Tips for success when returning to school

Two nurse faculty members who were previously nontraditional students discuss a concrete strategy for the nurse who is returning to school. Tips and suggestions on how to deal with the educational system, how to be a student again, and how to balance work, home, and school are included.     

Leadership opinions as forecasts of supervisory success.

"The Leadership Opinion Questionnaire was administered to supervisors of a firm noted for its emphasis on progressive personnel relations and interest in the welfare of the individual employee. A correlation of .29 was found between the extent to which a supervisor believed he ought to be considerate of his subordinates and the extent to which he was rated a successful supervisor by his superiors two years later. No consistent relation was found between favoring Initiation of Structure and rated success." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-esteem and differential responsiveness to success and failure.

This investigation was based on the contention that high self-esteem persons are generally more responsive to success experience than to failure, while lows show the opposite effects. College students were divided into 4 groups, consisting of high or low self-esteem Ss, receiving success or failure treatments. The hypothesized interaction effect of self-esteem levels and treatments upon a measure of responsiveness, i.e., the degree to which the S attended to some aspects of the experimental condition, was demonstrated beyond the .05 level of significance and was considered supported. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Leadership motive pattern and long-term success in management.

TAT protocols for 237 managers obtained at the managers' entry into the American Telephone and Telegraph Company were retrieved, scored for the personality variables in question, and correlated with the levels of promotion attained after 8 and 16 yrs. As predicted, the leadership motive pattern (moderate–high need (n) for Power, low n-Affiliation, and high Activity Inhibition) was significantly associated with managerial success after 8 and 16 yrs for the nontechnical managers. Among these Ss, n-Achievement was also associated with success, but only at lower levels when individual contributions were more important than the ability to influence people. Measures of maturity were associated with success, but only within subgroups of managers. None of these measures was associated with success for technical managers with engineering responsibilities. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The non-insulin-dependent diabetic: success and failure in compliance

Failure to comply with medical regimes is endemic and is extremely costly both in economic and wellness terms. Adherence failure is explored in this study of 95 non-insulin-dependent-diabetics (NIDDM) subjects. Results indicate that the factors governing failure to adhere are not necessarily the obverse of psychosocial factors correlated with successful adherence to medical regimes. Success in complying to wellness behaviours was a function of positive attitudes and an acceptance of the challenges of the illness, the capacity to utilise family support, and not having negative self esteem. Failure to comply was a function of a syndrome of stress, chronic and transient mental distress. Common to both success and failure in complying were attitudes to health professionals, extent of knowledge about the disease and perceptions of the success or otherwise in overcoming inconvenience and barriers which might impede compliance.     

Profile approach to longitudinal data: Test anxiety and success–failure experience.

89 10–12 yr olds completed the Test Anxiety Scale for Children annually for 3 yrs, and the 3 measurements were transformed into average, linear, and quadratic components by using orthogonal polynomials. These components provided a developmental profile for each child and were used in a hierarchical multiple regression analysis to predict arithmetic performance under 1 of 2 treatment conditions, a mixed condition involving failure under time pressure and a success condition involving no time pressure. Developmental profile interacted with treatment to predict task performance. (5 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reaction to failure as a function of expectancy for success.

The hypothesis that the strength of reaction to goal-response blocking is a positive monotonic function of expectancy for goal attainment was investigated. The Ss, 1119 6th-grade boys, responded to a buzzer by pushing a plunger. Failure produced an increase in the latency and a decrease in the force of pushing. Expectancy, measured by a betting technique, was nonmonotonically related to the increase in latency, Ss with intermediate expectancies showing the smallest increase. In 2 groups differing in experimentally manipulated expectancy, the high group showed the greater increase in latency. No reliable relationships were found between force and expectancy. Implications for theories of frustration produced drive and of risk taking were discussed. (22 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The measurement of restraint: confounding success and failure?

