Students' conceptions of controversial knowledge.

Elementary school students (ECSs) were interviewed about the questions of the existence of intelligent life in space and of whether more money should be invested in space exploration than health care on earth. Students in Grades 1–6 recognized the lack of social consensus on these topics and made subtle distinctions between them and noncontroversial topics. For example, they said that it would be legitimate for teachers to teach the positions students themselves endorsed on noncontroversial matters. Students (in upper grades more so than lower grades) rejected the idea that teachers might teach the positions the students favored on the controversial matters. The results are consistent with suggestions that ECSs might cope well with inquiry about controversial topics and that these students should be recognized as curriculum theorists and critics of schooling. The likely importance of conceptions of knowledge in students' motivation is suggested. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Two social worlds: social correlates and stability of adolescent status groups

Adolescents' peer group status in high school was examined using self-report, peer nominations, and archival data collected during 2 consecutive school years. Higher status students (popular and controversial) had more close friends, engaged more frequently in peer activities, and self-disclosed more than lower status students (rejected and neglected). They were also more involved in extracurricular school activities and received more social honors from their schoolmates. Although the higher status students were more alike than different, controversial adolescents did report more self-disclosure and dating behavior than popular students. Lower status students were also highly similar, although rejected students reported lower grades. Regarding the temporal stability of these status groups, the adolescent sample exhibited slightly higher overall stability than that found in previous investigations of younger children.     

Adolescents' motivation toward the environment: Age-related trends and correlates.

From a self-determination perspective, we attempted to replicate previous findings suggesting that higher autonomous environmental motivation (i.e., acting out of choice and pleasure) is associated with the frequency of environmental behaviours such as recycling, paper reuse, and energy conservation. We also compared students' level of autonomous environmental motivation with their level of autonomous academic motivation. We then examined age effects on autonomous environmental motivation and compared them to age effects on autonomous academic motivation. A total of 200 high school students grouped into 5 age cohorts filled out a questionnaire. Results showed that (1) adolescents' autonomous environmental motivation was associated with more frequent environmental behaviours, (2) autonomous motivation was higher in the environmental than the school domain, and (3) autonomous environmental motivation was higher in older than younger students, whereas autonomous motivation toward school was equivalent across age groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship of internal-external control and United States suicide rates, 1966-1973

The annual variations in scores obtained on the Rotter Internal-External (I-E) control scale by United States college students between the years 1966 and 1973 were related to the concomitant annual variations in suicide rates for the total United States population and for eight separate age groups. The I-E scores increased substantially during this time period and were correlated positively with the concomitantly increasing suicide rates among relatively young persons (in and below the 35-44 year age group). However, the suicide rates among older persons generally decreased during this time period and thus were correlated negatively with the I-E scores. These results suggest that perception of internal-external control did not change among older persons as they did among younger persons, perhaps because older persons might be less susceptible to the cultural influences that affect the perceived control of younger persons. Results of this and earlier research suggest that cultural characteristics that foster high perceptions of external control also foster suicidal behavior and suggest the value of attempts to convey perceptions of internal control to psychotherapy clients.     

Age and motivation predict gaze behavior for facial expressions.

This study investigated age-related differences between younger (M = 25.52 years) and older (M = 70.51 years) adults in avoidance motivation and the influence of avoidance motivation on gaze preferences for happy, neutral, and angry faces. In line with the hypothesis of reduced negativity effect later in life, older adults avoided angry faces and (to a lesser degree) preferred happy faces more than younger adults did. This effect cannot be explained by age-related changes in dispositional motivation. Irrespective of age, avoidance motivation predicted gaze behavior towards emotional faces. The study demonstrates the importance of interindividual differences beyond young adulthood. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individual differences in student cheating.

