The Mechanics of Human Achievement

Countless studies have addressed why some individuals achieve more than others. Nevertheless, the psychology of achievement lacks a unifying conceptual framework for synthesizing these empirical insights. We propose organizing achievement‐related traits by two possible mechanisms of action: Traits that determine the rate at which an individual learns a skill are talent variables and can be distinguished conceptually from traits that determine the effort an individual puts forth. This approach takes inspiration from Newtonian mechanics: achievement is akin to distance traveled, effort to time, skill to speed, and talent to acceleration. A novel prediction from this model is that individual differences in effort (but not talent) influence achievement (but not skill) more substantially over longer (rather than shorter) time intervals. Conceptualizing skill as the multiplicative product of talent and effort, and achievement as the multiplicative product of skill and effort, advances similar, but less formal, propositions by several important earlier thinkers.     

Gender-specific macro- and micro-level processes in the transmission of gender role orientation in adolescence: The role of fathers

Family represents a primary environment for the development and transmission of gender role orientation (GRO) in adolescence. Nonetheless, longitudinal approaches delineating the separate influences of fathers and mothers, including all possible same- and cross-sex parent–child dyads within one family are lacking. This article elucidates the process of adolescent gender role socialization in 244 German families (father, mother, son and daughter) utilizing a longitudinal design (two measurement points over 5 years). Direct transmission paths of GRO and gender-specific parenting (GSP) as a mediator were analysed focusing on fathers' contributions. In addition, the impact of parental workplace autonomy and socio-economic status on intra-familial socialization of GRO was examined. Results indicate that fathers and mothers play at least an equally important role in the transmission of gender role beliefs. A mediating effect of GSP was only evident when considering father–child dyads. Based on social cognitive and developmental systems approaches, the findings are discussed considering adolescents embedded within the family context.     

Unpacking grit: Motivational correlates of perseverance and passion for long-term goals

In two cross-sectional studies, we explored the motivational orientations correlates of the character strength of grit and its two component facets: perseverance of effort and consistency of interests over time. Specifically, we examined how individual differences in grit are explained by distinct approaches to pursuing happiness in life: pleasure in immediately hedonically positive activities, meaning in activities that serve a higher, altruistic purpose, and engagement in attention-absorbing activities. In both samples, grit demonstrated medium-sized associations with an orientation toward engagement, small-to-medium associations with an orientation toward meaning, and small-to-medium (inverse) associations with an orientation toward pleasure. These motivational orientations differentially related to the two facets of grit: pursuing engagement was more strongly associated with perseverance of effort, whereas pursuing pleasure was more strongly (inversely) associated with consistency of interests over time. Collectively, findings suggest that individual differences in grit may derive in part from differences in what makes people happy.     

Bidirectional Effects of Parenting Quality and Child Externalizing Behavior in Predominantly Single Parent, Under-Resourced African American Families

This study investigates the bidirectional perspective of parent–child effects by examining the extent to which parenting quality predicted child externalizing behavior and vice versa. Data was collected over four time points from primary caregivers and early school age children in low-income, primarily single parent homes (N = 249, mean age of children at Time 1 = 6.41 years). Parenting quality was operationalized as primary caregiver perceptions of positive parenting, effectiveness of parenting discipline, parenting efficacy and satisfaction. Child externalizing behavior data was captured via an assessment of the frequency of externalizing behavior as reported by caregivers. We hypothesized that parenting quality and child externalizing behavior would remain stable over time and that a bidirectional relationship would be present. Data was analyzed using structural equation modeling and results indicated that child externalizing behavior predicted subsequent parenting quality, and parenting quality predicted subsequent child externalizing. Specifically, our research team found that the influence of child externalizing behavior on parenting quality decreased with time, while the influence of parenting quality on child externalizing behavior increased with time. Overall results reveal the complex transactional influences of child externalizing behavior and parenting quality in our sample. Findings support the notion that parenting quality and child externalizing behavior are interactive processes which might best be handled by continual assessment and which may be potentially strong targets for interventions.     

