Self-efficacy and mathematics achievement: A study of their relation.

In this study, I investigated the relation between self-efficacy and mathematics achievement when other factors, such as self-concept of math ability, prior task achievement, and prior self-efficacy were taken into account. I assessed self-efficacy over 4 trials in a repeated-measures design with 72 children, aged 9–10 years. I assessed task performance after the first and third self-efficacy assessment. Regression analysis indicated small or no predictive relation between self-efficacy and task performance, depending on task familiarity, when these other factors were included in the analysis. Results of the study lend one to doubt that there is a simple relation between self-efficacy and task performance in the field of mathematics learning. The complexity of self-efficacy, its sources, and consequences are also illustrated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

International and American students' expectancies about counseling.

Investigated whether students from different backgrounds differ in their expectancies about counseling on a university campus. Ss included 40 American, 39 Chinese, 35 African, and 36 Iranian freshmen and seniors who completed a questionnaire measuring college students' expectancies about counseling. Significant differences among the 4 nationality groups were observed on 12 of the 17 expectancy scales. It was found that American Ss expected the counselor to be less directive and protective and expected themselves to be more responsible for improvement. In contrast, the Chinese, Iranian, and African Ss expected to assume a more passive role and expected that the counselor would be a more directive and nurturing authority figure. (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relation between socioeconomic status and academic achievement.

Using meta-analysis techniques, almost 200 studies that considered the relation between socioeconomic status (SES) and academic achievement (AA) were examined. Results indicate that as SES is typically defined and used, it is only weakly correlated with AA. With aggregated units of analysis, typically obtained correlations between SES and AA jump to .73. Family characteristics, sometimes incorrectly referred to as SES, are substantially correlated with AA when individuals are the unit of analysis. Factors such as grade level at which the measurement was taken, type of AA measure, type of SES measure, and the year in which the data were collected were significantly correlated with the magnitude of the correlation between AA and SES. Variables considered in the meta-analysis accounted for 75% of the variance in observed correlation coefficients in the studies examined. (6 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of mathematics self-efficacy in the structural model of mathematics achievement.

A structural model of mathematics achievement was tested with 117 male and 108 female high school seniors. Two attitude measures, 3 mathematics self-efficacy scales, and a mathematics achievement test were administered in the same order to all Ss. Teacher-assigned marks in a selected math course the Ss were taking were also obtained. The covariance matrices of boys and girls were analyzed with a 2-group LISREL procedure. The LISREL model specified math self-efficacy as a mediator between math attitude and achievement. The postulated model for similarly specified parameters was a good fit to the data for both boys and girls. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social comparison between young children in achievement situations.

Examined the development of children's motivations to socially compare in a situation in which they were free to seek or not seek information about how another child was doing. 16 males and 16 females each at the kindergarten, 1st, and 2nd grade levels were recruited through the newspaper and paid to participate. Pairs of Ss in the same grade worked on a speed task under high- and low-competition conditions. The frequency and duration with which Ss pushed a button to observe their partner's progress on a monitor was the index of the strength of motivation. Results show the expected developmental increase in comparison behavior. Only in 2nd graders did the expected positive relationship between level of competition and performance appear. At the kindergarten level, the means were in the opposite direction, while for the 1st-grade level the relation between competition and performance depended on sex. Results are discussed in terms of alternative predictions derived from theories by L. Festinger (1954) and J. Veroff (1969). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Preventive resources and emotion regulation expectancies as mediators between attachment and college students' stress outcomes.

In this study the authors examined both preventive psychological coping resources and negative mood regulation expectancies as potential mediators between parental attachment and two types of stress outcomes: stress symptoms and stress-produced emotions. Data were collected from 390 college students and separate structural equation models were tested for the outcomes of stress symptoms and emotions. Results suggested that for both models, as hypothesized, preventive resources and negative mood regulation expectancies functioned as mediators. Further, there was evidence that these results were similar for the model in which stress symptoms were used as an outcome, as well as the model in which stress-produced emotions were used as the outcome. Implications for a more complete understanding of psychological resources promoted by secure attachment are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Investigation of the relation between metamemory and university students' examination performance.

