This book provides an in-depth exploration of psychological phenomena affecting language learning within a social learning space. Drawing on the literature from identity in second language learning, communities of practice and learner beliefs, in conjunction with other individual difference factors, it uncovers perceptions and assumptions that…

This book examines the role of interlocutors and their individual differences (IDs) in second language (L2) development from four theoretical lenses: the cognitive-interactionist approach, sociocultural theory, the variationist approach, and complex dynamic systems theory. A theoretical overview to each approach is written by a preeminent scholar…

Investigated sex differences in moral thinking and the relationship between sex roles and moral judgment across the adult lifespan. A total of 60 subjects participated: 10 women and 10 men in each of three age groups (18-24, 30-50, 60-75). A multiple measures approach to data collection was employed. (RH)

In recent years, the study of the self has been concentrated in the areas of self-esteem, individual differences in self-relevant cognition, and the processes of self-relevant cognition. To validate understanding of the individual difference dimensions of public and private self-consciousness and self-esteem, college students (N=101) completed the…

This research paper explores the role of schooling in the formation of students' gender identities with particular attention to the social construction of masculinity. Understanding the formation of male identity is important in thinking about the roles of teachers and classrooms. Six pre-service teachers, three male and three female, were…

Examined how an unstable rather than stable view of dispositions--that is, personality traits and abilities--affected the motivational consequences of 7- and 8-year-old children's success and failure experiences, and their self-confidence and impressions of other persons. (SKC)

Matching teaching strategies and classroom environment to students' learning preferences has been found to be related to students' self-concept and achievement. By identifying the learning and reading style of each student, the teacher will increase the youngster's chances of being successful, thus having a positive effect on the child's…

Examines the coherence of attachment organization during late adolescence in a sample of 53 college freshmen. Three kinds of working models were assessed with the Adult Attachment Interview: Dismissing of Attachment, Secure, and Preoccupied with Attachment. Findings are interpreted in terms of different styles of affect regulation and…

Research suggests that the perception of personal competence may account for a significant portion of the variance in individual physical and psychological well-being. Yet to be investigated is how people arrive at judgments of their competence, the structure of personal competence perception represented by these judgments, and the relation of the…

Previous factor studies of the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) have not analyzed the item data as a function of sex, or reported more than one factor solution. To further study the factor structure of the BDI, items were factor analyzed and multiple solutions were examined for simple structure, parsimony, and psychological meaningfulness. A sample…

A brief discussion of three phases in research on instructional films--whether films can teach (approximately 1910-1950), how films teach (1940 through the late 1950s), and who learns from films (1960-1985)--introduces a review of the research literature on the third phase. The experimental studies reviewed focus on three concerns: (1) use of…

Based on current models of problem solving within cognitive psychology, this study focused on the spontaneous problem solving strategies used by children as they first learned LOGO computer programming, and on strategy transformations that took place during the problem solving process. The research consisted of a six weeks programming training…

Reports on a study of the effects of self-blame or societal blame among 82 Canadian female college students. Finds that women encouraged to blame themselves were more likely to endorse accepting the situation, while those encouraged to blame society endorsed nonnormative individual confrontation. (CFR)

Reports on a study of differences in assumptions about a just world among 140 college students. Finds that nonminority students saw their personal worlds as less random, more just, and more benevolent than they saw the general world. Finds that minority students saw both the personal and the general world as less benevolent and less lucky. (CFR)