Friends' influence on adolescents' academic achievement motivation: An experimental study.

To examine the influence of friends on adolescents' motivation to achieve in school, each of 118 8th graders was paired with a close friend. The pairs of friends were randomly assigned to either an experimental or a control condition. In the experimental condition, the friends discussed dilemmas that required them to decide between 2 actions reflecting different levels of achievement motivation. In the control condition, friends discussed topics unrelated to school. Before and after the discussions, all adolescents made decisions on the dilemmas independently. The 1st hypothesis was that discussions of the dilemmas would lead to an increase in the similarity of friends' decisions. The 2nd hypothesis was that discussions would lead to shifts toward more extreme decisions. The results supported the 1st hypothesis but not the 2nd. More harmonious discussions involving greater information exchange led to greater changes in decisions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of applicant stereotypes, order, and information on interview impressions.

Replicated R. E. Carlson's (see record 1971-21928-001) study of the effects of favorability, order, and type of information on interviewers' decisions. Raters were 80 psychology students in introductory and upper-level courses. Results showed that unfavorable information was more important to interviewers' ratings than favorable information. However, this effect was moderated by the expected typical applicant-an applicant of high caliber leading to a more favorable 1st impression of unfavorable information. Unfavorable information showed contrast effects moderated by the type of information. Interviewers' confidence in evaluations was greater for favorable than for unfavorable information. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Distortion in person perception as a consequence of the need for effective control.

Conducted 2 experiments to assess the impact of the need for effective control on attributions made in a conflict situation. In the 1st experiment with 32 undergraduates, it was hypothesized that the prospect of future interaction with a target person would lead observers to exaggerate the degree of dispositional information they believed could be inferred from the target person's behavior. Results confirm the hypothesis. In the 2nd experiment with 90 undergraduates, it was hypothesized that Ss scoring high on Rotter's Internal–External Locus of Control Scale would draw more dispositional inferences from a target person's behavior than would Ss scoring low on this scale. This prediction was also supported. The overall pattern of results is construed as supporting the position that the attributional differences found between the various types of observers were due, at least in part, to motivational as opposed to information-processing factors. (30 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Progress monitoring in oral reading fluency within the context of RTI.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 24(2) of School Psychology Quarterly (see record 2009-08555-001). The slopes reported in text were incorrect. The correct information is as follows: The average slope across the four measurement occasions for students who had a successful RTI on the familiar passage was 8.98 wc/min per week and on the novel passage was 2.06 wc/min per week. The average slope for students who had an unsuccessful RTI was 4.6 wc/min per week on the familiar passage and -1.5 wc/min per week on the novel passage. These values were correctly depicted in Figure 1.] Selecting appropriate measures to make decisions about child response to intervention is a key concern. The most commonly used assessment tool in response to intervention (RTI) models is curriculum-based measurement (CBM). However, an issue related to the use of CBM is the identification of measures that are of similar difficulty. To the degree that variation in performance across measurement occasions can be attributed to anything other than student learning, errors in judgment about student RTI may be made. The purpose of this study was to examine the accuracy and efficiency of using a single CBM passage for progress monitoring at key intervals during individual reading intervention compared to using several passages that had been individually equated. Results indicated that decisions made based on a standard passage did not differ from decisions made based on scores obtained on the individually equated passages but were much more cost efficient. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of task and experimenter feedback on the self-reinforcement behavior of internals and externals.

Tested 24 internal and 24 external locus of control Ss on 3 verbal recognition memory tasks. Ss administered self-reinforcement for correct responses on the 1st and 3rd tasks, which had the same difficulty level. The 2nd task was either more or less difficult than the other 2 and was accompanied by E reinforcement. All Ss thus received external evaluation that had variable relevance to their self-evaluation. There were no differences in self-reinforcement base rate (reinforcement rate on the 1st task), but there were several significant and contrasting changes on the 3rd task. Internals attended to both task differences and external evaluation. Externals responded only to evaluation, apparently not attending to task factors. Results are discussed in terms of locus of control and in terms of self-reinforcement behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Group decisions as social inference heuristics.

