The effect of self-recording on the classroom behavior of two eighth-grade students

The effects of self-recording on classroom behavior of two junior high school students was investigated. In the first experiment, study behavior of an eighth-grade girl in history class was recorded. Following baseline observations her counselor provided slips for the girl to record whether or not she studied in class. This resulted in an increase in study. When slips were withdrawn, study decreased and then increased once self-recording was reinstated. After teacher praise for study was increased, self-recording was discontinued without significant losses in study behavior. In the final phase, increased praise was also withdrawn and study remained at a high level. In the second experiment, the number of talk outs emitted by an eighth-grade boy were recorded during math period. Following baseline, slips for recording talk outs were issued for the first half of the period, for the second half, and then for the entire period. Talk outs decreased when self-recording was in effect and increased again when self-recording was discontinued. When self-recording was reinstituted in the final phase there was a slight, though not significant decrease in talking out when compared to the baseline condition.     

Some observations upon perceptual organization and the mere exposure effect

The mere repetition of events tends to enhance subjective familiarity and subjective preference for those events. It has been shown that the enhancement of subjective preference is neither contingent upon a feeling of familiarity nor an awareness of the physical identity of the stimulus during learning. This finding is surprising since the weight of existing theoretical and empirical evidence suggests that subjective preference is derivative of familiarity. An experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that at least one preattentive/preconscious product, figure-ground organization, is shared between the processes responsible for preference enhancement and those responsible for the enhancement of recognition memory. There were two significant findings. First, subjects were able to discriminate between objectively familiar stimuli and objectively unfamiliar stimuli on the basis of preference judgments but were unable to do so on the basis of familiarity judgments. Second, preference enhancement occurred only for those objectively familiar stimuli for which the figure-ground aspects had not been phenomenally reversed. The significance of these findings is discussed.     

The effect of ostracism upon mood in youth with borderline personality disorder

The experience of rejection or abandonment in Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) can lead to profound changes in affect. Yet, the intensity, duration, and type of mood changes that occur in response to rejection remain unclear. This study examined the effect of ostracism upon mood in 30 outpatient youth diagnosed with BPD and 22 healthy community control participants (aged 15-24). Cyberball, a virtual balltoss game, was used to simulate ostracism and 13 mood states were recorded before, immediately after, and 15 minutes after the game. The results showed that while ostracism induced changes in anger, rejection, surprise, suspicion, and joy, there were no differences in the pattern of emotional responding and regulation between the two groups. The BPD group consistently rated their mood as more intense across all 13 mood states and across time compared with the control group. These findings suggest that, compared to healthy individuals, those youth with BPD experience negative emotions as more intense and that in mild cases of interpersonal rejection, their emotional responding and regulation are similar to their healthy peers.     

Student welfare and guidance: The pastoral role of the academic

Problems relating to the role of academic staff in the pastoral care of students in institutions of higher education are discussed, and the arrangements made in one university for the provision of such pastoral care are considered. The operation of this 'supervisory system' is shown to vary between the different departments, and the views of the heads of departments are seen to be far from unanimous. The responsibilities attributed by heads of departments to supervisors are numerous and diverse. Perhaps, with the influx of professional student counsellors into institutions of higher education, the time is ripe for a re-assessment of the part academic staff can play in the pastoral care of their students.     

The social status of aggressive students across contexts: the role of classroom status hierarchy, academic achievement, and grade

This study tested the effects of 5 classroom contextual features on the social status (perceived popularity and social preference) that peers accord to aggressive students in late elementary school, including classroom peer status hierarchy (whether within-classroom differences in popularity are large or small), classroom academic level, and grade level as the main predictors of interest as well as classroom aggression and ethnic composition as controls. Multilevel analyses were conducted on an ethnically diverse sample of 968 fourth- and fifth-graders from 46 classrooms in 9 schools. Associations between aggression and status varied greatly from one classroom to another. Aggressive students were more popular and better liked in classrooms with higher levels of peer status hierarchy. Aggressive students had higher social status in Grade 5 than in Grade 4 and lower social preference in classrooms of higher academic level. Classroom aggression and ethnic composition did not moderate aggression-status associations. Limitations and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

The social and academic adjustment experiences of first-year students at a historically disadvantaged peri-urban university in South Africa

The goal of the research was to explore the social and academic experiences of first-year students at a peri-urban university in South Africa. Eighteen students (females = 50%, mean age = 19.88 years), participated in focus group discussions on their experiences of social and academic adjustment. Data were analysed using Thematic Content Analysis. The study found that first-year students reported both positive and negative adjustment experiences. Positive academic adjustment experiences included academic and financial support, and negative ones included unsupportive lecturers and departments, workload and lack of accommodation. Positive social adjustment experiences included social and emotional support and independence, while negative experiences were experienced as disintegration which included aspects of social isolation and homesickness. First-year students’ experiences carry both benefits and costs to their sense of well-being as learners.     

Moderating effect of self-determination in the relationship between Big Five personality and academic performance

Previous studies have shown that both personality and motivation are important factors in student academic performance. This study examined how the interactions between the Big Five personality traits and self-determination motivation orientations affect students' academic performance. The hypotheses were empirically tested using cross-sectional data collected from 249 primary school students in China. The correlation analysis found that self-determined motivation and four of the five personality traits (not emotional instability) were significantly positively related to academic performance in English. The hierarchical regression analysis revealed that, after controlling for gender, openness to new experience and conscientiousness both positively predicted English performance. Significant interaction effects were found between agreeableness and self-determined motivation, and between conscientiousness and self-determined motivation. However, conscientiousness and agreeableness only positively predicted academic performance when the student's self-determined motivation was low.     

