Younger achievement age predicts shorter life for governors: testing the precocity-longevity hypothesis with artifact controls

McCann's precocity-longevity hypothesis suggests that the prerequisites, concomitants, and consequences of early peaks in career achievement may foster the conditions for premature death. In the present test of the precocity-longevity hypothesis, it was predicted that state governors elected at younger ages live shorter lives. Two competing explanatory frameworks, the life expectancy artifact and the selection bias artifact, also were tested. In a sample of 1,672 male governors, the precocity-longevity prediction was supported, and it was demonstrated with correlation, regression, and subsample construction strategies that the life expectancy and selection bias artifacts were not sufficient to account or the significant positive correlation between election age and death age. The positive correlation also was maintained when year of birth, years of service, span of service, and state of election were statistically controlled.     

Life Expectancy Can Explain the Precocity-Longevity Hypothesis Association of Early Career Success and Early Death

The precocity-longevity hypothesis that those who reach career milestones earlier in life have shorter life spans was tested with the 430 men elected to serve in the House of Representatives for the 71st U.S. Congress in 1929–1930 who were alive throughout 1930. There was no tendency for those first serving at an earlier age to die sooner or those serving first at a later age to die later than expected based on individual life expectancy in 1930. Although age at first serving was correlated with death age, the correlation was not significant when expected death age was controlled. The results cast serious doubt on the contention of the precocity-longevity hypothesis that the developmental aspects of the prerequisites, concomitants, and consequences of early career achievement peaks actively enhance the conditions for an earlier death.     

教师支持与心理素质对中学生学业成绩的影响

采用学生感知教师支持行为问卷和中学生心理素质问卷,对西南地区两所中学7~12年级的824名在校中学生进行调查研究,探讨教师整体支持和不同类型支持与中学生学业成绩的关系及心理素质在其中的中介作用。结果发现：（1）教师整体支持与中学生心理素质、学业成绩间存在显著正相关;教师情感支持与中学生心理素质、学业成绩间存在显著正相关,教师学习支持、能力支持与中学生心理素质存在显著正相关,但与学业成绩相关均不显著;（2）控制性别和年龄后,心理素质在教师整体支持与学业成绩的关系中起完全中介作用;心理素质在教师情感支持与学业成绩关系中起部分中介作用,在教师学习支持与学业成绩、教师能力支持与学业成绩关系中均起完全中介作用。     

Developmental changes in the linguistic performance correlates of reading achievement

The present study evaluated the hypothesis that measures of linguistic skills differentially contribute to the variability in reading achievement at different ages. Linguistic skills that develop earlier and are more important for earlier phases of reading were predicted to contribute more to the variability of reading achievement at earlier ages (5–7) than at older ages (10–12). Conversely, linguistic skills that develop later and are more important for later phases of reading were predicted to contribute more to the variability in reading achievement at older ages (10–12) than at younger ages (5–7). To test these developmental hypotheses, measures of language skills with different developmental rates were administered to cross-sectional samples of disabled and nondisabled readers at three mean ages: 5.5, 8.5, and 11 years. Reading group differences were apparent at each age on measures assumed to develop earlier, thus failing to confirm the first prediction. However, these measures may not have been sensitive to linguistic skills important for beginning reading. Reading group differences on measures of later developing language skills were apparent only for older readers, thus confirming the second prediction. The latter age-dependent relationships provided additional evidence for developmental changes in the linguistic correlates of reading achievement.     

Detection and Validation of Unscalable Item Score Patterns Using Item Response Theory: An Illustration with Harter's Self-Perception Profile for Children

To test the hypothesis that age of first separation from a home environment is a factor in the emotional health of institutionalized boys, Rorschach protocols of 82 residents of Saint Francis Vocational School, a facility for deprived nondelinquent nonretarded youth aged 10 to 18, were examined. Seven Rorschach variables were used as dependent variables of emotional status. It was found that boys who had first been institutionalized before age 10 gave more color-dominant and pure color responses (p .005), and more responses with pathological overtones (p < .005), than did youth first placed at ages 10 to 13 or ages 14 to 17. Fixation was proposed as the basis for the group differences.     

Primary process integration on the Rorschach and achievement in children: a follow-up study

The purpose of the present study was to follow-up children who had participated in a previous study which investigated the relationship between primary process integration and achievement. The major hypothesis of this follow-up study was supported in that Adaptive Regression (Holt's primary process integration measure on the Rorschach) was significantly positively related to reading achievement (r = .52, p < .001) and to overall achievement (r = .49) in third-grade children. These relationships remained significant when IQ was partialed out. Second-grade AR scores were significantly predictive of third-grade reading (r = .29, p < .05). The correlations between third-grade AR scores and achievement are similar in magnitude to second-grade correlations between these variables. This finding points to the consistency of the relationship between primary process integration and achievement over a one-year period.     

