The Perception of Ability Scale for Students was administered to 29 intellectually gifted students and 71 average achievers in grade six in New Zealand. Gifted students held significantly higher ability perceptions in general ability, arithmetic, reading/spelling, and confidence. No differences were found in perceptions of school satisfaction and…

Administration of 2 affective tests to 89 students with learning disabilities (LD) in grades 4-8 revealed that subjects perceived the school environment and academic tasks as 2 separate factors. LD students, compared to nondisabled students, exhibited more positive attitudes toward the school environment than for academic learning tasks. School…

Stimulated recall was used to examine the affective experiences of (n=32) fourth and fifth graders engaged in mathematics seatwork. Students' affect was found to be primarily negative and achievement related. Anger was the most prevalent affective response. (42 references) (MKR)

Reports on a set of three studies that compared responses to commonly used attitude and personality questionnaires administered by computer with those administered in written form. Subjects' affective reactions to the two modes of administration were also examined. Overall the differences between the two conditions were negligible. (25 references)…

The general-information-theoretic approach was used to identify informational overlap and asymmetry between variables, using affective, cognitive, and behavioral measures. Using the chi-squared test, no significant differences were found in response rates, demographics, or patronage frequency of three stores between numerical (n=453) and graphic…

Original data and other studies using the Positive Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire (ATP-Q) show that the reliability and norms of the instrument appear stable and that the ATP-Q is inversely associated with negative affective states but unrelated to conditions such as medical condition not accompanied by psychological distress. (SLD)

Investigated the ability of cognitive, affective, personality, and demographic variables to predict second language acquisition among college students. Student surveys indicated that all four types of variables correlated with foreign language achievement, with a cognitive variable (academic achievement) and an affective variable (foreign language…

Client and counselor ratings of student distress were compared with MMPI-2 College Maladjustment (Mt) scale (Butcher, et al; 1989) score for 78 Canadian undergraduate students seeking counseling. Mt scores were consistent with subjective ratings of problem severity and accounted for more variance in client ratings of social and general functioning…

The relation between learning environment (perceptions of classroom goal structure and teachers' instructional discourse) and students' reported use of avoidance strategies (self-handicapping, avoidance of help seeking) and preference to avoid novelty in mathematics was examined. High incidence of motivational support was uniquely characteristic…

This article summarizes findings from research using "My Worst School Experience Scale" and the new version of the "Student Alienation and Trauma Scale." Certain students report chronic ridicule and rejection from peers and/or adults leading to alienation and antagonism towards school. Positive and negative climates are contrasted and show how the…

This study has dual goals of confirming the existence of a "Withdrawal/Apathy/[Lack of] Vigor" (WAV) dimension of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) and determining if it is descriptive of either depletion or disengagement-related change in older adults. High endorsement rates suggest WAV may be congruent with disengagement or depletion and may…

This paper introduced the development and validation of the Test of Geography-Related Attitudes (ToGRA). The ToGRA measures student attitude on four discrete measures student attitude on four discrete scales: 1) leisure interest in geography; 2) enjoyment of geographic education; 3) career interest in geography; and 4) interest in place. The ToGRA…

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 report examines self-concept and wilderness anxiety among fifth- and sixth-grade students attending three summer camps operated in different regions of Kentucky by the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources (KDFWR). Program content at each 1-week camp was standard, consisting of a set of outdoor experiences and instruction. More…