Liberal grading improves evaluations but not performance.

The effects of examination grades on 250 college students' study behaviors, attendance, and evaluations of instruction were examined in an undergraduate psychology course. A paradigm involving a team-teaching procedure was employed, which enabled the questions to be investigated in the natural setting using an experimental rather than a correlational methodology. Liberal grading was found to result in higher evaluations of course and instructor but had no demonstrable effect on studying or attendance. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Does grading undermine intrinsic interest in a college course?

94 undergraduates completed 1 of 2 questionnaire forms that (a) described a prospective college course, (b) asked them to rate their interest in the course, and (c) had them estimate 4 behavioral and attitudinal variables (amount of studying, creativity, class attendance, and personal satisfaction), assuming future enrollment. The questionnaires were identical except for the grading system (pass–fail vs standard letter grades) to be used in the course. The "overjustification hypothesis" proposes that grades undermine high intrinsic interest but augment low interest in academic tasks. Presumably, high interest would be undermined to a lesser degree with pass–fail than with letter grades. Although the results are partially consistent with this position, they raise questions concerning the application of overjustification suppositions in classrooms. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The preventive effects of early intervention on the attendance and grades of urban adolescents.

40 urban 7th-graders with school adjustment problems were randomly assigned to either an early intervention or a control group. The 2-yr program prevented deterioration in attendance and grades. While the attendance and grades of the controls deteriorated significantly, the attendance and grades of the program students remained the same. This preventive effect did not occur until Ss had been in the program for 2 yrs. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factors associated with clinical practicum trainees' engagements of clients in counseling.

The study was an examination of the relationship among clinical practicum students' Engagement Quotients (EQs), defined as the percentage of clients returning to each trainee for more than one session, and various measures of client session attendance at a university counseling center. Data were collected for 43 practicum students. Higher trainee EQs were associated with engagement of clients for more than 10 sessions. An additional analysis relating trainee EQs to academic admissions information yielded significant relationships between EQ on the Graduate Record Examination Verbal and Millers Analogies Test. EQ was also significantly and positively related to trainees' ages and grades in the clinical diagnostic course sequence. Results were discussed in relation to previous research that showed a relationship between EQ and therapists' ability to pick up on client problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationships among gender differences in freshman course grades and course characteristics.

Examines relationships among gender differences in freshmen college course grades and characteristics of the courses. Gender differences in course grades are not adequately explained by gender differences in previous scholastic achievement. In addition, courses in which gender differences favor women tend to be those in which high school grades and Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores are less important for earning higher course grades. These courses also award higher-than-average grades to freshmen with average high school grades and SAT scores and enroll a higher percentage of female freshmen. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Early adolescent peer orientation and adjustment during high school.

The long-term consequences of early adolescents' orientation toward peers for their adjustment during high school were assessed. Approximately 1,200 adolescents completed questionnaires in the 7th grade and in the 10th or 12th grades; course grades were also obtained from the students' school records. Early adolescents who were willing to sacrifice their talents, school performance, and parents' rules engaged in greater problem behavior and evidenced lower academic achievement than did other adolescents during high school. The poorer adjustment of adolescents with this extreme orientation toward peers was mediated by their reported involvement in deviant peer groups. In contrast, a tendency to seek advice from peers more than from parents during early adolescence had little implication for later adjustment. Discussion focuses on the need to consider the role of peer dependence along with the effects of supportive friendships during adolescence. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Using implementation intentions to increase attendance for cervical cancer screening.

This article evaluates an intervention based on P. A Gollwitzer's (1993) concept of implementation intentions. Women registered at a medical practice in rural England (N?=?114) completed measures of the theory of planned behavior variables before a manipulation that induced one half of the sample to form implementation intentions specifying when, where, and how they would make the appointment. Subsequent attendance was determined from medical records. Findings show that the theory of planned behavior variables and previous delay behavior provided good prediction of attendance. However, despite equivalent motivation to attend, participants who formed implementation intentions were much more likely to attend for screening compared with controls (92% vs. 69%). Evidence also suggests that implementation intentions attenuated the relationship between previous delay behavior and subsequent attendance. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivational consequences of absence and attendance: Proportional hazard estimation of a dynamic motivation model.

