Perceived responsibility for learning,self-efficacy,and sources of self-efficacy in mathematics: a study of international baccalaureate primary years programme students

The purpose of this study was to assess the interrelationship of elementary students’ perceived responsibility for learning, self-efficacy, and sources of self-efficacy in mathematics, and differentiation as a function of gender and grade level. Participants in this study included 442 third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade students from U.S. International Baccalaureate schools. Self-report measures were used to assess key study variables. Students in grade five reported higher levels of mathematics self-efficacy and perceived responsibility for learning than those in grade three. Grade four students also reported higher levels of perceived responsibility than grade three students. In addition, regression results revealed that mastery experience, vicarious experience, social persuasion, and physiological state accounted for a significant amount of variance in students’ mathematics self-efficacy, with social persuasion being the strongest predictor. Educational implications for practice within the context of International Baccalaureate schools are discussed.     

The bidirectional relation of emotion perception and social judgments: the effect of witness’ emotion expression on perceptions of moral behaviour and vice versa

The present research tested the notion that emotion expression and context perception are bidirectionally related. Specifically, in two studies focusing on moral violations (N?=?288) and positive moral deviations (N?=?245) respectively, we presented participants with short vignettes describing behaviours that were either (im)moral, (in)polite or unusual together with a picture of the emotional reaction of a person who supposedly had been a witness to the event. Participants rated both the emotional reactions observed and their own moral appraisal of the situation described. In both studies, we found that situational context influenced how emotional reactions to this context were rated and in turn, the emotional expression shown in reaction to a situation influenced the appraisal of the situation. That is, neither the moral events nor the emotion expressions were judged in an absolute fashion. Rather, the perception of one also depended on the other.     

Googling Politics: How Offloading Affects Voting and Political Knowledge

Studies suggest that individuals are less likely to process information they can easily look up. Instead of committing information to memory, they rely on the Internet to store information for them—a phenomenon known as “offloading.” We examine the effects of offloading on political knowledge and voting behavior. Using data from a 10-wave panel experiment designed to study information processing in two distinct information environments, we demonstrate that people whose environment is conducive to offloading learn more during an election campaign than individuals whose information environment is not conducive to offloading, even though they look at less information during the campaign. Individuals in the offloading condition also make better vote choices despite examining less information. These results suggest that offloading reduces cognitive load, thereby freeing up processing space in working memory, which can increase learning of information that is accessed, and improve decision-making.     

The coupling of short sleep duration and high sleep need predicts riskier decision making

Abstract

Objective: To examine how risk-related decision making might be associated with habitual sleep variables, including sleep variability, sleep duration and perceived sleep need in young adults cross-sectionally and longitudinally.

Design: 166 participants completed a 7-day protocol with sleep and risk-related decision-making measures at baseline (T1) and 12 months later (T2).

Results: Habitual short sleep duration (averaging < 6?h nightly) was identified in 11.0% in our sample. After controlling for baseline demographic factors and risk-taking measures, self-reported sleep need at T1 interacted with habitual short sleep in predicting risk taking at follow-up (F_8,139=9.575, adjusted R²=.431, p<.001). T1 greater perceived sleep need predicted more risk taking among short sleepers, but decreased risk taking among normal sleepers at T2. Variable sleep timing was cross-sectionally correlated with making more Risky choices at baseline and fewer Safe choices after loss at follow up.

Conclusions: Young adults with variable sleep timing and those with short sleep duration coupled with high perceived sleep need were more likely to take risks. The moderating effects of perceived sleep need suggest that individual differences may alter the impact of sleep loss and hence should be measured and accounted for in future studies.     

Emotional expressivity in men and women: Stereotypes and self-perceptions

Three studies were conducted to assess prevalent stereotypes regarding men's and women's emotional expressivity as well as self-perceptions of their emotional behaviour. Emotion profiles were employed to assess both modal emotional reactions and secondary emotional reactions to hypothetical events and personal experiences. In Study 1 we asked how men and women in general would react to a series of hypothetical emotional events. In Study 2 we asked how participants themselves expected to react to these same situations and in Study 3 we asked participants to report a personal emotional event in narrative form. Two gender differences emerged across all three studies. Specifically, women were expected to be more likely to react with sadness to negative emotion-eliciting events in general. They also expected themselves to be more likely to react with sadness as well as to cry and to withdraw more when experiencing negative emotional events. Finally, women report more sadness when describing personal events. In contrast, men were expected to react with more happiness/serenity during negative emotional situations. Also, they expect themselves to react more frequently this way as well as to laugh and smile more and to be more relaxed in negative situations. Finally, men tend to report more happiness when describing negative personal events. In sum, the present study gives a more detailed portrayal of how men and women are expected and expect themselves to react to specific emotional situations and presents some evidence that these expectations may influence the way they reconstruct emotional events from their past.     