The incidence and causes of cheating were investigated using a questionnaire, consisting of 21 cheating behaviors, which was distributed to students at an English university. Respondents were asked to indicate, confidentially, which of the behaviors they had engaged in. Reported cheating was widespread and some types of cheating (e.g., on coursework) were more common than others. Reported cheating was more common in men than women; more common with less able students than more able ones; more common in younger students than mature ones; and more common in science and technology students than those in other disciplines. It is suggested that students' motivation, in particular whether they are studying to learn rather than simply to obtain good grades, is a major factor in explaining these differences. The results also indicate that cheating consists of a number of different types of behavior rather than being a unitary concept. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Validity, vaudeville, and values: A short history of social concerns over standardized testing.

Traces the debates over the meaning of intelligence, the social functions that tests serve, and the appropriate use of personality tests. Recent interest in the IQ controversy, minimum competency testing, test disclosure, test bias, and the "truth-in-testing" movement are discussed. The author observes that social concerns over testing reflect its success as a social enterprise and matters of social and political philosophy as much as scientific measurement. It is noted that such matters affect not only broad social concerns, but also issues that are often seen as mainly technical or theoretical. To illustrate this point, examples are cited concerning construct validity, utility of test information, and group parity models of fair selection. (62 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age appropriateness and motivation, engagement, and performance in high school: Effects of age within cohort, grade retention, and delayed school entry.

The present study examined the relative salience of age within cohort, grade retention, and delayed school entry (3 dimensions of age appropriateness) in 3,684 high school students' academic motivation, engagement, and performance. Structural equation modeling revealed that after the effects of demographic characteristics and grade retention were taken into account, little significant variance was explained by the linear effects of age within cohort. However, subsequent modeling incorporating nonlinear effects showed that the markedly older-for-cohort students (i.e., over the "standard" 12-month age range for a given cohort) and delayed-entry students (i.e., academic "red shirts") experienced some academic disadvantage in motivation, engagement, and performance while the age-appropriate students (particularly the younger ones) fared best. Over and above demographic and age-within-cohort effects, the effects of grade retention were consistently negative. Taken together, data suggest that there appear to be little or no motivation, engagement, or performance advantages to being markedly older-for-cohort, having delayed-entry status, or being retained in a grade. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's beliefs about drinking

This paper reports the results of a study in which age (grade level), racial/ethnic, and gender differences in beliefs and perceived norms about drinking were examined in a multi-ethnic urban sample of 4th through 7th grade children. Results showed that older children held beliefs and perceived norms that were more favorable toward drinking than younger children. The major difference between older and younger children lay in their differential estimates of the likelihood of certain consequences occurring and not in their evaluation of these consequences of drinking. Further, older children not only displayed less motivation to comply with their parents and greater motivation to comply with their peers, but they also perceived their parents, as well as their peers, as less disapproving of drinking than did younger children. There were few gender or race/ethnicity differences at these ages in children's beliefs and perceived norms about drinking.     

The relation of exercise habits to health beliefs and knowledge about osteoporosis

The relation of exercise habits of 113 female college students to their knowledge about osteoporosis and their health beliefs was investigated, using the health belief model to determine why some people participate in self-care preventive actions but others do not. Age was positively correlated with the level of osteoporosis knowledge, awareness of personal susceptibility, and motivation for general health behaviors. Older participants, however, perceived more barriers to exercise as an osteoporosis-prevention measure than did the younger respondents. The authors' conclusions support the importance of early osteoporosis education and lifetime physical activities to prevent osteoporosis.     

Attitudes toward involving minors in decisions.

A survey regarding the age at which minors with or without problems should be involved in decision making was administered to 70 university students, 73 6–20 yr olds referred for learning and behavior problems, and 42 of the parents of the latter group. All 3 groups indicated that children should take part in decisions related to everyday activity at an earlier age than in decisions related to health matters or major life events. For adults, there was a significant relationship between an orientation toward autonomy and younger proposed ages for involvement in decision making. Ss also generally proposed higher ages for persons with maladaptive behaviors or mental retardation. A 2nd survey of 182 therapists showed that half of the Ss asked minors to provide consent, most commonly to increase the motivation for therapy or to enhance the therapeutic relationship. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of cooperation and shared feedback on spelling achievement.

