2 3 4 5 12. 1 2 3 4 5 12- 1 2 3 4 5
12- 1 2 3 4 5 12- 1 2 3 4 5 32.- 1 2 3 4 5
3^- 1 2 3 4 5 1 4 - 1 2 3 4 5 1^. 1 2 3 4 5
12- 1 2 3 4 5 12- 1 2 3 4 5 12- 1 2 3 4 5
168
STORY #6 STO RY #7
1 . 1 2
3 4 5 1 . 1 2
3 4 5
2 . 1 2
3 4 5
2 . 1 2
3 4 5
3 .
1 2
3 4 5
i -
1 2
3 4 5
4 .
1 2
3 4 5
4 '
1 2
3 4 5
5-
1 2
3 4 5
1 -
1 2
3 4 5
6 . 1 2
3 4 5 6 . 1 2
3 4 5
7-
1 2
3 4 5
I-
1 2
3 4 5
8 . 1 2
3 4 5
8 . 1 2
3 4 5
9 .
1 2
3 4 5
9-
1 2
3 4 5
1 0 . 1 2
3 4 5
1 2 -
1 2
3 4 5
1 2 . 1 2
3 4 5
11*
1 2
3 4 5
1 2 . 1 2
3 4 5 1 2 . 1 2
3 4 5
1 3 .
1 2
3 4 5
1 3 '
1 2
3 4 5
1 4 .
1 2
3 4 5 1 4 .
1 2
3 4 5
ü-
1 2
3 4 5
il'
1 2
3 4 5
169
ANSW ER- KEY
S to ry One S to ry Two S to ry Three
Q u estio n Answer Q u estion Answer Q u esti on Answer
1 5
1 1 1
5
2 1 2 2 2 1
3 1 3
1
3 4
4 2 4 5 4 3
5 2 5 3 5 4
r 6 4 6 5
6 4
7 3 7
2
7 4
S 2 8 1 S 1
9 4 9 5 9 5
10 4 10 1 10 2
11 5
11 1 11 2
12 5
12
3
12
4
13 5 13 3 13 3
14 4 14 5 14
2
15 2 15 3 15 5
S to ry Four S to ry F iv e S to ry S ix
Q u estio n Answer Q u estion Answer Q u estion Answer
1 1 1
3
1
5
2 2 2
4
2 1
3 1 3
1
3 5
4 1 4 5 4
1
5 4 5 4 5 3
6 3 6 5 6 2
7 3 7 4 7 4
^ 3
8 2 S
4
9 3 9
2
9
1
10 4 10 2 10
5
11 5
11 2 11
3
12 5 12
4
12
4
13 5 13 4 13
2
14 1 14 3 14 3
15 2 15
1
15 3
170
S to ry Seven
Q u e stio n Answer
1 2
2
3
3
2
4 3
5
1
6 4
7
2
ê
5
9 4
10 1
11
3
12
5
13
1
14
2
15
1
APPENDIX F
JUDGES' INSTRUCTIONS
172
FORM B
INSTRUCTIONS: The e x p e rim e n te rs w ould l i k e y o u r o p in io n
on th e e ig h t r e a d in g s you a r e a b o u t to h e a r . Each re a d in g
w i l l b e two m in u te s lo n g . T here w i l l be t e n seco n d s o f
s i l e n c e b etw een each r e a d in g .
You sh o u ld i n d i c a t e y o u r o p in io n on each re a d in g
d u rin g o r im m e d ia te ly a f t e r t h a t r e a d in g .
In th e e n v e lo p e , you w i l l f in d a b o o k le t c o n ta in in g
a r a t i n g s h e e t f o r each r e a d in g — e ig h t s h e e ts in a l l —
l e t t e r e d from A to H.
P le a s e c i r c l e th e num ber in f r o n t o f th e s ta te m e n t
t h a t m ost n e a r ly r e p r e s e n t s y o u r ju d g o n e n t o f th e r e a d in g .
C ir c le o n ly one num ber on each s h e e t .
For i n s t a n c e , i f you f e e l t h a t t h e f i r s t re a d in g i s
somewhat b e t t e r th a n y o u r id e a o f th e re a d in g o f an a v e ra g e
t r a i n e d s p e a k e r , you sh o u ld c i r c l e th e num ber 2 on th e
