Relations of positive and negative expressivity and effortful control to kindergarteners’ student–teacher relationship,academic engagement,and externalizing problems at school

The current study examined the role of naturally-occurring negative and positive emotion expressivity in kindergarten and children’s effortful control (EC) on their relationships with teachers, academic engagement, and problems behaviors in school. Further, the potential moderating role of EC on these important school outcomes was assessed. Emotion and engagement were observed at school. EC was assessed by multiple methods. Teachers reported on their student–teacher relationships and students’ externalizing behaviors. Children’s emotion expressivity and EC were related to engagement and relationships with teachers as well as behavioral problems at school. Children low in EC may be particularly vulnerable to the poor outcomes associated with relatively intense emotion expressivity as they struggle to manage their emotions and behaviors in the classroom.     

Neuropsychological deficits in preschool as predictors of ADHD symptoms and academic achievement in late adolescence

High levels of ADHD symptoms are related to severe negative outcomes, which underscore the importance of identifying early markers of these behavior problems. The main aim of the present study was therefore to investigate whether neuropsychological deficits in preschool are related to later ADHD symptoms and academic achievement, over and above the influence of early ADHD symptom levels. The present study is unique because it includes a broader range of predictors compared to previous studies and the participants are followed over time for as long as 13 years (i.e., ages 5–18 years). Preschool data included measures of executive functioning and reaction time variability as well as emotional reactivity and emotion regulation of both positive and negative emotions. When controlling for early ADHD symptom levels, working memory, reaction time variability, and regulation of happiness/exuberance were significantly related to inattention whereas regulation of happiness/exuberance and anger reactivity were significantly related to hyperactivity/impulsivity. Furthermore, working memory and reaction time variability in preschool were significantly related to academic achievement in late adolescence beyond the influence of early ADHD symptoms. These findings could suggest that it is possible to screen for early neuropsychological deficits and thereby identify children who are at risk of negative outcomes. Furthermore, our results suggest that interventions need to look beyond executive functioning deficits in ADHD and also target the role of emotional functioning and reaction time variability. The importance of including both the positive and negative aspects of emotional functioning and distinguishing between emotion regulation and emotional reactivity was also demonstrated.     

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.     

Getting emotional about ‘brain mobility’

Our purpose in this paper is to offer an historical and cultural account of the relationships between globalisation, the nation-state, emotion and the academic mobility policies that are driven by the knowledge economy. In so doing we seek to contribute to the emerging literature on the links between emotion, policy and globalisation. These links are under-researched and under-theorised. Seeking to build on Arjun Appadurai’s work on the global cultural economy, we coin the term ‘emoscapes’. Emoscapes, we argue, involve the movement and mobilisation of emotion on intersecting global, national and personal scales. This concept helps us to illuminate how emotion circulates within global power and knowledge geographies. We discuss global policy atmospherics in terms of the structural power relationship between different nation-states and regions, the feelings such relationships generate on matters of ‘brain mobility’ and the implications for policy. This provides a broad context for our discussion of the nation-state itself where we consider how the nation-state’s position within these global power formations contributes to national feelings. Taking the example of Australia, we look at its emotional archive, the implications for the ways in which Australian policies have territorialised the global ‘brain mobility’ policy discourse and the nation-state policy atmospherics involved. Ultimately we show how emoscapes have entered and influenced policy and how they are part of global and national power and knowledge geographies.     

大学生学习拖延研究综述

学习拖延是指有目的地推迟必须完成的学习任务的行为。学习者的个性特质、角色冲突、自我调节能力不足以及学习任务特征,是导致大学生学习拖延的重要因素。当前对大学生学习拖延的测评主要采用自陈式量表,对学习拖延的干预主要采用认知-行为咨询法。强化实验研究、探讨综合性理论框架是该研究领域的重要发展方向。     

Academic Achievement Over 8 Years Among Children Who Met Modified Criteria for Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder at 4–6 Years of Age

The predictive validity of symptom criteria for different subtypes of ADHD among children who were impaired in at least one setting in early childhood was examined. Academic achievement was assessed seven times over 8 years in 125 children who met symptom criteria for ADHD at 4–6 years of age and in 130 demographically-matched non-referred comparison children. When intelligence and other confounds were controlled, children who met modified criteria for the predominantly inattentive subtype of ADHD in wave 1 had lower reading, spelling, and mathematics scores over time than both comparison children and children who met modified criteria for the other subtypes of ADHD. In some analyses, children who met modified criteria for the combined type had somewhat lower mathematics scores than comparison children. The robust academic deficits relative to intelligence in the inattentive group in this age range suggest either that inattention results in academic underachievement or that some children in the inattentive group have learning disabilities that cause secondary symptoms of inattention. Unexpectedly, wave 1 internalizing (anxiety and depression) symptoms independently predicted deficits in academic achievement controlling ADHD, intelligence, and other predictors.     

