Relationships among vocational interests, gender, previous experience with computers, computer self-efficacy, and math anxiety in predicting computer anxiety
Gelberg, Susan Owre
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/19642
Description
Title
Relationships among vocational interests, gender, previous experience with computers, computer self-efficacy, and math anxiety in predicting computer anxiety
Author(s)
Gelberg, Susan Owre
Issue Date
1990
Doctoral Committee Chair(s)
Harmon, Lenore W.
Department of Study
Education
Discipline
Education
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Education, Educational Psychology
Language
eng
Abstract
This study investigated the relationship between computer anxiety and the following variables: vocational personality type, gender, previous experience with computers, computer self-efficacy, and math anxiety. The Computer Anxiety Scale (COMPAS, Oetting, 1983) was used to assess computer anxiety. Vocational interests were measured by the Vocational Preference Inventory (VPI, Holland, 1985e). A measure was developed to assess previous experience with computers and computer self-efficacy. Math anxiety was assessed through use of Betz's (1978) adaptation of the Math Anxiety Scale, which is a scale from the Mathematics Attitudes Scales developed by Fennema and Sherman (1976).
These measures were administered to 160 university freshmen who were attending summer advance enrollment for General Curriculum in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.
Six stepwise forward entry multiple regressions were used in the analyses. One multiple regression was run for each of six subscales selected from the COMPAS: General Computer Anxiety, Word Processing, Business Operations, Data Entry, Computer Science, and Hand Calculator. Thus, each multiple regression assessed the contribution of each of the predictor variables to the variance of a specific type of computer anxiety. The specific types of computer anxiety related to the following types of computer uses: word processing, business operations, data entry, computer science, and tasks managed by hand calculators. The General Computer Anxiety scale measured global computer anxiety.
Results indicated that several variables were especially predictive of both the general scale of computer anxiety and the subscales of computer anxiety as well. These variables were computer self-efficacy, Holland vocational personality type, and math anxiety. The specific predictors, as well as the predictive strength of each variable, varied for each of the subscales of computer anxiety.
As a result of the findings of this study, suggestions for interventions designed to prevent or reduce the experiencing of computer anxiety were made. In addition, the implications of these findings for the teaching of computer literacy were discussed. Finally, the contributions of this research to future studies on computer anxiety were discussed.
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