The present study examined the concept of restrained eating as measured by the Restraint Scale and the restrained eating section of the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire. The results showed that when answering questionnaires, subjects do not differentiate between items relating to attempts at dieting and actual restrictive behavior and that restrained eating can be conceptualized in terms of both successful and failed restraint. In addition, the results suggest that subjects who report high scores on both these measures of restraint represent a population of dieters prone to overeating behavior. The results are discussed in terms of the population selected by measures of restrained eating and in relation to the definition of restraint.     

Helicobacter pylori: when to test, when to treat

With the proposed introduction of a flexible sigmoidoscopic screening programme for colorectal cancer, patient compliance is of paramount importance. Therefore, the bowel preparation providing optimum cleansing of the bowel with the least associated discomfort and inconvenience for the patient must be found. Patients were randomized to receive either Picolax the evening before the examination or self-administered Fleet enemas prior to the investigation. The endoscopist and nurse practitioner who collected data on a standard questionnaire were blinded to the preparation used. Bowel preparation was graded by the endoscopist as: excellent, good, adequate or poor. One hundred and two consecutive patients were randomized: 56 to the Fleet enema group and 46 to the Picolax group. Self-administered Fleet enemas provided a significantly superior bowel preparation with 52 (93%) being judged adequate or better, as opposed to 34 (74%) in the Picolax group. In addition, Fleet enemas were associated with significantly fewer adverse associated symptoms: 11 (20%) vs 24 (52%). Patients reported to be willing to receive Fleet enemas again in 53 (95%) vs 37 (80%) for the Picolax group. The self-administered Fleet enema is superior to Picolax in terms of bowel preparation for flexible sigmoidoscopy and the incidence of associated adverse symptoms.     

Impact of causal attributions on affective reactions to success and failure.

Assessed the impact of outcome (success vs failure) and attribution (internal vs external) on affect in an achievement setting. Following the theorizing of B. Weiner et al (1978, 1979), it was anticipated that the outcome manipulation would determine general positive and negative affective reactions, whereas the attribution manipulation would influence affects related to self-esteem. 53 female undergraduates received success or failure feedback on a social accuracy test and were induced to attribute their performance to either an internal (ability) or an external cause (characteristics of the task). A factor analysis revealed 3 dimensions: Negative Affect, Positive Affect, and Self-Esteem. ANOVA indicated that the nature of the attribution influenced all 3 forms of affective reactions. Success produced greater positive affect, less negative affect, and higher self-esteem than failure only when ability attributions were induced. Although additional analyses offered some support for the presence of affects influenced solely by outcome, the majority of analyses supported the notion that attributions are the primary determinants of affective reactions to success and failure. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive responses to failure and success relate uniquely to bipolar depression versus mania.

This project examined cognitive responses to failure and success and their association with depression and mania within bipolar disorder. Many cognitive variables that are associated with unipolar depression have been found to be involved in bipolar disorder, more specifically bipolar depression. This research was the first to examine tendencies to hold high standards, engage in self-criticism, and generalize from failure to an overall sense of self-worth. In Study 1, undergraduates were screened for risk of mood disorders and completed structured diagnostic interviews. History of bipolar spectrum disorders and history of depression had separate associations with negative generalization. The association of generalization with bipolar spectrum disorders was accounted for by current depressive symptoms. For Study 2, the authors developed a measure of the tendency to engage in positive generalization following success experiences. In a sample of 276 undergraduates, this measure related uniquely to risk for mania. Results of these 2 studies suggest that responses to failure are associated with a history of depression, whereas responses to success are associated with a risk for mania. Implications for future research and clinical work are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measuring causal attibutions for success and failure.

