Changes in achievement goals and competence perceptions across the college semester

We investigated the relationship between changes in perceptions of competence and changes in achievement goals across a college semester for students enrolled in an introductory psychology course. Two types of competence perceptions were examined: self-efficacy for learning and normative perceived ability. Changes in normative perceived ability were predicted to relate to changes in performance goals, but not mastery goals. Because mastery goals rely on self-referent standards to evaluate ability, we predicted changes in self-efficacy for learning would relate to changes in mastery goals. We also expected changes in self-efficacy for learning to relate to changes in performance goals because learning can lead to the demonstration of superior competence. The predictions were supported for mastery and performance-approach goals, but not for performance-avoidance goals. Very little change in performance-avoidance goals was observed. Scores on the first course exam also predicted change in performance-approach goals, with this effect partially mediated by competence perceptions.     

The Punishment Gap: Racial/Ethnic Comparisons in School Infractions by Objective and Subjective Definitions

This research examines the differences between ethnic groups when school infractions are subjective/objective. Using school discipline incident data, eight categories of infractions are analyzed: disobedience, violence, substance abuse, vandalism, theft, truancy, safety, and miscellaneous. Within these eight categories there are 32 specific infractions. Specific infractions were then classified as either subjective or objective by a committee. Population proportion criteria (PPC; minus or plus 10% of a group’s overall population) is used. Findings indicated that only black students exceeded the criteria with infractions having subjective definitions. All other groups only exceeded PPC with infractions having objective definitions.     

Working memory,reading ability and the effects of distance and typicality on anaphor resolution in children

We investigated the time course of anaphor resolution in children and whether this is modulated by individual differences in working memory and reading skill. The eye movements of 30 children (10–11 years) were monitored as they read short paragraphs in which (1) the semantic typicality of an antecedent and (2) its distance in relation to an anaphor were orthogonally manipulated. Children showed effects of distance and typicality on the anaphor itself and also on the word to the right of the anaphor, suggesting that anaphoric processing begins immediately but continues after the eyes have left the anaphor. Furthermore, children showed no evidence of resolving anaphors in the most difficult condition (distant atypical antecedent), suggesting that anaphoric processing that is demanding may not occur online in children of this age. Finally, working memory capacity and reading comprehension skill affect the magnitude and time course of typicality and distance effects during anaphoric processing.     

College Students’ Perceptions of and Responses to Cheating at Traditional,Modified, and Non-Honor System Institutions

To address growing concerns about academic integrity, college students (n?=?758) at honor system and non-honor system institutions were presented with eight scenarios to determine the influence of an honor system on their perceptions of and responses to academic dishonesty. Main effects for honor code status emerged. Students from traditional honor system schools considered the behaviors to be more dishonest, and were more likely to respond that they would report the incident when compared to students attending modified and non-honor system institutions. Findings suggest traditional honor systems, with specific rules and regulations in place, are more effective at cultivating academic integrity among students; modified honor systems may not be as effective as previous research suggests.     

Assertiveness and Attributions of Blame toward Victims of Sexual Assault

This study investigated the influence of assertiveness on women's attributions of blame toward a victim of sexual assault. Women (N = 211) completed questionnaires assessing general and sexual assertiveness, viewed a video vignette of an acquaintance rape, and were asked to rate the degree of the woman's responsibility for the assault at three points during the video. Results indicated that the rater's level of assertiveness predicted the amount of blame she assigned to the victim of a sexual assault when the victim engaged in unassertive nonverbal resistance and assertive verbal resistance. Implications for prevention programming and forensic psychology (e.g., jury selection) are discussed.     

Theorizing Novel and Emerging Drug Use: A Motivational Typology

ABSTRACT

Novel and emerging psychoactive drugs (NEPDs), a research-based classification referencing a wide range of natural plant-derived substances and synthetic compounds, have garnered considerable academic attention in recent years. Most of the scientific literature on NEPDs presents definitional overviews of specific substances in terms of their chemical composition and toxicology or socio-legal commentary. This study presents a motivational typology of NEPD use derived from interview data from a sample of offenders participating in jail-based drug treatment. Findings indicate four primary motives for NEPD use (experimentation, drug alternative, peer influence, and availability) and inform discussion for additional research and policy implications.     

THERAPIST DEFENSIVENESS AND MARITAL THERAPY PROCESS AND OUTCOME

Abstract

This study examined the effect of couple socioeconomic status (SES); pretherapy marital adjustment; and therapist, husband, and wife defensiveness during the third session of marital therapy on posttherapy marital adjustment. Participants were 22 therapists and 88 couples. Each therapist treated 4 couples, 2 from the middle SES level and 2 from the lower SES level. Path analyses revealed that for husbands higher marital satisfaction before therapy was associated with higher adjustment at the end of therapy, but defensive therapist behavior during therapy was associated with lower posttherapy adjustment. A similar pattern was found for wives, but this should be interpreted with caution owing to potential dependencies in the wives' posttherapy adjustment scores. Neither SES nor pretherapy adjustment predicted therapist defensive behavior in therapy, and SES did not predict marital therapy outcome variance. Results suggest that therapist defensive behavior may reflect a style or characteristic of some marital therapists.     

Emotion dysregulation as a partial mediator between reinforcement sensitivity and posttraumatic stress symptoms

The reinforcement sensitivity theory (RST) asserts that three brain subsystems (i.e., the Behavioral Approach System [BAS], the Behavioral Inhibition System [BIS], and the Fight–Flight–Freeze System [FFFS]) underlie individual variations seen in personality and psychopathology. Though revised by Gray and McNaughton (2000), many researchers continue to utilize the original, and now outdated, theory of reinforcement sensitivity. Additionally, while there is an abundance of research investigating the association between reinforcement sensitivity and psychopathology, the underlying mechanisms between these constructs remain largely unknown. Therefore, the aim of the current study was to test whether emotion dysregulation acted as a partial mediator between FFFS sensitivity and posttraumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) under the revised RST framework. Data was collected from 282 undergraduate students at a Midwestern university who experienced at least one potentially traumatic event. Bootstrapping was used to test the significance of the indirect effect (e.g., amount of mediation) of FFFS sensitivity on PTSS. The indirect effect was significant (2000 bootstrapped CI_95 = .11−.25), indicating that emotion dysregulation partially mediated the relationship between FFFS sensitivity and PTSS. More specifically, individuals with high FFFS sensitivity reported higher levels of emotion dysregulation, which in turn was associated with greater PTSS scores.     

Sequential analysis as a method of feedback for family therapy process

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between therapist verbal behavior and family cooperation and resistance during the second session of family therapy with juvenile delinquents. Sequential analysis was used to investigate the impact of one therapist's behavior on family resistance and cooperation in a sample of 12 families. The results of the sequential analysis revealed that therapist “support” and “teach” behaviors were associated with significant increases in the likelihood of family cooperation. The study provides an example of how sequential analysis can be used to inform family therapists about the impact of their behavior on families.