A question of belonging: Race, social fit, and achievement.

Stigmatization can give rise to belonging uncertainty. In this state, people are sensitive to information diagnostic of the quality of their social connections. Two experiments tested how belonging uncertainty undermines the motivation and achievement of people whose group is negatively characterized in academic settings. In Experiment 1, students were led to believe that they might have few friends in an intellectual domain. Whereas White students were unaffected, Black students (stigmatized in academics) displayed a drop in their sense of belonging and potential. In Experiment 2, an intervention that mitigated doubts about social belonging in college raised the academic achievement (e.g., college grades) of Black students but not of White students. Implications for theories of achievement motivation and intervention are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Enhancing academic achievement in college students through attributional retraining and instruction.

Attributional retraining is a therapeutic method for reinstating psychological control that may be useful for improving students' achievement in the college classroom. After attributional retraining or no training, internal- and external-locus students observed a videotaped lecture presented by either a low- or a high-expressive instructor in a simulated college classroom. One week later they wrote a test on the lecture and on a homework assignment. Attributional retraining improved external, but not internal, students' performance on both the lecture and homework tests. Expressive instruction also enhanced lecture- and homework-related achievement in external students but not in internal students. These results suggest that cognitive factors influencing students' perceived control (e.g., internal/external locus) must be taken into consideration when remedial interventions for academic achievement are developed. The results are interpreted within a social cognition framework. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivational profiles from a self-determination perspective: The quality of motivation matters.

The present research complements extant variable-centered research that focused on the dimensions of autonomous and controlled motivation through adoption of a person-centered approach for identifying motivational profiles. Both in high school students (Study 1) and college students (Study 2), a cluster analysis revealed 4 motivational profiles: a good quality motivation group (i.e., high autonomous, low controlled); a poor quality motivation group (i.e., low autonomous, high controlled); a low quantity motivation group (i.e., low autonomous, low controlled); and a high quantity motivation group (i.e., high autonomous, high controlled). To compare the 4 groups, the authors derived predictions from qualitative and quantitative perspectives on motivation. Findings generally favored the qualitative perspective; compared with the other groups, the good quality motivation group displayed the most optimal learning pattern and scored highest on perceived need-supportive teaching. Theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender differences in motivational pathways to college for middle class African American youths.

Using a sample of predominantly middle-class African American adolescents and parents (N = 424), the authors tested a path model linking parental expectations for children's future educational attainment, youths' motivation during Grade 11, and youths' subsequent on-time postsecondary educational progress. Parents' expectations were positively related to adolescents' educational attainment aspirations, attainment expectations, utility values (i.e., beliefs about the usefulness of education), and perceptions of racial barriers to upward mobility. Relationships between parents' expectations and youths' aspirations and expectations were mediated by youths' perceptions of parents' expectations. For boys, but not girls, Grade 11 educational expectations and utility values each uniquely predicted college attendance 1 year after high school graduation. In addition, boys' perceptions of racial barriers were negatively related to subsequent postsecondary progress through their influence on values. Findings underscore the importance of academic achievement motivation as a developmental resource for African American boys and suggest that boys are especially likely to benefit from interventions promoting positive motivational beliefs. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The age of anxiety? The birth cohort change in anxiety and neuroticism, 1952–1993.

Two meta-analyses find that Americans have shifted toward substantially higher levels of anxiety and neuroticism during recent decades. Both college student (adult) and child samples increased almost a full standard deviation in anxiety between 1952 and 1993 (explaining about 20% of the variance in the trait). The average American child in the 1980s reported more anxiety than child psychiatric patients in the 1950s. Correlations with social indices (e.g., divorce rates, crime rates) suggest that decreases in social connectedness and increases in environmental dangers may be responsible for the rise in anxiety. Economic factors, however, seem to play little role. Birth cohort, as a proxy for broad social trends, may be an important influence on personality development, especially during childhood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age appropriateness and motivation, engagement, and performance in high school: Effects of age within cohort, grade retention, and delayed school entry.

