This edited collection challenges the common preoccupation with knowledge acquisition and academic achievement by comparing the aims and cultural beliefs which drive education in different countries throughout the world. Through case studies from countries in Asia, Latin America, Africa, and Europe, the authors present how education can be…

This edited collection provides a state-of-the art overview of research on willingness to communicate (WTC) in a second and foreign language. In particular, it includes innovative studies seeking to demonstrate the ways in which WTC can be examined within the framework of complex dynamic systems, how the construct is related to self-assessment,…

For more than two decades, the concept of student engagement has grown from simple attention in class to a construct comprised of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral components that embody and further develop motivation for learning. Similarly, the goals of student engagement have evolved from dropout prevention to improved outcomes for lifelong…

Early adolescence represents a particularly vulnerable period of development during which young people are susceptible to establishing lifelong behavior patterns associated with poor life, health, and educational outcomes. Previous research demonstrates older adolescents and young adults often experience negative life events (NLEs) prior to…

This paper outlines a qualitative research tool designed to explore personal identity formation as described by Erik Erikson and offers self-reflective and anonymous evaluative comments made by college students after completing this task. Subjects compiled a list of 200 myths, customs, fables, rituals, and beliefs from their family of origin and…

The purpose of the present study was to learn about the self-perception of women who live with alcohol-addicted partners. It was hoped that avoiding to label the women in advance as codependent would facilitate a better understanding of their lives and self-perceptions. The qualitative naturalist methodology used was based on a feminist framework.…

Differing theoretical approaches to the study of emotions are presented: emotions as private (psychodynamic approaches); emotions as sociocultural phenomena (social constructionist approaches); and a third perspective (interactionist approaches) transcending these two. These approaches have important methodological implications in studying…

Categorizes and discusses the factors associated with fear of success in women in terms of familial socialization, psychological influences, and cultural norms. Indicates that any one or combination of these factors can precipitate fear of success manifested in defeatist behaviors, which in turn undermine career development. (DMM)

Presents a nine-celled matrix to explain psychological stability and change. Considers the relationship between various levels of analysis and internal forces, external forces, and interactive theories. (PCB)

Children 5 to 15 years old answered questions on causal attributions of their own and their mothers' emotions, and methods for inferring and changing maternal emotion. Parents were asked reciprocal questions. (PCB)

The relationship of parent personality to child psychopathology has been investigated in numerous studies over the past three decades, using the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI). To investigate response patterns of both parents and offspring, the MMPI responses of 197 families with adolescents entering inpatient or outpatient…

Summarizes the responses of 311 Australian and 250 Nepalese university students to the Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. Discovers a moderate inverse relationship between depressive symptoms and life satisfaction among the Australian students. Discusses possible reasons for this. (MJP)

Investigated effects of pubertal, social, and biological factors on negative affect of 103 White girls aged 10 t0 14 years. Results indicate that social factors, and the interaction of negative life events and pubertal factors, accounted for more variance than did hormonal pubertal factors alone. (RJC)

Compares 17 methadone-exposed and 23 control four-month-old infants in interactions with their mothers. Results indicate that methadone is only one of several risk factors affecting interaction. Mothers rated poor in communication have poor psychosocial and psychological resources, and infants rated poor in communication showed problematic motor…

In her model of opinion formation, Elizabeth Noelle-Neumann postulates a spiral of silence: to avoid isolation, people holding minority views either alter their ideas to conform to the majority's stance or remain silent, thus increasing the impression of the majority view's dominance. While providing a helpful integration of disparate ideas in…