r a t i n g s h e e t f o r R eading A. The s h e e t would th e n lo o k
l i k e t h i s :
READING A
T h is re a d in g i s —
1 . C le a r ly b e t t e r th a n
2 . Somevdiat b e t t e r th a n
3 . Very much l i k e
4* Someiflhat p o o re r th a n
5* C le a r ly p o o re r th a n
y o u r id e a o f t h e re a d in g o f
an a v e ra g e t r a i n e d s p e a k e r .
APPENDIX G
R A W SCORES, I .Q .'S - , A N D READING
GRADE PLACEMENT DATA
BY CLASSES
( v i d . TABLE V II)
4 ^
ü
( D
" r - )
co
a >
b O
< a î
X
< D
co
cy
•
M
a
I I
T ) ü
c U 0
0 ) r H
çxi P h
r H
0
C O
Raw
( \Z
E ?
0
4 ^
C O
T e st
rr\
&
0
+ 3
C O
S c o re s
-d "
r ?
0
+ 3
co
m
0
co
\0
&
0
■ p
co
17i
r-
r r
0
■ p
co
1 0 1 16 M 111 1 0 .6 12 11 8
9
12 10 12
102
15
F
104 9 - 3 14 13 5 9
11
13
11
103 15
F
143
12 • 4
15 14
10
14
11 10 12
1 0 4 16 M 1 0 0 1 1 .0 12
7 3 9 9
8
9
105 14
F 126 12 .1
7 13 7 3 6 7 13
106 17
M
94
8 .0 11 6 2
7 7 6 ' 8
107 17
M 101
6.7 4
2 1 1 2
7 5
1 0 8 16 M 103 1 0 .8 11 8
4 5
10 11 11
109 15
F 111
13 .4 15 13
11 12 11
1 4 13
110
15
M 112 1 2 .1
14 13
10 6 12
13
11
111 16 F
99
9 .8 10 8
7
8
9 5
12
1 1 2
15
M
94
9 .8
9 7
2
5
12 12 10
113 15
M
105
1 1 .0 1 1 12 8
5 9
1 1 12
1 1 4 15
M 1 2 2 12 .4 12 11 1 1 12
9 9 13
115 15
M 1 28
1 3 - 4
12
13 14
1 0 12
1 4 14
116 16 M
104 9.0
5
8 8
5
10 1 2 11
117 15
M
119
9 * 8
9
12
5 7
1 1
13
10
1 1 8 16 F 1 1 8
9 . 5 1 4
12 10
7
12
1 4 13
119 15
F 111
1 1 .9 1 3 13
12
13
10
13 1 4
120
15
F
1 1 7 9 . 3 13
11
9
10
1 4
11
13
121
1 7
M 111 1 0 .8
13 13 9 13 1 4
10 12
122
15
M
1 25 1 0 .0
4 6 7 6 10 12 12
1 2 3 15
M
1 0 9 1 0 . 8 11
7 9
2 12 10
13
124 1 5
M 121
1 3 . 1 15 13
11
14 1 4 1 4 1 4
12 5 15
F
1 0 9 1 0.3
8 11 8
7
8 11
9
126 16 M 110
9 . 5
10 11
4
10 10 10 11
127 16 M
94
9 .0 11 8 10 8
13 15
12
128 16 M
1 0 4 8 .6
7
8 2
7
11 6 10
129 15
M 106 8 .0 6 7 3
2
3
12
4
130 16 M 112 1 0 .0 11 10 6 7 9
11 12
131 17
F
9 1 7 - 4
10 10 6 6 5 1 3
8
132 16 M
1 0 5
9*0
9 4 5 4
11
1 3 5
133
16 M
9 9 9 . 3
11
1 5 9 9
11 11
14
1 3 4 1 5
F 110
9 . 5
11 10 2 8
5
10 8
13 5 16
M 110
9 . 3
8
1 3
8 8
1 3 1 4
12
1 3 6 1 5
M 121 1 0 .0
1 3 9 7 5
10 12
1 5
137 1 5
F 102 7 . 6 12
3 4 4 9 5
10
1 3 6
1 5
F 108
1 1 . 9 1 4
11
1 3
11 11
1 4 1 4
1 3 9 1 5
M 116 1 0 .6 10
5
8 6 11 12 8
1 4 0
1 4
F
123 1 2 .4 7 6
3 5 6 10 12
175
+ 3
f i
Raw T e st S c o re s
o
< D
*0
Ü i
1 — ! cv c < \ -±
u>
vO O'
•H 0)
0 f? t: t t: f c * f c >
Xi X < y C Ü C Ü 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
b O 0 )
*
Q > iH + 3 + 3 4 J ■ p + 5 p >