The present study examined the relative salience of age within cohort, grade retention, and delayed school entry (3 dimensions of age appropriateness) in 3,684 high school students' academic motivation, engagement, and performance. Structural equation modeling revealed that after the effects of demographic characteristics and grade retention were taken into account, little significant variance was explained by the linear effects of age within cohort. However, subsequent modeling incorporating nonlinear effects showed that the markedly older-for-cohort students (i.e., over the "standard" 12-month age range for a given cohort) and delayed-entry students (i.e., academic "red shirts") experienced some academic disadvantage in motivation, engagement, and performance while the age-appropriate students (particularly the younger ones) fared best. Over and above demographic and age-within-cohort effects, the effects of grade retention were consistently negative. Taken together, data suggest that there appear to be little or no motivation, engagement, or performance advantages to being markedly older-for-cohort, having delayed-entry status, or being retained in a grade. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evidence for Opioid Involvement in the Regulation of Song Production in Male European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris).

Many social animals vocalize at high rates, suggesting that vocal communication is highly motivated and rewarding. In songbirds, much is known about the neural control of vocal behavior; however, little is known about neurobiological mechanisms regulating the motivation to communicate. This study examined a possible role for opioid neuropeptides in motivation and reward associated with song production in male European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris). Peripheral opioid blockade facilitated male song production. Furthermore, methionine-enkephalin immunolabeled fiber densities within brain regions in which opioids are known to regulate motivation and reward (i.e., the medial preoptic nucleus and ventral tegmental area) related positively to male song production. These data suggest that song production might be regulated by opioid activity within motivation and reward neural systems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Do Psychosocial and Study Skill Factors Predict College Outcomes? A Meta-Analysis.

This study examines the relationship between psychosocial and study skill factors (PSFs) and college outcomes by meta-analyzing 109 studies. On the basis of educational persistence and motivational theory models, the PSFs were categorized into 9 broad constructs: achievement motivation, academic goals, institutional commitment, perceived social support, social involvement, academic self-efficacy, general self-concept, academic-related skills, and contextual influences. Two college outcomes were targeted: performance (cumulative grade point average; GPA) and persistence (retention). Meta-analyses indicate moderate relationships between retention and academic goals, academic self-efficacy, and academic-related skills (ps = .340, .359, and .366, respectively). The best predictors for GPA were academic self-efficacy and achievement motivation (ps = .496 and .303, respectively). Supplementary regression analyses confirmed the incremental contributions of the PSF over and above those of socioeconomic status, standardized achievement, and high school GPA in predicting college outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adolescents' motivation toward the environment: Age-related trends and correlates.

From a self-determination perspective, we attempted to replicate previous findings suggesting that higher autonomous environmental motivation (i.e., acting out of choice and pleasure) is associated with the frequency of environmental behaviours such as recycling, paper reuse, and energy conservation. We also compared students' level of autonomous environmental motivation with their level of autonomous academic motivation. We then examined age effects on autonomous environmental motivation and compared them to age effects on autonomous academic motivation. A total of 200 high school students grouped into 5 age cohorts filled out a questionnaire. Results showed that (1) adolescents' autonomous environmental motivation was associated with more frequent environmental behaviours, (2) autonomous motivation was higher in the environmental than the school domain, and (3) autonomous environmental motivation was higher in older than younger students, whereas autonomous motivation toward school was equivalent across age groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Does a new learning environment come up to students' expectations? A longitudinal study.

