Three common locus of control (LOC) measures were administered to 176 gifted and 204 nongifted students in grades 3 through 8 to determine the relationship of giftedness, sex, age, and their interactions to these LOC measures, and to explore instrument reliability and factor structure. Primary findings were mixed, with no giftedness main effect…

Affective development was investigated in 81 learning disabled (LD) and 81 normal achieving (control) children in grades 3-6. The Students' Perception of Ability Scale and the Projected Academic Performance Scale were used to assess academic self-concept and future achievement expectations. Academic locus of control was tapped by the Intellectual…

This study examined children's dialogue about tasks in grades 1 through 6. Sentences produced by 14 children who were rated as having high or low self-direction by their teachers were observed and coded for dialogue features, task features, and emotional tone. Dialogue features included: (1) initiation, which was spontaneous or elicited; (2) mode,…

The influences of locus of control, awareness of control and metacognition on the use and transfer of a trained strategy were examined. Specifically, it was hypothesized that internal locus of control would be associated with more strategic performance, and that those children who were able to both accurately assess their performance with and…

Elementary Boys' generosity toward peers following a success experience varied according to resulting positive and negative affects. Role of context of success relative to affective arousal and generosity were explored. Results indicated importance of considering the context of success and relevance of negative affects induced by a success…

Many studies have hypothesized a developmental relationship between children's chronological and mental ages and their intrapersonal perceptions of internal and external control. To investigate longitudinal changes in children's locus of control, 97 elementary school children, between the ages of 8 and 13, were administered the Children's…

Although humor and laughter are most often based in fundamental social interactions, this element of communication has received little attention. To examine the socially facilitating effects of communication and social acceptance by analyzing children's intrapersonal perceptions of communication apprehension, or shyness, 169 children, aged 8 to 13…

The Bialer Scale and the Nowicki-Strickland Scale were administered twice, 4 weeks apart, to 526 students in the third through sixth grade from four public schools in a rural, predominately white, midwestern community. The association of verbal ability and the reliabilities of the locus of control scales were assessed in view of evidence that the…

Continuing motivation has been defined as an individual's willingness to return to a task or task area at a subsequent time, in similar or varying circumstances, without visible external pressure to do so, and when other behavior alternatives are available. In the current study, path models from Weiner's theory of motivation were developed to…

A Children's Health Locus of Control Scale (CHLOCS), consisting of 20 items with three subscales (powerful others, internal control, chance control) was developed previously by Parcel and Myer to facilitate measurement of the Internal-External Construct relative to children's health behavior. The present study used two samples of children in…

This study assessed common concerns of school-age children. Participating were 138 children in grades 1, 3, and 5. Concerns were spontaneously generated by children during Phase 1 of the study, and common stressors most frequently mentioned were ranked on a 10-item rank-order task during Phase 2. In Phase 3, children completed questionnaires…

This study examined the relationship between children's environmental attitudes and their perceived competence and locus of control. The study sample consisted of 171 children in grades 3, 4, and 5. Children completed the Children's Attitudes Toward the Environment Scale (CATES) and the Janus Environmental Attitudes Scale (JEAS), which assessed…

The research literature on learned helplessness in exceptional children is reviewed and the authors' efforts to identify and retrain learning disabled (LD) children who have characteristics typical of learned helplessness are reported. Twenty-eight elementary aged LD children viewed as "learned helpless" were randomly assigned to one of four…

Two variables, expectations and self-efficacy, were investigated to illuminate their relationship with achievement. The school was the unit of analysis chosen, and three levels of subjects were evaluated--students, teachers, and principals. Students, teachers, and principals within high achieving schools were hypothesized to evidence significantly…

Research has shown that children who are socially rejected exhibit classroom behavior problems and are at risk for adjustment dificulties in later life. To examine the relationship between locus of control for social relationships and peer social status, 413 fifth grade students completed positive and negative same-sex peer nominations, a same-sex…