Sex differences in neural efficiency: Are they due to the stereotype threat effect?

The neural efficiency hypothesis postulates a more efficient use of brain resources in more intelligent people as compared to less intelligent ones. However, this relationship was found to be moderated by sex and task content. While the phenomenon of neural efficiency was previously supported for men when performing visuo-spatial tasks it occurred for women only when performing verbal tasks. One possible explanation for this finding could be provided by the well-studied phenomenon called stereotype threat. Stereotype threat arises when a negative stereotype of one’s own group is made salient and can result in behavior that confirms the stereotype. Overall, 32 boys and 31 girls of varying intellectual ability were tested with a mental rotation task, either under a stereotype exposure or a no-stereotype exposure condition while measuring their EEG. The behavioral results show that an activated negative stereotype not necessarily hampers the performance of girls. Physiologically, a confirmation of the neural efficiency phenomenon was only obtained for boys working under a no-stereotype exposure condition. This result pattern replicates previous findings without threat and thus suggests that sex differences in neural efficiency during visuo-spatial tasks may not be due to the stereotype threat effect.     

Waking and dreaming: related but structurally independent. Dream reports of congenitally paraplegic and deaf-mute persons

Models of dream analysis either assume a continuum of waking and dreaming or the existence of two dissociated realities. Both approaches rely on different methodology. Whereas continuity models are based on content analysis, discontinuity models use a structural approach. In our study, we applied both methods to test specific hypotheses about continuity or discontinuity. We contrasted dream reports of congenitally deaf-mute and congenitally paraplegic individuals with those of non-handicapped controls. Continuity theory would predict that either the deficit itself or compensatory experiences would surface in the dream narrative. We found that dream form and content of sensorially limited persons was indifferent from those of non-handicapped controls. Surprisingly, perceptual representations, even of modalities not experienced during waking, were quite common in the dream reports of our handicapped subjects. Results are discussed with respect to feedforward mechanisms and protoconsciousness theory of dreaming.     

Sensori-motor spatial training of number magnitude representation

An adequately developed spatial representation of number magnitude is associated with children's general arithmetic achievement. Therefore, a new spatial-numerical training program for kindergarten children was developed in which presentation and response were associated with a congruent spatial numerical representation. In particular, children responded by a full-body spatial movement on a digital dance mat in a magnitude comparison task. This spatial-numerical training was more effective than a non-spatial control training in enhancing children's performance on a number line estimation task and a subtest of a standardized mathematical achievement battery (TEDI-MATH). A mediation analysis suggested that these improvements were driven by an improvement of children's mental number line representation and not only by unspecific factors such as attention or motivation. These results suggest a benefit of spatial numerical associations. Rather than being a merely associated covariate, they work as an independently manipulated variable which is functional for numerical development.     

Analyzing Anti‐Asian Prejudice From a Racial Identity and Color‐Blind Perspective

The purpose of this study was to examine to what extent both racial identity and color‐blind racial attitudes help explain anti‐Asian prejudice across different socioracial groups. Participants of color from a culturally diverse West Coast university were surveyed (N = 260). Hierarchical regression analyses showed that resistance racial identity and color‐blind attitudes predicted anti‐Asian prejudice. Results further validated racial identity theory as a viable tool for understanding interracial relations among Asians and other socioracial minority groups.     

Challenges and Opportunities for Intervening with Couples in the Aftermath of the Global War on Terrorism

The unique culture of the military family in the early part of the twenty-first century will be examined, including the high operational tempo, frequent geographic moves, high rates of service among women, and the unique constellation of deployed troops from Active Duty, National Guard and Reserve components. Challenges faced by these couples are described, followed by key issues for clinicians to assess. Several developing couple-based interventions will be described, followed by a vignette which will highlight the issues and opportunities for these couples. In addition to reviewing common difficulties among military families, the authors will highlight strengths inherent to the military culture that clinicians can utilize in helping families develop resiliency.