Investigating a causal model of second language acquisition: Where does personality fit?

Determined the role of personality variables in second language acquisition and integrated such variables into an adapted version of the R. C. Gardner et al (see record 1984-18863-001) socio-educational model that was tested using LISREL causal modeling. 88 1st-yr students were assessed on measures of language aptitude, attitudes, motivation, French achievement, self-perceptions of proficiency in French, and personality traits. The latent variables in the model included language aptitude, self-confidence with the second language, integrativeness, attitude toward the learning situation, motivation, situational anxiety, and 2 personality constructs labeled analytic orientation and seriousness. Correlational analysis revealed little relation between personality traits and French achievement, self-perceptions of French proficiency, or language aptitude, although relations with attitude and motivation were found. Analytic orientation and seriousness accounted for most of the relationships. The final model is outlined in light of previous models of second language acquisition and implications for future research are discussed. (French abstract) (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A structural equation model of expertise in college physics.

A model of expertise in physics was tested on a sample of 374 college students in 2 different level physics courses. Structural equation modeling was used to test hypothesized relationships among variables linked to expert performance in physics including strategy use, pictorial representation, categorization skills, and motivation, and these variables were examined for their influence on physics achievement. Gender was included in the model to examine how it influenced achievement indirectly through its influence on the other variables in the model. Two levels of expertise were examined by testing the model on trigonometry-based physics students and on more advanced, calculus-based physics students. Results were similar across both levels of expertise: For both courses, student motivation had a significant influence on students’ strategy use and categorization skills. Categorization skills, in turn, influenced student achievement directly, and indirectly, through strategy use. Strategy use had a significant influence on achievement. Pictorial representation played little role in the model. Gender contributed primarily through motivation, but for the more advanced level course it also directly predicted strategy use. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Achievement motivation in college women: A now-you-see-it-now-you-don't phenomenon.

Describes the Wellesley Role-Orientation Scale (WROS), developed as part of an effort to explore the contradictory results of research on achievement motivation in women. Ss scoring high on the WROS have a traditional view of women's role; low scorers have a nontraditional orientation. A number of projective approaches were used, and analysis of the resulting protocols showed 2 broad categories of thema: success and avoidance of success. Achievement motivation as measured by the WROS was clearly related to thema category. It is concluded that the inconsistent results of research in this area probably arise from methodological differences in the studies rather than from instability of the achievement motive. Among the significant variables are personality factors, sampling differences, differences in stimulus cues, and differences in scoring procedures. It is also suggested that previous research has been based too rigidly on the male model of achievement motivation; a reversal of cultural attitudes regarding the sex appropriateness of achievement may be taking place at present. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role problems and the relationship of achievement motivation to scholastic performance.

82 2nd and 72 5th graders were asked questions concerning the expectations of their friends and teacher regarding their behavior as students. A measure of sociometric status was also obtained. It was hypothesized that role variables condition the relationship between achievement motivation and scholastic performance. In support of the hypothesis, a positive relationship between a socially based projective measure of achievement motivation and scholastic performance (grades and Iowa Tests of Basic Skills or Metropolitan Achievement Test) was found for upper graders who experienced low role conflict and also for upper graders who were high in sociometric status. It was also found that among upper graders, autonomously based achievement motivation related most strongly to the performance of children low in sociometric status. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential effects of teacher comments.

An analysis of the effects of 3 kinds of teacher comment (social-comparison, subject-matter, and intraindividually oriented) accompanying grades in mathematics is presented. 385 6–10th graders were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 groups, each receiving 1 of the 3 types of comment, or to a control group. During the 1st half of the school year, teachers wrote comments concerning students" performance on mathematics examinations; during the 2nd half, comments were not made so as to test the duration of effects resulting from the earlier comments. Students were observed at the beginning of the experiment, at the end of the treatment period, after the no-comment phase, and every time they received a grade in mathematics. Dependent variables (besides later performance in mathematics) were cognitive-motivational variables and some school-related personality characteristics, which were selected with reference to a differentiated expectancy-value theory of achievement motivation. In analyses of variance, an interaction between type of comment and the student"s prior performance level was revealed for almost all dependent variables. Effects of comments persisted after the experimental period for school-related personality variables only. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Performance evaluation and intrinsic motivation: The effects of evaluative focus, rewards, and achievement orientation.