Responses obtained from a metamemory questionnaire were compared with how well university students prepared for in-class, multiple-choice examinations. In addition, recall readiness as assessed by having students predict their performance immediately prior to each in-class examination, and students were asked to rate how 16 performance factors influenced their examination performance. The students sampled had satisfactory metamemory. Both correlational and contingency analyses of results from the initial study and a replication indicated a positive relation between classroom performance and students' recommended use of organizational and self-testing strategies when they planned study for a free-recall task. Students were found to be good at assessing their exam readiness. The more successful university students rated the importance of intellectual ability differently from their less successful peers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive sex differences and mathematics and science achievement.

Comments on the original article "Sex Differences in Intrinsic Aptitude for Mathematics and Science?: A Critical Review," by E. S. Spelke (see record 2005-15840-001). Spelke considered "three claims that cognitive sex differences account for the differential representation of men and women in high-level careers in mathematics and science." The focus of this comment is on the claim regarding gender differences in mean levels of cognitive abilities. Spelke claimed (p. 954) that "most investigators of sex differences have concluded that males and females have equal cognitive ability, with somewhat different profiles." There are two major components to this comment. The first is mainly theoretical, and the second is both theoretical and empirical. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Construct validity and the relation between depression and social skill.

Lewinsohn and his colleagues proposed an important theoretical relationship between subjects' social skills and their level of depression, and numerous studies have furnished support of a modest relationship between social skill and depression. The purpose of this article is twofold: first, to compare alternative methods for examining the relationship between two constructs, and second, to estimate the true relationship between social skill and depression. Sixty-eight subjects were assessed for levels of social skills and depression via multiple methods. When analyzed in the traditional manner, the results were consistent with previous research (correlations between the social skill and depression ranged from .11 to .42). When confirmatory factor analysis was used to estimate the theoretical relationship between social skill and depression (not attenuated because of measurement error), a correlation of .85 was found. Thus multitrait-multimethod data sets, analyzed via confirmatory factor-analytic techniques, can greatly enhance theory testing and development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social comparison in the classroom: The relationship between academic achievement and self-concept.

One hypothesis derived from social comparison theory is that the relationship between academic achievement and self-concept can best be understood in terms of the child's achievement standing compared with that of classmates. This hypothesis was tested on 159 6–12 yr old academic underachievers in 17 self-contained classrooms. Ss were administered the Metropolitan Achievement Test and the Piers-Harris Children's Self-Concept Scale. When relative within-classroom achievement standing was not considered, reading achievement was not significantly related to self-concept, although mathematics achievement was. When relative within-classroom achievement standing was considered, both reading and math achievement were found to be significantly related to self-concept. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The nature of teachers' pedagogical content beliefs matters for students' achievement gains: Quasi-experimental evidence from elementary mathematics.

In a longitudinal study of 496 students in 27 self-contained German elementary school classrooms, performance in mathematical word problems and arithmetic tasks was measured at the end of Grades 2 and 3. A questionnaire was used to assess the degree to which teachers' pedagogical content beliefs in elementary mathematics reflect a cognitive constructivist orientation, rather than an associationist or direct-transmission view of learning and teaching. Our findings show that a cognitive constructivist orientation was associated with larger achievement gains in mathematical word problems. Moreover, teachers with a direct transmission view were not more successful than teachers with a cognitive constructivist orientation in fostering students' computational proficiency. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive development and cognitive style as factors in mathematics achievement.

