Fluid intelligence and conscientiousness are important predictors of students' academic performance and competence gains. Although their individual contributions have been widely acknowledged, less is known about their potential interplay. Do students profit disproportionately from being both smart and conscientious? We addressed this question…

The incremental validity of specific cognitive abilities beyond general intelligence has been investigated in studies using hierarchical multiple regression analyzes (HMR). In the present study, we investigated whether the incremental validity of specific cognitive abilities (i.e., verbal, figural, and numerical ability) for the explanation of…

Intelligence is a well-supported predictor of school achievement, however, it refers only to the cognitive facet of learning determinants. The aim of this article is to contrast the predictive properties of two comprehensive concepts developed within the actiotope model of giftedness (AMG) with that of intelligence. These concepts are educational…

Terman's study was the first to systematically document the lives of the intellectually gifted. This cross-sectional study replicates and extends some of Terman's findings on characteristics of the gifted in childhood, comparing largely unselected samples of gifted (n = 50) and average-ability (n = 50) adolescents matched by means of propensity…

Background: Boys earn lower grades in languages than girls. The expectancy-value model by Eccles" et al." (1983, "A series of books in psychology. Achievement and achievement motives. Psychological and sociological approaches," W.H. Freeman, San Francisco, CA, 76) is a comprehensive theoretical model for explaining gender…

Successful completion of a university degree is a complex matter. Based on considerations regarding the demands of acquiring a university degree, the aim of this paper was to investigate the utility of complex problem-solving (CPS) skills in the prediction of objective and subjective university success (SUS). The key finding of this study was that…

This study seeks to understand boys' lower academic success by analysing the relationship between sex, gender role self-concept, help seeking attitudes, and school performance in a sample of 182 German 11th grade students (83 girls, 99 boys), age 16. Grades at two points in time, intelligence test data, help-seeking attitudes, gender role…

Prior research has shown that quantity of schooling affects the development of intelligence in childhood and adolescence. However, it is still debated whether other aspects of schooling--such as ability tracking or, more generally, school quality--can also influence intelligence. In this study, the authors analyzed intelligence gains in academic-…

It was assumed that the effect of motivational regulation strategies on achievement is mediated by effort management and moderated by intelligence. A sample of 231 11th and 12th grade German high-school students provided self-reports on their use of motivational regulation strategies and effort management and completed an intelligence test.…