CO CO H C C Î P 4 CO CO CO CO CO CO CO
301 16 M
107
9*8 12 8
4 3
10 10 12
302
17
M
91
1 0 .0 10 10
3 6 4 9
11
303
16 F
87 7 .4
10 6 10
7 4 7
10
304 16 F 98 1 1 .0
4
8 8
5
11 12
14
305 16 F 98
9*5
12 12
5 6 10 8 12
306 16 F
119 1 2 .3 15
10 12
13
10 12
13
307 15
F 96 1 1 .6
13
10
5
8
9
8 8
308 16 M 12$
1 0 .6 14
12 6 7 7 9 11
309 15
M 110 12 .6 11
13 7 8 10
13
12
310 16 F
109 1 0 .0
15 13
11 10 11 10
14
311 16 F
103 8 .6 11
7 3 6 5 6 10
312
15
F
113
1 0 .8
7
11 10
6
8 8 10
313 15
F 102
8 .3
11 10 8
6 7
8 12
314 16 F 92 1 0 .3 12
14 5
8
9 13 13
315 17
F 96
9*5
12 6
5 5 7 6 12
316 16 M
109 12.4
11
4
8 10 6 10 11
317 16 F
95 7.3
11
13 3 9
8 10 11
318
15
F 90 9.8
9 13 7 6 10 10
9
319 15
F
117 1 1 .3
8
13
8 8
7
8 12
320 16 M 96 1 0 .6 10
7 6 10
9 13
12
321
15
F
91
7*8 6 6
3 3 7 6 12
322
15
F
125 13 .4 14 13
11 12
14 14 14
323
16 M 96 9*0 12
9
2
7 6 8 10
324 16 M
107 9*0 10 8
3 6 9
12
9
325 16 M 98 1 1 .6 14 15
10
13
11 11
13
326 16 M 111 9 .8
14
10 11 12
14 13 14
327 16 M
107 8 .8 10 10
4 5
11
13 13
328 16 F 100 1 0 .0 11 12
9 7
11 12 12
329 17
M 10$ 9*8 10
3
6
5 6 4 9
330 16 M 96 8 .8
4 5 6
5 5 13 5
331 15
F
135 13 *6 14 15 15 15 13 14 13
332 17
F
87 1 1 .6 6 5
2
5 6 1
4
333 15
F
113 11*3 13 13
10
9
11 11
13
334 16 M 10$ 10.3 10
13
8 11 10
14 14
335 16 F
123 1 0 .8
13
11 11 8 10
14
10
336 15
M
94 12 .4 11
9 9 6 11
7
12
337
16 M
96 10 .3
13
10
4
2 10 8 12
338
15
M
107 1 1 .3
12 6
9 3 6 12 11
339 16 F
114 1 0 .6 5
10 8
7 6 10 12
340
15
M 118 12 .1 11 10 11 12
13 14 13
•p
ü
Q )
•O
* §
C O
Q >
b Q g
0 0
C 3 ?
1 —1
■ g
II
t j ü
c d c d
m iH
Raw T e s t S c o re s
r H (\) rr\ - d "
^ &
0 0 0 0
4 3 +3 4 ^ +3
C O C O C O C O
m
t :
0
-P
co
vO
t
0
•P
C O
176
0
4 ^
co
501
15
M
125 13 .1
12
13
12
9 14 11 11
502 16 M 101
1 1 .9
12 11 10 11
13
11
13
503 16 M
103
1 0 .8 12 8 6 8 8
4
8
504 16 F 98 9 .8 8 8
4 3 7 6 6
505
15
F
109 1 1 .3
11
13
12 11
13
12 12
506 15
F
104 1 0 .8
13 13
8 11
13 9
12
507 16 F 101
9 .3 13
11
9 5
10
9 13
$08 16 F
96 8 .0
5 5 3 4 7 3
8
509 15
M
143 1 2 .9 13 13
12 11
13 15 15
510 16 M
119 13 .4
12 12 8 11
13 14 13
511 15
M
115 1 1 .6
13
12 12
13
10 8
13
512 16 F 102 1 2 .1
13
12
7
10 11 12 12
513
16 M
114 1 2 .6 1 4
11 12
15 13 13
11
514 15
M 110 1 1 .6
13
11 10 10 10
14
12
515 15
F
104 9 .3
11 12
7 6 8
9
11
516 16 F
95 9 .3 9 9 9
10 11 8 8
517 15
F
99
1 0 .0 12
14 9
11 8
13
12
518
15
F
109
8 .8
9 7 3
10 8 8 12
519 16 M
126
1 1 .3 14 13
8 12
13 13
11
$20
15
F 1 1 8
1 1 .9
12
14 9
12 11 12
13
521
