Given the preponderance of deficit-oriented discourse about Black men and adult learners in higher education, there have not been theoretical frameworks put forth to explain the success of Black male adult learners in higher education. Thus, this article describes the Black male adult learner success theory, which builds on Gilman Whiting's…

Among the many life transitions that individuals must master throughout their lives, the transition to adulthood ranks very high in terms of importance, complexity and uniqueness. It involves the completion of education, and the assumption of new social roles and responsibilities, at a time when previous institutional structures that guided…

Initially drawing from, yet then expanding on the research discussed in this volume, this article discusses specific measures that practitioners, researchers, and policymakers can take to support purpose among youth. Strategies for educators include utilizing practical purpose teaching tools, such as purpose interviews, purpose-related…

This monograph provides educational researchers, policymakers, and practitioners with an overview of existing knowledge regarding factors that influence success among racial and ethnic minority students in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) circuit. To accomplish this task, the authors reviewed more than four hundred…

Factors affecting persons in need of help have been of great concern to social psychologists. To investigate expressed willingness to seek help, evaluations of help-seekers, and the influence of the Protestant ethic on help seeking, college students completed questionnaires containing descriptions of eight situations in which a person was faced…

A number of researchers have described individual differences in achievement goals and performance standards. To explore similarities and differences in these theories, and to provide an instrument to measure them, 273 female and 88 male college students responded to items designed to measure each of the dimensions defined by these theories. The…

This article examines theoretical views of perfectionism, some of the instruments currently available to measure perfectionism, and empirical evidence surrounding perfectionism in both the general and gifted populations. Areas of needed research are addressed, with particular emphasis given to the multidimensional nature of the construct of…

The role of achievement needs in self-evaluation has been relatively neglected. To examine ability evaluation through social comparison when achievement or self-esteem needs are salient, students (N=102) were given bogus (favorable or unfavorable) ability feedback to manipulate the need for self-esteem maintenance. Achievement motivation was…

Projective measurement of achievement motivation can be achieved by using a large number of scales quite suitable for this purpose and related concepts. This paper is a guide to the literature on measuring achievement motivation rather than a detailed review of each scale. The author introduces his scale which he feels is unique because it…

Data for this study of 108 young adults from the New York Longitudinal Study include measures of temperament derived from two sources: interviews conducted with subjects' mothers when the children were 3 and 4 years of age and measures of Type A behavior derived from interviews with the subjects during young adulthood. (Author/NH)

Examines motivational processes within different goal/reward structures, i.e., competitive, cooperative, and individualistic. Reviews the results of several studies of teacher and student perceptions of personal ability and success and failure. Discusses educational implications of the authors' conclusion that alternative goal structures lead to…

To explore personal characteristics (achievement motivation and anxiety) which may affect performance on a recognition task, three studies were conducted using a 375-word text on dreaming. In the first study, 54 college students answered questions about the passage either with or without reading the material. Results confirmed that recognition was…

Although sex differences in achievement-related behaviors have been well documented, recent attempts to account for these differences have focused on either goal orientation or standards. To compare varying explanations for sex differences in achievement and to examine the standards men and women use to define success, two studies were conducted.…

Achievement striving is a central dimension of the Type A behavior pattern. To investigate the relationship between Type A behavior pattern, personal performance goals, and goal achievement on two general information tests, 126 undergraduates participated in a two-phase study. First, behavior patterns were assessed using the Framingham Type A…

Recent research on sex differences in career and achievement motivation have used one dimensional definitions for the constructs. To investigate sex differences in four dimensions of career motivation, one dimension of achievement motivation, and three clusters of antecedent factors for young women and men, 212 high school graduates (112 females,…