School transitions and educational innovations confront students with changes in their learning environment. Though expectations are known to influence perceptions and motivation, which, in turn, influence the effectiveness of any situation, students' expectations for a new learning environment have received little attention. This longitudinal survey, conducted with 1,335 high school students (average age, 15 years), studied students' expectations and subsequent perceptions of 5 characteristics of a new environment (fascinating content, productive learning, student autonomy, interaction, and clarity of goals) and the students' (prospective) dissatisfaction. Results showed that expectations were positively related to later perceptions. Also, high prospective dissatisfaction was related to higher actual dissatisfaction with the environment later on. Investigating expectations and prospective dissatisfaction in relation to student characteristics (i.e., motivational orientations; conceptions of learning; strategies for regulation, information processing, and affective processing) show that motivational problems and fear of failure were risk factors for educational innovations. Furthermore, students' disappointment with the new environment was related to undesirable changes in student characteristics, such as increased fear of failure. The findings stress the importance of preparing students for curricular changes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Smokers’ thoughts and worries: A study using ecological momentary assessment.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to investigate smokers’ thoughts and worries about their smoking behavior. Researchers have sometimes asked smokers to make such self-assessments but typically using retrospective summary judgments. Design: Using ecological momentary assessment, community and student smokers reported five times daily during two separate 1-week intervals. Main Outcome Measures: Smokers reported their thoughts about smoking, worries about smoking, and level of contemplation to quit smoking. Results: Smokers reported thinking negatively about their smoking 26.8% of the time they had a cigarette. The most frequent thoughts reported by smokers related to immediate reinforcement of smoking (e.g., “How I smell like cigarettes”). However, smokers reported more intense worry about thoughts related to health concerns (e.g., “Symptoms I'm having because of smoking”). The occurrence of negative thoughts was significantly and positively related to contemplation about quitting, worry about smoking, and risk perceptions. Finally, self-reported worry intensity was more strongly related to contemplation of quitting than negative thought occurrence. Conclusion: Our results show that thoughts about smoking (i.e., cognitions) and feelings about smoking (i.e., worry) are loosely connected and it is feelings rather than cognitions that are most related to contemplation to quit. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptions of serendipity: Career paths of prominent academic women in counseling psychology.

Consensual qualitative research was used to investigate the impact of chance events on the career choices of prominent academic women in counseling psychology and to examine the contextual factors surrounding the chance events. The results suggest that chance events affected career choices most often by changing women's career paths altogether or by altering their self-concepts. The results also suggest that both internal characteristics (e.g., ability to take risks, self-confidence, etc.) and external factors (e.g., a strong support system, few external barriers, etc.) helped women take advantage of chance opportunities. The implications of integrating the concept of serendipity into our existing understanding of career development is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Latent Motivational Change in an Academic Setting: A 3-Year Longitudinal Study.

This research examined changes in intrinsic and extrinsic motivation during the transition from junior to senior high school as well as the impact of motivational changes on various educational consequences (i.e., dropout intentions, absenteeism, homework frequency, and educational aspirations). A total of 646 participants completed a questionnaire in 8th, 9th, and 10th grade. Using the true intraindividual change modeling technique (R. Steyer, I. Partchev, & M. J. Shanahan, 2000), the authors reached results revealing that students' intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation decreased gradually from 8th to 10th grade. Furthermore, less educational adjustment was observed for students experiencing a decline in external regulation during the transitional year and students experiencing a decline in intrinsic motivation and identified regulation during the year after the transition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perspective taking as a means to overcome motivational barriers in negotiations: When putting oneself into the opponent's shoes helps to walk toward agreements.

Previous negotiation research predominantly focused on psychological factors that lead to suboptimal compromises as opposed to integrative agreements. Few studies systematically analyzed factors that impact the emergence of hurtful partial impasses (i.e., nonagreements on part of the issues). The present research investigates negotiators' egoistic motivation as a determinant for the emergence of partial impasses. In addition, the authors seek to demonstrate that perspective taking serves as a powerful tool to avoid impasses and to overcome egoistic impediments. Specifically, it was predicted that within an integrative context perspective-takers succeed to exchange concessions on low- versus high-preference issues (i.e., logroll), thereby increasing their individual profits without inflicting hurtful losses upon their counterparts. Three studies were conducted to test these predictions. Study 1 reveals that whereas negotiators' egoistic motivation increases the risk of partial impasses, perspective taking alleviates this risk. Study 2 demonstrates that this beneficial effect of a perspective-taking mindset is limited to integrative negotiations and does not emerge in a distributive context, in which negotiators are constrained to achieve selfish goals by inflicting hurtful losses on their counterparts. Study 3 confirms the assumption that in an integrative context egoistic perspective-takers overcome the risk of impasses by means of logrolling. The findings of the present studies are discussed with respect to their contribution to research on negotiations, social motivation, and perspective taking. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Should students have a gap year? Motivation and performance factors relevant to time out after completing school.