Sought to provide a theoretical framework for the learning of mathematics from Piaget's theory about the development of the number concept and the theory of field dependence–independence advanced by H. A. Witkin et al (1977). The relationship between operativity on Piagetian tasks of number, classification, seriation, field dependence–independence, and mathematics achievement on concepts, computations, and applications was investigated, using 102 Ss from Grades 2–4. Results were analyzed separately within each grade for the total mathematics achievement test score, as well as for the 3 subtests consisting of mathematics concepts, computations, and applications. In all grades, field independence was related to high mathematics achievement, especially for the concepts and applications subtests. High operativity was related to high achievement in mathematics concepts only in Grade 2. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Favorable and unfavorable target expectancies and social information processing.

The certainty engendered by expectancies and the degree to which relevant information is subsequently processed should differ depending on the expectancy's favorability. Consistent with this proposal, the results of Experiment 1 indicated that favorable expectancies elicited more testing of the expectancy than did unfavorable expectancies and engendered greater memory performance overall. In Experiment 2 these findings were replicated, and results also showed that unfavorable expectancies led to attentional decrements in impression formation whereas favorable expectancies did not. In Experiment 3 comparable results were obtained using information (traits) that has been shown to induce confirmatory processing. Also, participants indicated that they were more cognitively engaged with the impression task when they held favorable rather than unfavorable expectancies. Finally, the findings of Experiment 4 showed that participants who held favorable expectancies did not show primacy effects in judgment, whereas participants who held unfavorable expectancies did. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Children's achievement and self-evaluations in mathematics: A longitudinal study.

Investigated changes in the correlation between mathematics achievement and self-ratings from 105 children who were tested in Grades 2, 5, and 10. Ss had completed the WISC Arithmetic subtest in Grades 2 and 5; the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT) Arithmetic subtest in Grades 2, 5, and 10; and the WRAT and 3 additional mathematics tests in Grade 10. Structural modeling with LISREL was used to estimate the reciprocal relationship between constructs measured by computational and problem-solving tests and self-rating scales. Results show that between Grades 2 and 5 mathematics achievement is causally related to self-ratings of ability. There was evidence that between Grades 5 and 10 the strength of this causal relationship diminished. The importance of this developmental finding derives from the fact that theorists' generalizations about achievement and self-concept often have not been sensitive to the factor of age. During neither time span did self-perceptions have any significant causal influence on later achievement. The accuracy of Ss' self-ratings, as assessed by correlations with actual achievement, increased between Grades 2 and 5; there was no appreciable change after that. Mathematics achievement showed very high stability from year to year, whereas stability of self-ratings was considerably less. (45 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relation between values and social competence in early adolescence.

Examined relationships between the social competence of early adolescents, as viewed by different reference groups, and the values adolescents place on controversial social behaviors. Assessed social competence for 65 seventh- and eight-graders with self-ratings of perceived competence, peer sociometric status ratings, teacher ratings, and academic achievement tests. Ss also completed an inventory assessing their values toward controversial social behaviors. A factor reflecting adolescents' valuing of direct, constructive communication in social interactions was positively related to competence with all reference groups. However, a factor that reflected valuing conforming to adult norms was negatively related to status with peers but positively related to teacher ratings of competence. The role of social values in the developmental task of achieving autonomy in interactions with adults while maintaining positive social relationships with peers and adults is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

How high is up? Calibrating social comparison in the real world.

Research generated by social comparison theory has been criticized for its deficiencies in conceptual clarity and mundane realism. In the present study, Ss were 544 competitive bridge players engaging in a form of the "you-hold" game, a social comparison activity common to this subculture. Because this game is played seriously, with real and meaningful comparators, mundane realism should be heightened. Clarification of some key concepts, notably "comparison upward," was anticipated because the setting permitted valid assessments of the abilities of the various players. The method involved use of nominational responses to scenarios in which comparison motive was varied with outcome valence and locus of control. Ability scores of nominations were regressed against those of the choosers', a similar strategy was employed using various sociometric nominations both to validate the method and provide a baseline for comparison. Results suggest that information seeking induced the greatest degree of upward comparison. Ego enhancement was lower and ego defense lowest, though even here comparison was found to be reliably upward. Items describing "fixes" where ability was not implicated were found to give results similar to those for ego enhancement. Events with negative outcomes were unexpectedly found to generate greater comparison upward than ones with positive outcomes. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Alcohol choice and outcome expectancies in social drinkers

