A report on a pilot study of the image of Humanics at Springfield College 1974-1975- Charles Weckwerth and Barbara E. Jensen

Weckwerth, Charles F. · August 1976

This document titled “A Report of a Pilot Study of the Image of Humanics at Springfield College 1974-1975” was written by Charles F. Weckwerth and Barbara E. Jensen. The Preface explains how the idea for the research study emerged based on suggestions from the 1973 Distinguished Professor of Humanics lecture. By the fall of 1974, a plan had been formulated for the research study, and by the summer of 1976 the pilot phase was complete. The authors acknowledge that undertaking this project would have been impossible without the voluntary efforts of more than 200 people. They also state that this Pilot Study was crucial for the second stage of the research process on the Image of Humanics. Weckwerth goes on to list and thank all of the persons to whom the investigators of this research project are indebted. In Chapter one or the Introduction of the study, the history of Humanics and the Humanics Philosophy at Springfield College is defined. Humanics is a word that has a special meaning in the history and philosophy of Springfield College, as well as in the college’s motto of “Spirit, Mind, and Body.” The Oxford English Dictionary defines Humanics as, “the subject or study of human affairs or relations, especially of the human element of a problem or situation as opposed to the mechanical.” Dr. Laurence Locke Doggett, Springfield College’s first full-time president, sought to integrate Humanics into the college’s curriculum. In doing so, he highlighted four key points: the study of man spiritually, physically, and intellectually, as well as the study of sociology. The Humanics curriculum was to include a program of study based on education from the sciences, the arts, and the humanities, with an emphasis on students preparing for services in a selection of professions concerned primarily with human relationships. Therefore, the major purpose of this research study was to devise a method to scientifically measure and record the meaning of the concept of Humanics to the Alumni of Springfield College. The method involved the development of a Semantic Differential Scale for measuring the meaning of the word Humanics. The authors explain the potential use of the instrument to make wiser choice in the selection of Students, Faculty, Administrators, Trustees, and Corporators for the College as well as to further establish a curriculum that provides students with a deeper understanding of Humanics. The chapter ends with the authors stating several hypotheses. Chapters two and three discuss the Semantic Difference Scale. It was developed by Charles E. Osgood as a research technique designed to measure the meaning of words, phrases, or concepts by allowing the respondents to decide how he/she felt the word fell on a scale between bipolar adjective pair listings such as happy-sad, hard-soft, slow-fast, etc. The authors explain that when they adapted the semantic differential technique to their Pilot Study, their purpose was to use it as a process of “Tool-making.” Therefore, when measuring the meaning of Humanics over 50 years, they would be “Cross-Cultural Tool-using.” In developing the Humanics Semantic Differential Scale, 20 concepts were created by the senior investigator. Each of the 20 concepts represented a part of the total idea of Humanics. The first 10 concepts related directly to Humanics as representing general education, and the second 10 were designed to relate to the specific Humanics curriculum emphasis at Springfield College. 22 adjective pairs were selected; 18 from the work of Osgood and the other four were created as new adjective pairs by the senior investigator. The pairs selected by Osgood were: good-bad, ugly- beautiful, dirty-clean, valuable-worthless, kind-cruel, sacred-profane, honest-dishonest, unfair-fair, large-small, weak-strong, shallow-deep, heavy--light, cowardly-brave, wide-narrow, dull-sharp, hot-cold, passive-active, and slow-fast. The four new pairs developed were: people-things, females-males, general education-special education, and a “calling”-a “job”. The authors go on to state that the semantic differential scale as used in this study is found in Appendix B. Chapter four summarizes the sampling procedures used in the Pilot Study. The Semantic Differential Scale was sent to 283 subjects, in which 137 subjects replied, indicating only a 48 percent response rate from the total group surveyed. The total group consisted for four distinct sub-groups of subjects: Trustees, Corporators, Administrators, and Faculty. Each of the four groups had been exposed to the Humanics Philosophy at Springfield College. In chapter five, the data is analysis for the pilot testing of the Humanics Semantic Differential Scale is summarized in the following subsections: 1) Descriptive Analysis, 2) Factor Analysis of 20 x 22 Matrix for the Adjective Pairs, 3) Selecting of the Concepts to be used on the final form, 4) Factor Analysis of the 10 x 10 Matrix for Concepts Selected, 5) Comparisons made with Tests of Significance of Difference of Means for Various Groupings, and 6) Profiles for the Various Groups on Mean Responses for each Adjective Pair. Several tables and figures are used to represent the data found. The end of the chapter lists a summary of the major findings, the conclusion of the study, and recommendations for the next phase of the research investigation. Based off of the summary of findings, the major conclusions listed by the researchers were: 1. Males and females do not differ in their interpretation of the term Humanics. 2. Respondents who graduate from Springfield College with a baccalaureate degree do not differ from those who graduate from other institutions. 3. Various numbers of years of exposure to the Springfield College campus do not appear to have an influence on the interpretation of the term Humanics. 4. Respondents who contribute various amounts of money to the school seem to have similar interpretations of the Humanics concept. 5. Faculty from different divisions on campus have similar ideas concerning the term Humanics, yet some differences were found between the Community Education Division and the Division of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation. 6. Trustees, Corporators, Administrators, and Faculty appear to have a similar interpretation of the term Humanics. The overall conclusion of the study was that the Humanics Semantic Differential Scale indicates construct validity for measuring the conceptual framework of the Humanics Philosophy in general and specifically as applied to Springfield College. The revised scale is capable of detecting similarities and differences in various groups and would appear to be a valid instrument for measuring the meaning of the term Humanics. Recommendations for future research include using the Humanics Semantic Differential Scale to measure the meaning of the term Humanics to the graduates of Springfield College over the last 50 years or more.