Dimensions of job incentives among college students.

Job goals at graduation were described, and 8 selected job incentive statements were ranked by college Ss. Factor analysis of intercorrelations among the ranked incentives yielded 3 factors tentatively identified as: need achievement vs. fear of failure, interest in the job vs. the job as an opportunity for acquiring status, and job autonomy of supervision vs. supervisor dependency. "A content analysis of incentive statements contributed by 29% of the ranking Ss (N = 267) gave three major categories: opportunity to help others, job satisfaction, and job interest and variety." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dimensions of manifest anxiety and their relationship to college achievement.

Investigated the hypothesis regarding the multidimensionality of the MA scale and the relationships between the emerged dimensions and college achievement. The scale was administered to 153 male and 107 female freshman undergraduates using a 5-point response scale. The Pearson product-moment correlations were factor analyzed for males and females separately. Factors common to both sexes are tension-anxiety, personal inadequacy, and agitation. Factors for males are hysteria and psychosomatic fitness. Factors for the females are interpreted to be inner tension and betrayal of inner self. Factor scores were correlated with GPA for 123 males and 90 females. Only the correlation between psychosomatic fitness and grades for males was significant. The multiple correlations between the optimal combination of the 3rd, 4th, and 5th factors and grades were .325 and .263 for males and females, respectively. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dimensions of work satisfaction in the occupational choices of college freshmen.

Intercorrelations among 21 items presumed to cover 3 areas of work satisfaction, based on responses of 200 college freshmen, were subjected to a cluster analysis. 3 independent factors emerged: managerial-aggressive, status-need, and organization-need. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Culture predicts Mexican Americans' college self-efficacy and college performance.

In hopes of promoting college success among Mexican Americans, researchers have identified factors related to their academic performance. A gap in the literature exists between the interactive role of acculturation, enculturation, and generation status in predicting college self-efficacy and college performance (grade-point average, or GPA). To fill this void, this study investigated the relation of demographic variables (e.g., age, gender, socioeconomic status) and cultural variables (e.g., acculturation, enculturation, generation status) on academic outcomes (e.g., college self-efficacy, college performance) among 408 Mexican-American college students. Results of a series of hierarchical regression analyses indicated socioeconomic status, generation status, enculturation, and acculturation had significant positive effects on college self-efficacy; socioeconomic status and the interaction of higher enculturation and first-generation status were positively and significantly related to GPA. Post-hoc analyses indicated college self-efficacy predicted college performance for students who were second generation and beyond. Implications for research and practice are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prediction of college performance in older students.

Asked 543 middle-aged undergraduates (over 35 yrs old), entering or returning to a university, to take a precollege aptitude test battery (Washington Pre-College Test). Of these students, 100 women and 53 men volunteered to take the test but did not differ on any of 9 comparisons from middle-aged nonvolunteers. Compared to university freshmen, median scores for older students were above the 75th percentile for freshmen on vocabulary and spelling and below the 25th freshman percentile on quantitative tests. On the other tests, they were not significantly different from younger students of the same sex. Predicting grades in humanities, social science, natural science, and business, as well as cumulative grades and rate of progress, was best accomplished through multiple prediction using background factors in addition to test scores. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dimensions of foreman performance: A factor analysis of criterion measures.

Data pertaining to the value of measures of foreman performance were subjected to factor analysis. 20 criterion variables, 9 ratings, and 11 objective measures were used with 102 foremen in one plant and 104 in another. "Four meaningful dimensions were identified by factor analyzing the measures separately for each plant. Relevance weights for the dimensions were derived from superintendents' relevance rankings of the 20 variables." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attribution, affect, and college exam performance.

Results of a questionnaire study with 207 college students show that Ss attributed their own performance and the performance of the average student to ability, test difficulty, preparation, and luck. Consistent with the self-serving bias hypothesis, successful Ss perceived internal factors as more important causes and unsuccessful Ss perceived external factors as more important causes of their own performance than the performance of the average student. Furthermore, successful Ss saw internal and stable factors as more important causes of others' outcomes (as well as their own) than did unsuccessful Ss. Ss' anxiety about their performance and their ratings of the course and instructor were systematically, albeit weakly, linked with specific causal attributions. The implications of these causal inferences and affective responses in the educational context are discussed. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Elaborative verbal rehearsals and college students' cognitive performance.