15
F
115 8 .6 8 10 6 6 5
11
13
522 16 M
123 12 .4 13
12
7 6 10
13 14
523 15
M 130
1 3 .4
11
9 6 7
12 12
13
524 16 M 100 1 0 .8 11 11
4 9 9
10
9
52$
15
F 106 9 .0 12 12 10 6 12 12
13
526 16 F 100 9 .0
7 7 6 8 8 6 12
527 15
F 122
1 1 .9
12
14 5 9
11 11 8
528
15
F
131 12 .4 13
11
9
8
13 13
12
529 15
F
131 1 2 .9 13 14
10 11 12 10
14
530 16 M
103 7 .8
13
6 7 3 7 13 7
531 16 M
117 1 0 .8
14
10
7 7
8 12
13
532 16 M
95 8 .3 5
8
4 6 4
8 11
533 15
F
97
1 0 .3
9
10
7
11 11 11
14
:534 15
F
124 1 1 .3 13 14
8
7 6 6 12
535 16 F 118
1 2 .4 13 14
12 11 12
13 13
536 16 F
115
1 1 .0 12
15 3 7
11 8 12
537 15
F 121 1 0 .8 8
14
8
7
10 11 11
538 16 M
119
12 .6 10 10
9 13
8 12 11
539 15
F 102
8 .4
11 6 7 3
10 11
9
540 16 F 108 8 .3 6 10 8 8
5
10 12
+ 5
ü
0 )
*o
'§
co
( D
b O
•< -
%
co
cy
M
"g
• ü
T ) ü
C d c d
ü ) f-4
P - i
1 — 1
t :
0
+ 3
co
Raw T est S co res
c \f m
£ ■ E ?
0 0 0
-p p >
co co co
0
•p
co
v O
&
0
P
C O
177
r-
0
p
co
1202
17
M 81 5 .8 8 8
3 4 7 6 7
1203 16 F
84 7 .7
10 11 10
5
10
9 9
1204 15
M
95 9 .3
11 8
9 3
10 8 10
1205 16 F 92 9 .1 13 13
8 8 12
13
12
1206 16 F
86 8 .9
11
13 7 7 5 4
8
1207 15
F
124 1 0 .7 13
11
9
10 12
13 13
1208 16 M 102
7 .1
10 11 2
3 5
11
9
1209 16 F
107 1 1 .8
13 14 9 13 13
8
14
1210 16 M
117 1 3 .2
13 13 7 14
12 11
1 4
1211
16 M 108 1 1 .0
13
12
4 9 13 13
11
■ 1212 16 M 108 8 .8 12 12
4 4
10 12 10
1213
15
F
114 8 .4 9
12
4
8
9
6 11
il2 1 4 15
M 108
1 0 .4
12 12 10
7
11 11
13
1215 15
M 108
1 1 .3 1 4 13 4 6 10 10 12
1216 16 F — — — —
7
10
7 5
8 8 8
1217 16 M 108 7 .8 11 8 6 4
8
7
8
1218
15
F
94 9 . 9
12 11 6 4
8
4
8
1219 15
F
86 6 .6 12 6 8
4
8
5 5
1220 16 F 100
9 . 5 9 14 6 8 8 6 11
1221
15
F 98 8 .6 12
13 5 4 9
11 11
1222
15
M 118
1 1 .5 14 13
10 12
14 14 13
1223 15
M 112
9 . 4
12
9
8
4
10
7
10
1224 15
F 122 1 2 .6
13 14
12
9
11
14 13
1225 16 F
91 1 0 .7 13 13
10 10
9
11 11
1226 15
F
95 8 .6 11 10 8
7 13
8 10
1227 16 F
105 1 2 .3 15 15
11 12
14 15 13
1228
15
F
104 1 0 .0
14
11
7 9
12 10 11
1229 16 F
123
1 0 .8 12
13
8 8 8 6 13
1230
15
M 111 1 0 .3 11 8
5 6 12
13
11
1231 17
M 108 7 .8
7 9 3
8
6 6 10
1232 16
M 98 11 8
9 3
8
14
11
1233 15
M
103 8 .3 12 12
7 5
12
15
12
1234 16 F
104 9 .0 8 10
7 7 7 5 9
1235 16 F
99 1 0 .6 6 12
7 3 7
11 11
1236 15
M
114 1 0 .7
12
13 7
10
15 13
12
1237 16 F 100
7 .3
8
9 4 6
3 3 7
1238
14
M
117 1 2 .5
13
12
7 9
11
4
12
1239 17
M 96 8 .2
7 4
0
4 4 4
1
1240
15
F — — —
7 9 7 3 5 7 4
p
ü
Q )
•O
•§
CO
0 >
%
co
cy
M
g
• ü
T ) 0
c d c d
C D iH
p -,
iH
&
0
P
CO
Raw
