Predicting mathematics performance in high school girls and boys.

Ninth-grade scores for 157 females and 148 males for 3 cognitive tests (Test of Academic Progress, Quick Word Test, and Space Relations Test of the Differential Aptitude Tests) and the 8 Fennema-Sherman Mathematics Attitudes Scales were used to predict mathematics performance: grades in a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th yr of theoretical math (latter, females only, 30 Ss) and scores of senior girls on the Mental Arithmetic Problems test (85 Ss). Using multiple regression, 9th-grade scores significantly predicted mathematics performance 1–3 yrs later. Spatial visualization was an important variable, significantly predicting geometry grade for girls, but not for boys. Aside from math achievement, spatial visualization was the only other variable with a significant weight in predicting mathematical problem-solving scores for girls over a 3-yr period. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Follow-up of 812 girls 10 years after high school dropout.

Compared a droupout group and nondropout group on several variables. The data both predated and postdated the time of school dropout. For analysis the groups were subdivided on time of marriage and intelligence. Dropouts have a higher separation and divorce rate, even when time of marriage is controlled; they have larger families, but apparently only because they have been married longer. In general they marry into a lower socioeconomic status, but only girls from blue-collar families show a downward social mobility. When grouped by intelligence, high and medium intelligence dropouts do not show the upward social mobility that nondropouts do. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Empathy and moral development in adolescence.

Examined the relationship between empathy and 2 measures of moral development (prosocial moral reasoning and helping) with a sample of 72 Ss in Grades 9, 11, and 12. Parental socialization practices were also examined. Each S completed an affective empathy questionnaire, and 2 91-item Q-sorts—one concerning the mother's childrearing practices, the other pertaining to the father's. Empathy was significantly related to moral reasoning for both sexes and to helping for males. Maternal child-rearing practices were related to sons' empathy; mothers of highly empathic boys were nonpunitive, nonrestrictive, egalitarian, encouraged their offspring to discuss their problems, and set high standards for their sons. Females' empathy was not associated with parental socialization practices, perhaps due to a ceiling effect. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Moral development in Bahamian school children: A 3-year examination of Kohlberg's stages of moral development.

Interviewed 426 Bahamian male and female school children aged 8–17 yrs over a 3-yr period utilizing L. Kohlberg's (1969) moral dilemmas to test the hypotheses of cultural universality and the age relatedness of the Kohlberg stage sequence in the development of moral reasoning. Longitudinal, cross-sectional, and sequential strategies were utilized. Results indicate a general upward stage movement within and between age groups. There was an advance in moral reasoning across subsequent cohorts at the same ages. There was little evidence of any sex differences, and no individuals reasoned beyond Stage 3. Results are interpreted as supporting the hypotheses. The major source of change was due to time-of-testing effects. There was additional developmental change influenced by age and cohort factors. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Epistemological development and academic performance among secondary students.

This is an investigation of the development of secondary students' beliefs about the nature of knowledge and learning, or epistemological beliefs, and the influence that these beliefs have on academic performance. An epistemological questionnaire that assesses students' beliefs about simple knowledge, certain knowledge, quick learning, and fixed ability to learn was modified and administered to more than 1,000 high school students. Factor analysis of students' responses replicated the factor structure found in previous research. Differences in epistemological beliefs among students across the high school years and between genders were examined. Belief in simple knowledge, certain knowledge, and quick learning decreased from freshman to senior year. Girls were less likely to believe in quick learning and fixed ability. Students' GPA was regressed on epistemological factors. The less students believed in quick learning, the higher the GPA they earned. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A multivariate analysis of the effects of the Self-Directed Search on high school girls.

Attempted to learn how the Self-Directed Search (SDS) achieves its effects: Are the effects of the SDS on students due largely to its transparent structure and the large number of occupational options presented? Can these effects be enhanced if students are given an instructional booklet about the SDS and J. L. Holland's typology? These hypotheses were investigated in a Structure?×?Options?×?Instruction design with 104 high school girls randomly assigned to the 8 conditions. Ss were assessed before and 2 mo after treatment for their vocational aspirations, knowledge of the typology, and information seeking. The nonsignificant findings imply that the SDS achieves its effects partly because of its numerous occupational options and that the use of an instructional booklet may also increase the number of options. Some speculations about the influence of counselors and interest inventories are offered. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A causal model of the educational plans and career expectations of Mexican American high school girls.