Three experiments investigated whether people use group decision outcomes as heuristic cues to judge group members' attitudes. In Experiment 1, Ss read a vignette in which a group's decision either was explicitly stated or in which Ss were compelled to infer the decision from other relevant information. It was hypothesized that Ss would be more likely to use the group decision outcome as an inference heuristic when the outcome was provided for them than when they were forced to generate that outcome. The results confirmed our hypothesis. In Experiment 2, a group decision was presented to Ss for whom the decision was either high or low in personal relevance. The results showed that Ss displayed a stronger correspondence bias for group decisions low in personal relevance than for ones high in personal relevance. Moreover, the decision outcome was better remembered over time than other decision-relevant information. Experiment 3 replicated this result for a nondichotomous decision outcome and also found that the more likely Ss were to remember the outcome over time, the more correspondent their inferences became. These and other data are shown to support a heuristic model of the social inference process. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Correlation, conflict, and choice.

Examined the degree to which individuals adapt their decision processes to the degree of interattribute correlation and conflict characterizing a decision problem. On the basis of an effort–accuracy framework for adaptive decision making, it was predicted that the more negatively correlated the attribute structure, the more people will use strategies that process much of the relevant information and make trade-offs. A computer simulation study supported these predictions, and 2 experiments using process-tracing techniques to monitor information acquisition indicated that individuals did indeed respond to interattribute correlation by shifting their processing strategies in ways that are adaptive according to the effort–accuracy framework. In particular, they faced conflict rather than avoided it and generally processed more information, were less selective, and showed more alternative-based processing in negatively correlated environments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

“Progress monitoring in oral reading fluency within the context of RTI”: Correction.

Reports an error in "Progress monitoring in oral reading fluency within the context of RTI" by Amy-Jane Griffiths, Amanda M. VanDerHeyden, Mary Skokut and Elena Lilles (School Psychology Quarterly, 2009[Mar], Vol 24[1], 13-23). The slopes reported in text were incorrect. The correct information is as follows: The average slope across the four measurement occasions for students who had a successful RTI on the familiar passage was 8.98 wc/min per week and on the novel passage was 2.06 wc/min per week. The average slope for students who had an unsuccessful RTI was 4.6 wc/min per week on the familiar passage and -1.5 wc/min per week on the novel passage. These values were correctly depicted in Figure 1. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2009-03189-002.) Selecting appropriate measures to make decisions about child response to intervention is a key concern. The most commonly used assessment tool in response to intervention (RTI) models is curriculum-based measurement (CBM). However, an issue related to the use of CBM is the identification of measures that are of similar difficulty. To the degree that variation in performance across measurement occasions can be attributed to anything other than student learning, errors in judgment about student RTI may be made. The purpose of this study was to examine the accuracy and efficiency of using a single CBM passage for progress monitoring at key intervals during individual reading intervention compared to using several passages that had been individually equated. Results indicated that decisions made based on a standard passage did not differ from decisions made based on scores obtained on the individually equated passages but were much more cost efficient. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Nature–nurture in the classroom: Entrance age, school readiness, and learning in children.

The impact of entrance age on reading and mathematics achievement in 1st grade was examined. Methodological problems with past research were identified, including small size of achievement differences, failure to take background variables into account, and confusion of achievement levels with degree of learning. Using a pre–post design, growth of reading and mathematics was examined in younger 1st graders, older 1st graders, and older kindergarteners. Comparisons of background information on these groups with children who were either held out prior to or retained an extra year in kindergarten, produced minimal background differences. Results revealed that younger 1st graders made as much progress over the school year as did older 1st graders and made far more progress than older kindergarteners. Overall, findings demonstrated that, in itself, entrance age was not a good predictor of learning or academic risk. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factors affecting employment decisions about older workers.