cv
t
0
p
co
T e s t
t
0
P
CO
S c o re s
- 4 -
43
CO
v r \
&
0
P
CO
vO
0
4 ^
co
178
t
0
p
co
1301 16 M
95
7 .6 11 9 4 3 7
10
9
1302 16 F 106 1 0 .2 10 11
5 4 4
11 10
1303 16 F 82
7.3
12
15
8
7
12 8
13
1304 16 M
75 5 .7 9 5
1
4 9
8
5
1305 15
F 80 6 .8
9 13 5 6 7 6 11
13 06 16 M 92
6 .9 9 5 4
2 8
5 5
1307 15
M
109
■ * ■ *
12 8 8
4 9
8 12
1308
15
F 109 1 0 .8
14 13 9
12 11 11
15
1309 15
F
99 1 1 .3
11 12 11 11 12
13
11
1310
15
F
124 1 0 .9 13 13 5 5
10 8 11
1311 16 F
97
1 1 .2 12 8
9
12
13 13 9
1312 16 F
91 8 .9
12 11 6
13
11 8 11
1313 16 F 90 8 .8
13
10
4
11 12
14
12
1314 15
M
105 7.4 6 7
1
7 4 4 9
1315 16 M
95
— —
7 7 7 5 5 3
11
1316 17
M
89 7.5
11 2
7 5 6 9 9
1317 16 M 11 14
2 10 12
13 9
1318
17
M
95 7 .1 5 5 4 5
8
9 9
1319 16 M 92
7 .7 14
11
9
8 6 10 11
1320
15
F
109 1 0 .0 11
14
8 6 9 13
10
1321 16 F
103 1 0 .1
13
11
4
2
7 9
12
1322 16 F 110
13 *1 14 15
11 12 12
14 13
1323 16
M
135
1 1 .8
14 15
12 11 12
13
12
1324 16 M —
MM
13
12
7 9 9
8 12
1325 16 F
103 1 1 .1 11
13 4 9
10
9
12
1326 15
F
114 n . 5
10 10 10 10 11
14 13
1327 16 M
99
1 0 .0 11 11
5 6 9
12 10
1328
17
M —
3
8
6 3 3 4 7
1329 16 M 121 1 0 .4 10
13
6 10 10 11 12
1330
15
M 102 1 0 .2 12
13
8 6 11
13 14
1331 16 M
77
6 .8 11 11
3 4
8 10 8
1332 16 F
109 11 .5 15
12 10 12 12 12
14
1333
16 F
105 5 5 6 4 7 7
11
1334 15
F 111 9 .8 10 10 8
7 7 7 13
1335 15
F
105
1 0 .0 12 11 6
13
11
13 13
1336 17
M
103 9 .7
11
9 6 8 12
15
12
1337 16 M
115 12 .3 14
11
4
10 11
13 13
1338
17
M
107 1 1 .7
11 10
9
10
9 14 1 4
1 3 3 9 15
M
94 6 .7 13
12 8
1 4
12
9 1 4
1 3 4 0
15
M 118
1 0 .9 11
1 4
10 12
13 15
11
1 3 4 1 16 F
116 1 1 .2
13 1 4 7 13
12
15 13
p
8
*o
g
co
< D
b O g
co
#
cy
M
lï
T ) ü
C d cd
d) r — 1
P d P u
r — 1
t .
0
P
C O
Raw T est S co res
( \Z rr\ - 4 "
t : t : t :
0 0 0
p p p
C O co co
t :
0
P
co
vO
&
0
co
179
c-
£•
G
P
C O
1501
15
M
_ _ _ _
11 11 10 8 11 10
9
1502
16 F
103 1 0 .8
9
11 6 11
7 9 13
1503 16 F 101 9 . 8
13 9
12
13
10
9
12
1504 16
F 101
9 .1
12 11
4
10 11 12
13
1505 15
F
125 1 3 .4
11
9 14 9 14
12
14
1 5 0 8
15
M 103 8 .1
9 6 4
8 11 12
13
1 5 0 9 16
F 80 8 .8 10
14 6
10
14 9 13
1510 16 F 88
7 .3 9 4 7 7 6
12 10
1 5 1 1 16 F 88 7 .8 6 6
10
4 4 13
12
1512 16 F
107 1 0 .6 12 12 8
9
12 12
13
1513 16 F 102 8 .0 8 10
7 5
8 8 11
1 5 1 4 15
F 111 9 .2
r n m m m m m m m
3 6 8 10 12
1515 16 F 92 7 .6 9 7 5
1
7 6
13
1 5 1 7 15
M
99 8 .3
——
4 5 4 6 11 11
1 519 16
M
109
1 2 .7 12
9 5 7
10 10
14
1520
15
F 90 7 . 8 12
13
8
9 9
11 12
1521
15
F 90 1 0 .7
10
