Effects of exposure to different achievement criteria on the elaboration of informal questions [Efectos de la exposición a diferentes criterios de logro en la elaboración de preguntas informales]

Abstract

The effect of providing differential information regarding achievement criteria while making informal questions related to everyday life and whose formulation does not require a specialized training was evaluated. Achievement criteria defined as the specification of the requirements an individual must meet or to which he should adjust. Previous studies have indicated the need to evaluate the conditions that allow the development of question-asking skills in different contexts. One of the necessary elements of this task may be the previous specification of the criteria a question must meet (specification of the achievement criteria). The experimental design involved the exposure to different achievement criteria. Participants were 60 students from high school, as well as college undergraduate and graduate students. Results indicated that the groups exposed to the more specific criteria developed a greater number of questions, and these were more relevant to the situation. Undergraduate and graduate students performed more effectively than the high-school ones. Findings are discussed in terms of the implications of being able to pose pertinent questions (in academic contexts).