Reports on acquiescence in 616 persons (ages 18-69) with mental retardation. The data, collected in a nationwide Finnish quality-of-life study, found: 11 to 36% of subjects responded acquiescently in interviews; there was a significant relationship between acquiescence and interviewer/interviewee gender combinations; there were no significant…

Psychomotor performance is fundamental to human existence. It is important in many real world activities and nowadays psychomotor tests are used in several fields of industry, army, and medical sciences in employee selection. This article tries to define psychomotor activity by introducing some psychomotor theories. Furthermore the…

Two components of life orientation emerged in study of 145 men and 142 women at age 26: Positive Orientation (PO), which included self-percepts of personal control over development; and Motivated Questioning (MQ), which consisted of identity exploration and dissatisfaction with present achievements. In comparison with MQ, PO was more strongly…

Results of a longitudinal study provide several insights into the idealization of motherhood, the idealization of mothers' relationships with their children in the years from 1 to 4, and the development of children of women who idealize motherhood. In the mother, idealization is associated with low self-esteem, denial of ambivalent feelings and…

A study was made of comprehensive school teachers' perceptions of mental health when it was defined as a "dynamic integration process of the physical, psychical, social, and spiritual existence of a human being." Two groups participated: 76 middle-aged teachers and 87 advanced teacher trainees. Perceptions of health and mental health…

This six-part pamphlet examines 87 Finnish principals' personalities in terms of leadership and cognitive styles. The study's purpose is noted in section 1. Section 2 analyzes pedagogical roles and behaviors from a normative dimension perspective. Section 3 shifts to the personal dimension in discussing styles, values, and vocational preferences.…

A study conducted in Finland investigated the relationships between trait and test anxiety and low and high achievement in 552 sixth- and eighth-graders. Before the final English language test of the spring term, the students responded to a questionnaire concerning worry, tension, test-irrelevant thoughts, physical reactions (e.g., rapid…

Construct validity of the Offer Self-Image Questionnaire (OSIQ) was studied in a sample of 194 normal Finnish adolescents from 14 to 16 years of age. Confirmatory factor analysis provided support for the hierarchical structure of adolescents' self-image with 5 lower-order factors loading on a single higher-order factor. Lower-order factors were…

A study investigated Finnish high school students' second language learning motivation, attitudes, self-concepts, inhibitions, and selected personality traits. The study attempted to learn more about the nature, content, and functions of the "affective filter" in foreign language learning. A variety of relationships between these factors…

Compares 117 Finnish and 351 southern U.S. college students for the following: (1) paranormal beliefs; (2) personality adjustment constructs (anomie, death concerns, alienation, and death threat); and (3) relationships between the beliefs and constructs. The secularization process, further advanced in Finland than the United States, moderates…

A study in Finland investigated the relationship of two general aspects of student motivation for second language learning (preference for challenge and curiosity) and motivation specific to the learning situation. Subjects were 292 sixth-graders and 301 eighth-graders, who performed two open and two closed English vocabulary tasks in two…

Two studies are reported: "Elements of 'Good Teaching': A Comparison of Education Students' Perceptions in Botswana, California, Finland, and Zimbabwe" (John Yoder, Larry Shaw, Ben Siyakwazi, Kaarina Yli-Renko) and "Intercultural Communication: A Challenge to German Language Teacher Education" (Kaarina Yli-Renko). The first…

A collection of articles on second-language testing includes: "The State of Language Testing in the 1990s" (J. Charles Alderson); "The Exercise of Power and Control in the Rhetorics of Testing" (Elana Shohamy); "Institutional and Political Aspects of Language Testing" (Bernard Spolsky); "Language Planning Policy…