13
11 8 11
9 14
1 522
15
F 101
1 1 .3 13 15 7
12 11
13
12
1523 16 F
107 1 1 .3 15 14 9
8 12 12 12
1526 16 F
91 1 1 .9 9
12
9 5 7
10 12
1527 15
F 106 1 1 .9 13
12
7
10
13 13
12
1 528
15
F
115
1 1 .1 10 10 8 10 12
9 13
1529 15
M
124 13 .2
13 14
8
13
11
14
10
1530
15
M
131 1 3 .4 13 14
8
7 9
11 11
1 531 15
F 122 1 2 .0 12 12
13
12 12
13 15
1 532
15
M
123 1 2 .5
12
14
11 12
13 14 14
1533 16 M
104 8 .9
1 12
5 3
10
14
11
1536
15
M
— ——
15
12 11 11 12
14 13
1537 17
M — ——
5 5 4
2
4 9
8
■ p
u
0 )
•o
co
Si %
co
•
cy
#
M
g
•H 0 )
T J ü
C d c d
0 > iH
0 : : 0-i
1 — 1
E T
0
P
C O
Raw
r
P
(O
T est
cr\
t :
0
p
(O
S c o re s
-d -
£•
0
P
C O
0
P
C O
v O
0
P
C O
180
&
0
p
co
1601 16 M
85 7 .6 12
13 7 7 9 9 9
1602 16 F 92 1 1 .7
12
13 ^ 9
12 11 8 12
1603 15
F 101
9 .9
8 11 6 6 8 12 12
1604 16 F
93
8 .1 12
13 7 5 6
9 14
1605 16 F 111
7 .5
10
9 3
2
6 10 11
1609 15
M 146 13-9 13 7 6 12
9 13 13
1610 16 F
109 9 .5
12 12 10
7 14
12
13
1611 16 F 110
1 1 .3 13
12
7
8
9 9 13
1612
15
F
116 9 .8
14
8
4
8
13
11 12
1613 15
F
107 9 .9
8 10 8
6 9
11 12
1614 16 M
107 7 .3 13 9
0
6 11 11 8
1618
15
M 128 12 .9 12 10
13
10
13
12 12
1619 16 F 108 1 0 .1 10 12 8 10 12
7
11
1620
15
F 108 1 1 .6 11
9 9 5
11 11
13
1621 16 M 110 1 1 .0 8
9 6 6 10 10 10
1622 16 M
— —
1 1 .6
13 14 9 9
8
15 13
1623 16 M 101
8 .3
8 11 8
9 9 14 11
1627 15
M
M M
7 .7
12 10 8
7 9
10 12
1628
15
F
99
1 0 .0
4
8 8 8 8
7
10
1629 16 F
115 1 3 .4 15 13 7 13
11 12
13
1630
15
M
144 1 4 .5 13 13
12
15 14 14 13
1631 15
M
109 1 1 .6 15 13 6 11
13 13
12
1635 16 M 88
7 .4 7
8
3 5 4 4 6
1636 15
F
109 1 1 .1 12
1 4
11
13
12 11
14
1637 16 F
91 6 .3 5
10
5
2
7 6 11
1638
15
M
114 1 2 .3 13
12
4
8 11 12 12
1639 16 M
104 9 . 7 12 10
5 9
11 10 12
p
ü
C D
* o
' §
CO
0 )
bO S
co
cy
M
g
c §
♦H C D
Tj ü
C d c d
C D fH
Oi Ç L ,
rH
t:
0
p
co
Raw
c\î
0
p
co
T e s t
cr\
0
P
CO
S c o re s
-ch
0
P
CO
t:
0
P
co
vO
&
0
P
CO
181
0
p
co
1 9 0 1
15
F
107 11.9 14 14
1 0
U - 1 3 14
12
1902
15
M 120
1 1 .7
12
9 9
12 8
14 15
1903 16 M 101 10 .3 10 10 6 5
10 12 12
1905 15
M
109 1 0 .9
12 12 8
13
10 12
14
1906
15
F 118 1 3 .0
15 13 7 6 6 11 12
1907 16 M. 123 1 0 .9
10
14
11
9 13 15 13
1908
15
M
117
1 2 .1 12 8
4
8
9, 13 14
1909 15
F 102
9 .4
11 10 6 10 11 10
14
1910
14
M
143 13.5
12 10 11 12
9 13 13
1911 16 M 9a
7 .3
10
9 4 7
8 10
7
1912
17
M 111
1 0 .3
11 8
5 7 9 7 13
1913 15
F 111 1 1 .1 11 10 10 6 9 5 13
1914 15
F 100
7 .5
8 11 6 4
10
6 13
1915 15
M
109
12 .6
13
11
7
10
14
12 12
1916 16 M
104 8 .9 13
11
9
8
9