The relationship between personality organization as assessed by theory-driven profiles of the Dutch Short Form of the MMPI and self-reported features of personality organization

In this study, we investigated the relationships between features of personality organization (PO) as assessed by theory driven profiles of the Dutch Short Form of the MMPI (DSFM; Luteijn & Kok, 1985) and 2 self-report measures of personality pathology, that is, the Dutch Inventory of Personality Organization (Berghuis, Kamphuis, Boedijn, & Verheul, 2009) and the Dutch Schizotypy Personality Questionnaire-Revised (Vollema & Hoijtink, 2000), in a sample of 190 outpatient psychiatric patients. Results showed that the single scales of all 3 measures segregated into 2 theoretically expected and meaningful dimensions, that is, a dimension assessing severity of personality pathology and an introversion/extraversion dimension. Theory-driven combinations of single DSFM subscales as a measure of level of PO distinguished characteristics of patients at various levels of PO in theoretically predicted ways. Results also suggest that structural personality pathology may not be fully captured by self-report measures.     

The Eysenckian personality factors and their correlations with academic performance

Background. The relationship between personality and academic performance has long been explored, and a recent meta‐analysis established that measures of the five‐factor model (FFM) dimension of Conscientiousness have similar validity to intelligence measures. Although currently dominant, the FFM is only one of the currently accepted models of personality, and has limited theoretical support. In contrast, the Eysenckian personality model was developed to assess a specific theoretical model and is still commonly used in educational settings and research. Aims. This meta‐analysis assessed the validity of the Eysenckian personality measures for predicting academic performance. Sample. Statistics were obtained for correlations with Psychoticism, Extraversion, and Neuroticism (20–23 samples; N from 8,013 to 9,191), with smaller aggregates for the Lie scale (7 samples; N= 3,910). Methods. The Hunter–Schmidt random effects method was used to estimate population correlations between the Eysenckian personality measures and academic performance. Moderating effects were tested using weighted least squares regression. Results. Significant but modest validities were reported for each scale. Neuroticism and Extraversion had relationships with academic performance that were consistent with previous findings, while Psychoticism appears to be linked to academic performance because of its association with FFM Conscientiousness. Age and educational level moderated correlations with Neuroticism and Extraversion, and gender had no moderating effect. Correlations varied significantly based on the measurement instrument used. Conclusions. The Eysenckian scales do not add to the prediction of academic performance beyond that provided by FFM scales. Several measurement problems afflict the Eysenckian scales, including low to poor internal reliability and complex factor structures. In particular, the measurement and validity problems of Psychoticism mean its continued use in academic settings is unjustified.     

Supporting the students most in need: academic self-efficacy and perceived teacher support in relation to within-year academic growth

Academic self-efficacy and perceived teacher support in relation to academic skill growth across one academic year were examined in the study. Participants included 193 5th-grade students. Teachers collected curriculum-based measures (CBM) of reading and math on three occasions as part of routine academic benchmarks, and researchers collected student-reported measures of academic self-efficacy and perceived teacher support in the spring of the same academic year. Results indicated that academic self-efficacy was positively related to fall reading and math CBM scores and that perceived teacher support was unrelated to fall scores or growth across the academic year. Academic self-efficacy and perceived teacher support interacted in relation to math CBM growth such that low levels of perceived teacher support were related to greater growth, particularly for students with high academic self-efficacy. Follow-up analyses indicated that students with the lowest fall CBM scores and smallest growth rates reported higher levels of perceived teacher support, suggesting that teachers support the students most in need.     

Social cognitive predictors of academic adjustment and life satisfaction in Portuguese college students: A longitudinal analysis

A social cognitive model of well-being [Lent, R. W. (2004). Toward a unifying theoretical and practical perspective on well-being and psychosocial adjustment. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 51, 482--509.] was adapted to the context of academic adjustment and tested using a longitudinal design. Participants were 252 students at a university in northern Portugal. They completed measures of academic self-efficacy, environmental support, goal progress, and adjustment, along with global measures of positive affect and life satisfaction. Path analyses indicated that the model fit the data well overall. As expected, self-efficacy and environmental support were predictive of goal progress and academic adjustment, and the latter was predictive of students’ global life satisfaction. Self-efficacy and positive affect were found to be reciprocally related to one another. Contrary to expectations, goal progress did not contribute uniquely to the prediction of academic adjustment or life satisfaction. We consider directions for future research applying the social cognitive model to satisfaction in, and adjustment to, educational and work settings.     

Integration of student development theory into the academic classroom

This paper demonstrates how collaboration among student development educators and university instructors can utilize the content of academic courses to facilitate personal development in adolescent college students. Through an application of Chickering's (1969) seven vectors of human development (which occur during adolescence and early adulthood), this objective was accomplished in a course entitled Drinking and Driving: Legal and Social Aspects. Essay exams were analyzed for self-reported anecdotal behavioral examples of developmental growth attributable to participation in this course. Analysis of the results indicated that the class content had a definite developmental impact on the students, in addition to intellectual growth. By helping academic educators recognize that within their course content and structure they can and do affect adolescents on many developmental dimensions, the end result can be a richer, holistic educational experience for students.