Examined the relationship of the Irrational Beliefs Test (Jones 1968) to depression, locus of control, cognitive set, and interpersonal assertion competencies in 114 college women. Results showed irrationality on the IBT was related to externality, negative cognitive set, unassertiveness, and depression. (JAC)

The cognitive style dimension of scanning refers to consistent individual differences in the extensiveness and intensity of spontaneous attention deployment, leading to individual variations in vividness of experience and the span of awareness. The cognitive style of focusing was conceived as an adaptive counterpart to the defense mechanism of…

Examined the relation between procrastination and academically related trait measures. Self-reported procrastination was positively correlated with delay in taking self-paced quizzes and negatively correlated with grade point average. High procrastinators, particularly women, were significantly more likely to report more test anxiety and to…

Course evaluations analyzed to discover factors affecting learning indicate that expectations, learning style, and personality are major factors. It is suggested that learning is strongly influenced by these student characteristics and parallel factors in courses and teachers. (MSE)

Causal attributions of shy students (N=36) were compared with those of a comparison group of students (N=36) in ten situations. Significant differences between the two groups emerged when explaining outcomes of situations considered to be problematic for shy individuals. Causal attributions may reflect realistic and situation-specific…

Examined the hypothesis that subject differences in conceptual complexity (CC) may mediate individuals' cognitive and emotional responses toward problem situations. Results showed high-CC individuals reported more internal attributions and fewer negative task statements and showed less increase in negative mood. (Author)

Recent models of depression have shown differences in information processing to be important concomitants of depressed affect. To determine whether the cognitive distortion found in depressed individuals extends beyond self-evaluation and interpersonal evaluation into abstract decision making, 288 college students completed the Beck Depression…

Examined differences between students who perceived themselves as "successful" and "unsuccessful" problem solvers. Results revealed "successful" and "unsuccessful" problem solvers differed in number of problems acknowledged, on self-report ratings about the personal problem solving process, and on ratings made by interviewers on several cognitive…

A distinction is drawn between students' ability to understand information and their personal acceptance and valuing of that information. Results of a small-scale study are used to suggest that students may differ in their levels of acceptance of information. Ideas regarding possible future research are discussed. (Author/JMD)

Suggests that teachers can be differentiated by their cognitive or affective orientations, reflected in the objectives they select and in the stimuli and questions they present in the classroom. Proposes use of aptitude-treatment interactions in order to clarify the best methods to use for personalized teacher training. (JD)

A cognitively oriented psychoeducational model based on appraisal theory is introduced in this paper for helping participants understand each other's subjective experiences in multicultural group work. Psychoeducational groups, originally developed for use in educational settings, stress growth through knowledge. Appraisal theory is a promising…

Through a review of the current literature, the problems of minority college students and a self-help alternative to traditional counseling of such students are examined in this document. The discussion includes an analysis of cognitive and noncognitive factors that influence academic performance, adjustment, and continuation into graduate…

It is generally recognized that students' feelings about learning affect their ability to learn. One of the three strongest influencing factors on second-language learning is classroom anxiety. This paper focuses on student emotional distress in the English as a second language (ESL) classroom, and suggests that one of the primary causes of this…

Studies were undertaken in four counties in North Carolina to determine if the learning styles of African American children described by J. Hale (formerly Hale-Benson) (1986) could be identified among African American high school males through the use of the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI). Learning style differences between minority (n=184)…

Employing learned helplessness theory as a trait orientation, a study examined the interrelationships existing between instructor classroom behaviors, student perceptions of control, and student behavioral responses in the college classroom. Subjects, 317 male and female undergraduate students who were enrolled in communication courses at West…