12 8
1919 16 F
97 7 .1
12 10
7 7 6 8 10
1920
14
M
136 13.6 14
12 10
13
11
14 13
1921 16 F
97 9 .7
10 12
7
10
9 13
11
1922
15
F
117 12 .4 11 12 8
13
10
14
12
1923
15
F 110
8 .9
10 12 8 8
7 7
10
1924 15
M
99
1 0 .8
7
12 8 6 6 6 10
1925 16 M
104
9 . a
15
11 10 12
13 15 13
1927 15
M
117
1 1 .1 11 10 11
9
10 11 8
1928
15
M
105 11 .5
11
13 7
10
13
12
14
1929 15
F 101 9 .0
13
10 6 6 10 10 11
1930
15
M
135 1 3 .1 14
11 11
14 13 14 14
1931 15
F 106 9 .2 12
7 7 7 7
10 11
1932 16 M 108
12.3
12 11 10 11
14
11 12
1933 17
M
92 6 .4 7
1 6 1
9 5 4
1934 15
F
103 7 .9
11 11 11 10
7 5 9
1935 15
F 132 13.8
14 14
12
15
10
14 13
1936 16 M 106 9.0
9 9
8 2
9 9
10
1937 16 F 130
12.5
12 10
9 9 9
11 11
193a 15
M
116 1 1 .2
13 13 5
11 10 10 12
1939 15
F
93 7 .5 4
12
5 9
2
7
10
1940 16
M 108
1 1 .3 14 13 9
12
13
11 11
p
ü
< D
•O
g
C O
( D
b Û
X
o >
co
cy
M
g
• ü
X J ü
c d c d
0 r H
o d P u
fH
0
p
co
Raw
C \ 2
ë
p
co
T est
t
0
p
co
S cores
- d "
0
P
C O
ir \
t :
G
P
C O
v O
0
P
C O
1 8 2
&
0
p
co
2001 16 F
94 8*7
11
13 7 6 8
9
10
2002
15
F
99 8 .9
10
9 6 6 6 3 13
2003 15
M
113 10.9 9
8
7
12 11 11 12
2004 16 F
95 7 .6 13 9 7 4 6 7 7
2005 16 F
113
1 2 .2 12 12
7
10 12
7 14
2008 16 M
107 7 .7
12 1 0
5 7 6 11
14
2009 15
F 116 8 .7
11 12 1 0
7
8
9
1 0
2 0 1 0
15
M
105 a.7 14
1 0 6 8 8 12 11
2 0 1 1
17
M
107 a.3 9
1 2 8 10
9
1 2 11
2012
15
M 121 1 2 .3
15
8
5 7 9 9
12
2013 15
M
129
1 1 .1 11
13 6 5
1 1
7
12
2014 15
M 1 1 1
1 0 .9 15
11 6
13
8
13 13
2015 15
M 1 1 1 8 .9 13 14
10 6 12 12 11
2016 15
F 106 1 0 .7
1 0 10
5
10 8 1 2
13
2017 15
F 102
8.3 9
10 6 5 6 11
14
2 0 1 8 16 M 9 a
7 .1 13
11 11 8 8
9 Ur
2019 15
F
109 9 .7 9
8
9
11 6 11
14
2020 16 M 111 1 1 .1
14
11 8 10
9
10 8
2021
1 5
M 1 0 0 1 1 .0
13
11 6 9 9
10
1 4
2 0 2 2
15
F
103 8 .2 1 0
7 5 7 5 6 9
2 0 2 3 1 7
M
M M
6 .4 7 6 6 7
2
5
11
2 024 15
M
95
12.0 1 0 10 2
4
11 1 0 10
2 0 2 5 16 F
103
8 .2
9
11
9 5
8
7
10
2026
1 7
F
94 1 1 .3
8
7 4 5 9 9
12
2 0 2 7 1 5
M —— —
1 4
12 6 11
1 4 13
1 0
2028
15
F
1 0 5 8 .4
12 1 0
5 7
8 1 2
13
2029 15
M
105 8 .6 12 1 0
7 5 7
11
13
2 030
15
M
107
1 0 .0
4 4 6 6 10 11
13
2031 15
M 9 a 9.2 12 10 8
9 7 7 9
2 0 3 2
15
F 112
1 0 .7
12 1 0 12 11
9 14 13
2 0 3 3 16 M
105 9 .5
12
9
8
9 9 9 9
2 0 3 4 15
M
123 9 .3
12 12 6 9 6
12
9
2 0 3 5 15
F
99
7 .0 8 6 6 6 6 9 6
2036 15
M
103 9.3
8
9
8 12
7 9
10
2037 15
M
99
7 .6 1 1
4 6 4 5 5
1 0
2 0 3 a 15
F
93 8 .4
1 0
9 6 10 1 0
9
12
2039 16 F
107 7.7
1 0
7 6 8 8
9/
10
2 0 4 0
17
M 1 1 1 1 0 .8
13 14 9
10 11
14
12