Most studies of intrinsic motivation under reward and evaluative contingencies have used social comparison criteria to evaluate subjects' performance. In those studies evaluation tended to reduce intrinsic interest. This study contrasted normative evaluation against a more task-focused evaluation of subjects' performance on an interesting word game and examined the role of achievement motivation in moderating reactions to performance evaluation. Focus differences were implemented under conditions of performance-contingent reward, anticipated evaluation, and control conditions in which subjects received performance feedback at task conclusion. We predicted that evaluation would reduce interest relative to reward and feedback control groups under a normative focus but not under a task focus and also that a process of competence valuation (Harackiewicz & Manderlink, 1984) would mediate the effects of reward and achievement on interest, especially in normative conditions. The data conformed to these expectations with one exception: Evaluation under a task focus increased intrinsic interest. These results were interpreted in the context of a general model that considers the separate effects of situational contingencies, personality factors, performance and motivational processes, and evaluative outcomes on intrinsic motivation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of parental motivational practices in children's academic intrinsic motivation and achievement.

Tested the role of parental motivational practices in children's academic intrinsic motivation and achievement in a longitudinal study of children at ages 9 and 10 yrs. Two types of motivational practices were assessed: mothers' encouragement of children's task endogeny and provision of task-extrinsic consequences. Structural equations path models for general-verbal and math academic areas supported the 2 predictions that children's academic intrinsic motivation is positively related to encouragement of task endogeny and negatively related to provision of task-extrinsic consequences. Academic intrinsic motivation at age 9 yrs predicted motivation and achievement at age 10 yrs. Moreover, through motivation at 9 yrs, the motivational practices indirectly affected motivation at 10 yrs and achievement. Findings provide ecological validity for the role of parental motivational practices in children's academic intrinsic motivation and achievement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Approach-avoidance motivation in personality: Approach and avoidance temperaments and goals.

The present research examined the role of approach and avoidance motivation in models of personality. Specifically, it examined the hypothesis that approach and avoidance temperaments represent the foundation of several basic dimensions espoused in the trait adjective, affective disposition, and motivational system approaches to personality. Factor analytic support for the hypothesis was obtained in Studies 1, 2, and 6; measures of extraversion, positive emotionality, and behavioral activation system loaded together on 1 factor (Approach Temperament) and measures of neuroticism, negative emotionality, and behavioral inhibition system loaded on another factor (Avoidance Temperament). This 2-factor structure was shown to be independent of response biases. In Studies 3-7, approach and avoidance temperaments were shown to be systematically linked to achievement goals (both nomothetic and idiographic). The findings are discussed in terms of an integrative approach to personality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of chronic achievement motivation and achievement primes on the activation of achievement and fun goals.

This research examined the hypothesis that situational achievement cues can elicit achievement or fun goals depending on chronic differences in achievement motivation. In 4 studies, chronic differences in achievement motivation were measured, and achievement-denoting words were used to influence behavior. The effects of these variables were assessed on self-report inventories, task performance, task resumption following an interruption, and the pursuit of means relevant to achieving or having fun. Findings indicated that achievement priming (vs. control priming) activated a goal to achieve and inhibited a goal to have fun in individuals with chronically high-achievement motivation but activated a goal to have fun and inhibited a goal to achieve in individuals with chronically low-achievement motivation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The honeymoon effect in job performance: Temporal increases in the predictive power of achievement motivation.