Two experiments were conducted to determine the potential of elaborative verbal rehearsal (EVR) as a learning strategy for high-risk college students. In Exp 1, a correlational inquiry was used to explore the relation between Ss' EVRs and their overall test performance. Sixty-four Ss studied an extended text, prepared an EVR, and then took the test. There were significant correlations between the quality of Ss' EVRs and their overall test performance. In Exp 2, 50 Ss were trained to produce either EVRs or verbatim rehearsals and then took the same test in immediate and delayed conditions. The EVR Ss performed significantly better on almost every variable. EVRs appear to be a powerful learning strategy for high-risk students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Alcohol on campus: alcohol-related emergencies in undergraduate college students

Lithium is used in the prophylaxis of bipolar depressive disorder in augmentation treatment of depression and in the therapy of some cases of unipolar depression. Lithium affects cell function via its inhibitory action on adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) activity, cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP), and intracellular enzymes. The inhibitory effect of lithium on inositol phospholipid metabolism affects signal transduction and may account for part of the action of the cation in manic depression. Lithium also alters the in vitro response of cultured cells to thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) and can stimulate DNA synthesis. Lithium is concentrated by the thyroid and inhibits thyroidal iodine uptake. It also inhibits iodotyrosine coupling, alters thyroglobulin structure, and inhibits thyroid hormone secretion. The latter effect is critical to the development of hypothyroidism and goiter. Effects on brain deiodinase enzymes and alterations in thyroid hormone receptor concentration in the hypothalamus are under investigation in relation to the therapeutic effect of lithium. The ion affects many aspects of cellular and humoral immunity in vitro and in vivo. This accounts for a rise in antithyroid antibody titer in patients having these antibodies before lithium administration whereas there is no induction of thyroid antibody synthesis de novo. Goiter, due to increased thyrotropin (TSH) after inhibition of thyroid hormone release, occurs at various reported incidence rates from 0%-60% and is smooth and nontender. Subclinical and clinical hypothyroidism due to lithium is usually associated with circulating anti-thyroid peroxidase (TPO) antibodies but may occur in their absence. Iodine exposure, dietary goitrogens, and immunogenetic background may all contribute to the occurrence of goiter and hypothyroidism during long-term lithium therapy. It is currently unclear whether the reported association of lithium therapy and hyperthyroidism are causal, although there is suggestive epidemiological evidence. Finally, lithium therapy is associated with exaggerated response of both TSH and prolactin to TRH in 50%-100% of patients, although basal levels are not usually high. It is probable that the hypothalamic pituitary axis adjusts to a new setting in patients receiving lithium.     

Improving the performance of college freshmen with attributional techniques.

Reports 2 replications of the authors' (see record 1982-26799-001) study in which college freshmen were given information suggesting that the causes of low grades are unstable. Compared with a control group, these Ss did better on both short-term and long-term performance measures. The long-term results, however, tended to be weak or open to alternative explanations. In the 1st replication, 39 2nd-semester freshmen with low GPAs who worried about their academic performance were assigned to control or treatment conditions. Ss in the treatment conditions received information that grades are low in the freshman year; some Ss were also told that grades improve thereafter. In the 2nd replication, 41 1st-semester freshmen who worried about their low GPAs received grade information, completed questionnaires, and completed some items from the Graduate Record Examination (GRE). Considered together, these 3 studies found that attributional interventions improved the performance of Ss on both short-term and long-term measures. Presenting Ss with information indicating that the causes of low grades in the 1st yr are temporary led to (a) improvement on sample items from the GRE and (b) increases in actual grades in the semester after the studies were conducted. Results were stronger for males than for females. This may have been due to the fact that females were more likely to find out on their own that the causes of poor grades are unstable. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Using entering reading comprehension performance as a predictor of performance in college classes.

In the reported study, we tested the hypothesis that the comprehension of reading material drawn from a college course could be used to predict learning performance in that course. Students enrolled in an educational psychology course or a business statistics course took at the beginning of the semester comprehension tests that were based on both psychology and statistics texts. The reading comprehension scores were related to examination performance in the courses and to overall college grade point average (GPA). For comparison purposes, Scholastic Aptitude Test scores were related to the same variables. The results revealed that course-relevant reading comprehension performance (i.e., psychology in the psychology course, statistics in the statistics course) was a significant predictor of course performance but not of GPA. The results are discussed in terms of a model of comprehension that contains general and specific factors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dimensions of acculturation: Associations with health risk behaviors among college students from immigrant families.

In the present study, we examined a bidimensional model of acculturation (which includes both heritage and U.S. practices, values, and identifications) in relation to hazardous alcohol use, illicit drug use, unsafe sexual behavior, and impaired driving. A sample of 3,251 first- and second-generation immigrant students from 30 U.S. colleges and universities completed measures of behavioral acculturation; cultural values (individualism, collectivism, and self-construal); ethnic and U.S. identity; and patterns of alcohol and drug use, engagement in potentially unsafe sexual activities, and driving while (or riding with a driver who was) intoxicated. Results indicate that heritage practices and collectivist values were generally protective against health risk behaviors, with collectivist values most strongly and consistently protective. Nonetheless, heritage identifications were positively associated with sexual risk taking for Hispanics. U.S. practices, values, and identifications were not consistently related to risk behavior participation. Results are discussed in terms of bidimensional approaches to acculturation, the immigrant paradox, and implications for counseling practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Academic self-efficacy and first year college student performance and adjustment.

