Group Identification and College Adjustment: The Experience of Encountering a Novel Stereotype

ABSTRACT

Previous research has investigated members of stigmatized groups by studying the consequences of encountering stereotypes for performance and self-esteem. The present study extends these findings by examining the experience of entering a new environment and encountering a negative stereotype for the first time (i.e., a novel stereotype). Participants were students admitted “provisionally” to a large state university. Results suggest that, when encountering a novel stereotype, targets of stereotypes differed in their identification with the group, and that this identification moderated the consequences of the stereotype for performance and self-esteem. Implications for future research are discussed. These data also suggest that a college-based intervention program can provide a buffer against negative stereotypes by reducing the perceived applicability of the stereotype.     

Costs and Benefits of Autonomy When Learning a Task: An Experimental Approach

ABSTRACT

Previous findings suggested that the positive relationship between autonomy and learning outcomes (such as improved task performance) only holds up until a certain optimum level of autonomy has been reached. This assumption was investigated in an experimental study where 95 participants had to learn a computer task. During the learning phase, we manipulated autonomy, distinguishing among no, moderate, and full autonomy. The results revealed that, when learning a task, having autonomy is preferred to having no autonomy. However, increases in autonomy beyond a certain level (i.e., full versus moderate autonomy) will not yield additional advantages regarding the motivation to learn and learning outcomes, and may have disadvantages in terms of learning efficiency.     

Investigating the effects of ego depletion on physical exercise routines of athletes

Objectives

Persisting at a task can temporarily reduce one’s ability to persist at subsequent tasks. This phenomenon is known as “ego depletion”. Although ego depletion has been linked to many cognitive tasks less is known about its effect on physical tasks. Even less is known about its effect on practiced physical performance associated with athletes. In modern sport science, the question as to whether or not ego depletion can reduce athletes’ persistence at practiced behaviour should be particularly important. Two experimental studies investigated if ego depletion can reduce athletes’ persistence at a routine physical exercise.

Design

In both experiments, a repeated measures design was employed.

Method

Competitive rowers (Experiment 1) and competitive hockey and rugby players (Experiment 2) attempted to complete as many press-ups (Experiment 1) or sit-ups (Experiment 2) as possible over two separate phases. In one phase, the participants attempted the physical exercise after completing an easy cognitive task. In the other phase, they attempted the physical exercise after completing a difficult cognitive task.

Results

Experiment 1 demonstrated that the competitive rowers completed fewer press-ups after completing a difficult cognitive task than they did after completing an easy task. Experiment 2 demonstrated that the competitive hockey and rugby players completed fewer sit-ups after completing a difficult cognitive task than they did after completing an easy cognitive task.

Conclusions

These findings indicate that athletes’ exercise routines are susceptible to ego depletion and that the strength model of self-regulation is applicable to athletic performance.     

临床运动心理学研究:现状、问题与建议

本文对《临床运动心理学杂志》创刊以来的99篇论文进行内容分析,以揭示临床运动心理学研究的现状与问题.研究结果表明:临床运动心理学研究领域主要为运动功能障碍、心理健康、运动功能损害、运动表现发展;研究的热点问题主要为运动表现、饮食障碍、情绪障碍、成瘾、压力应对等;研究主要以认知行为理论为基础;42.4％的研究假设有待进一步验证;研究方法存在一些问题.基于上述研究结果,对我国运动心理学研究者提出以下建议:拓展研究领域;关注研究的本土化;丰富研究的理论基础;加强研究方法训练.     

性别在企业员工成人依恋对工作绩效关系中的调节作用

本研究探讨了依恋关系对员工工作绩效影响,并进一步考察了性别在两者关系中的调节作用。通过采用亲密关系经历量表(ECR)、关系问卷(RQ)和工作绩效问卷三个研究工具,对110名不同职业和岗位员工的依恋模式与工作绩效的关系进行调查,结果发现：1. 倾注型被试在情境绩效上的得分显著得低于安全型被试和害怕型被试。2.依恋焦虑与任务绩效和情境绩效均呈显著正相关。3.依恋焦虑可以正向预测情境绩效。4. 通过进一步分析,发现男性和女性在情境绩效和任务绩效上有所不同,说明性别在依恋关系和工作绩效之间起调节作用。     

“You throw like a girl:” The effect of stereotype threat on women's athletic performance and gender stereotypes

