Racial socialization, racial identity, and Black students' adjustment to college

The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of racial socialization and racial identity on adjustment in Black college students. Self-report questionnaires were administered to 141 Black college students from a predominantly White university and racially diverse college. The findings suggest that racial socialization positively contributes to academic adjustment. An internalized-multicultural identity positively contributed to overall college adjustment, and pre-encounter miseducated racial identity negatively contributed. Internalized Afrocentric racial identity was negatively related to overall college adjustment. Implications for multicultural social scientists and directions for future research are discussed.     

Examining memory for heterosexual college students' sexual experiences using an electronic mail diary.

To examine memory for sexual expenences, the authors asked 37 sexually active, nonmonogamous, heterosexual college students to complete an e-mail diary every day for 1 month. The diary contained questions about their sexual behaviors. Six to 12 months later, they returned for a surprise memory test, which contained questions about their sexual experiences from the diary phase. They were asked about their sexual partners, the types of sexual experiences they had, and condom use. Participants underreported the number of partners they had, but they overreported both sexual experiences and condom use. The results have implications for both sexual health educators and for people who engage in high-risk sexual behaviors.     

Examining college students' food security coping strategies and experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic

College students' food situations may have been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, which could have affected their health and well-being. However, little is known about how the pandemic impacted students' food experiences and how students coped with food-related disruptions, particularly from the student's own perspective. This study reviews data from 571 undergraduates who attended public colleges during Fall 2021 and Spring 2022 and wrote a narrative about the pandemic's impact on their food experiences. Most students indicated they experienced a wide range of food difficulties and adapted new food practices. Despite these challenges, students emphasized proactive coping strategies and positive pandemic outcomes rather than difficulties and negative outcomes. These findings have implications for students' long-term health and well-being.     

How college students' physical health relates to coping

The relationship between coping and physical health status was examined for 100 undergraduate students using the COPE scale and the Medical Index (formerly identified as the Cornell Medical Index). Using stepwise multiple regression, scores for COPE scales--alcohol or drug use, and focus on and venting of emotions accounted for significant amounts of variance (but only 10% and 5%, respectively) in the scores for physical health symptoms reported.     

利用游戏log-file预测学生推理能力和数学成绩——机器学习的应用

以360名初中生为被试, 使用推箱子游戏, 结合游戏日志文件(log-file)和机器学习技术预测学生的推理能力和数学成绩。预测变量是从推箱子的过程数据中提取的一系列特征指标, 结果变量是瑞文推理测验成绩和数学成绩, 且均以25%为高低分组的临界值转换为二分变量。结果发现, 训练的模型预测推理能力最高能获得76.11%的查准率、65.72%的精确率、63.10%的查全率以及65.01%的F1得分; 预测数学成绩最高能获得83.07%的查准率、73.70%的精确率、73.33%的查全率以及75.57%的F1得分。研究结果说明, 机器学习建立的区分模型具有较好的预测效果, 利用log-file所记录的游戏过程数据可以对个体的能力进行有效预测。     

On a slippery slope to intolerance: Individual difference in slippery slope beliefs predict outgroup negativity

Slippery slope beliefs capture the idea that a non-problematic action will lead to unpreventable and harmful outcomes. While this idea has been examined in legal and philosophical literatures, there has been no psychological research into the individual propensity to hold slippery slope beliefs. Across five studies and six samples (combined N = 5,974), we developed and tested an individual difference measure of slippery slope beliefs, finding that it predicted intolerance of outgroup freedoms above and beyond key demographic and psychological predictors (Studies 1–2 and 5). We also found that slippery slope beliefs predict intolerance of debated behaviors in two countries (Study 3), and that it predicted agreement with real-world slippery slope examples across the political spectrum (Studies 4–5).     