Investigated effects of 2 factors on simulated employment decisions about older workers. 10 male and 38 female undergraduates made decisions about older workers in 2 hypothetical work situations. The design of the study was a 2 (absolute decision vs comparison decision)?×?2 (information vs no information) factorial with repeated measures on type of decision. Significant main effects were found for both type of decision and amount of information. No significant interaction effects were found. Increasingly favorable decisions were made about older workers when (a) the situation did not require a choice between an older worker and a younger worker and (b) behaviorally stated performance information about the older worker was provided. A separate study assessed the specificity of the factors' impact on older workers. 13 male and 35 female undergraduates made decisions about younger workers, using the same procedures used in the 1st study. These results indicate that, for younger workers, the effect of the type of decision depended on the amount of information. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual construct accessibility and subjective impressions and recall.

In the 1st session of each of 2 studies, 48 undergraduates' accessible traits were elicited by asking them to list the characteristics of different people, with accessibility defined as frequency of output (Study 1) or primacy of output (Study 2). In the 2nd session, held 1 or 2 wks later, Ss read an essay describing the behaviors of a target person. The essay contained both accessible and inaccessible trait-related information for each S, with different traits being accessible or inaccessible for different Ss. Both studies found that Ss deleted significantly more inaccessible than accessible trait-related information in their impressions and reproductions of the target information. This effect on impressions and reproductions was evident 2 wks after exposure to the target information. Implications of this approach for personality differences, interpersonal conflict and attraction, similarity of self and other judgments, and therapeutic intervention are discussed. (55 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of logical search skills in infancy.

Presented 60 9–18 mo old Ss with manual search tasks involving the invisible displacement of objects. Ss were required to search 1 of 2 visited locations on the basis of critical information concerning the last place a hidden object was seen and the 1st place it was known to be missing. There were 2 task conditions: In the object-absent task, the object's container was shown to be empty after visiting the 1st and before visiting the 2nd location. In the object-present task, the object was shown to be still in the container after visiting the 1st location. The object was invisibly hidden at the 1st and 2nd locations, respectively, in the 2 tasks. Although the actual hiding could not be perceived, it could be inferred from the perceived sequence of events in each task. Results show that although 9-mo-olds frequently refused to search and 12-mo-olds were as likely to search the incorrect as the correct location, 15- and 18-mo-olds performed logical 1st searches. Analysis showed that 12-mo-olds preferred either spatial or temporal positions, while correct performance required the coordination of both types of information, a skill exhibited by the majority of 18-mo-olds. (17 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The administrative judgment test as related to descriptions of executive judgment behaviors.

"Relationships between the Administrative Judgment Test of the United States Civil Service Commission and ratings by superiors and peers of aspects of executive judgment were studied in a group of 127 federal administrators. A wide variety of rated characteristics correlated significantly with the test. When the ratings were adjusted to correct for the influence of the rater's general impression of effectiveness in making judgments, both superiors and peers described executives who scored highly on the test as competent in making decisions with policy making implications and in screening factual information for relevance and accuracy. Superiors, in addition, described high scoring executives as making decisions which are internally consistent, working successfully with implicit, concealed facets of the problem situation, and timing their decisions appropriately. Peers, on the other hand, viewed their more adequate co-workers, as appraised by the test, as those capable of implementing rather than making policy, and those who know when it is prudent to avoid decision." From Psyc Abstracts 36:04:4LI57F. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Nature-nurture in the classroom: entrance age, school readiness, and learning in children

The impact of entrance age on reading and mathematics achievement in 1st grade was examined. Methodological problems with past research were identified, including small size of achievement differences, failure to take background variables into account, and confusion of achievement levels with degree of learning. Using a pre-post design, growth of reading and mathematics was examined in younger 1st graders, older 1st graders, and older kindergarteners. Comparisons of background information on these groups with children who were either held out prior to or retained an extra year in kindergarten, produced minimal background differences. Results revealed that younger 1st graders made as much progress over the school year as did older 1st graders and made far more progress than older kindergarteners. Overall, findings demonstrated that, in itself, entrance age was not a good predictor of learning or academic risk.     

