Intake, Sound and Achievement

MacMurren (1985) identified the learning style preferences of 173 sixth-grade students from two suburban school districts in northern New Jersey. Forty students who scored either between 20-40 or 60-80 on the Learning Style Inventory were assigned randomly to treatment groups with either Intake or No Intake available. Thus, treatments were either complementary or dissonant from the subjects’ preferences. A standardized reading achievement test and a semantic differential attitude scale were administered to both groups.

The results, using a two-way ANOVA, evidenced that those students in an environment complementary to their preferences for Intake scored significantly higher in achievement (p < .001) than those in one dissonant from their preference. Further, youngsters’ attitudes were significantly higher (p<.003) when they were tested in matched, rather than mismatched, situations.

This study clearly demonstrated the importance of Intake in a testing situation. Providing Intake for those who needed it lead to significantly higher academic achievement and improved attitudes toward the testing situation.

The need for Sound and Intake while learning can be observed by second or third grade, and remains fairly consistent until about sixth grade for many. At that time, the two preferences increase and adolescents tend to speak and play music louder and eat more. For many ninth or tenth graders, these two elements return to their previously “normal” level. Among other students, the need for Sound and Intake while learning remains strong well into adulthood. The need for Quiet while learning increases, and the need for Intake decreases among older adults. Needing Quiet and little or no Intake while learning tends to be an analytic-processing trait, whereas needing Sound and Intake while learning tends to be a global-processing trait (Dunn, Cavanaugh, Eberle, & Zehausern, 1982).