Relational Effects of Reading Motivation and Academic Achievement Among Adolescent Boys

This study explores the relationship between academic achievement and reading motivation among adolescent boys. We seek to understand (1) if motivational construct scores change meaningfully over time, (2) what relationship exists between the achievement scores and reported reading motivation, and (3) if students who report higher reading motivation initially have greater gains in achievement over time than students who report lower reading motivation. Results suggest some variation in construct scores over time. Achievement scores obtained in eighth grade were predictive of numerous motivational construct scores in ninth grade; limited results suggest that motivation in ninth grade may affect later achievement.     

Spontaneous Sourcing Among Students Reading Multiple Documents

This study used think-aloud methodology to explore undergraduates' spontaneous attention to and use of source information while reading six documents that presented conflicting views on a controversial social scientific issue in a Google-like environment. Results showed that students explicitly and implicitly paid attention to sources of documents as well as sources cited within documents and that their attention to source information was associated with its use in evaluating, predicting, and interpreting the content of the documents. Students' sourcing activity varied across documents. The two documents that took the strongest, opposing stances on the controversy elicited the most sourcing. We also observed that, in essays they wrote on the controversy, students' spontaneous sourcing activity was related to their citation of a particularly trustworthy source. The study's theoretical implications are discussed in terms of the Documents Model framework.     

Motivation-Hygiene Aspects of Vocational Indecision and College Achievement

Subjective and objective scales designed to assess Herzberg and Hamlin's (1961) motivation and hygiene constructs were given to 133 male university freshmen. On the basis of ACT scores and responses to a university admission form, they were classified into groups having no vocational preferences (NP), non-realistic preferences (NRP), and realistic preferences (RP). NRP and RP groups were more motivation oriented than NP group, and on one scale NRP group was more hygiene oriented than RP group. A group of 34 male clients was more motivation oriented than NP group. With ACT scores partialled out, grade-point average was correlated positively with endorsement of certain “motivator” job incentives and negatively with endorsement of some “hygiene” incentives. The findings and theory are suggested as relevant to vocational and educational counseling.     

中小学生课外阅读时间及时间分配与阅读成绩的关系研究

采用问卷调查法对107名重点与非重点学校的小学、初中学生课外阅读时间、阅读时间分配进行了调查,并考察了它们与阅读成绩的关系。结果发现:(1)小学生与初中生课外平均每周阅读时间无显著差异,但其时间的分配有差异,小学生主要阅读文学类书籍,而初中生除了主要阅读文学类书籍外,增加了阅读娱乐类书籍的时间;(2)整体上看,中小学生课外阅读时间与阅读成绩存在显著相关,其中文学类书籍课外阅读时间与阅读成绩有显著正相关,娱乐类书籍课外阅读时间与重点学校学生的阅读成绩以及男生的阅读成绩有显著的负相关。     

高中生成就动机、物理学习成绩对其自我监控的影响

随机选取高中生314名,采用量表和问卷法探讨了成就动机、物理学习成绩对中学生物理问题解决自我监控能力发展的影响。结果表明：1、不同层次的动机,其自我监控能力不同,即高学习目标低成绩目标者监控水平最高,其次是高学习目标高成绩目标者,再是低学习目标低成绩目标者,最后是高成绩目标低学习目标者;2、物理学习成绩越好,中学生物理学习自我监控能力的水平越高。     

Torque as a Predictor of Reading Achievement

The present study assessed the utility of the Torque Test (Blau, 1977b) as a predictor of reading performance. Children (N = 149) were administered the Torque Test, the Harris Test of Lateral Dominance (Harris, 1958), the Wide Range Achievement Test, (Jastak & Jastak, 1965), and the Bender Gestalt Test (Koppitz, 1975). Torque scores of disabled and nondisabled readers did not differ significantly, and the correlation between torque and WRAT grade level scores was substantively low. It was concluded that torque is not a useful measure of reading ability.     

