Empirical studies into meaning systems surrounding implicit theories of intelligence typically entail two stringent assumptions: that different implicit theories and different effort beliefs represent opposite poles on a single scale, and that implicit theories directly impact the constructs as achievement goals and academic motivations. Through…

A reciprocal effects model linking emotion and achievement over time is proposed. The model was tested using five annual waves of the Project for the Analysis of Learning and Achievement in Mathematics (PALMA) longitudinal study, which investigated adolescents' development in mathematics (Grades 5-9; N = 3,425 German students; mean starting…

The purpose of the study was to investigate if academic and social self-concept and motivation to improve in academic school subjects mediated the negative effect of summative assessment (grades) for low-ability students' achievement in compulsory school. In two previous studies, summative assessment (grading) was found to have a differentiating…

Over half of the children in the U.S. experience adversity early in childhood. These experiences, along with conditions in their families and neighborhoods, have profound developmental effects. The bioecological model of development includes these proximal contexts in a theory of development that incorporates the threats and supports present in…

This four-wave prospective longitudinal study evaluated stability of language in 324 children from early childhood to adolescence. Structural equation modeling supported loadings of multiple age-appropriate multisource measures of child language on single-factor core language skills at 20 months and 4, 10, and 14 years. Large stability…

The aim of this study was to examine whether, and to what extent, teachers are able to recognize the creativity of their students. The study measured the creative abilities, creative attitude, creative activity, as well as intrinsic motivation, intelligence, and school functioning of 589 Polish high school students, while their teachers (N = 178)…

A large number of studies have reported average performance differences in favor of males in mental rotation tasks. However, it is still unclear to what extent the magnitude of the sex differences varies across age, and whether the differences increase with age. In this study, we reanalyzed data from a cross-sectional investigation of N = 1624…

This study attempted a hierarchical integration of several dispositional determinants of test anxiety (TA) [Sarason, I.G. (1984). "Stress, anxiety and cognitive interference: Reactions to tests." "Journal of Personality and Social Psychology," 46, 929-938.], namely the Big Five personality traits [Costa, P.T. Jr., & McCrae,…

Numerous studies conducted with offender or forensic psychiatric samples have revealed that individuals with psychopathic traits are at risk for violence and other externalizing psychopathology. These traits appear to be continuously distributed in these samples, leading investigators to speculate on the presence of such traits in the general…