Children with negative competence beliefs often achieve below their potential in school. This randomized field experiment tested whether engaging in positive self-talk may benefit these children's mathematics performance. Participants (N = 212, Grades 4-6, M[subscript age] = 10.6) worked on the first half of a standardized mathematics test,…

Previous research addressing the dynamics of stigma and academics has focused on African American adolescents and adults. The present study examined stigma awareness, academic anxiety, and intrinsic motivation among 451 young (ages 6-11) and diverse (African American, Chinese, Dominican, Russian, and European American) students. Results indicated…

Examines the relation between children's mastery motivation, self-assessment of performance, and task-related, help-seeking behavior during task performance. (PCB)

Two studies examined whether social norms and children's concern for self-presentation affect their intergroup attitudes. Study 1 examined racial intergroup attitudes and normative beliefs among children aged 6 to 16 years (n=155). Accountability (i.e., public self-focus) was experimentally manipulated, and intergroup attitudes were assessed using…

Tested on preschoolers a goal-confidence model for older children that predicts achievement behavior during failure. Found that individual differences in achievement goals emerge very early. Children appeared to have developed a mechanism for selecting learning opportunities prior to formal school experience. (AA)

Examined familial factors in relation to 93 fifth-graders' motivational orientation and academic performance. High parental surveillance of homework; parental reactions to grades that included negative control, uninvolvement, or extrinsic reward; and over- and undercontrolling family styles were found to be related to children's extrinsic…

Tested the hypothesis that home environment positively predicts academic intrinsic motivation from childhood through early adolescence, controlling for socioeconomic status. Found that home environment had statistically positive and significant, direct and indirect paths to academic intrinsic motivation; children whose homes had greater emphasis…

Obtained peer nominations, teacher reports, and self-reports for 423 sixth and seventh graders. Compared to sociometrically average status students, neglected students reported higher levels of motivation and were described by teachers as being more self-regulated, more prosocial, and better liked. Aggressive-rejected, but not submissive-rejected,…