Learning styles as predictors of self-efficacy and interest in research: Implications for graduate research training.

The literature on research training in professional psychology has yet to address the role of student learning styles on training outcomes. A mail survey of graduate students (N = 132) in professional areas of psychology from 11 universities assessed four dimensions of learning styles, research interest, and research self-efficacy. Students with more active (vs. reflective) and more intuitive (vs. sensing) learning styles reported greater research self-efficacy, and students with more intuitive (vs. sensing) and more verbal (vs. visual) learning styles reported greater research interest. The authors discuss implications for improving graduate research training by encouraging student self-assessment and by providing instruction using balanced pedagogies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The graduate research training environment in professional psychology: A multilevel investigation.

Very little program-level research on psychology graduate research training environments (RTEs) exists despite the RTE being a program-level (vs. student-level) construct. In the current study, the authors investigated correlates of programs' RTEs, including characteristics of the students, the faculty, and the programs themselves. Proportional stratified sampling of American Psychological Association-accredited PhD programs in clinical, counseling, and school psychology yielded data from 40 programs. Students and faculty in those programs completed Internet questionnaires, and additional faculty and program characteristics were coded. Hierarchical linear modeling analyses revealed that programs with positive student-rated RTEs had faculty who also viewed the RTE as positive and had satisfying faculty–student relations. These programs also had students with higher levels of research interest and stronger advisory alliances, yet within-program student differences in the RTE explained more variance in these student characteristics than did between-programs differences. This research supports the value of examining the RTE at both the student and program levels, and it suggests that training interventions ought to occur at both levels. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The supervisee experience of group supervision: Implications for research and practice.

Group supervision is commonly employed in graduate psychology training but has received insufficient attention in research. Supervisees' own perceptions and experiences in group supervision can provide valuable information in guiding our understanding and exploration of the benefits and uses of this form of training. This paper reviews 11 empirical studies exploring supervisee perceptions of group supervision experiences. Research, to date, appears to be largely in line with conceptual hypotheses regarding the benefits of group supervision experiences, and implications are discussed with regard to current practice. However, this review also points to the need for more in-depth and advanced research efforts in the area that can further explore supervisee experiences and identify means of optimizing this experience as a component of clinical training. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

An exploratory examination of the sexual intervention self-efficacy of clinical psychology graduate students.

The current study investigated clinical psychology graduate students' self-efficacy regarding addressing clients' sexual concerns and problems. Students with more sexually liberal attitudes had higher self-efficacy beliefs. Sexuality-specific training experiences but not sexual attitudes or anxiety predicted the amount of sex therapy experience gained during graduate school. Students with more didactic education related to sexuality, more sex therapy experience, and more experience observing a clinician conducting sex therapy, had stronger sexual intervention self-efficacy beliefs. These educational experiences contributed to students' self-efficacy over and above general psychology training. The results speak to the importance of direct training to deal with clients' sexual concerns. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hypothesis-testing and hypothesis-producing research.

The "primary function served by thesis research is training." Two kinds of research design can be discerned which might be termed: (a) hypothesis testing and (b) hypothesis producing. "The first type is characterized by the testing of tightly formulated hypotheses, the acceptance or rejection of which has meaning in the content of psychology." "The second, and a more advanced stage, is the kind of research study which we think is more suitable for the Ph.D. degree: the hypothesis-producting study." "We believe that there is merit to the idea that graduate students in psychology be given an opportunity to carry out both types of research." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sources of self-efficacy: An investigation of elementary school students in France.

The purpose of this study was to assess the influence of Bandura's (1997) theorized sources of self-efficacy on the academic and self-regulatory efficacy beliefs of 3rd-grade elementary school students (N = 395) in France, to examine whether classroom context might explain a significant portion of the variation in self-efficacy, and to assess whether these sources differ as a function of sex. Hierarchical linear modeling revealed that mastery experience, social persuasions, and mean classroom-level self-efficacy predicted mathematics self-efficacy. Mastery experience, social persuasions, physiological state, and mean classroom-level self-efficacy predicted French self-efficacy. All 4 sources predicted self-efficacy for self-regulated learning in both subjects, with the exception of vicarious experience in French. Classroom-level variables did not predict self-efficacy for self-regulated learning in either subject. Boys outperformed girls in mathematics and reported higher mathematics self-efficacy, self-regulatory efficacy, mastery experience, social persuasions, and lower physiological arousal. In French, girls outperformed boys but reported lower self-efficacy. Findings support and refine the theoretical tenets of Bandura's social cognitive theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects on teachers' self-efficacy and job satisfaction: Teacher gender, years of experience, and job stress.