Eighteen male social drinkers underwent four training sessions during which they ingested two colour-coded drinks (red or blue, balanced for drink type); one containing alcohol (aliquots of 0.1 g/kg) and the other placebo (aliquots of orangeade). Following the training sessions, subjects were presented with both drinks, and instructed to choose the drink they felt like consuming and to indicate their preference for their chosen drink over the other drink. In addition, they were instructed to consume the first drink but that all subsequent drinks (total of six drinks), offered at 10-min intervals, were optional. A number of trait characteristics were assessed including alcohol outcome expectancies, drinking habits and personality traits. The acute effects of alcohol on mood was also evaluated by comparing subjective ratings following alcohol and placebo during the training sessions. Of the 18 subjects, 12 chose alcohol at least once ('samplers'), whereas six never chose alcohol ('non-samplers'). Over the three sessions, however, alcohol and placebo were chosen equally. When alcohol was chosen, subjects drank significantly more than when placebo was chosen, which may be consistent with a priming effect of drinking alcohol. The amount of alcohol drunk was seen to correlate with the alcohol expectancy factor 'sociability'. Subjective reports of feeling 'alert', 'clear-headed', 'quick-witted', and 'attentive' all showed a main effect of choosing behaviour (i.e. 'samplers'/'non-samplers'). Further analysis indicated that this effect was due to 'samplers' reporting increased subjective ratings of these mood states following the ingestion of alcohol compared to 'non-samplers'. These increased subjective ratings were also positively correlated with the amount of alcohol consumed by the subjects during the choice procedure. No other relationships were found between the amount of alcohol consumed and any of the other state or trait measures. These data suggest that social drinkers who sample alcohol in a laboratory setting can be primed by alcohol to consume more. The results also indicated that the amount drunk was related to the degree to which subjects expected alcohol to increase sociability and to reports of subjective stimulant effects of alcohol (e.g., 'alert', 'clear-headed', 'quick-witted', and 'attentive').     

Relation between academic achievement and social adjustment: Evidence from Chinese children.

A sample of children in Shanghai, P. R. China, initially aged 10 and 12 years, participated in this 2-year longitudinal project. Information on academic achievement and indexes of social adjustment, including social competence, aggression, social inhibition, leadership, and peer acceptance, was collected from multiple sources. It was found that academic achievement predicted children's social competence and peer acceptance. In turn, children's social functioning and adjustment, including social competence, aggression-disruption, leadership, and peer acceptance, uniquely contributed to academic achievement. These results generally supported the "reciprocal effects" model concerning the relations between academic achievement and social adjustment (S. P. Hinshaw, 1992). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adolescent alcohol expectancies in relation to personal and parental drinking patterns.

Increased expectations of positive effects of alcohol have been associated with severity of drinking across a variety of abusing and nonabusing adult populations. Although alcohol expectancies have been examined among high school adolescents, no study has examined expectancies of identified adolescent abusers in treatment. This study investigated whether adolescent alcohol abusers in treatment expect significantly more reinforcement from alcohol than do nonabusing peers and whether expectancies vary as a function of exposure to parental alcohol abuse. The adolescent version of the Alcohol Expectancy Questionnaire (Christiansen, Goldman, & Inn, 1982) was completed by 116 abusing and nonabusing adolescents. Results indicate that adolescent alcohol abusers expect significantly more reinforcement from alcohol than do demographically comparable nonabusing peers. Adolescents with an alcohol-abusing parent reported expecting more cognitive and motor enhancement from drinking than did adolescents without a family history of abuse. Thus, both personal alcohol use and parental alcohol use are related to adolescent alcohol expectancies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)