REACHING HIGHER LEVELS OF COGNITION USING PUBLICATIONS

Abstract

Publications are used extensively by adult and rural educational organizations, including Extension, to educate people when face-to-face contact is not possible or when adjunct instruction is necessary or useful. Yet, very little research has been conducted regarding the level of cognition that is achieved after reading publications. Using the Newcomb-Trefz Model of Cognition, an experiment was designed to determine the effect of two, four-page publications on Extension clientele’s cognition. Results demonstrated that the subjects learned from Extension publications and achieved higher-levels of cognition. Cognition was not highly correlated with education level. Higher correlations were seen between cognition and education level for the control groups than for treatment groups. With the tremendous amount of information available via the information superhighway, Extension should concentrate on producing media that have an educational edge in enhancing cognition.