The authors of this study sought to examine the relationships among teachers' years of experience, teacher characteristics (gender and teaching level), three domains of self-efficacy (instructional strategies, classroom management, and student engagement), two types of job stress (workload and classroom stress), and job satisfaction with a sample of 1,430 practicing teachers using factor analysis, item response modeling, systems of equations, and a structural equation model. Teachers' years of experience showed nonlinear relationships with all three self-efficacy factors, increasing from early career to mid-career and then falling afterwards. Female teachers had greater workload stress, greater classroom stress from student behaviors, and lower classroom management self-efficacy. Teachers with greater workload stress had greater classroom management self-efficacy, whereas teachers with greater classroom stress had lower self-efficacy and lower job satisfaction. Those teaching young children (in elementary grades and kindergarten) had higher levels of self-efficacy for classroom management and student engagement. Lastly, teachers with greater classroom management self-efficacy or greater instructional strategies self-efficacy had greater job satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Education for research in psychology.

A report of a seminar held at Estes Park, Colorado, July 28-August 22, 1958, sponsored by the Education and Training Board of the American Psychological Association. The purpose of the seminar was "to provide information which would aid institutions giving graduate degrees in psychology in examining and improving their programs for training research men." Major sections are: (a) How Research Gets Done; (b) Formal Aspects of Graduate Training (Statistics, Other Tool Subjects, Breadth of Scholarship, Role of Theory in Research, Standardization), (c) Development of the Individual (Selection, Motivation, Apprenticeship); (d) Summing Up. Research is "learned by doing and taught mainly by contagion. Research must first be going on if there is to be research training… . Apprenticeship is, we believe, the most important part of education for research in psychology; the professor who hires a graduate student as a research assistant takes on the primary teaching responsibility for that student, a responsibility which both he and his department must recognize." Opposition is expressed to standardizing training programs for research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When self-efficacy negatively relates to motivation and performance in a learning context.

Recent reviews of the training literature have advocated directly manipulating self-efficacy in an attempt to improve the motivation of trainees. However, self-regulation theories conceive of motivation as a function of various goal processes, and assert that the effect of self-efficacy should depend on the process involved. Training contexts may evoke planning processes in which self-efficacy might negatively relate to motivation. Yet the typical between-persons studies in the current literature may obscure the effect. To examine this issue, 63 undergraduate students completed a series of questionnaires measuring self-efficacy and motivation before 5 class exams. Self-efficacy was negatively related to motivation and exam performance at the within-person level of analysis, despite a significant positive relation with performance at the between-persons level. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Fostering scholarly productivity through academic and internship research training environments.

How can training programs foster counseling and clinical psychologists' scholarly productivity? This study examined the impact of academic and internship research training environments (RTEs) on the scholarly activity of 223 early career professionals. Results supported the construct validity of the Internship Research Training Environment scale through cross-validation and confirmatory factor analysis. Findings revealed differences in perceptions of the internship RTE and scholarly productivity as a function of academic training philosophy and internship training philosophy. Finally, results suggested that academic and internship RTEs could influence research interest and scholarly productivity indirectly by enhancing research self-efficacy and research outcome expectations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Encountering difference in graduate training: Potential for practicum experience.

Psychotherapists attempt to cultivate sensitivity to difference in their work with diverse client populations. Developing therapists may also benefit from theoretical and practical encounters with difference during graduate training. Although graduate students may thrive in training institutions where orientations resonate with their intuitive understandings, valuable opportunities for growth emerge when students obtain practicum experience at sites using alternative approaches to psychotherapy. This article documents the challenges and opportunities met by one graduate student trained in existential, psychodynamic, humanistic, and sociocultural approaches, when she embarked on a practicum experience in a medical setting, where dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) was the treatment of choice. She discusses professional growth, steps toward psychotherapy integration, and implications for graduate training. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Compositional diversity and the research productivity of PhD graduates.

Hierarchical linear modeling was used to examine the relationship between the compositional diversity in 20 academic programs in a Research Extensive college of education and the research productivity of 275 PhD graduates of these programs. Compositional diversity in terms of race and ethnicity was operationalized with Chang's (1999) diversity index; cumulative number of refereed articles and chapters published within two years of graduation was the measure of research productivity. Results showed that, after controlling for individual differences in Graduate Record Examination scores, greater compositional diversity was related to the increased research productivity for African American and International PhD graduates but not to the research productivity of Asian American, Latina/Latino, or White PhD graduates. Because compositional diversity was unrelated to the research productivity of White students, the findings suggest compositional diversity may have its effects by reducing the stereotype threat for African American and International PhD graduates. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measuring university students' self-efficacy to use drinking self-control strategies.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 25(2) of Psychology of Addictive Behaviors (see record 2011-11646-004). There is an error in Table 3. Item 8 in the table should have read: “Start off with at least 1 nonalcoholic drink before you start drinking alcohol.”] Using a Web-based, self-administered questionnaire, we assessed 498 university-student drinkers' self-efficacy to use 31 different behavioral strategies to reduce excessive drinking in each of three different locations (bar, party, own dorm/apartment). Averaging all 31 items within each drinking situation to create a single scale score revealed high internal consistency reliabilities and moderate inter-item correlations. Testing the association of self-efficacy with drinking location, sex, and frequency of recent binge drinking, we found that respondents reported higher self-efficacy to use these strategies when drinking in their own dorm/apartment than when drinking in bars and at parties; women reported higher mean self-efficacy than men; and drinkers who engaged in 3-or-more binges in the previous 2 weeks reported lower self-efficacy than those who reported either 0 or 1-or-2 binges in the same time period. This questionnaire could be used to identify self-efficacy deficits among clients with drinking problems and as an outcome measure to assess the degree to which interventions influence reported confidence to use specific drinking-reduction strategies in high-risk drinking situations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

An examination of the dynamic relationship between self-efficacy and performance across levels of analysis and levels of specificity.