Worship Discourse and White Race-Based Policy Attitudes

The current study relies upon the 2004 National Politics Study to examine the association between exposure to race-based messages within places of worship and White race-based policy attitudes. The present study challenges the notion that, for White Americans, religiosity inevitably leads to racial prejudice. Rather, we argue, as others have, that religion exists on a continuum that spans from reinforcing to challenging the status quo of social inequality. Our findings suggests that the extent to which Whites discuss race along with the potential need for public policy solutions to address racial inequality within worship spaces, worship attendance contributes to support for public policies aimed at reducing racial inequality. On the other hand, apolitical and non-structural racial discussions within worship settings do seemingly little to move many Whites to challenge dominant idealistic perceptions of race that eschews public policy interventions as solutions to racial inequality.     

Measuring Stereotypes of Female Politicians

One explanation for the dearth of women in elected office is that voters stereotype candidates based on their gender. Research in this vein often assumes that female candidates will be stereotyped similarly to women (e.g., as compassionate) and measures stereotypes as such. We question this assumption, proposing instead that female politicians constitute a subtype—a new stereotypical category with its own qualities—of the broader group of women. We compare the content of female politician stereotypes to other relevant comparison groups including politicians, male politicians, and female professionals. Using a classic methodology to determine stereotype content (Katz & Braly, 1933), we find that female politicians do not share the qualities that are ascribed to women (e.g., warm, empathetic). Our results show that female politicians seem to be “losing” on male stereotypical qualities while also not having any advantage on qualities typical of women. The content of female politician stereotypes is nebulous and lacks clarity in comparison to all other groups examined. We discuss implications for the future measurement of politician stereotypes.     

A COMPARISON OF WHITE AND HISPANIC WOMEN'S STORIES OF ADJUSTMENT TO THE BIRTH OF A CHILD

As part of a larger project designed to inform prevention and treatment of postpartum depression and promote positive mother–child relationships in diverse families, this study describes personal stories of postnatal adjustment from 14 White and 9 Hispanic women recruited from prenatal care clinics. Qualitative interviews conducted in the mothers’ primary language (English or Spanish) were analyzed using a modified grounded theory content‐analysis approach. The coding scheme developed to capture the women's discourse about their experiences included child temperament and health; intergenerational patterns; work demands and job loss; schedule changes; increased responsibilities; difficulties with parenting tasks; emotional distress; social stressors and resources; coping strategies; and changes in work, personal, social, and marital domains. More White mothers than Hispanic mothers reported changes in time structure, work stressors, use of psychotropic medication, informational support, and social support from other mothers and professionals; however, within‐group differences were more evident than were cross‐group ethnic differences. Analyses of qualitative interviews led to the integration of Belsky's Determinants of Parenting Model (1984) and the Double ABCX Model of Family Adjustment and Adaptation (McCubbin & Patterson, 1983) into a hybrid third theoretical framework.     

Cross‐Cultural Differences in Categorical Memory Errors

Cultural differences occur in the use of categories to aid accurate recall of information. This study investigated whether culture also contributed to false (erroneous) memories, and extended cross‐cultural memory research to Turkish culture, which is shaped by Eastern and Western influences. Americans and Turks viewed word pairs, half of which were categorically related and half unrelated. Participants then attempted to recall the second word from the pair in response to the first word cue. Responses were coded as correct, as blanks, or as different types of errors. Americans committed more categorical errors than did Turks, and Turks mistakenly recalled more non‐categorically related list words than did Americans. These results support the idea that Americans use categories either to organize information in memory or to support retrieval strategies to a greater extent than Turks and suggest that culture shapes not only accurate recall but also erroneous distortions of memory.     

Testing for Independent Effects of Prosocial Knowledge and Technical Knowledge on Skill and Performance

This study extended previous research (Motowidlo, Borman, & Schmit, 1997) on antecedents of job performance by testing for independent effects of prosocial and technical knowledge in a sample of 208 medical students. Results show that prosocial knowledge is uncorrelated with technical knowledge and that it contributes incremental variance to clinical performance in Primary Care after accounting for technical knowledge and clinical skill. Findings indicate Agreeableness is an important correlate of prosocial knowledge but not of technical knowledge. Unexpectedly, cognitive ability is not significantly related to either kind of knowledge or clinical performance. These results reinforce the idea that knowledge is a primary determinant of performance and that one type of knowledge, prosocial, has roots in Agreeableness, whereas a different type of knowledge, technical, does not.