Examined correlations between a job performance criterion and personality measures reflecting achievement motivation and an interpersonal orientation at 3 points in time after 268 airline reservation agents completed job training. Ss completed subscales from the Work and Family Orientation Questionnaire and from an extended version of the Personal Attributes Questionnaire. The performance criterion consisted of having Ss verify the availability of seats and enter passenger information. Although correlations between the personality predictors and performance were small and nonsignificant for the 3-mo period after beginning the job, by the end of 6 and 8 mo a number of significant relationships had emerged: Work orientation scores had the strongest positive correlation during the 2nd and 3rd periods, whereas Mastery scores showed a significant negative correlation. The variables reflecting interpersonal orientation also showed logical relationships with performance during the latter 2 periods, with Expressivity scores demonstrating a significant positive correlation and Verbal Aggressiveness and Submissiveness scores yielding significant negative correlations. These significant correlations were found after the "honeymoon" period with the work had ended. Implications for the utility of personality measures in selection and performance prediction are discussed. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-enhancing and self-defeating ego orientation: Relations with task and avoidance orientation, achievement, self-perceptions, and anxiety.

Recent research in motivation has identified 2 main goal orientations: task orientation and ego orientation. Two studies of 6th- and 8th-grade Norwegian students tested the prediction that there are different dimensions of ego orientation (self-defeating and self-enhancing), that they may be separated from other goal orientations, and that they relate differently to academic achievement, self-concept, self-efficacy, self-esteem, anxiety, and intrinsic motivation. Results from both studies supported the predictions. The correlation between self-defeating and self-enhancing ego orientation was small, and these constructs had different relations to other variables in the study. Self-defeating ego orientation was associated with high anxiety and was negatively related to achievement and self-perceptions. Self-enhancing ego orientation was positively related to achievement, self-perceptions, and intrinsic motivation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The socialization of achievement orientation in females.

Reviews the literature on achievement motivation and achievement-related behavior in females in an attempt to identify theoretical relationships and child-rearing antecedents of these variables. The impact of sex-role definitions on achievement striving is examined with particular attention to the hypothesis that females' primary goal is affiliation. Individual differences in integrating achievement striving with sex-role definitions are discussed, and the patterns of variables (e.g., level of aspiration, expectancy of success, and fear of failure) are examined. The literature on parental socialization of achievement orientation is also reviewed. (94 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality test scores in the management hierarchy: Revisited.

A678-case, 1955-1957 sample of management appraisal candidates had the same observed trends in personality test scores with hierarchy as did a 459-case, 1949-1952 sample (see 29: 3139). "Two conflicting general hypotheses regarding personality test scores in the management hierarchy are suggested. The first is that there are no strong trends except for independent achievement… . The second general hypothesis is that position in the management hierarchy is the result of a selective process whereby more intelligent people with better personalities, as defined by society, and stronger independent achievement motivation generally tend to rise higher in the hierarchy with age and experience than their colleagues less talented in these respects." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factors predictive of mathematics achievement in White, Black, and Hispanic 12th graders.

In this study, a secondary analysis of the National Assessment of Educational Progress was conducted to provide insight into ethnic differences in 12th-grade math achievement. Using the 3 conditions model (3C model) of achievement as a guide, regression analyses showed ethnicity accounted for less than 5% of the variance in math performance once indices of socioeconomic status, exposure to learning opportunities, and motivation were controlled. In contrast, variables central to the 3C model accounted for 45%-50% of the variance. The implications of these results for theories of ethnic differences and for reform efforts are discussed. The findings suggest that schools can do a great deal to close achievement discrepancies among White, Black, and Hispanic students. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Are causal attributions causal? A path analysis of the cognitive model of achievement motivation.