A number of studies on cooperative teaching have shown favorable effects on academic achievement. This may be due to better information processing: Low achievers get more explanation, and high achievers have to verbalize the explanation. It may also be due to students' motivation: Students exert peer pressure for better performance. In a field experiment among third-grade students, traditional spelling instruction was compared with two different forms of cooperative classroom instruction, one with individual feedback and one with shared feedback. Cooperative methods had positive effects on spelling achievement and on students' effort as rated by their teachers. Shared feedback did not produce better spelling than did individual feedback. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Conditioning of verbal behavior as a function of awareness, need for social approval, and motivation to receive reinforcement.

This investigation evaluated the effects of awareness, need for social approval, and motivation to receive reinforcement on verbal conditioning. 61 male college students were reinforced with "good" for constructing sentences beginning with "I" or "we." Awareness and reinforcement motivation were assessed by an intensive postconditioning interview; need for social approval was measured by the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability scale. Ss aware of a correct response-reinforcement contingency gave more "I" and "we" sentences than Unaware Ss, who showed no evidence of learning. Aware Ss motivated to receive reinforcement gave more "I" and "we" sentences than unmotivated Aware Ss. Contrary to expectation, need for approval was not related to Ss' reinforcement motivation or performance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

What college students really think about ethnic student organizations.

In this study, the authors examined European, Hispanic, and African American college students' attitudes toward ethnic student organizations (ESOs). Based on data from Study 1 (N = 750), it was found that students across ethnic groups expressed uncertainty about whether ESOs were beneficial/necessary, fair/acceptable, and about their interest in joining an ESO. As a group, Hispanic and African American students did not believe that ESOs contributed to racial or ethnic separatism on campus, whereas European Americans expressed uncertainty about that possibility. In Study 2, a separate sample of students (N = 631) was randomly assigned to read the mission statement of a White, Hispanic, or African American ESO. Consistent with asymmetry theory, students in general judged the White American ESO as significantly less beneficial/necessary, less fair/acceptable, and as contributing more to racial/ethnic separatism than the Hispanic and African American ESOs. European, Hispanic, and African American students viewed their own ESO most favorably, although European American students were more consistent in their appraisals of ESOs irrespective of the ethnic focus of the ESO. Implications of these findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Overworked and underpaid: On the nature of gender differences in personal entitlement.

Two experiments tested the hypothesis that women's internal standards of fair pay for their work are lower than men's and examined possible causes of this difference. In Exp I, 36 male and 40 female undergraduates were asked to pay themselves in a private situation what they thought was fair pay for a fixed amount of work. Social comparison information was varied. As predicted, females paid themselves less money than males in the absence, but not the presence, of social comparison information. In Exp II, 40 males and 40 females were asked to do as much work as they thought was fair for a fixed, prepaid amount of money. Ss believed that their work was either monitored or unmonitored. Females worked significantly longer, did more work, and did more correct work than males in both public and private work settings. Females, but not males, worked longer when they believed their work was monitored than when they believed it was unmonitored. It is suggested that individuals tend to base their behavior on comparisons with same-sex reference groups in the absence of salient comparison others. (40 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Aging and qualitative characteristics of memories for perceived and imagined complex events.

Older and younger adults' memory for perceived and imagined events was examined with a procedure in which everyday situations are simulated in the laboratory. Subjects perceived some situations and imagined others. Later, they were asked to rate their memory for various aspects of these situations (e.g., amount of perceptual detail, thoughts and feelings). A recall test followed the ratings. On the rating scale, for both perceived and imagined events, older subjects reported better memory for their thoughts and feelings than did younger subjects. In addition, on the recall test, older subjects produced more thoughts and feelings than did younger subjects, whereas younger subjects produced more perceptual and spatial information. These results suggest that older subjects may not inhibit personal information (e.g., thoughts and feelings), and this information may interfere with memory for other aspects of information, such as perceptual and contextual details (Hasher & Zacks, 1988). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"The relationship between the discourse knowledge and the writing performance of elementary-grade students": Correction to Olinghouse and Graham (2009).