Motivation and engagement in diverse performance settings: Testing their generality across school,university/college,work, sport,music, and daily life

In the light of recent calls for more integrative approaches to theorizing and measurement in motivation and engagement research, the present study assesses the generality of key motivation and engagement constructs across seven performance domains: elementary school (N = 624), high school (N = 21,579), university/college (N = 420), work (N = 637), music (N = 224), sport (N = 204), and daily life (N = 249). Based on domain specific adaptations of the Motivation and Engagement Scale, multi-group confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) tested invariance across the seven domains. First and higher order multi-group CFAs demonstrated broad invariance in factor loadings (in particular), factor correlations/variances, and uniquenesses across performance domains. Taken together, the present data support the hypothesized generality of key motivation and engagement constructs. Findings hold implications for pragmatic, statistical, substantive, and intervention considerations in motivation and engagement research and also for research into cognate constructs in personality psychology more generally.     

Psychologists in Academic Health Centers: Traditions and Innovations in Education,Science, and Practice

Psychologists, interns, and postdoctoral fellows convened in Minneapolis May 3–5, 2007 for the 3rd National Conference of the Association of Psychologists in Academic Health Centers (APAHC): “Psychologists in Academic Health Centers: Traditions and Innovations in Education, Science, and Practice.” This paper reviews the development and organization of the conference, which built upon the two previous conferences of the Association of Medical School Psychologists. The articles in this special issue are based on a selected number of the 32 conference presentations, covering a range of timely topics that reflect the conference theme. Participants’ positive perceptions and satisfaction with the conference reveal the value of such conferences focused on the activities, interests, opportunities, and challenges of psychologists who work in academic health centers (AHCs) and teaching hospitals. Moreover, the content and success of the conference underscores the importance of APAHC as an organization serving the needs and promoting the interests of psychologists affiliated with AHCs.

The relationship between relative levels of motivation and intrapersonal, interpersonal, and academic functioning among older adolescents

Using cluster analysis to combine specific adaptive measures related to mastery motivation (intrinsic motivation, self-adequacy, and locus of control), a total of 654 high school students were placed into distinct adaptive motivation groups. Mean scores on a variety of self-reported and peer-reported measures of interpersonal, intrapersonal, and academic functioning were compared across the groups. Results found that youth in the “high adaptive” motivation group reported significantly higher global and family satisfaction, self-esteem, interpersonal relations, grade-point average and school belonging, and significantly lower depression, anxiety and social stress than youth in the other two motivation groups. Peer-reported prosocial and academic behaviors were significantly related to higher levels of adaptive motivation. Collectively, these findings suggest a number of psychological, social, and academic benefits that are associated with incremental levels of adaptive motivation. The implications of these findings for research and practice conclude the paper.     

Association between individual differences in non-symbolic number acuity and math performance: A meta-analysis

Many recent studies have examined the association between number acuity, which is the ability to rapidly and non-symbolically estimate the quantity of items appearing in a scene, and symbolic math performance. However, various contradictory results have been reported. To comprehensively evaluate the association between number acuity and symbolic math performance, we conduct a meta-analysis to synthesize the results observed in previous studies. First, a meta-analysis of cross-sectional studies (36 samples, N = 4705) revealed a significant positive correlation between these skills (r = 0.20, 95% CI = [0.14, 0.26]); the association remained after considering other potential moderators (e.g., whether general cognitive abilities were controlled). Moreover, a meta-analysis of longitudinal studies revealed 1) that number acuity may prospectively predict later math performance (r = 0.24, 95% CI = [0.11, 0.37]; 6 samples) and 2) that number acuity is retrospectively correlated to early math performance as well (r = 0.17, 95% CI = [0.07, 0.26]; 5 samples). In summary, these pieces of evidence demonstrate a moderate but statistically significant association between number acuity and math performance. Based on the estimated effect sizes, power analyses were conducted, which suggested that many previous studies were underpowered due to small sample sizes. This may account for the disparity between findings in the literature, at least in part. Finally, the theoretical and practical implications of our meta-analytic findings are presented, and future research questions are discussed.