With the increasing adoption of Learning Management Systems (LMS) in colleges and universities, research in exploring the interaction data captured by these systems is promising in developing a better learning environment and improving teaching practice. Most of these research efforts focused on course-level variables to predict student…

Three experiments examined the influence of videotaped classroom events on the classroom performance and study behavior of groups of 17 reading disabled and 17 normally reading elementary school children (ages 7 to 12). In the first two experiments the presentation was experimenter controlled, and the distractors resulted in poorer performance in…

The effect of externally-mediated goal setting on intrinsic motivation was examined using a laboratory assembly task. College male subjects (N=80) were randomly assigned in a factorial design including two conditions of goal setting (assigned vs. no goals) and two conditions of initial task interest (interesting vs. boring task). The results show…

Many empirical studies have examined factors that influence ratings of performance. This study examined the rating variable performance of a single individual. Serial position of a single poor or good performance in a series of otherwise good or poor performances was manipulated to examine its effects on both ratings and recommended actions toward…

Certain characteristics of a Taylor (1965) competitive reaction time task contribute to a lack of awareness of contingencies that exist between two aggressors. The opponent's contingent response to the subject's specific shock setting may be obscured by the reaction time competition, thus concealing the matching contingency. Nine separate steps…

The relationship between therapist empathy skill level and therapist non-defensive awareness of countertransference phenomena with three client types, i.e., seductive, hostile and neutral affect, was investigated. Therapists in training (n=22) were administered the Yulis and Kiesler immediacy measure as a measure of non-countertransference…

Two experiments were designed to test Kukla's cognitive theory of task performance, based on intended effort. Experiment I was designed to determine if success feedback leads to an overall increase in performance level and differential asymptotic performance for those high and low in achievement motivation. Experiment 2 was aimed at determining if…

Self-efficacy theory maintains that self-efficacy expectancy, a belief about one's ability to perform a behavior successfully, is independent of outcome expectancy, a belief about the likelihood of the behavior leading to a specific outcome. To examine this hypothesis, subjects (N=95) read communications that differed in descriptions of the…

One attributional model of achievement proposes that individuals attribute their own and others' performance outcomes to one or more of four causes, i.e., ability, effort, task difficulty, and luck, and that such attributions have motivational significance for subsequent achievement-related behavior. The effects of gender, level of resultant…

The need for psychological skills in coping with anxiety on the part of athletes and coaches is discussed. Courses are proposed to teach techniques for controlling bodily responses to anxiety, self understanding and positive thinking, and goal clarification. (JD)

The effects of meaningfulness of the stimulus materials and the presence or absence of contextual cues on problem-solving behavior were investigated. Third-graders (N=80) were randomly assigned to one of four conditions and their performance in a series of discrimination problems was observed. Subjects in Conditions I and II responded to stimuli…

Studies on alcohol and aggression have tended to use male subjects and to employ negative shock deliveries as the measure of aggression. This study was conducted to investigate sex differences in alcohol's effect on aggression and to examine the impact of providing both positive and negative response options. Male (N=48) and female (N=48)…

A model specifying relationships between life stage, motives for using television and the perceived reality of television was tested with data from 140 telephone interviews of adults living in Southern Illinois. The adults ranged in age from 18 to 87 years. Life stage was related to five of the 11 motives for using television: learning things,…

A study investigated (1) how adult responses vary with children who display different rates of positive social behaviors, and (2) predictive sequential relationships between specific types of child and adult behavior within an interaction. Pretest data were used to select nine girls from 4 to 6 years of age who ranged from low to high in their…

The Type A behavior pattern, an independent risk factor for coronary heart disease, has been characterized as a response style for coping with perceived threats to control. Recent research suggests that self-attributional biases may play a role in the Type A's sensitivity to loss of control. Attributional mediation of Type A's experience of stress…