Measuring and reducing college students' procrastination

We examined college students' procrastination when studying for weekly in-class quizzes. Two schedules of online practice quiz delivery were compared using a multiple baseline design. When online study material was made available noncontingently, students usually procrastinated. When access to additional study material was contingent on completing previous study material, studying was more evenly distributed. Overall, the mean gain in percentage correct scores on weekly in-class quizzes relative to pretests was greater during contingent access than during noncontingent access conditions.     

Attributions of intergroup bias and outgroup homogeneity to ingroup and outgroup others

The research in this article explores the structure and content of attributed intergroup beliefs: to what extent do perceivers think others of their ingroup and their outgroup display intergroup evaluative bias and outgroup homogeneity? We report studies that address this question in ethnicity, gender, and nationality intergroup contexts. In all of these, we show that perceivers attribute to others more biased intergroup beliefs than they themselves espouse. Even when perceivers themselves do not show intergroup bias or outgroup homogeneity, they attribute such biases to others, both others from their ingroup and others from their outgroup. We argue that such attributed intergroup beliefs are fundamentally important to expectations concerning intergroup interaction. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The relationship of assertiveness to college students' safer sex behaviors.

Educational programs designed to curtail the present sexually transmitted disease (STD) epidemic emphasize the role of assertiveness in reducing personal risk. This study investigated the relationship between assertiveness tendencies and safer sex behaviors in heterosexual college students. It was predicted that assertiveness would vary positively, and nonassertiveness negatively, with three types of precautionary behaviors: caution about engaging in sexual intimacy, inquiry about a potential partner's STD risk history, and frequency of condom use. A convenience sample of 253 undergraduates (159 females and 94 males) anonymously completed a sexual behavior/demographic questionnaire and the Intimate Relationships Questionnaire (IRQ), designed for this study and involving assertive, nonassertive, and aggressive responses to scenarios relevant to safer sex. The findings confirmed the hypothesized relationships between IRQ assertiveness tendencies and safer sex practices. Gender differences were discovered on the IRQ and in the health-protective behaviors of using caution and inquiring about a prospective partner's STD risk history. Implications for STD prevention strategies are discussed.     

Change in college students' attitude toward child-bearing from 1971 to 1973

Summary: Two samples of college students, one obtained in 1971 and one in 1973, were asked to draw a picture of a happily married couple. Some subjects were asked to draw the couple after two years of marriage and some after five years of marriage. The pictures were scored for the presence or absence of children as an estimate of the attitude that children are necessary for a happy marriage. A large decrease in the "presence of children" from the 1971 to 1973 sample was interpreted as indicating that fewer college students now accept the notion that children are necessary for marital happiness.     

Encouraging children to mentalise about a perceived outgroup increases prosocial behaviour towards outgroup members

We investigated whether encouraging young children to discuss the mental states of an immigrant group would elicit more prosocial behaviour towards them and impact on their perception of a group member's emotional experience. Five‐ and 6‐year‐old children were either prompted to talk about the thoughts and feelings of this social group or to talk about their actions. Across two studies, we found that this manipulation increased the extent to which children shared with a novel member of the immigrant group who was the victim of a minor transgression. The manipulation did not lead to greater sharing towards a victim from the children's own culture and did not influence their perception of a victim's negative emotions. These results may ultimately have implications for interventions aimed at fostering positive intergroup relations within the context of immigration.     

High risk drinking and college students' self-perceptions

The present study examined the relationship between high risk drinking and college students' self-perceptions. High risk drinking was defined as the consumption of four or more drinks in a row for women and five or more drinks in a row for men during a single sitting (within the last year). Historical trends regarding college-age drinking indicate that 44% of college students fit the criteria for high risk drinking at least once over the past year. A survey was administered to 210 college students (52 men and 158 women) between 18 and 22 years of age (M = 20.9, SD = 1.3) to assess their use of alcohol and their self-perceptions. Students' self-perceptions were measured with four subscales from the Neemann-Harter Self-perception Profile for College Students. Students either volunteered to participate in this study outside of class or were solicited during class. It was predicted that students' self-perceptions would differ significantly depending upon their alcohol consumption, i.e., 17.1% were Abstainers, 25.2% were Nonproblem Drinkers, and 57.6% were High Risk Drinkers. Analysis gave significant difference on Global Self-worth between students who abstained and those who were High Risk Drinkers. However, students' perceptions of Scholastic Competence, Intellectual Ability, and Social Acceptance did not differ significantly for the alcohol consumption groups. In addition to high risk drinking, a number of other variables were associated with self-perceptions, such as high school alcohol use, low high school GPA, and students' reported academic involvement. These relations are discussed.     