I applied a dynamic motivation theory to predict the hazard rate h(t) of absence taking. h(t) is the instantaneous rate of going from work attendance to work absence in a unit of time, given that the individual has been in attendance until time t. Intuitively, h(t) estimates the strength of unfulfilled nonwork motives. The present article introduced a more appropriate statistical model for attendance analysis, the Cox proportional hazard rate model, estimated using partial likelihood. Absence records for one year for 465 underground coal miners, generating 7,064 attendance spells, were used. Hypotheses about the impact of prior and subsequent absence spells on h(t) were formulated. h(t) was affected by the type of prior and subsequent absence, although some predictions were not supported. A Monte Carlo study of the model and the random occurrence of involuntary absence helped explain the unexpected estimates of h(t) of absence taking. The problems of unobserved heterogeneity and nonindependence of spells were addressed using both modeling and bootstrapping-type procedures. Theoretical and managerial implications of the results are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Can grade point average be more accurately predicted?

In a recent article, R. E. Goldman and R. E. Slaughter (1976) attempted to show that the reason GPA is difficult to predict is that it does not behave like a typical composite variable when defined as the average of the predicted adjusted course grades. The present article suggests that the use of predicted adjusted course grades in forming such a composite variable produces redundancies not found in the typical GPA. A brief discussion about the appropriateness of using course grades as criteria for selection is presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

American Indian students’ difficulties in Introduction to Psychology.

Earning passing grades in first year, introductory college courses is one key to academic success in higher education. Using archival and survey data from one Southwestern university, in Study 1, we found that ethnic differences in failing versus passing were greater in Introduction to Psychology than in Early American History, World Religions, and Introduction to Sociology. In Study 2, we showed that the gap between overall university grade point average and Introduction to Psychology course grade was greater for American Indian students than for European American, Asian American, and Hispanic students. In Study 3, this disparity was reduced but not eliminated when controlling for several academic and demographic variables. In Study 4, an exploratory survey revealed that, relative to European American students, American Indian students were more likely to report that Introduction to Psychology was difficult due to large class sizes, issues related to multiple-choice testing, and the amount (but not the difficulty) of information covered. American Indian students also were much less likely to articulate strategies for success such as memorization techniques, class attendance, or daily studying, but recommended supplemental instruction obtained in small study groups. Implications for enhancing the academic success of all students in this challenging first-year course are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Do College Students Drink More Than Their Non-College-Attending Peers? Evidence From a Population-Based Longitudinal Female Twin Study.

The association of college attendance with alcohol use and alcohol use disorders was examined in a population-based young adult female twin sample identified from a systematic search of birth records. College-attending women consumed a larger overall volume of alcohol than did their non-college-attending peers, but they were not more likely to be diagnosed with an alcohol use disorder. Significant associations between college attendance and alcohol involvement were probed using 3 different complementary research designs: multivariate cross-sectional analyses, longitudinal analyses of the precollege and college years, and cotwin-control analyses of twin pairs discordant for attending college. Although demographic and lifestyle characteristics accounted for most or all of the association between college attendance and alcohol involvement, there was 1 aspect of drinking behavior, occasionally consuming large quantities of alcohol, that remained significantly associated with college attendance even after controlling for these characteristics or for genetic and family background factors. These results are consistent with the conclusion that some aspect of the college experience may be an important environmental risk factor for this pattern of drinking among young adults. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Academic control and action control in the achievement of college students: A longitudinal field study.

A contradiction to the typical pattern of academic success occurs when bright, enthusiastic high school students fail after entering university. Two measures, perceived academic control and action control (i.e., preoccupation with failure) were administered to 524 college students at the beginning of a 2-semester course. Achievement-related cognitions, emotions, motivation, and final grades were measured at the end of the course. High-academic-control students exerted more effort, reported less boredom and anxiety, were more motivated, used self-monitoring strategies more often, felt more in control of their course assignments and of life in general, believed they performed better, and obtained higher final grades. Failure-preoccupied students received higher final grades, which corroborated their self-reported performance. Of note, high-control, high-failure-preoccupied students outperformed the other 3 groups by 1 to 2 letter grades. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Building-related illness and employee lost time following application of hot asphalt roof: a call for prevention

Industrial hygiene sampling within an office building during and following a roof renovation revealed low-level exposure to high-boiling organic compounds, associated with complaints of eye and upper respiratory tract irritation among building occupants. Health complaints continued substantially beyond the time frame of the renovation completion, despite a lack of objective industrial hygiene findings for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and microbiological contamination, and a lack of consistent medical findings among employees evaluated by an occupational physician. An analysis of employee attendance records suggests lost attendance and reduced productivity costs. Preventive strategies include proper planning and scheduling of building renovations to prevent employee exposure to asphalt roof emissions.     