A structural model predicting the educational and career expectations of 282 Mexican American high school girls was developed and then tested on samples of 247 Mexican American boys and 228 European American girls. Predictors included socioeconomic status, acculturation, academic achievement, instrumentality, expressiveness, gender role attitudes, parental and teacher support, family and career commitment, and perceptions of barriers. Results indicated that the initial model was plausible in the sample of Mexican American girls. Findings from the multiple-groups analyses provided evidence supporting the primacy of cultural influences over gender in predicting the educational and career expectations of Mexican American girls. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive and motivational parallels in moral development.

Two experiments examined parallels between L. Kohlberg's (1963, 1976) cognitive developmental stages and a hierarchy of incentives (motivations) based on Kohlberg's "motives for moral action" aspect. In Exp I, 134 undergraduates were simultaneously administered 2 perceptual motor tasks in 1 of 3 treatment conditions. In each treatment the opportunity for greater monetary reward on one task conflicted with one of the following incentives for performance on the other task: (a) interpersonal approval, (b) meeting the expectations of authority, and (c) choice in favor of distributive equality. As predicted by Kohlberg's moral judgment scale, Stage 3 Ss performed better for the interpersonal approval incentive, while Stage 4 Ss performed better to meet the expectations of authority. Postconventional Ss responded in favor of distributive equality to a greater extent than conventional (Stage 3 or Stage 4) Ss. Exp II included only Stage 3 and Stage 4 Ss and conflicted interpersonal approval directly with the expectations of authority. Results closely replicate those of Exp I. (French summary) (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive development and role-taking ability in boys and girls from 7 to 12.

10 males and 10 females at each of 3 age levels (7, 9, and 12 yrs), matched on IQ, were given a social role-taking task and 2 Piagetian tasks. Performance on all tasks generally increased with age, but correlations between performances on the 2 types of tasks were generally not significant. There were no significant sex differences on the tasks. IQ was correlated with performance on the role-taking task but not with the Piagetian tasks, which were not highly correlated with each other. The ability to "think about possibilities" did not differ significantly for the age or sex groups, but this ability was significantly related to performance on the experimental tasks for the younger Ss. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Moral development in Bahamian school children: A cross-cultural examination of Kohlberg's stages of moral reasoning.

Individually interviewed 7-14 yr old Bahamian schoolchildren, utilizing 3 of L. Kohlberg's (1958) moral dilemmas. An age trend in moral development was obtained, supporting previous cross-cultural research with Kohlberg's moral development stages. The only sex difference was among 13-14 yr olds. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of sex role stereotypes in black and white elementary school girls.

Examined the effect of race on degree of stereotyping. 20 1st- and 20 3rd-grade girls (half from each grade were black and half were white) answered 20 questions about characteristics usually considered typical of one or the other of the sexes. Both races gave equally stereotyped responses to questions about children, but blacks gave fewer stereotyped responses than whites to questions about adults. The bearing of the results on theories of the development of sex role stereotypes is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The role of logic in moral reasoning and development.

The frequently examined hypothesis proposed by L. Kohlberg (1969) that logical development is a necessary but insufficient condition of moral development was examined in cross-age analyses of approximately 225 adolescents and adults, aged 16–50 yrs. Two kinds of moral scores—one representing Kohlberg's system, and the other an interactional formulation—and 3 scores of formal operations based on Piagetian tasks were used. To explicate the logical/moral relation, controls for age, socioeconomic status, IQ, or educational levels were applied to correlational analyses within sex groups. Also, a sex-differentiated structural analysis was done. Neither set of results was consistent with Kohlberg's hypothesis. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship between moral decision making and patterns of consolidation and transition in moral judgment development.