Tested the causal assumptions of B. Weiner's (1972, 1974, 1977) cognitive reinterpretation of the traditional theory of achievement motivation. Ss were 206 college students varying in resultant achievement motivation who experienced feelings of failure in a course test and chose to take the exam a second time under a mastery learning system. After feedback on first test performance, Ss made attributions for their initial failure, indicated degree of shame, and rated their expectancy for success on the second test opportunity. Treatment of this system of nonmanipulated variables by path analysis techniques provided little support for the contention that variations in expectancy and retest performance depend on attributions made for a previous failure. Affect depends in part on internal attributions, but in a direction opposite to predictions. An alternative interpretation of the role of cognitive attributions in the achievement process is explored. (63 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

David C. McClelland.

David C. McClelland is recognized for his achievements in psychology. This article provides a citation explaining his accomplishments, a biography and a selected bibliography. The citation is as follows: "For leading the vanguard of a new motivational psychology bridging the study of personality and society, beginning forty years ago with methodological innovations and empirical discoveries of lasting significance in pioneering studies of the Achievement Motive and the Achieving Society. By experimental arousal of achievement motivation, he established the validity of using a particular kind of imaginative thought content as its measure. Combining bold vision and practicality, he turned traditional arguments into testable hypotheses. His broad and indelible impact on the social sciences is amplified by seminal writings on personality, the power motive, motivation training—and by the productivity he inspired in his students." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relation between typical intellectual engagement and openness: Comment on Goff and Ackerman (1992).

M. Goff and P. L. Ackerman (see record 1993-13529-001) identified a personality trait that they called "typical intellectual engagement." Typical intellectual engagement represents a departure from the common conceptualization of intelligence as maximal performance, and a measure of the construct correlates with measures of crystallized intelligence but not with a measure of fluid intelligence. In this article, the relation between typical intellectual engagement and the personality trait of Openness is examined. In analyzing the relations between Typical Intellectual Engagement and variables in the ability, personality, and achievement domains, and between Openness and variables in the ability, personality and achievement domains, little support for a distinction between typical intellectual engagement and openness was found. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An other perspective on personality: Meta-analytic integration of observers' accuracy and predictive validity.

The bulk of personality research has been built from self-report measures of personality. However, collecting personality ratings from other-raters, such as family, friends, and even strangers, is a dramatically underutilized method that allows better explanation and prediction of personality's role in many domains of psychology. Drawing hypotheses from D. C. Funder's (1995) realistic accuracy model about trait and information moderators of accuracy, we offer 3 meta-analyses to help researchers and applied psychologists understand and interpret both consistencies and unique insights afforded by other-ratings of personality. These meta-analyses integrate findings based on 44,178 target individuals rated across 263 independent samples. Each meta-analysis assessed the accuracy of observer ratings, as indexed by interrater consensus/reliability (Study 1), self–other correlations (Study 2), and predictions of behavior (Study 3). The results show that although increased frequency of interacting with targets does improve accuracy in rating personality, informants' interpersonal intimacy with the target is necessary for substantial increases in other-rating accuracy. Interpersonal intimacy improved accuracy especially for traits low in visibility (e.g., Emotional Stability) but only minimally for traits high in evaluativeness (e.g., Agreeableness). In addition, observer ratings were strong predictors of behaviors. When the criterion was academic achievement or job performance, other-ratings yielded predictive validities substantially greater than and incremental to self-ratings. These findings indicate that extraordinary value can gained by using other-reports to measure personality, and these findings provide guidelines toward enriching personality theory. Various subfields of psychology in which personality variables are systematically assessed and utilized in research and practice can benefit tremendously from use of others' ratings to measure personality variables. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Testing models of school learning: Effects of quality of instruction, motivation, academic coursework, and homework on academic achievement.

Tested the influence of ability, time, quality of instruction, motivation, and academic coursework on students' achievement, controlling for relevant background variables. Structural equation models were analyzed with longitudinal data from a national sample of 25,875 high school students. Intellectual ability and academic coursework had direct effects on achievement, and homework had a smaller direct effect. The indirect effects of quality of instruction and motivation were stronger than their direct effects; quality affected motivation, which affected coursework. Supplemental analyses were consistent with the initial findings. Results support these variables as influences on school learning, and support the theories from which the variables were derived. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)