Motivations for Reading Beauty and Fashion Magazines and Anorexic Risk in College-Age Women

A growing body of research has linked the reading of women's beauty and fashion magazines with the presence of eating-disordered thinking. Most of this research has focused on the relationship between the frequency with which women read and their potential anorexic risk. In the present study, the authors explore the connection between the motivations for reading and the presence of anorexic cognitions. Specifically, this study of 536 college-age women sought to determine which reading motivations might be the most p redictive of anorexic risk and whether those motivations would be differentially related to reading frequency and to scores on the Mizes Anorectic Cognitions Scale (MACS). To test the simultaneous contribution of the possible reading motivations on the two outcomes of interest, a structural equation model using AMOS 4.0 was generated. The findings from the model indicate that reading frequency and anorexic risk are largely predicted by divergent motivational factors. The reading frequency of beauty and fashion magazines was most strongly predicted by a woman's desire for selfimprovement. Anorexic risk, as measured by MACS scores, was best predicted     

Neuropsychological Aspects of Multiple Sclerosis

Since S. Rao's [Neuropsychology of Multiple Sclerosis: A Critical Review, A Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, Vol. 85, pp. 503–542] (1986) seminal review, considerable research has been undertaken on the neuropsychological consequences of multiple sclerosis. This review incorporates the research literature of the last decade in presenting an overview of the current state of our knowledge concerning the etiology, course, symptoms, assessment, consequences, and treatment of multiple sclerosis (MS). The concept of subcortical dementia is revisited in light of the most recent literature documenting the neuropsychological deficits in patients with MS. The view that cognitively heterogeneous patient groups may disguise more specific patterns of focal neuropsychological impairment is considered. A critical review of the recent literature is also presented, detailing the degree to which recent research has addressed the areas of research need identified by Rao in 1986. Given recent advances in our knowledge, the need for more attention to be directed toward the evaluation of rehabilitation and psychological intervention is highlighted.     

家庭社会经济地位对初中生阅读成就的影响：阅读动机和阅读活动的中介作用

为探讨阅读动机和阅读活动在家庭社会经济地位与阅读成就关系之间的中介机制,采用问卷法对我国东部某省3所学校468名7～9年级学生进行调查,使用结构方程建模的方法对中介模型进行检验。结果表明：家庭社会经济地位、阅读动机、阅读活动及阅读成就之间呈显著正相关;家庭社会经济地位对阅读成就的直接效应不显著,但可以通过阅读动机和阅读活动的链式中介作用对阅读成就产生间接的影响。     

Thinking Styles and Academic Achievement Among Filipino Students

The authors' objective in this study was to determine whether the precepts of R. J. Sternberg's (1988, 1997) theory of mental self-government apply to a non-Western culture. They administered R. J. Sternberg and R. K. Wagner's (1992) Thinking Styles Inventory, which is based on the theory of mental self-government, to 429 Filipino university students. The results of item analysis, scale intercorrelations, and factor analysis were consistent with the general provisions of the theory. Correlational analysis between thinking styles and grade point average showed that thinking styles are related to academic achievement. The results are explained with respect to the concepts and practices of Philippine culture and schools and discussed in relation to the developmental assumptions of the theory of mental self-government.     

阅读目标和阅读任务对读者眼动的影响(中文)

We review two studies examining task effects on eye guidance during reading. The first study investigated effects of reading perspective on eye behavior in reading. It demonstrated that both the initial encoding of words as well as the later integration stage of wrapping up the sentence meaning are influenced by the reading perspective. Early effects of reading perspective were observed both in saccadic programming and in fixation times and were primarily seen when reading a text of familiar content. In the second study, effects of reading task were examined by comparing eye movements between proofreading and reading for comprehension. Task effects appeared very early in the processing time line; both temporal and spatial aspects of eye movements were affected. Taking together, the two studies demonstrate that readers make a global adjustment to eye behavior on the basis of reading task or goal.     

Trends and Patterns Among Music Pirates

The current work, based on data from a cross-sectional sample of approximately 2,000 randomly selected university students, seeks to clarify exactly who is most likely to engage in online music piracy. The extant knowledgebase on why individuals take part in this form of intellectual property is growing, but little is known about the type and background of those involved. This study therefore seeks to construct a profile of the typical music pirate by measuring the salience of demographic characteristics and the respondent's scope of overall participation in cyberspace-based activities. Findings indicated that respondents’ differentially participated in music piracy based on their gender, race, type of college major, proficiency in using the Internet, and variety of online participation. Policy solutions based on an attempt to clearly specify, reinforce, and enforce definitions of appropriate Internet use are consequently suggested to reduce the prevalence of piracy among a university population.     