Linked assets

University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Conceptually similar

PDF

An experimental study of audience responses to a play rehearsed with and without a play analysis by a professional psychoanalyst

PDF

A study of realism in the writings of Joel Chandler Harris

PDF

Realism in the fiction of Frances Burney

PDF

An Experimental Study Of Effects Of Interest And Authority Upon Understanding Of Broadcast Information

PDF

Social factors involved in the success or failure of consumer cooperatives in the United States

PDF

A history of the broadcasting of daytime serial dramas in the United States

PDF

Effects of an intervention approach on the medication prescribing behavior of physicians

PDF

An Experimental Study Of The Influence Of Subliminal Cue Words On Audience Responses To A Filmed Speaker'S Sincerity, Effectiveness, And Subject Matter

PDF

An Experimental Application Of 'Cloze' Procedure As A Diagnostic Test Of Listening Comprehension Among Foreign Students

PDF

An Experimental Study Of The Retention And Comprehension Of Poetry Resulting From Silent Reading And From Oral Interpretation

PDF

An experimental study in fluctuations among successive play performances

PDF

A descriptive study of dramatic dialogue in six plays for children by the application of formulas for readability

PDF

An historical study of the Armed Forces Radio Service to 1946

PDF

An Empirical Study Of Self-Feedback During Speech Communication

PDF

An Empirical Study Of The Behavioral Characteristics Of Sincere And Insincere Speakers

PDF

Critical Study Of The Nominating Speeches At The Democratic And Republican National Conventions Of 1960

PDF

The impact of developmental events upon the perception of intergenerational family solidarity

PDF

Studies on the biology of zelleriella (protozoa, Opalinidae)

PDF

Studies on the transport, metabolism and chemistry of iron-sugar chelates

PDF

Studies on the uptake of deoxyribonucleic acid by synchronized mammalian cells in tissue culture

Asset Metadata

Creator Cartier, Francis Arthur, Jr. (author)

Core Title An experimental study of the effect of "human interest" factors on listenability

School Graduate School

Degree Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Conferral Date 1951-06

Tag OAI-PMH Harvest

Advisor Dickens, Milton C. (committee chair), McCoard, William B. (committee member), Nichols, Alan (committee member), Redding, W. Charles (committee member), Travis, Lee S. (committee member)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-oUC11256228

Unique identifier UC11256228

Legacy Identifier DP31977

Document Type Dissertation