ISHS 2005

Humorous Cartoons in College Textbooks: Student Perceptions and Learning

Asil Ali Özdoğru and Robert F. McMorris

In this study, the effects of humorous cartoons on graduate students’ perceptions and learning of psychological concepts were investigated by taking sense of humor as a moderator variable. Fifty-five graduate students were given 3 concepts with cartoons and 3 without cartoons to study. Then students were handed survey items including demographic questions, Likert-scale items asking their perceptions about the materials, the Multidimensional Sense of Humor Scale, and 24 multiple-choice test items, 4 per concept, on the given concepts. The self-report data were very supportive of using cartoons in instructional material. Analyses of the test results, however, showed no significant difference in the performance scores of students in humorous and non-humorous concepts. In summary, students reported favorable attitudes for inserting cartoons into reading passages; however there was no apparent effect of humorous cartoons on students’ learning of concepts. Sense of humor was also seen to be an important variable associated with students’ tendency to read cartoons.

Keywords: Humor, sense of humor, cartoons, learning

Citation: Özdoğru, A. A., & McMorris, R. F. (2005, June). Humorous cartoons in college textbooks: Student perceptions and learning. Paper presented at the 17th annual conference of the International Society of Humor Studies, Youngstown, OH.

Jean Piaget Society 2005

The “Hurried Child” in Turkey: After-School Activities and Anxiety in Fourth Graders

Asil Ali Özdoğru, Çağrı Özköse-Bıyık, and Joan Newman

After-school activities play major roles in the development of children and they can vary from unstructured and self-selected ones to programmed and adult-controlled activities. David Elkind (1988) proposed that children are ‘hurried’ throughout their development and expected to excel in many different areas by their parents. In the context of collectivistic Turkish culture, in which respect for elders, protection of youngsters, and obedience are among the primary values, it is important to investigate the prevalence of hurrying among Turkish children who may have less control over their activities. Ninety-eight students from one state (N = 74) and one private elementary school (N = 24) were included in the study. Results indicated that Turkish fourth graders spent more time in self-chosen and highly enjoyable activities than adult-chosen and less enjoyable activities. This study pointed out the importance of children’s control on deciding their own activities, their degree of enjoyment from those activities, and related emotional outcomes.

Keywords: Hurrying, after-school activities, anxiety, Turkish culture

Citation: Özdoğru, A. A., Özköse-Bıyık, Ç., & Newman, J. (2005, June). The “Hurried Child” in Turkey: After-school activities and anxiety in fourth graders. Paper presented at the 35th annual meeting of the Jean Piaget Society, Vancouver, Canada.