Following models that describe intraindividual correlates of stage transitions (S. S. Snyder & D. H. Feldman, 1984), this study assessed the relation between a measure of consolidation and transition in moral judgment development and the utility of moral concepts in sociomoral decision making. The study extends previous research in suggesting that individuals use moral concepts differently as they cycle through periods of consolidation and transition. With multiple cross-sectional and longitudinal samples, findings indicate that participants' reliance on a Kohlbergian moral framework as measured by the Defining Issues Test is highest during periods of consolidation and lowest during transitions. As participants move into periods of consolidation, the utility of moral stage information increases. Thus, this study indicates that the consolidation and transition model can be used to help identify individuals who are more or less likely to use Kohlberg's moral stages in their moral decision making. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Naive psychology and the development of persuasive appeals in girls.

Examined the appeals generated by 3 groups of 20, 5-, 9-, and 13-yr-old females when asked to persuade mother and best friend to give up watching a favorite TV show to play a game. 3 developmental trends in the use of persuasive appeals were found: (a) diplomatic maneuvers stressing the advantage to the target increased with age, (b) simple requests decreased with age, and (c) "high pressure" tactics increased between the ages of 5 and 9 yrs and decreased between ages 9 and 13 yrs. (French summary) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of a moral development discussion group on delinquent and predelinquent boys.

50 delinquent or predelinquent 13–15 yr old males in institutional or dayschool special education programs were divided into 3 groups: moral discussion group; a placebo group that received a values clarification program, which was similar in content to the moral discussion group approach; and a control group, which received no treatment. The discussion and placebo groups addressed hypothetical, real-life, classroom behavior, and S-presented dilemmas. Pre- and posttest scores were obtained on a moral judgment interview and a self-control rating scale. Results indicate that the moral discussion group had a significant impact on Ss' moral reasoning ability as compared with the placebo and control groups. Findings also indicate that gains in moral reasoning did not necessarily lead to improved classroom behaviors. (80 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attitudes of white and Negro high school students in a west Texas town toward school integration.

"1. Authoritarian attitudes… were not indicative of negative attitudes toward integration. 2. Negro students… show highly authoritarian attitudes as well as strong positive attitudes toward all areas of school integration. 3. White students in the segregated school systems studied show high authoritarianism though less than Negro students. 4. White students show a number of positive attitude responses toward many aspects of school integration, thus easing the expressed fear of widespread interracial conflicts in integrated schools in this area, though problems may arise in situations necessitating close personal-social contact." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A school-based group activity therapy intervention with at-risk high school students as it relates to their moral reasoning.

The main goal of this study was to examine whether group therapy is useful for developing moral reasoning in at-risk youth. This research compared the impact of 10 weeks of group activity therapy (n = 27) and group talk therapy (n = 34) on the moral reasoning of at-risk ninth grade students. Group activity therapy is the developmentally appropriate extension of child centered play therapy for adolescents. Using pretest and posttest scores on the Maintaining Norms Schema subscale of the Defining Issues Test 2 (DIT-2; Rest, Narvaez, Thoma, & Bebeau, 1999), an analysis of covariance indicated significant difference between groups. Implications for counselors who work with this population are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Development of individual psychosocial competence in a high school setting.

The development of the competent self in adolescence, the interrelationship of psychotherapeutic and psychoeducational change, and the role of the high school counselor as a mental health gatekeeper were explored in a pre–post experimental–control design study of group counseling. 147 exemplary ("getting their lives together well and handling school well") and marginal ("having trouble getting their lives together and managing school") high school students participated. Precounseling assessments and patterns of change over the counseling period supported the 1st author's hierarchical competence configuration model of psychosocial functioning, consisting of self-attitudes, world-attitudes, and relevant behavioral attributes. Overall effectiveness of counseling was indicated at multiple levels by significant goal attainment (Kiresuk-Sherman Goal Attainment Scale) and by increased self-efficacy (Rotter's Internal–External Locus of Control Scale). The impact of counseling was significantly different for exemplary than for marginal students and for students from different race and sex subgroups. These findings confirm the interrelation of change patterns at behavioral and personality levels, the importance of sociocultural factors in individual psychosocial change patterns, and the potential therapeutic impact of relatively brief psychoeducational-psychotherapeutic interventions. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)