Attendance-enhancing procedures in group counseling for domestic abusers.

A quasi-experimental design was used to examine the effectiveness of motivational enhancement techniques in increasing session attendance and reducing dropout among 189 men undergoing group domestic abuse counseling. The treatment retention procedures were associated with significantly greater session attendance and lower dropout rates even after controlling for demographic factors. Increased session attendance was associated with lower posttreatment relationship violence and criminal recidivism among those who received the treatment retention intervention. The intervention appeared to be particularly effective with ethnic minority clients. Findings indicate that supportive treatment retention procedures during the course of therapy can reduce the high dropout rates commonly reported in counseling programs for male domestic abuse perpetrators. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Self-efficacy, locus of control, self-assessment of memory ability, and study activities as predictors of college course achievement.

A stepwise multiple-regression analysis of the final grades of 184 students in an introductory psychology course revealed that scores on a self-assessment measure of memory ability (the Everyday Memory Questionnaire) were the best predictors of final course grades, followed by scores on a locus of control measure and scores on the Self-Concept of Academic Ability Test. Of the 14 subscales from the Study Activity Survey, only the cognitive scale of Focus on Test Relevance and the 2 self-management scales of Assiduous Resource Management and Means of Resource Management were significant predictors of course achievement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Survival and morbidity among children with low birth weight

Stillbirth and the mortality rate in low birthweight infants (less than 2,500 g) have been greatly reduced since 1967. 95% of all infants born in 1991-93 whose birthweight was between 500 and 999 g, and who survived to one year of age, would have died under the same circumstances in 1967-69. This improved survival is not, to any appreciable extent, related to an increase in demand at seven years of age for a basic grant or attendance benefit because of cerebral palsy or mental retardation. The number of basic grant and attendance benefits because of eye diseases has been reduced by about half for 7-year olds whose birthweight was low. On the whole, however, the number of basic grant and attendance benefits increased from about 1% in 1974-85 to 2.2% in 1986-94. This increase can be particularly attributed to skin and lung diseases. These results have been obtained by coordinating the record of the Medical Birth Registry of Norway and the records of the Social Security offices for all births (1,566,763) registered during the years 1967-93.     

Predictors of math anxiety and its influence on young adolescents' course enrollment intentions and performance in mathematics.

We used structural modeling procedures to assess the influence of past math grades, math ability perceptions, performance expectancies, and value perceptions on the level of math anxiety reported in a sample of 7th- through 9th-grade students (N?=?250). A second set of analyses examined the relative influence of these performance, self-perception, and affect variables on students' subsequent grades and course enrollment intentions in mathematics. The findings indicated that math anxiety was most directly related to students' math ability perceptions, performance expectancies, and value perceptions. Students' performance expectancies predicted subsequent math grades, whereas their value perceptions predicted course enrollment intentions. Math anxiety did not have significant direct effects on either grades or intentions. The findings also suggested that the pattern of relations are similar for boys and girls. The results are discussed in relation to expectancy-value and self-efficacy theories of academic achievement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

No pain, no gain? The importance of measuring course workload in student ratings of instruction.

Samples of about 200 undergraduate courses were investigated in each of 3 consecutive academic terms. Course survey forms assessed evaluative ratings, expected grades, and course workloads. A covariance structure model was developed in exploratory fashion for the 1st term's data, and then successfully cross-validated in each of the next 2 terms. The 2 major features of the successful model were that (a) courses that gave higher grades were better liked (a positive path from expected grades to evaluative ratings), and (b) courses that gave higher grades had lighter workloads (a negative relation between expected grades and workload). These findings support the conclusion that instructors' grading leniency influences ratings. This effect of grading leniency also importantly qualifies the standard interpretation that student ratings are relatively pure indicators of instructional quality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Desire for control and academic performance.

Examined the relationship of desire for control (DFC) and academic performance. 65 undergraduates completed the Desirability of Control Scale. The Ss were asked to estimate their grade point average (GPA) for the current quarter and entire academic year, to estimate the number of hours they studied per week, and how important grades were to them. Two years later, the academic records of 54 Ss who gave permission were examined. High DFC Ss had higher grades than low DFC Ss. 84.6% of the students in the sample who achieved a GPA of 3.0 or better during the 2-yr period were high DFC students. High DFC Ss indicated they placed greater importance on grades and studied more per week than did low DFC Ss. (French abstract) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)