A great deal of research has been generated by the B. Weiner et al (1971) attribution model of achievement behavior. Although generally supportive of the model, the literature is marred by a lack of concern with the reliability and validity of the measurements used. In the present study, causal attributions for a manipulated success–failure event were collected from 252 college students on 5 measuring instruments. Results indicate that the open-ended response measure showed poorer interest correlation validity than did the structured measures. Rating scales showed a better fit to attribution conceptualizations than did the percentage method. Overall, scale measures seem to be the method of choice, although possible uses for open-ended measures of attributions are suggested. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of success and failure on depressive cognitions

A cognitive social-learning approach to depression emphasizes biases or distortions in depressed persons' evaluation of information about self, future, and environment. 33 depressed and 34 nondepressed female undergraduates participated in a task that ostensibly assessed therapeutic potential; they received success, failure, or no feedback about their performance on this realistic social interaction task. It was anticipated that depressed women, especially as a function of feedback would respond in characteristic ways that could be construed as depression-enhancing on both self-rating and expectation-of-performance measures. The predictions were largely confirmed. A task developed to assess depressed-distorted responses to stories also revealed significant differences in types of response choices between depressed and nondepressed Ss. Results reinforce attempts to assess not what depressed people are or have , but what they do . (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Emotions in memories of success and failure: A cultural perspective.

Americans and Chinese tend to behave differently in response to success and failure: Americans tend to persist on a task after success, whereas Chinese tend to persist after failure. This study examined whether cultural differences in emotional reactions to success and failure account for these differences. American and Chinese students recalled personal success and failure events, evaluated the primary emotion evoked by the event, and responded to measures of concerns, appraisals, and willingness to try the same task again. Americans were more likely than Chinese to report that their success enhanced their self-esteem. Chinese were more likely than Americans to estimate that their success would make others jealous and enhance others' respect for their family. Chinese, compared to Americans, viewed failures as more tolerable, as less problematic for their goals, and as less damaging to their self-esteem. Culture moderated the relations between these components of emotion and willingness to try the task again. In short, culturally framed emotional reactions to success and failure result in different patterns of anticipated self-regulation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The attribution of similarity: The influence of success and failure.

"One subject in… [a] pair was informed that he had earned high percentile scores on… [tasks], while the other subject was told he had earned low scores. Each subject then received a partially completed Allport-Vernon-Lindzey test booklet designed either to be identical with or systematically dissimilar to the one completed by the subject 6 or more weeks earlier… . he was to complete the booklet as he believed his colleague had. Degree of similarity attributed was defined as the absolute difference between own and attributed score on a… scale… . The results revealed that failure subjects attributed greater similarity to their colleagues than did successful subjects, particularly with respect to presumably dissimilar colleagues." From Psyc Abstracts 36:02:2GE19S. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Longitudinal study of marital success and failure.

Administered the Bentler Psychological Inventory, the Bentler Interactive Psychological Inventory, the Sexual Behavior Inventory, and a background questionnaire to 77 newly married couples. Four yrs later these couples were followed up to determine their marital status and satisfaction (the Locke and Wallace Marital Adjustment Scale and a rating scale of 19 potential marital problem areas). Findings indicate that (a) correlational similarity as well as mean differentiation between partners was higher in the still-married group than the divorced group; (b) accuracy of self-perception was marginally reflective of marital success; (c) living together before marriage had no apparent effect on the outcome of marriage; (d) divorced couples appeared to face qualitatively different problems than married couples; and (e) longitudinal prediction of marital adjustment was possible. It is suggested that variation in marital outcome is most accurately predicted from personality and not demographic variables, based largely on data from women. (41 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

They stoop to conquer: Guiding and self-regulatory functions of physical posture after success and failure.

Three experiments with 147 undergraduates tested the hypothesis that slumped (depressed) or upright physical postures are not just passive indicators of mental states but can reciprocally affect the mental states and behavior of an individual. By using a methodology similar to that in many facial manipulation studies, the experimenters changed Ss' postures in a standard learned helplessness setting. Results indicate that when a slumped posture was "inappropriate" to the current situation (an S had just succeeded), the slumping seemed to undermine subsequent motivation as well as feelings of control. But when "appropriate" (an S had experienced failure or helplessness), slumping minimized both feelings of helplessness and depression and motivation deficits. A new theoretical analysis—the appropriateness hypothesis—is therefore proposed: A slumped vs upright posture orientation can guide and moderate information-processing and responses to positive and negative mood-relevant stimuli. Implications regarding self-regulatory processes that may operate in emotion, depression, and learned helplessness are discussed. (55 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)