Reports an error in "The relationship between the discourse knowledge and the writing performance of elementary-grade students" by Natalie G. Olinghouse and Steve Graham (Journal of Educational Psychology, 2009[Feb], Vol 101[1], 37-50). The DOI published was incorrect. The correct DOI for this article is provided in the erratum. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2009-01936-013.) This study examined whether discourse knowledge about various forms of writing predicted young developing writers' (Grade 2 and Grade 4 students) story writing performance once 4 writing (handwriting fluency, spelling, attitude toward writing, advanced planning) and 3 nonwriting (grade, gender, basic reading skills) variables were controlled. It also examined whether Grade 4 students (18 boys, 14 girls) possessed more discourse knowledge than Grade 2 students (18 boys, 14 girls). Students wrote a story and responded to a series of questions designed to elicit their declarative and procedural knowledge about the characteristics of good writing in general and stories in particular as well as their knowledge about how to write. Five aspects of this discourse knowledge (substantive, production, motivation, story elements, and irrelevant) together made a unique and significant contribution to the prediction of story quality, length, and vocabulary diversity beyond the 7 control variables. In addition, older students possessed greater knowledge about the role of substantive processes, motivation, and abilities in writing. Findings support the theoretical propositions that discourse knowledge is an important element in early writing development and that such knowledge is an integral part of the knowledge-telling approach to writing. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A meta-analytic review of experiments examining the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation.

A meta-analysis of 128 studies examined the effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation. As predicted, engagement-contingent, completion-contingent, and performance-contingent rewards significantly undermined free-choice intrinsic motivation (d?=?–0.40, –0.36, and –0.28, respectively), as did all rewards, all tangible rewards, and all expected rewards. Engagement-contingent and completion-contingent rewards also significantly undermined self-reported interest (d?=?–0.15, and –0.17), as did all tangible rewards and all expected rewards. Positive feedback enhanced both free-choice behavior (d?=?0.33) and self-reported interest (d?=?0.31). Tangible rewards tended to be more detrimental for children than college students, and verbal rewards tended to be less enhancing for children than college students. The authors review 4 previous meta-analyses of this literature and detail how this study's methods, analyses, and results differed from the previous ones. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Those who can, tutor: High-ability students' conceptions of fair ways to organize learning.

When conceptions of fair learning practices of high-ability (HA) students (aged 6–18 yrs) were compared with those from a more representative group, the HA Ss typically chose peer tutoring as fairest. This was the case even though they regularly experienced acceleration and enrichment programs. The 2 groups held equivalent conceptions of fair learning practices. It was not until late adolescence that students in both groups articulated a rationale for placing HA students in accelerated learning programs. HA students were also no more likely than those in the representative group to select the acceleration and enrichment practices they experience as fair. Findings suggest that HA Ss do not emphasize self-interest when evaluating fair practices and are consistent with the cognitive-developmental position that children's evaluations of institutional practices reflect their developing conceptions of social justice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Body thiamine level in acute alcohol psychoses

PURPOSE: To compare admission data and academic performances of medical students younger and older than 25, and to qualify older students' experiences and perceptions in medical school. METHOD: The authors reviewed 1988-1991 data for applications to the McGill University Faculty of Medicine. Data included GPAs and MCAT scores, as well as ratings for reference letters, autobiographical statements, and interviews. For those same years, the authors measured students' academic performances in the preclinical and clinical years. The authors compared the data by students' age: "younger" students, aged 17 to 24; and "older" students, aged 25 and above. All enrolled students took the Derogatis Stress Profile, and the older students participated in focus groups. RESULTS: The older applicants had lower GPAs and MCAT scores, but higher interview and reference letter ratings. For older accepted students, basic science course scores were lower than those of younger students, but clinical scores did not differ significantly between the groups. The two groups had similar stress levels, although older students tested lower in driven behavior, relaxation potential, attitude posture, and hostility. In focus groups, the older students spoke of learning style differences, loss of social support, and loss of professional identity. CONCLUSION: Different scores in admission criteria suggest that McGill uses different standards to select older medical students. Older students admitted under different criteria, however, do just as well as do younger students by their clinical years. A broad-based study of admission criteria and outcomes for the older student population is warranted.