A longitudinal study of 1st-year university student adjustment examined the effects of academic self-efficacy and optimism on students' academic performance, stress, health, and commitment to remain in school. Predictor variables (high school grade-point average, academic self-efficacy, and optimism) and moderator variables (academic expectations and self-perceived coping ability) were measured at the end of the first academic quarter and were related to classroom performance, personal adjustment, stress, and health, measured at the end of the school year. Academic self-efficacy and optimism were strongly related to performance and adjustment, both directly on academic performance and indirectly through expectations and coping perceptions (challenge-threat evaluations) on classroom performance, stress, health, and overall satisfaction and commitment to remain in school. Observed relationships corresponded closely to the hypothesized model. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Improving the academic performance of college freshmen: Attribution therapy revisited.

40 freshmen were given information indicating that on the average, college students improve their grades from the freshman to the upperclass years, and they were shown videotaped interviews of upperclassmen who reported that their GPAs had improved since their freshman year. Ss who received the information, compared to those who did not, (a) were significantly less apt to leave college by the end of the sophomore year, (b) had a significantly greater increase in GPA 1 yr after the study, and (c) performed significantly better on sample items from the Graduate Record Exam. The self-report evidence for the cognitive processes mediating these behavioral changes was weak. A more positive mood was reported only by Ss who performed a reasons analysis (i.e., who were asked to list reasons why their grades might improve). This divergent pattern of behavioral and self-report results is discussed in terms of the hypothesis that the determinants of behavioral results differ from the determinants of self-report results in self-attribution studies. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dimensions of conceptual behavior.

110 clinical psychologists rated 36 Object Sorting Test responses on 2 conceptual dimensions: open-closed and public-private. Results of 2 scaling methods were very similar, but did not agree closely with L. S. McGaughran and L. J. Moran's (31:2) classification of the responses into 4 conceptual areas. The interjudge reliability was much lower than those reported by previous investigators. Direction scores, which reflect the classification of the responses as open or closed, public or private, accounted for much more of the variance of the mean ratings than did extremeness scores, which involve quantification. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dimensions of career indecision.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 37(2) of Journal of Counseling Psychology (see record 2008-10626-001). Editorial error resulted in several misstatements. On page 98, second column, in the 11th line of the second paragraph, the word students ought to read studies; on page 101, in the 9th line, the word Behaviors ought to read Barriers. On page 102, in line 5 of the first paragraph, the reference ought to be to the top left panel of Figure 2. The second paragraph ought to begin with the reference to the top right panel of Figure 2. Also on page 102, the sentence that begins on line 5 of the first paragraph was intended to read, as follows: Two of the groups of girls changed significantly in the expected direction: Group 2 (decided-undecided) significantly increased and Group 3 (undecided-decided) significantly decreased over time.] Recent studies have clarified the factor structure of the Career Decision Scale (CDS), thereby permitting the construction of 4 linearly independent scales to measure dimensions of career indecision. The CDS was administered to 465 junior and senior high school students. The study examined whether the CDS total score and the 4 subscales were related to the students' career decision status, grade level, and gender. Data were collected twice, 6 months apart, to study whether changes in decision status were accompanied by changes in the CDS total score and the 4 subscales and whether these changes differed according to gender or grade level. In addition, a subsample was followed for 3 years to examine long-term change. The results demonstrated the utility of using factor-based subscales to create a typology of career indecision. Many significant differences on the various indecision scales were found to be due to gender and to career decision status but not to grade level. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dimensions of psychological theory.

Examines historical and covariational trends which are independent of time in psychological theory by analyzing rated variables applied to 54 psychological theorists who were rated on the importance of their contributions to psychological theory. For each theorist, ratings from different correspondents were averaged, and a basic score matrix of order 54 * 34 was obtained. Factor-pattern and factor-structure matrices were derived, and a set of factor scores for every theorist was obtained by multiple-regression procedures. The advantages and disadvantages of applying multivariate methods to problems in the history of psychological theory are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dimensions of Folk Psychiatry.

This article presents a social-cognitive model of laypeople's thinking about mental disorder, dubbed "folk psychiatry." The author proposes that there are 4 dimensions along which laypeople conceptualize mental disorders and that these dimensions have distinct cognitive underpinnings. Pathologizing represents the judgment that a form of behavior or experience is abnormal or deviant and reflects availability and simulation heuristics, internal attribution, and reification. Moralizing--the judgment that individuals are morally accountable for their abnormality--reflects a form of intentional explanation grounded in everyday folk psychology. Medicalizing represents the judgment that abnormality has a somatic basis and reflects an essentialist mode of thinking. Psychologizing--ascribing abnormality to psychological dysfunction--reflects an emergent form of mentalistic explanation that is neither essentialist nor intentional. Implications for psychiatric stigma and for cross-cultural variations in understandings of the psychiatric domain are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)