Test anxiety and comprehension efficiency: The role of prior knowledge and working memory deficits

The hypotheses that test anxiety is associated with a deficit in prior knowledge and/or working memory capacity, that anxiety impairs comprehension efficiency, and that deficits in knowledge and capacity underlie the efficiency impairment, were tested. In Study 1, high-anxiety students were characterized by lower scores in several vocabulary measures, compared with low-anxiety students. In Study 2, high-anxiety individuals showed inferior working memory capacity to low-anxiety individuals under evaluative stress conditions, but not under non-stress conditions. In Study 3 high-anxiety subjects exhibited lower efficiency scores than low-anxiety subjects in expository texts without a summary: The former employed a greater amount of reading time than the latter to acquire an equivalent amount of information. In addition, the disadvantage in efficiency associated with anxiety was removed when differences in vocabulary knowledge were partialled out statistically. Instead, that disadvantage was only reduced, but not eliminated, when differences in transitory working memory capacity were partialled out. Therefore, the prior knowledge deficit hypothesis accounts for the impairment in reading efficiency associated with high anxiety better than the transitory working memory reduction hypothesis.     

Computer speech-based remediation for reading disabilities: the size of spelling-to-sound unit in a transparent orthography

This study was designed to assess the effects of four reading-training procedures for children with reading disabilities (RD) in a transparent orthography, with the aim of examining the effects of different spelling-to-sound units in computer speech-based reading. We selected a sample of 83 Spanish children aged between 7 years 1 month and 10 years 6 months (M = 105.2, SD = 7.8) whose pseudoword reading performance was below the 25th percentile and IQ > 90. The participants were randomly assigned to five groups: (a) the whole-word training group (WW) (n = 17), (b) the syllable training group (S)(n = 16), (c) the onset-rime training group (OR) (n = 17), (d) the phoneme training group (P) (n = 15), and (e) the untrained control group (n = 18). Children were pre- and post-tested in word recognition, reading comprehension, phonological awareness, and orthographic and phonological tasks. The results indicate that experimental groups who participated in the phoneme and syllable conditions improved their word recognition in comparison with the control group. In addition, dyslexics who participated in the phoneme, syllable, and onset-rime conditions made a greater number of requests during computer-based word reading under conditions that required extensive phonological computation (low frequency words and long words). Reading time, however, was greater for long words in the phoneme group during computer-based reading. These results suggest the importance of training phonological processes in improving word decoding in children with dyslexia who learn in a consistent orthography.     

Construction and validation of a multidimensional model of students' adjustment to college context

This article presents a model of interaction of personal and contextual variables in the prediction of academic performance and psychosocial development of Portuguese college students. The sample consists of 560 first-year college students of the University of Minho. The path analysis results suggest that initial expectations of the students' involvement in academic life constituted an effective predictor of their involvement during their first year; as well as the social climate of the classroom influenced their involvement, well-being and levels of satisfaction obtained. However, these relationships were not strong enough to influence the criterion variables integrated in the model (academic performance and psychosocial development). Academic performance was predicted by the high school grades and college entrance examination scores, and the level of psychosocial development was determined by the level of development showed at the time they entered college. Though more research is needed, these results point to the importance of students' pre-college characteristics when we are considering the quality of their college adjustment process.     

On-line predictive inferences in reading: Processing timeduring versusafter the priming context

Prior research suggests that predictive inferences take time to construct on-line. The present study examines the relative contribution of time available during and after reading an inducing context. In six experiments, we manipulated the presentation rate of the context and the delay between the onset of the last word in the context and a target word. A predicting, or a control, sentence context was followed by a target word, which represented the predicted event or an unlikely event. The results indicated that increasing the time available during reading of the context improved comprehension of explicit information, but it did not affect construction of inferences. In contrast, increasing the delay at the end of the context did not affect explicit comprehension, but it enhanced the probability of inferences, as revealed by shorter latencies in naming the predictable target word after the inducing context, relative to the control context. These findings show that readers defer making predictive inferences until 1 sec after the sentence context has been read, regardless of the time available when they are processing the context.     

Field dependence-independence (FDI) cognitive style: an analysis of attentional functioning

Previous research has indicated that field-dependent children display poorer performance than field-independent children in almost all academic subjects and cognitive tasks. However, the processes underlying this poorer performance remain unclear. The present study aimed to assess whether children with different FDI cognitive styles show differences in performance of tasks measuring aspects of attentional functioning. Specifically, 149 children aged 8 - 11 years were classified according to FDI cognitive style (field-dependent, intermediate, or field-independent), and to storage capacity (Digits Forward Test), verbal working memory (Digits Backward Test), capacity to focus, shift, and maintain attention (Digit Symbol Test), and capacity for sustained attention (Visual Search and Attention Test). Field-independent children displayed better performance than intermediate and field-dependent children on all tests except the Digits Forward Test. Theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed.     

Field-dependence-independence and career counseling: directions for research

This paper reviews relevant research concerning the utilization of Field-dependence-independence cognitive style in vocational decision-making as well as in implementation and adjustment of career choices. Need for further investigation is highlighted and how career interventions can be enriched by including cognitive style indicated. A test of cognitive styles offers complementary information to traditional career counseling but needs to be explicitly integrated into personal history, academic experiences, achievements, motivations, and vocational goals. New directions for research are offered.     

Burning and cutting: Identifying the traits of individuals with an enduring propensity to tan and to undergo cosmetic surgery

• The research investigated the trait predictors of the propensity to use two beautification procedures that have the potential to harm health – the propensities to tan and to obtain cosmetic surgery. The results of a survey of 231 adult consumers revealed that a different combination of hierarchically arranged traits was predictive of the two procedures. These results suggest that different strategies are required in order to market or demarket tanning and plastic surgery. The research also made methodological contributions by revealing that two forms of vanity identified in the literature – physical view vanity and physical concern vanity – represent two different constructs rather than two dimensions of an underlying construct.

Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Academic achievement in first-year Portuguese college students: the role of academic preparation and learning strategies

This paper analyses the role of academic preparation and learning strategies in the prediction of first-year Portuguese college students' academic achievement, considering students' sex and academic field attended. A sample of 445 first-year college students (68.5% female) from the University of Minho (25.8% enrolled in economics, 35.3% in science/technology, and 38.9% in humanities degrees) participated in the study. Students answered a questionnaire on learning strategies in the classroom at the end of the first semester, which consisted of 44 items organized in five dimensions: comprehensive approach, surface approach, personal competency perceptions, intrinsic motivation, and organization of study activities. Academic achievement (grade point average at the end of first year) and academic preparation (students' higher education access mark) were obtained through the academic records of the university. Results showed that academic preparation was the strongest predictor of first-year academic achievement, and only marginal additional variance was explained by learning strategies as assessed by the self-reported questionnaire. There were sex and academic field differences, but these variables do not seem strong enough to affect the results, although the different percentages of variance captured by each model and the different weights associated to higher education access mark, stimulate the use of these and/or other personal and contextual variables when analysing the phenomenon.     

Academic advising—traditional or developmental approaches?: Student perspectives

Academic advising schemes in higher educational institutions have received little research attention in the UK Two approaches to academic advising schemes are explored: the traditional and developmental approaches. The role of the adviser of studies system is examined and applied to one UK institution of higher education. Empirical research involving group discussions with final-year undergraduate students was conducted to assess the role of the advising scheme. This explored the approach students expected or desired of advisers of studies schemes. Analysis of the primary data concludes that students appear to favour a developmental approach to academic advising.