Stronger autonomic response accompanies better learning: A test of Damasio's somatic marker hypothesis

According to Damasio's (1994, 1999) somatic marker hypothesis (SMH), positive and negative events are “marked” by bodily feelings. These markers aid future adaptive learning by producing signals to warn against or affirm behavioural options. An implicit assumption of the SMH is that the stronger the signal is, the stronger the resultant behaviour will be. In this study, we tested 30 healthy women on a gambling task (Bechara, Damasio, Damasio, & Anderson, 1994), while measuring skin conductance responses. For half of the participants, real money was used, and for half, fake money was used. Success on the task was positively correlated with anticipatory autonomic response, with no difference in pattern between real and fake money conditions. The results show clear support for Damasio's SMH, and suggest that it can be used to predict learning performance within a healthy population.     

Subjective acceleration of time with aging.

A quantitative theoretical model for the subjective acceleration of time with aging is presented. It is based on a new hypothesis, namely, that the subjective duration of an interval of real time decreases in mathematical proportion to total subjective time (rather than total real time). This gives a differential equation, the variables of which are separated and integrated to yield the result that the subjective duration of an interval of real time varies inversely with the square root of the total real time (age). This result was tested by polling college students and older adults as to their recollections regarding the relative apparent rate of the passage of time at various ages. Generally good agreement was obtained between the results of the poll and the results predicted by the theory.     

Validity of Big Five personality judgments in childhood: a 9 year longitudinal study

In a 9 year longitudinal study over childhood, the Big Five personality traits were assessed at ages 4–6 by teacher Q‐sorts, at age 10 by parental Q‐sorts, and at age 12 by parental and friend ratings on bipolar adjective scales. The Big Five Q‐sort indices were based on definitions proposed by John, Caspi, Robins, Moffitt, and Stouthamer‐Loeber ( 1994 ) for adolescent boys. They were related to judgments and behavioural observations of inhibition and aggressiveness, and to antecedents and consequences of school achievement such as IQ and cognitive self‐esteem. Neuroticism and low extraversion correlated with social inhibition, low agreeableness and low conscientiousness with aggressiveness, and conscientiousness and/or culture/intellect/openness with antecedents and outcomes of school achievement. These correlations were consistently found throughout childhood. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Environmental,background, and psychological variables related to optimizing achievement and career motivation for high school girls

The purpose of the study was to investigate some environmental and psychological variables related to optimizing the achievement strivings of high school girls. It was hypothesized that environmental and psychological variables would have significant relationships to achievement strivings. The criterion variables were career motivation and achievement motivation. The predictor variables were: community support, early family socialization (environmental), self-esteem, risk preference, sex role orientation, and fear of success (psychological). Subjects were 10th-grade girls (N = 158) in a suburban midwestern high school district. Procedures involved group test administration involving 2 hr during the regular school day. Multiple regression analysis indicated that high achievement motivation and career choice were significantly associated with perceived support for achievement and career goals in the school and community environment (p < .01). Implications for increasing achievement and career motivation were discussed in relation to the requirements of the Education Amendments of 1972 and 1976 (Title IX).     

Perceived self-efficacy domains as predictors of fear of the unknown and fear of dying among older adults

Using a sample of 167 women and 121 men, aged 65-87, this study tested the hypothesis that self-efficacy beliefs of older persons are significantly stronger predictors of death fears than are demographics, social support, and physical health variables used in earlier predictor models. Standard self-report measures were used to assess all predictor variables, including perceived self-efficacy in 8 different domains. Findings from a series of hierarchical regression analyses that were conducted separately for men and women supported the hypothesis concerning the superiority of self-efficacy variables as predictors of fear of the unknown after death and fear of dying, with spiritual health efficacy and instrumental efficacy being the most potent predictors of death fears for women and men, respectively.     

Academic goals, achievement, and age at first sexual intercourse: longitudinal, bidirectional influences

This study examined bidirectional relationships between age at first sexual intercourse and academic goals and achievement. It was hypothesized that lower educational goals and achievement would be associated with initiating sexual intercourse at a younger age, and that initiating sexual activity early would be associated with a decrease in subsequent academic achievement and goals. In longitudinal data spanning 11 years, evidence was found for bidirectional effects. One interpretation of these results is that adolescents with high educational goals and achievement delay having intercourse because of the perceived risks (e.g., pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases may jeopardize their plans for the future). Conversely, adolescents who engage in sexual intercourse at young ages might undergo a change in attitudes, including reduced interest in academic achievement and goals. The specific educational variables most strongly related to adolescent sexual intercourse in this study differed substantially by race and gender.     

Expectancy and academic achievement

Two possible explanations of the relationship between expectancy and subsequent academic achievement were formulated and tested. The assumption that goal setting, by influencing actual and intended effort expenditure, might also determine both expectancy and subsequent performance, and thereby explain the relationship between the latter two variables, found little support. The hypothesis that expectancy determines how hard people work and thereby how well they perform found support only in a male group. Moreover, when previous academic achievement, goal setting, and effort expenditure were all controlled, expectancy was still found to relate to subsequent grades for both women and men. It was concluded that neither goal theory nor effort calculation theory could fully account for the relationship between expectancy and academic achievement.     

