Social cognitive predictors of well-being in African college students

Lent and Brown's (2006, 2008) social cognitive model of work well-being was tested in two samples of African college students, one from Angola (N = 241) and one from Mozambique (N = 425). Participants completed domain-specific measures of academic self-efficacy, environmental support, goal progress, and satisfaction, along with measures of global positive affect and life satisfaction. Path analyses indicated that the model fit the data well overall, both in the full sample and in separate sub-samples by country and gender. Contrary to expectations, however, self-efficacy predicted academic satisfaction only indirectly, via goal progress; and goal progress predicted life satisfaction only indirectly, via academic satisfaction. The predictors accounted for substantial portions of the variance in both academic domain satisfaction and life satisfaction. Implications for research and practice involving the social cognitive model are considered.     

A Comparison of Single and Multi-Test Working Memory Assessments in Predicting Academic Achievement in Children

Children assessed as having low working memory capacity have also been shown to perform more poorly than their same-aged peers in measures of academic achievement. Early detection of working memory problems is, therefore, an important first step in reducing the impact of a working memory deficit on the development of academic skills. In this study, we compared a single-test assessment, the Working Memory Power Test for Children (WMPT) and a multi-test assessment, the Automated Working Memory Assessment (AWMA), in their ability to predict academic achievement in reading, numeracy, and spelling. A total of 132 Australian school children (mean age 9 years, 9 months) participated in the research. Strong positive correlations between the WMPT and AWMA total scores were found, indicating good convergent validity of the single and multi-test measures. WMPT scores correlated with each of the four AWMA subtests designed to assess verbal and visuospatial short-term and working memory. WMPT and AWMA scores separately predicted performance on Word Reading, Numerical Operations, and Spelling. Compared with either measure alone, the WMPT and the AWMA in combination predicted more of the variance in Word Reading and Numerical Operations, but not in Spelling. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Elementary school students with AD/HD: predictors of academic achievement

Academic underachievement frequently is associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD); however, the role of variables beyond AD/HD symptoms and cognitive mediators is unknown. Further, whether prediction models vary (a) relative to non-AD/HD students, (b) between math and reading, and (c) based on how achievement is defined has not been examined. Multiple measures (e.g., teacher ratings and behavior observations) were examined as predictors for concurrent achievement outcomes (standardized achievement test scores and report card grades) in math and reading in two samples of 1st through 4th grade children (136 with AD/HD, 53 without AD/HD). Teacher perceptions of academic skills were the strongest predictors of achievement test scores for both groups, while academic skills and enablers accounted for reading report card grades in children with AD/HD but not their normal counterparts. Implications of these findings for school-based assessment and intervention for students with AD/HD are discussed.     

Conceptual preference for thematic or taxonomic relations: A nonmonotonic age trend from preschool to old age

Two experiments examined the development of conceptual preference for either thematic (functional) or taxonomic relationships in a match-to sample task. In Experiment 1 twenty subjects from each of five age groups—preschool to old age—completed a method of triads preference test where they were forced to choose a thematic or taxonomic match. Young and old individuals preferred the thematic parings while school age and college adults preferred the taxonomic matches. Although the Age × Preference relation was pronounced, the majority of subjects at all ages could provide adequate justification of both the preferred and nonpreferred relationship. In addition, kindergarten subjects in Experiment 2 could readily be trained to respond on the basis of the nonpreferred mode. These data suggest that the pervasive shift in conceptual responding from syntagmatic to paradigmatic, thematic to taxonomic, etc., represents a change in preference rather than a shift to a fundamentally new way of organizing knowledge.     

Investigating the predictive roles of working memory and IQ in academic attainment

There is growing evidence for the relationship between working memory and academic attainment. The aim of the current study was to investigate whether working memory is simply a proxy for IQ or whether there is a unique contribution to learning outcomes. The findings indicate that children’s working memory skills at 5 years of age were the best predictor of literacy and numeracy 6 years later. IQ, in contrast, accounted for a smaller portion of unique variance to these learning outcomes. The results demonstrate that working memory is not a proxy for IQ but rather represents a dissociable cognitive skill with unique links to academic attainment. Critically, we find that working memory at the start of formal education is a more powerful predictor of subsequent academic success than IQ. This result has important implications for education, particularly with respect to intervention.     

Person and environmental factors associated with well-being in medical students

Medical students are exposed to demanding academic workloads and are often under considerable psychological strain. This study examined important person and environmental variables that might predict their psychological well-being. Participants were 755 students in years 2-6 from 11 Australian medical schools. A web-based survey assessed well-being, personality, professional expectations, lifestyle expectations, barriers, academic stress, and debt. A hierarchical regression analysis demonstrated that extraversion, conscientiousness, professional expectations, and lifestyle expectations were positively associated with well-being, while academic stress, which was the strongest predictor, neuroticism, and concern about debt were negatively associated. Medical students who displayed a disposition that was outgoing, conscientious, and stable, who were less stressed about their academic workload and their level of debt, and who held higher expectations for their future professional career, and expectations of a balanced lifestyle, had better well-being. Medical educators should be aware of these factors and provide support and strategies that promote well-being to students during medical training.     

Hemiplegic writing in severe aphasia

Three patients with severe aphasia and right hemiplegia are described who could write to dictation with the right arm using a limb prosthesis though agraphic with the "intact" left hand. The phenomenon of "hemiplegic writing" is explained as an access to submerged or preprocessing levels in language and action structure, through the use of older proximal motor systems. This interpretation has implications for our understanding of language and brain function, as well as for approaches to the treatment of patients with severe language disorders.     

Recent trends in cultural theories

Multiculturalism is probably the most important and most misunderstood psychological construct of this decade. This article identifies specific and uniquely valuable contributions of a multicultural perspective and demonstrates the importance of multicultural awareness training as a primary prevention strategy, directed toward preventing multicultural misunderstandings before they happen by training mental health providers to become more aware of their culturally learned assumptions and the contrasting cultural contexts of their clients. The development of recent multicultural theories will be reviewed to demonstrate how the definition of cultural theories have changed over time toward a broader and more complicated perspective. Finally practical applications of culture-centered theories will be reviewed through the presentation of a Cultural Grid for separating behaviors from expectations in each cultural context.     

小学生心理素质与学业成绩的关系

运用《瑞文标准推理测验》和自编的《小学生心理素质问卷》对1247名小学生作心理素质团体测试。利用方差分析和聚类分析,探讨小学生心理素质与学业成绩的关系。结果表明:(1)总体上,学业成绩高分组心理素质优于学业成绩中等组和低分组,学业成绩中等组优于学业成绩低分组。(2)分年级看,不同年级不同学业成绩组的小学生在心理素质因素上的差异有不同。(3)学业成绩高分组学生主要分布在心理素质较好的水平层次,学业成绩中等组主要分布在心理素质中等水平层次上,而学业成绩低分组主要分布在心理素质不好的水平层次。     

The effect of family processes on school achievement as moderated by socioeconomic context

This longitudinal study examined a model of early school achievement in reading and math, as it varies by socioeconomic context, using data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. A conceptual model was tested that included features of family stress, early parenting, and school readiness, through both a single-group analysis and also a multiple-group analysis. Latent profile analysis was used to identify subgroups of more advantaged and less advantaged families. Family stress and parenting were shown to operate differently depending on the socioeconomic context, whereas child-based school readiness characteristics were shown to operate similarly across socieodemographic contexts. Implications for intervention are discussed.