A strong, positive science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) identity is a predictor of future career choice in a STEM field. In this commentary, major concepts are explored within and among four different research studies with implications regarding STEM or science identity. This commentary describes ways in which one can view STEM…

There have long been suggestions that reduced levels of empathy are associated with an increased risk for antisocial behavior (e.g., Miller & Eisenberg, 1988). The article by Rhee and colleagues on typically developing children (Rhee et al., 2012) is important because it is one of the few studies to longitudinally examine the relationship…

In the United States, but not only here, the movement to evaluate teachers based on student test scores has received powerful political and parental support. The logic is simple. From one testing occasion to another students should show growth in their knowledge and skill. Similar types of students should show similar patterns of growth. Those…

Responds to the comments by J. J. Krueger, K. D. Vohs, and R. F. Baumeister (2007) on the current authors' original article, "Do people's self-views matter? Self-concept and self-esteem in everyday life" (2007). Krueger et al brought up many points with which the current authors agree. Nevertheless, as Krueger et al noted these points of…

Over the second half of the twentieth century, changes occurred in parent reports of their engagement in cognitive activities with their young children in the United States. This article argues that the growing trend of "parenting for cognitive development" in young children in the latter half of the twentieth century is associated with the…

This paper consolidates findings from two related studies: William Brown's research on the predictive ability of measures of early and non-high school interracial contact/opportunities that appear to affect interracial attitudes and behaviors in high school; and Martin Patchen's investigation in Indianapolis, Indiana high schools analyzing the…

Studies patterns of computer use based on data from the National Science Foundation's Longitudinal Study of American Youth in which 7th- and 10th-grade students were surveyed for five consecutive years. Highlights include parental backgrounds; socioeconomic status; parental attitudes; student attitudes; gender differences; computer ownership; and…

Westbrook (1983) challenged the validity of the construct "career maturity" because measures such as the Career Maturity Inventory Attitude Scale (Crites, 1973) correlate to measures of mental ability. Rather than interpreting this association as evincing lack of discriminant validity, the association should be interpreted as supporting…

A study investigated the use of frequency of specific behaviors as an indicator of college student response to dissatisfaction. A population of 423 students from 5 universities helped categorize behaviors as characteristic of 4 constructs: exit, voice, loyalty, and neglect. Twenty acts emerged as viable indicators of the constructs. (MSE)

This article responds to Wineburg's critique of the "Pygmalion" study focusing on the self-fulfilling prophesy. The validity and tenability of the hypothesis are examined in relation to well-known critiques. The conclusion is that there is such a phenomenon and that it is quite applicable to teachers' expectations of students. (VM)

The author accuses Wineburg of using intellectual shortcuts and selective presentations to support the argument against the self-fulfilling prophesy phenomenon. The prophesy does exist and is applicable to schools because it is interrelationships which hold together social systems such as schools. Teachers' beliefs have definite consequences for…

Data from interviews with elementary school principals are examined for insights into the impact of administrative style on evaluation utilization. Characteristics of 23 principals' administrative styles are classified as being either "compliance" (CO) or "non-compliance" (NCO) oriented. CO principals are characterized by the following: (1)…

This paper synthesizes much of the literature concerning physician/patient communication as it relates to patient compliance. Using the theoretical perspective that deals with belief, attitude, intention, and behavior (a perspective generated by Martin Fishbein and Icek Ajzen), a new theoretical orientation for predicting patient compliance is…

Suggests that models of parenting style, such as Baumrind's popular model, are insensitive to variations in parenting resulting from characteristics of the different situations in which the parenting is expressed. Argues that considering parenting in context adds greater specificity to the model and enhances the potential for predicting child…

There is not much evidence that supports the notion of the self-fulfilling prophecy as applied to teachers' expectations of students. The "Pygmalion" study is often cited by courts and in the media; but it is highly criticized in scholarly circles, and its findings could not be replicated. (VM)