中国父母关爱行为的多维度测量研究

运用问卷法,对北京905名中小学生及其父母进行了问卷测量,并用验证性因素分析对父母关爱行为的维度结构进行了检验.数据分析结果表明,与西方研究者所使用的单维度关爱结构不同,中国父母的关爱行为具有多维度结构,除了情感关爱之外,物质关爱(包括行为关爱和饮食关爱两种)也作为独立的维度单独存在.此外,数据分析显示,中国父母在情感关爱和饮食关爱上有较高的水平表现,小学生父母在情感、物质层面上的关爱表现水平要高于中学生父母,父母的情感关爱表现水平与其受教育程度之间存在着正向关联.并且,父母不同维度的关爱行为与不同年龄段及不同性别儿童的发展之间,展现出了不同的关联程度,因此也从另一侧面支持了父母关爱行为的多维度结构.     

A Longitudinal Factor Model For Studying Change In Ability Structure

Models of the Longitudinal Factor Analysis type were designed to describe the development of ability structure between the ages 10 and 13. The parameters of the models were estimated by the LISREL program (Jöreskog & van Thillo, 1973). The sample comprised 375 girls and 353 boys who were tested at age 10 and retested at age 13 with six ability tests and two achievement tests. The results indicate that verbal, inductive, and spatial abilities can be described as developing fairly independently of each other between the ages 10 and 13. At age 13, but not at age 10, two subfactors of the inductive factor could be differentiated. The unique variances show a marked decrease between age 10 and age 13. Consequently the factors, and the relationships between factors, explain more of the variance of the response variates at age 13 than at age 10.     

The relationship between positive parental involvement and identity achievement during adolescence

Parental support and provision of structure are linked to positive outcomes in adolescents, yet the influence of parental involvement on identity development during adolescence has not been clearly established. The present study examined the relationship between adolescent identity achievement and parental support, social monitoring, and school monitoring among 10th and 12th graders. It was hypothesized that parental support and monitoring would be associated with higher identity achievement. It was also our goal to clarify the relationship between gender and adolescent identity achievement. The girls in this study reported higher levels of each of the positive parental involvement factors than did boys, but there were no gender differences in identity achievement. Parental support and monitoring of social and school activities were significant predictors of identity achievement across age and gender. Results also suggested that the association between parental involvement and identity achievement differs by gender and it changes as a function of age.     

Predicting Dropout in a Filial Therapy Program for Parents and Young Children

The present study examined child and parent factors that predict dropout from a filial therapy program for mothers and children (ages 2–10). A total of 41 families who had participated in the program during a two-year period were included in this study. The variables mother's perceived social support from family and friends, mother's communication of acceptance in play with her child, mother age, and child age were shown to be predictive of the number of sessions attended. Implications for improving program retention are discussed.     

Motives, values and moral judgments

This study examined McClelland's (1981) hypothesis that operant and respondent measures of personality are orthogonal and assess different dimensions of personality structure. An operant measure of motives, a sentence completion test, and two respondent measures of cognitive schema variables, the Rokeach Value Survey and the Defining issues Test, were administered to 311 subjects. As predicted and in support of McClelland's hypothesis, 69% of the correlations between the respondent measures were significant at the alpha .05 level of probability versus 14% of the correlations between the operant and respondent measures. Further, within the domain of cognitive schema variables, it was theoretically possible to predict which values would correlate with different levels of moral judgment. The findings were discussed in terms. of their implications for person x situation models of social interaction and the prediction of criterion variables from typologies of personality.     

The sociocultural and psychological adaptation of Chinese migrant adolescents in Australia and Canada

This study aimed to investigate the adaptation of Chinese migrant adolescents in Australia and Canada, in terms of their academic achievement, parent—child conflict, and stress, in the light of various societal, situational, and individual variables. The participants included 75 Chinese‐Canadian and 92 Chinese‐Australian high school students. The results suggested that academic achievement in the host society was influenced by societal level variables such as auspices of immigration, and situational and individual variables such as amount of social support available, age, and their definitions of success. For parent—child conflict and stress level, they were related to the situational variable, social support, rather than to societal variables. There was also some evidence to indicate that the three adaptation outcome variables were related.     

Individual and age-related differences in children’s working memory

The purpose of this study was to investigate the degree to which age-related and individual differences in children’s working memory (WM) are due to a general or task-specific capacity system. Experiment 1 correlated children’s (N=146; age range 5–19 years) verbal and visual-spatial working memory performance with various intelligence and achievement measures. The results supporting a general system were that (1) visual-spatial and verbal WM measures were significantly intercorrelated with and without age partialed out and (2) both verbal and visual-spatial WM measures were significantly correlated with diverse achievement and intelligence measures. Experiment 2 compared three age groups (N=192; 7-, 10-, and 13-year-olds) on working-memory performance tasks under initial, enhanced (cued), and maintenance conditions. The results supporting a general capacity system were that (1) age-related performance differences in WM were found on all conditions and not isolated to specific processes, (2) the maintenance measures (high-load condition) predicted the variance better in age-related performance than process measures, and (3) although individual differences in WM performance reflected two independent operations, these operations produced similar correlations to achievement within age groups. Overall, the results support a general capacity explanation of age-related and individual differences in children’s WM performance.