Objectives“Stereotype threat” occurs when people perform worse at a task due to the pressure of a negative stereotype of their group's performance. We examined whether female athletes may underperform at an athletic task if prompted to think about gender stereotypes of athleticism. We also explored whether gender stereotypes regarding general athletic ability would be affected by a standard stereotype threat induction.DesignWe used a 2 (participant gender) × 2 (stereotype threat manipulation) factorial design with task performance and gender stereotypes of athleticism as dependent measures.MethodFemale and male tennis and basketball college student athletes performed two athletic tasks relevant to their sport: a difficult concentration task and an easier speed task. Participants were told beforehand that (1) there was a gender difference on the tasks (to induce stereotype threat) or (2) there was no gender difference (to remove any preexisting stereotype threat).ResultsOn the difficult task, women performed worse than men only when stereotype threat was induced. Performance on the easier speed task was unaffected by the stereotype information. Interestingly, women's beliefs regarding women's and men's general athleticism were also affected by the manipulation.ConclusionsWe concluded that one minor comment regarding a very specific athletic task may sometimes impair task performance and alter gender stereotypes of athleticism among women. Some implications for preventing negative stereotype threat effects are discussed.     

Effects of anxiety on the execution of police arrest and self-defense skills

We investigated the effects of anxiety on the execution of police officers' arrest and self-defense skills. Police officers (n=13) performed three tasks in which they kicked, blocked, or restrained an opponent who attacked them with a rubber knife (low anxiety, LA) or a shock knife (high anxiety, HA) in a within-subject design. We analyzed performance (on a 5-point Likert scale), movement times, posture, and movement velocity and acceleration. Results revealed that performance was worse in the HA compared to the LA condition. Furthermore, analysis of full-body movement showed that under increased anxiety, police officers' performance contained characteristics of avoidance behavior, such as faster reactions (to reduce the time being exposed to the threat), leaning further backward (kick), and ducking down (block). In line with recent theoretical developments, it appears that under increased anxiety, police officers were less able to inhibit stimulus-driven processing (fear of getting hit) and enforce goal-directed processing (perform the skill as well as possible) leading to avoidance behavior and a decrease in performance.     

Are Learning Strategies Linked to Academic Performance Among Adolescents in Two States in India? A Tobit Regression Analysis

The results of the fourth cycle of the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) revealed that an unacceptably large number of adolescent students in two states in India—Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu—have failed to acquire basic skills in reading, mathematics, and science (Walker, 2011). Drawing on data from the PISA 2009 database and employing multivariate left-censored tobit regression as a data analytic strategy, the present study, therefore, examined whether or not the learning strategies—memorization, elaboration, and control strategies—of adolescent students in Himachal Pradesh (N = 1,616; Mean age = 15.81 years) and Tamil Nadu (N = 3,210; Mean age = 15.64 years) were linked to their performance on the PISA 2009 reading, mathematics, and science assessments. Tobit regression analyses, after accounting for student demographic characteristics, revealed that the self-reported use of control strategies was significantly positively associated with reading, mathematical, and scientific literacy of adolescents in Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. While the self-reported use of elaboration strategies was not significantly associated with reading literacy among adolescents in Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, it was significantly positively associated with mathematical literacy among adolescents in Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Moreover, the self-reported use of elaboration strategies was significantly and positively linked to scientific literacy among adolescents in Himachal Pradesh alone. The self-reported use of memorization strategies was significantly negatively associated with reading, mathematical, and scientific literacy in Tamil Nadu, while it was significantly negatively associated with mathematical and scientific literacy alone in Himachal Pradesh. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Personality traits measured at baseline can predict academic performance in upper secondary school three years late

The aim of the present study was to explore the ability of personality to predict academic performance in a longitudinal study of a Swedish upper secondary school sample. Academic performance was assessed throughout a three‐year period via final grades from the compulsory school and upper secondary school. The Big Five personality factors (Costa & McCrae, 1992 ) – particularly Conscientiousness and Neuroticism – were found to predict overall academic performance, after controlling for general intelligence. Results suggest that Conscientiousness, as measured at the age of 16, can explain change in academic performance at the age of 19. The effect of Neuroticism on Conscientiousness indicates that, as regarding getting good grades, it is better to be a bit neurotic than to be stable. The study extends previous work by assessing the relationship between the Big Five and academic performance over a three‐year period. The results offer educators avenues for improving educational achievement.     

Revisiting the relationship between impression management and job performance

Although theoretical arguments suggest that impression management should be related to job performance, empirical results have been unsupportive of the association. We argue that this relationship, however, may be found for specific jobs (sales) using a specific objective criterion (sales revenue). We tested this hypothesis across two samples. The first sample utilized a concurrent design and found a significant association between impression management and objective job performance. Furthermore, impression management demonstrated incremental validity over conscientiousness. In the second sample, using a different impression management scale and a predictive design we found that impression management was related to sales revenue, and showed incremental validity over cognitive ability. Implications for research and practice are discussed.