Increasingly, school leavers are taking time out from study or formal work after completing high school—often referred to as a “gap year” (involving structured activities such as “volunteer tourism” and unstructured activities such as leisure). Although much opinion exists about the merits—or otherwise—of taking time out after completing school, relatively little research has sought to understand the gap year from a psychoeducational perspective. Harnessing the theories of planned behavior and reasoned action and using structural equation modeling, the author examines the academic factors that predict gap year intentions among 2,502 high school students (Study 1) and the academic profile in respect to gap year participation of 338 students in university or college (Study 2). Findings in Study 1 show that postschool uncertainty and lower levels of academic motivation predict gap year intentions, that lower motivation and lower performance predict postschool uncertainty, and that these effects are significant over and above the effects of demographic (gender, age, ethnicity) covariates. Findings in Study 2 show that gap year participation positively predicts academic motivation and that this effect is significant over and above the effects of demographic covariates. The present investigation centrally positions psychoeducational theorizing in relation to the potential yields of a gap year in resolving problematic motivation and performance profiles that may have precipitated students' postschool uncertainty and interest in taking a year out after completing school. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A multilevel exploration of the influence of teacher efficacy and burnout on response to student problem behavior and school-based service use.

There is an increasing concern about teacher factors, such as burnout or low efficacy, which have been hypothesized to influence student outcomes like achievement or discipline problems. The current study examined how burnout and efficacy relate to student disciplinary actions (e.g., referrals to the principal and suspensions) and referrals for school-based support services (e.g., student support and special education), while adjusting for school-, teacher-, and student-level variables. Data were collected during the fall and spring of a single school year from 491 teachers regarding 9,795 students at 31 elementary schools. Contrary to expectations, having low teacher efficacy in the fall was associated with a reduction in student referrals to the student support team. Also unexpectedly, teachers with high burnout in the fall were less likely to have students who received an out-of-school suspension by the spring. These findings enhance our understanding of the teacher factors that influence student outcomes and may inform the development of screenings and teacher-targeted interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The storm and stress (or calm) of early adolescent self-concepts: Within- and between-subjects variability.

This study uses intraindividual variability and change methods to test theoretical accounts of self-concept and its change across time and context and to test the developmental implications of this variability. The 5-year longitudinal study of 541 youths in a rural Pennsylvania community from 3rd through 7th grade included twice-yearly assessments of self-concept (academic and social), corresponding external evaluations of competence (e.g., teacher-rated academic skills, peer-nominated “likeability”), and multiple measures of youths' overall adjustment. Multiphase growth models replicate previous research, suggesting significant decline in academic self-concept during middle school but modest growth in social self-concept from 3rd through 7th grade. Next, a new contribution is made to the literature by quantifying the amount of within-subject variability (i.e., “lability”) around these linear self-concept trajectories as a between-subjects characteristic. Self-concept lability was found to associate with a general profile of poorer competence and adjustment and to predict poorer academic and social competence at the end of 7th grade above and beyond level of self-concept. Finally, there was substantial evidence that wave-to-wave changes in youths' self-concepts correspond to teacher and peer evaluations of youths' competence, that attention to peer feedback may be particularly strong during middle school, and that these relations may be moderated by between-subjects indicators of youths' general adjustment. Overall, findings highlight the utility of methods sensitive to within-subject variation for clarifying the dynamics of youths' self-system development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Multiple social identities and stereotype threat: Imbalance, accessibility, and working memory.

In 4 experiments, the authors showed that concurrently making positive and negative self-relevant stereotypes available about performance in the same ability domain can eliminate stereotype threat effects. Replicating past work, the authors demonstrated that introducing negative stereotypes about women’s math performance activated participants’ female social identity and hurt their math performance (i.e., stereotype threat) by reducing working memory. Moving beyond past work, it was also demonstrated that concomitantly presenting a positive self-relevant stereotype (e.g., college students are good at math) increased the relative accessibility of females’ college student identity and inhibited their gender identity, eliminating attendant working memory deficits and contingent math performance decrements. Furthermore, subtle manipulations in questions presented in the demographic section of a math test eliminated stereotype threat effects that result from women reporting their gender before completing the test. This work identifies the motivated processes through which people’s social identities became active in situations in which self-relevant stereotypes about a stigmatized group membership and a nonstigmatized group membership were available. In addition, it demonstrates the downstream consequences of this pattern of activation on working memory and performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)