In two studies, we investigated how beliefs in the effort-ability relationship moderated the effects of effort praise on student motivation. Study 1 showed that the more the participants believed that effort and ability were related positively (the positive rule) versus related negatively (the inverse rule), the more they would have positive…

This descriptive study of first-year university students (3 samples of 271, 356, and 266) demonstrates the usefulness of goals in differentiating students' motivational orientations. The relationship between perceived ability and motivation and the consequences of simultaneous orientation toward mastery and performance goals were explored. (SLD)

Whether knowledge of cognition affects regulation of cognition was studied with 115 college students assigned to differing levels of self-monitoring ability. Results suggest that most college students possess metacognitive knowledge about their learning, although many do not use this to improve their regulation of test performance. (SLD)

Effects of the Future Problem-Solving Program on the ability of 29 gifted fourth graders and 32 gifted fifth graders to solve futuristic problems similar to those used in the program were studied. Results indicate a significant effect of the program on solution of this type of problem. (SLD)

Epistemological beliefs of 146 male and 252 female university students were examined as a function of their educational level and field of study. Epistemological beliefs can be represented in terms of five factors. Students' beliefs about learning are a product of the activity, the culture, and the context. (SLD)

The roles that knowledge, motivational variables, and approaches to study play in academic success were explored for 104 undergraduates. A path model was proposed and tested, providing a basis for beginning to understand how the approaches to study students select may mediate between knowledge, beliefs, and achievement. (SLD)

The relationship between academic self-concept and achievement was examined longitudinally for 46 children at ages 8 and 10. A bidirectional relationship operated between self-concept and achievement. Success attributions to ability were positively related to self-concept and achievement but were not a direct predictor of achievement. (SLD)

Motivational patterns and self-regulatory activities of 119 undergraduates were studied through a questionnaire examining perceived ability and goal orientation. Findings are generally consistent with the goal orientation theory of C. S. Dweck, although the predicted integration of dominant goal orientation and perceived ability did not appear.…

Constructs related to mathematics achievement in 353 Asian American and non-Asian fourth, fifth, and sixth graders were studied. Results show that Asian Americans differ from non-Asians on several constructs, partly reflecting lower Asian American self-concepts of mathematics ability and their belief that their parents share that conception. (SLD)

The impact of learning mathematics under successful and unsuccessful cooperative group conditions was studied for 181 seventh graders in Montreal (Quebec) who had a learned-helplessness or mastery-oriented attributional style and different prior mathematics achievement. Learning of helpless and less able students may depend on accomplishments and…