This research used resource allocation theory to generate predictions regarding dynamic relationships between self-efficacy and task performance from 2 levels of analysis and specificity. Participants were given multiple trials of practice on an air traffic control task. Measures of task-specific self-efficacy and performance were taken at repeated intervals. The authors used multilevel analysis to demonstrate differential and dynamic effects. As predicted, task-specific self-efficacy was negatively associated with task performance at the within-person level. On the other hand, average levels of task-specific self-efficacy were positively related to performance at the between-persons level and mediated the effect of general self-efficacy. The key findings from this research relate to dynamic effects--these results show that self-efficacy effects can change over time, but it depends on the level of analysis and specificity at which self-efficacy is conceptualized. These novel findings emphasize the importance of conceptualizing self-efficacy within a multilevel and multispecificity framework and make a significant contribution to understanding the way this construct relates to task performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Exploring the theatrical experience: Results from an empirical investigation.

The article aims at explaining visitors' overall judgment of a theatrical event. A questionnaire was constructed including the 4 dimensions of the theatrical experience identified by Eversmann (2004): perceptual, cognitive, emotional, and communicative. The authors investigated 125 visitors of a production in a German community theater and confirmed that both the emotional and cognitive dimensions were determinants of visitors' overall judgment of a theatrical event. Implications for further research on the theatrical experience are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Graduate training and research funding for clinical psychology in Canada: Review and recommendations.

Graduate training programs for clinical psychologists in Canada have almost uniformly developed around variations of one model - the scientist-practitioner. Training in this model, as it is exemplified in Canadian universities, may not result in appropriate preparation for the manpower needs of the future. Some alternate models are outlined in terms of possible changes in the role of the psychologist working in applied settings. Research and research funding problems in clinical psychology are inextricably related to the same problems for other areas of psychology, and the great need for more "bridging" research between the separate areas of psychology is emphasized. Recommendations on research funding policies are proposed in respect to the research needs of psychology and to the research needs of the community at large. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Educational facilities and financial assistance for graduate students in psychology: 1963-64.

Requirements for admission, institutional facilities and stipends, advice to applicants for financial assistance, and postdoctoral arrangements are discussed. Digests of information on graduate training in psychology relevant to prospective students are presented for 189 colleges and universities. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Using client feedback in psychotherapy training: An analysis of its influence on supervision and counselor self-efficacy.

Tracking client outcome and the therapeutic relationship across treatment (i.e., client feedback) has become a recommended practice for clinicians. This study investigated whether the utility of this practice would extend to trainees if the data gained from clients was provided to their supervisor for use within supervision. Trainees (N = 28) were assigned to a continuous feedback condition or no-feedback condition for 1 academic year. Results indicated that trainees in both conditions demonstrated better client outcomes at the end of their practicum training than at the beginning, but those in the feedback condition improved more. However, those in the feedback condition did not rate the supervisory alliance or satisfaction with the supervision process differently. The relationship between counselor self-efficacy and outcome was stronger for trainees in the feedback condition than for those in the no-feedback condition, perhaps indicating that feedback may facilitate a more accurate assessment of one’s skills. Implications of how counseling self-efficacy, the supervisory alliance, and satisfaction with supervision are related to effective supervision are addressed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Peer victimization and academic achievement in a multiethnic sample: The role of perceived academic self-efficacy.

This study examines the link between perceived peer victimization and academic adjustment in an ethnically diverse sample of 1,895 Grade 6 students nested within 108 school classes. It was hypothesized that students' academic self-efficacy mediates the (negative) link between victimization experiences and academic achievement outcomes. Multilevel analyses were used to test this hypothesis and to explore whether there are differences between ethnic minority and majority group children. Results indicated that peer victimization was negatively associated with both relative class-based, and absolute test-based measures of academic achievement. These associations were similar across different school classes. As expected, the link between victimization and achievement was mediated by perceived academic self-efficacy, suggesting that victimized students did less well academically because they considered themselves to be less competent. The lower perceived self-efficacy of victimized children could be partly attributed to lower global self-esteem and depressed affect. Results were largely similar for ethnic minority and majority group children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An ecological analysis of research examining the experiences of students of color in graduate school.

This article critically reviews methodologies and theoretical orientations of 27 published empirical studies examining the graduate school experiences of students of color using Bronfenbrenner's (1979, 1994) bioecological model. Despite the urgent need for evidence-based approaches to increase the number of scholars of color, the findings in this review indicate an inadequate number of studies explaining how to realize that goal. Furthermore, much of the existing literature examined individual-level characteristics rather than how environmental factors benefit students. Specific recommendations for future ecological research are provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)