International students' experiences of integrating into the workforce

This study explored the integration experiences of 16 international students entering the Canadian workforce using a semistructured interview and constant comparison method. The international students were pursuing immigration to Canada, despite unmet job prospects. Students recommended that employers refrain from discriminating against students because of their international status and recognize the value of a diverse labor force. Students recommended that career services personnel help students build networks and employment contacts through pregraduation work experience. Incoming international students were advised to educate themselves about cultural norms for social and work interactions, research potential job opportunities, and create a professional network prior to degree completion.     

Rorschach training: doctoral students' experiences and preferences

American Psychological Association graduate student affiliates (500) were sent surveys regarding their Rorschach training experiences and interests. From 254 valid surveys, 87% of students reported that they were offered an introductory course that included the Rorschach; only about one fourth of the students were offered an advanced course. Of the students (212) who had some Rorschach training, the majority (78%) indicated they would like to obtain more. Most students viewed the Rorschach as helpful for understanding a client's personality. More training is needed, however, in applying this understanding to treatment planning and client feedback. Students were more satisfied with their training when they (a) had more Rorschach experience (didactic, practical, and research familiarity), (b) were in a psychodynamic or eclectic versus cognitive-behavioral program, (c) were pursuing a clinical PsyD versus clinical PhD, and (d) perceived a more positive attitude toward the Rorschach in their training program. All of these variables (including training satisfaction) also were related to students' expected likelihood of using the Rorschach in their professional careers.     

Using the past to predict the future

This research addressed three issues. First, we examined whether retrospective confidence judgments (RCJs) and judgments of learning (JOLs) assess memory differently. Second, we examined the relative accuracy of JOLs and RCJs at predicting future recall performance. Third, we examined whether making JOLs improves subsequent recall better than making RCJs or making no metacognitive judgment. Results suggest that RCJs and JOLs are both based on retrievability, but that participants use their memory differently when making JOLs. RCJs were more accurate than JOLs at predicting future recall for some subsets of items, but the reverse was true for other subsets of items. Finally, eventual recall performance was facilitated when participants made JOLs but not when they made RCJs, suggesting that the JOL task helps to improve people's learning of the items.     

Changes in students' motivation to learn during the first year of college

This study looks at changes in first-year college students' motivational orientation and whether these changes relate systematically to campus and classroom experiences. 130 college students (M age = 18 yr., 75% women) completed measures of learning orientation, grade orientation, and work avoidance from the LOGO II at the beginning and end of their first year. The year-end assessment also included questions regarding characteristics of students' classes and the amount of time they spent in campus activities. Students became more grade-oriented and work-avoidant and less learning-oriented over time. Changes in learning orientation and work avoidance were associated with classroom and campus experiences. Results are discussed in terms of the need for additional research on changes in college students' motivation and factors predicting this change.     

Sensitivity to status-based rejection: implications for African American students' college experience

The authors proposed a process model whereby experiences of rejection based on membership in a devalued group can lead people to anxiously expect, readily perceive, and intensely react to status-based rejection. To test the model, the authors focused on race-based rejection sensitivity (RS-race) among African Americans. Following the development and validation of the RS-Race Questionnaire (Studies 1 and 2), the authors tested the utility of the model for understanding African American students' experiences at a predominantly White university (Study 3). Students high in RS-race experienced greater discomfort during the college transition, less trust in the university, and relative declines in grades over a 2- to 3-year period. Positive race-related experiences, however, increased feelings of belonging at the institution among students high in RS-race.