Individual difference influences on self-focused and other-focused counterproductive student behaviors

This paper extends previous research on counterproductive student behaviors by presenting an individual difference model of counterproductive student behaviors (CSBs) that includes four sets of antecedent variables: internal control variables; propensity variables; achievement striving; and severity perceptions of CSBs. Data from 276 undergraduate students shows that CSBs exhibit a two-factor solution (self-focused and other-focused CSBs), and that each of the four sets of antecedent variables explain unique variance in either self-focused CSBs or other-focused CSBs; with the influence of achievement striving being restricted to behaviors that harm the academic performance of students. The results are discussed in terms of their relationship with previous research on counterproductive behaviors and their implications for understanding of the broad domain of college student performance.     

Sunk-cost effects on purely behavioral investments

Although the sunk-cost effect is a well-documented psychological phenomenon in monetary investments, existing literature investigating behavioral investments (e.g., time, effort) has not replicated this effect except when such investments relate to monetary values. The current explanation for this discrepancy proposes that purely behavioral sunk-cost effects are unlikely to be observed because they are difficult to book, track, and balance in a mental account. Conversely, we argue that, through an effort-justification mechanism, people account for the amount of behavioral resources invested when selecting an alternative, in which case they may fall prey to purely behavioral sunk-cost effects. The results of two experiments support this prediction. Because many decisions involve behavioral investments, behavioral sunk-cost effects should be pervasive psychological phenomena.     

Examining a Gender Stereotype: Menopausal Women1

Two studies evaluated whether there was a subtype of menopausal women and, if so, how it differed from the global gender stereotype. Study 1 had participants generate items associated with women going through menopause, midlife women, and midlife men. Results showed that there is a menopausal women stereotype, and it is mostly negative in content. Moreover, this stereotype differs from the perceptions of women in general. Study 2 examined the effects of the menopausal women stereotype by employing the illusory correlation paradigm (e.g., McConnell, Sherman, & Hamilton, 1994) and found that participants greatly overestimated the number of times that menopausal women and negative moods appeared together. This research highlights the importance of examining stereotype subtypes and subgroups     

The stages and processes of exercise adoption and maintenance in a worksite sample.

We applied the model of the stages and processes of change to exercise adoption and maintenance. This model has shown promise in advancing theory and treatment of the addictions and other negative health behaviors, but there have been few systematic attempts to apply the model to positive health behaviors, such as exercise adoption. Questionnaires dealing with the stages and processes of exercise change were developed and administered to a sample of 1,172 participants in a worksite health promotion project. The sample was split randomly into halves for (a) initial model development and testing and (b) confirmatory measurement model testing. Additional model confirmation was obtained by examining the hierarchical structure of the processes of change and by conducting Stage x Process analyses. Results suggest that the underlying constructs derived from smoking cessation and other addictive behaviors can be generalized to exercise behavior. Understanding the stages and processes of exercise behavior change may yield important information for enhancing exercise adoption, adherence, and relapse prevention at both individual and public health levels.     

Memory monitoring and memory performance: Linked closely or loosely?

Summary An experimental test of the metamemory hypothesis claiming a substantive positive relationship between memory monitoring and memory performance is provided. Forty-eight university students learned a set of abstract nouns. They were either instructed to make use of monitoring activities (experimental group), simply to learn the words (control-1) or to use non-metacognitive learning strategies (control-2). Prior to recall, the subjects had to predict the number of items they expected to remember. The experimental predictions were derived on two levels. First, prediction accuracy should be best for the experimental group. This is a necessary prerequisite for a valid test of the second prediction, namely that memory performance, too, should be best for the experimental group. Whereas the first prediction was confirmed, the second, vital for the metamemory hypothesis, was not. Thus, this hypothesis did not stand up to an experimental test, but would have been confirmed if tested by the correlation between prediction accuracy and memory performance.     

COMBINING NONCONTINGENT REINFORCEMENT AND DIFFERENTIAL REINFORCEMENT SCHEDULES AS TREATMENT FOR ABERRANT BEHAVIOR

Research has shown that noncontingent reinforcement (NCR) can be an effective behavior-reduction procedure when based on a functional analysis. The effects of NCR may be a result of elimination of the contingency between aberrant behavior and reinforcing consequences (extinction) or frequent and free access to reinforcers that may reduce the participant's motivation to engage in aberrant behaviors or mands. If motivation is momentarily reduced, behavior such as mands may not be sensitive to positive reinforcement. In this study, for 3 children with aberrant behavior maintained by tangible positive reinforcement, differential-reinforcement-of-alternative-behavior schedules were superimposed on NCR schedules to determine if mands could be strengthened. Results for the participants indicated that NCR did not preclude reinforcement of mands.