Sensation Seeking and Need for Achievement Among Study-Abroad Students

Abstract

A constitutional decision rule is the criterion of agreement that the collectivity designates as necessary to achieve binding decisions. Ostrom and Ostrom's (1977) individual calculus model specifies that groups consider two types of costs in choosing a constitutional decision rule: decision-making costs (time, money and effort invested in the decision-making process) and deprivation costs (the extent to which each participant is disadvantaged by an unfavorable decision). Deprivation costs and decision-making costs were manipulated, and preferences for decision rules were observed in this study of 420 American college students. The results partially supported the Ostrom and Ostrom model: Decision-making costs were related to constitutional choice; deprivation costs were not so related. A very large preference was found for majority rule and elected leader rule. In general, subjects did not respond strongly to the desires for efficiency or for individual gain that were proposed by the calculus model.     

Cognitive Predictors of English Reading Achievement in Chinese English-Immersion Students

This study investigated the effects of English and Chinese phonological awareness (PA) and naming speed (NS) on English reading achievement and the evidence for cross-linguistic transfer in Chinese English-immersion students. English PA was a significant predictor of English reading achievement for immersion students in Grades 2 and 4. There was little evidence of cross-linguistic transfer from Chinese PA and NS to English reading achievement. English immersion students performed equal to non-immersion students on NS and mathematics in both grades, and in Chinese PA in Grade 4. Results are discussed in terms of theories of reading development in second language.     

An Exploration of the Associations Among Multiple Aspects of Religiousness,Body Image,Eating Pathology,and Appearance Investment

The purpose of this study was to investigate the influence of positive and negative aspects of religiousness on eating pathology, body satisfaction, and appearance investment beyond previously established variables (age, BMI, exercise frequency, weight stability, and self-esteem). Data collected from 168 adult females at a Catholic-affiliated university were analyzed using hierarchical linear regressions. As expected, some religiousness variables (spirituality and seeing one’s body as having sacred qualities) were associated with eating pathology, body satisfaction, and appearance investment in potentially beneficial ways, and others (negative interaction with one’s religious community) were associated in potentially harmful ways. Interestingly, greater religious meaning, or the importance of religion in one’s life, was associated with greater eating pathology, and some variables (religious coping, participation in and support from one’s religious community) expected to be associated with greater body satisfaction were unrelated. Results are discussed in terms of mechanisms through which the aspects of religiousness may influence body satisfaction, appearance investment, and eating pathology.     

中学生阅读动机与阅读时间、阅读成绩的关系研究

采用问卷调查法对３５３名初、高中学生的阅读动机、阅读时间及阅读成绩进行了调查,结果发现：１．中学生的阅读动机是多维度的,包括内部动机、外部动机、社会性动机与自我效能,它们之间相互影响、相互联系;２．中学生阅读动机水平的高低与阅读时间、阅读成绩存在极为显著的正相关,其中,内部动机对中学生阅读时间、阅读成绩的影响要大于其它因素的影响;３．中学生的阅读动机发展特点具有性别帮年级差异,趋势是初中生优于高中     

Word Reading Efficiency,Text Reading Fluency,and Reading Comprehension Among Chinese Learners of English

This study examined the relationship among word reading efficiency, text reading fluency, and reading comprehension for adult English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners. Data from 185 adult Chinese EFL learners preparing to take the Test-of-English-as-a-Foreign-Language? (TOEFL®) were analyzed in this study. The participants completed a computer-based test battery of word reading efficiency and text reading fluency in addition to TOEFL iBT (Internet-Based Test) reading comprehension. The findings showed a stronger relationship between text oral reading fluency and reading comprehension than between word reading efficiency and reading comprehension. The authors recommended that attention be paid to text oral reading fluency in adult EFL reading research and instruction.     

Knowledge of Social Aspects of Aging Among Pastors

ABSTRACT

One hundred and sixty randomly selected pastors were questioned concerning their knowledge of key aspects of social aging. The instrument used was developed for this study and involved more sophisticated questions than are usually found on quizzes of this nature. The mean score was 55/100. Self education and participation in formal seminars in aging were positively associated with higher scores while seminary exposure to aging related course work was not Pastors were not good estimators of their own level of knowledge, but level of knowledge was positively associated with presence of church programs for the elderly.