This paper reviews literature documenting gender differences in beliefs related to mathematics achievement. The areas included in the discussion are: (1) gender differences in mathematics achievement and self-referenced cognitions, (2) the effect of confidence and anxiety on mathematics performance and expenditure of effort, and (3) confidence and…

To improve the performance appraisal systems used by personnel offices, a study collected the reactions of 200 managers to giving performance appraisals through interviews, scripts, role enactments, a list writing exercise, and an anxiety measure. The data produced three major findings: (1) managers experienced high levels of anxiety when giving…

This study examined the relationship between ego-oriented or task-oriented motivation on one hand and subjective well-being and perceived ability on the other. Undergraduate (N=124) and graduate (N=212) students at Purdue University responded to a questionnaire by listing up to 10 personal projects and rating the 2 most important ones with respect…

Study skills research has progressed within the past ten years from primary concern with overt and observable study behaviors to an examination of cognitive and motivational processes underlying student learning and achievement outcomes. However, there is still need for a more comprehensive approach which integrates the behavioral, cognitive and…

In an effort to provide a better understanding of the possible impact of teacher training upon aspiring teachers, this study was designed to ascertain whether prospective teachers' longitudinal changes in attitude, anxiety, and confidence about teaching were related to, or possibly influenced by, their locus-of-control orientation, personality…

The primary purpose of this study was to determine if transfer students reduced the quality of 547 prospective teachers who were beginning their teacher training at Bowling Green State University (Ohio) during either the spring semester of the 1984-85 or during the fall semester of the 1985-86 academic years. Aptitude, basic academic skills, and…

This paper reviews the process employed in Pennsylvania to develop, refine, select, and implement educational indicators at the state level as part of a state testing program. The indicators are used to provide meaningful comparative information for analysis and planning, to encourage school employees to make productive curricular or…

The relationship of affective variables and types of exposure to second language learning was investigated along with the validity of a questionnaire on attitudes toward English. The affective questionnaire, exposure indices, and tests of English proficiency were administered to 403 Chinese, Japanese, and Thai university students who had studied…

Interviews with same-sex adult members of three-generation family lines can dramatize similarities and differences by age and generation in ways of thinking and feeling. An analysis of interviews with 157 families examined the health of the grandparent, the happiness of each of the three generational representatives, and family salience. Twelve…

Severe problems in turnover and absenteeism among workers in geriatric and long-term care organizations have sparked great interest in the impact of job satisfaction on the quality of care provided to the elderly. The Job Description Index (JDI) is a job satisfaction index which measures satisfaction with several dimensions of the job: co-workers,…

A model is presented for developing an introductory gerontology course in which teaching strategies are aimed primarily at realizing affective rather than cognitive outcomes in the lives of students. The four course objectives are described in terms of the following areas: (1) examination of personal values and attitudes concerning aging and the…

This longitudinal study examined the effect of being placed in foster care versus remaining at home upon the psychological functioning of 64 black, sexually abused girls aged 5 to 16 years. Only subjects molested by persons well known to them were included in this study. The children were initially evaluated using a multi-method assessment…

Social cognitive theory suggests that students use both affective and cognitive study strategies in directing their own learning processes. This study explored the correspondences between both strategy types and the self-regulated learning of rural at-risk students. Sixty-seven 11th- and 12th-graders from 12 rural high schools completed the…

This study was designed to ascertain whether differences existed between the academic, affective, and personal characteristics of teacher education persisters and nonpersisters. The subjects were comprised of a longitudinal sample of approximately 550 teacher candidates entering teacher training at one institution (Bowling Green State University,…

This study, based on Strong's (1968) model of therapy as social influence, focused on the relationship between clients' judgments of therapists' characteristics and the outcomes of their treatment for generalized anxiety. Thirty subjects and 15 therapists met in 12 individual therapy sessions using Progressive Relaxation Training combined with…