relationships between computer usage and computer-related attitudes and behaviors, The

The academic literature suggests that a positive relationship exists between the experience levels with computers and favorable attitudes toward computers. College students with little or no experience with computers more anxiety when required to take a computer literacy course than those students who have had previous computer experience. To be competitive in nearly any business or profession in the future, computer literacy is likely a be one of the essential keys to finding success (Long, 1982; Wesley, Krockover & Hicks, 1985).

So what seems to be needed are some strategies and/or insights that might link computer-related experiences with enhanced students' computer-related experiences with enhanced students' computer-related attitudes. For instance, Arnez and Lee (1990), Chen (1986), Fann, Lynch and Maurranka (1989), and Loyd and Loyd (1989) reported that computer experience has been found to be positively related to attitudes toward, and interest in, computers.

From findings such as these, it seems that computer-related experience could be critically associated with various computer-related attitudes and behaviors. To examine if this is the case, this study sought to determine whether having more computer experience is actually related to (1) less computer anxiety, (2) more computer confidence, (3) greater computer knowledge, and (4) a better liking for computers too.

To determine if those notions were correct, each of the variables cited above was correlated with other variables, such as amount of computer experience, as well as average number of hours of computer usage per week in order to determine how they are related to another.

Method

A total of 157 undergraduate students (55 females & 102 males), in a required computer literacy class at a large midwestern university volunteered to participate in the study. These subjects ranged from 18 to 33 years of age; 75 percent (n=117) were classified as traditional students (less than 24 years of age), while 25 percent (n=40) were classified as non-traditional students (over 23 years old).

All participants completed the Computer Attitude Scale (CAS), developed by Loyd and gressard (1984). The CAS is a highly reliable (Loyd & Loyd, 1985; Pope-Davis & Twing, 1991) 30-item Likert-type instrument that assesses attitudes toward computers and computer usage. The items on the CAS are descriptive of working with and/or learning about computers, and the alternatives associated with each of these items ranges from strongly agree to strongly disagree. The CAS contains three subscales: The "confidence" (one's confidence in his/her ability to use or learn about computers), "anxiety" (anxiety &/or fear of computers), and "liking" (liking of computers or enjoying working with computers).

The alpha reliability coefficient for computer anxiety, computer confidence, computer liking and total score were .90, .91, .92, and .95 respectively. These estimates were closely related to those reported by Loyd & Loyd (1989), Pope-Davis & Twing (1991) and Koohlang (1998). In addition to these subscale scores, students also evaluated their overall knowledge of computers (on a five point scale ranging from "No Knowledge" to "Extremely Knowledgeable").

They also indicated the time span of their computer experience (on a five point scale ranging from "No experience", to "Three plus years experience"), as well as the average number of hours they spend weekly using a computer.

Results

A series of Pearson product-moment correlations were performed on these data A summary of these analysis is presented in Table 1. (Table 1 omitted

Discussion

Analysis of the findings indicate that good things happen as students increase computer experience hours per week spent with a computer. Notably, both of these variables were found to be significantly related with reduced computer anxiety, enhanced computer confidence, greater computer knowledge, and increased liking for computers. Thus, increasing computer experience for students may not be what they might want since many may entertain fears of computers, at least initially. But such experiences seem to benefit students over time, according to the findings of this study.

Of course, these data are correlational in nature, and as such cannot be used to directly infer that computer usage and/or more time on the computer caused these positive computer-related attitudes and behaviors. But the findings that are reported here hint that, that could be the case.

More research is needed, however, to confirm whether a cause/effect relationship exists or if such findings a a function of other variables, e.g., whether or not students voluntarily exposed themselves to the computer or were they required to do so. Do such findings vary across gender groups? Is age of the students affect a positive attitude toward computers? These and other questions should be explored through additional research.

References

Arnez, B.W. & Lee, M. (1990, April). Gender differences in the attitude, interest, and participation of secondary students in computer use. Paper presented at the annual meeting of American Educational Research Association, Boston, MA.

Chen, M. (1986). Gender and computers: The beneficial effects of experience on attitudes. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 2, 265-282.

Fann, G.L., Lynch, D.H. & Maurranka, P. (1988-89). Integrating technology: Attitudes as a determinant of the use of microcomputers. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 17, (4), 307-317.

Koohlang, A.A. (1989). A study of attitudes toward computers: Anxiety, confidence, liking and perception of usefulness. Journal of Research on Computing in Education, 22, (2), 137-150.

Long, J.E. (1982). The Office of 1990: Management. Management World, 1, 11-41.

Loyd, B.H. & Gressard, C. (1984). Reliability and factorial validity of computer attitude scores. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 44, 501-505.

Loyd, B.H. & Loyd, D.E. (1985). The reliability and validity of an instrument for the assessment of computer attitudes. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 45, 903-908.

Loyd, B.H. & Loyd, D.E. (1989, March). Computer attitudes: Differences by gender and amount of computer experience. Paper presented at the annual meeting of American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, LA.

Pope-Davis, D.B. & Twig, J.S. (1991). The effects of age, gender, and experience on measures of attitude regarding computers. Computers in Human Behavior, 7, 333-339.

Wesley, B.E., Korckover, G.H., & Hicks, C.R. (1985). Locus of control and acquisition of computer literacy. Journal of Computer-Based Instruction, 12, 12-16.

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