Discourse comprehension and problem solving: Decisions about the treatment of breast cancer by women across the life span.

The 1st study examined the decision making and prose comprehension of 94 women interacting with an authentic, unfolding health scenario about breast cancer. The 2nd study involved questionnaire data focusing on the decisions made by 75 women who had been diagnosed with breast cancer. Two major findings emerged from this laboratory and survey research. First, older women sought less information when making treatment decisions about breast cancer. However, the outcome of those decisions were equivalent to those of younger women. Second, older women made these decisions faster than younger women. In addition, treatment decisions were related to prose processing, the type of information underlined as important while reading as well as the type of information remembered about various treatment options. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Validation of a screening instrument for young children with teacher assessment of school performance.

Attempted to identify a screening instrument that would agree with teacher judgments of high- and low-performing students to increase the relevance of educational programs for young children. A group of children was observed and tested, and the results were compared with teacher judgments from kindergarten through 3rd grade. During the 1st yr of the study, 32 high-performing and 32 low-performing students were identified by 11 kindergarten teachers. The 1st-yr results were validated with a 2nd group of 208 kindergarten children. The initial group of 64 Ss was subsequently evaluated by their 1st-, 2nd-, and 3rd-grade teachers without knowing the results of the previous year's screening. It was found that the Basic School Skills Inventory-Screen can be used by the teacher to quickly gather behavior samples before he/she has had sufficient exposure to the child to make more informed decisions. Results were predictive of subsequent school performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Military conflict and terrorism: General psychology informs international relations.

Several experiments, focusing on decisions made by young, voting-age citizens of the United States about how to respond to incidents of international conflict, are summarized. Participants recommended measured reactions to an initial attack. Repeated attacks led to escalated reaction, however, eventually matching or exceeding the conflict level of the attack itself. If a peace treaty between contending nations was in place, women were more forgiving of an attack, and men were more aggressive. There was little overall difference in reactions to terrorist versus military attacks. Participants responded with a higher level of conflict to terrorist attacks on military than on cultural-educational targets. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parallel memory retrieval in dual-task situations: I. Semantic memory.

Can participants retrieve information about the 2nd of 2 stimuli while they are processing the 1st? Four experiments suggest they can. Reaction times to the 1st stimulus were faster if it came from the same category as the 2nd than if it came from a different category. This category-match effect was observed for letter-digit discrimination (Experiment 1), magnitude and parity judgments about digits (Experiment 2), and lexical decisions (Experiment 3). Experiment 4 showed that the 2nd stimulus could semantically prime the 1st. The category-match effect was observed only when the same task was performed on the 2 stimuli. When the task changed from the Ist stimulus to the 2nd, there was no advantage of a category match. This dependence on task set may explain previous failures to find parallel retrieval. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The potential contribution of psychology to nuclear war issues.

Considers the relevance of psychology to 9 nuclear war issues (the nuclear arms race, attitudes toward other nations, deterrance, arms control negotiations, defense-related decisions, crisis behavior, war outbreak, accidental nuclear war, and crisis and conflict management) in response to an article by J. G. Blight (see record 1987-16803-001) and suggests that psychologists could contribute to the understanding of nuclear war by studying these issues. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Spatial and verbal components of the act of recall.

Presents research showing that while an S is recalling a line diagram he can more readily signal information about that diagram by speaking than by spatially monitored output (e.g., pointing to correct items in a column of symbols). When recalling a sentence, he can more readily signal information about that sentence by spatially monitored output than by speaking. These results suggest that spatial and verbal information is recalled and processed in a modality-specific manner. Recall of verbal information is most readily disrupted by concurrent vocal activity; recall of spatial information is most readily disrupted by concurrent spatially monitored activity. This differential conflict occurs even though the concurrent activity is a recoding of the information that is being recalled. (French summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)