In this experiment we studied the effect of goal setting on the strategies used to perform a block design task called SAMUEL. SAMUEL can measure many indicators, which are then combined to determine the strategies used by participants when solving SAMUEL problems. Two experimental groups were created: one group was given an explicit, difficult…

Ability tests are used by teachers to provide additional context for interpreting student achievement and as a tool for differentiating instruction to the cognitive strengths and weaknesses of students. Tests that provide the most useful information for these purposes measure school-related content domains including verbal and quantitative…

The present study investigated the unique contribution of learning approaches to academic performance, also taking gender differences into account. The participant sample consisted of 476 school pupils (53% girls and 47% boys) from two upper secondary schools in Sweden who completed two self-reported measures related to personality and learning…

In recent years, models of giftedness have incorporated personal and social variables which influence IQ, rather than taking IQ into account exclusively. Among the various options presented in this context, authors have proposed dynamic assessment techniques as a method for revealing the potential capacity in different groups, independently of the…

The current study examines associations between self- and teacher-rated temperament traits (activity, inhibition, negative emotionality, persistence, distractibility, and mood) and mathematics grades. The sample includes 310 ninth grade students (mean age 15.0) from several schools in Finland. Analyses were conducted with multilevel modeling.…

In the multiple intelligence framework, newer and more contextualized cognitive tasks are suggested as alternative to more traditional psychometric tests. The purpose of this article is to examine whether or not these two types of instruments converge into a general factor of cognitive performance. Thus, the Battery of General and Differential…

In his comment on our literature review of data on the performance of sub-Saharan Africans on Raven's Progressive Matrices, Lynn (this issue) criticized our selection of samples of primary and secondary school students. On the basis of the samples he deemed representative, Lynn concluded that the average IQ of sub-Saharan Africans stands at 67…

Studies on the interface between cognitive ability (intelligence) and personality in the prediction of academic performance have yielded mixed results so far. Especially an interaction between conscientiousness (and its facet achievement striving) and intelligence has been investigated. The hypothesis is that conscientiousness enhances the impact…

Beyond cognitive ability and family background, are there other significant determinants of educational attainment? From research in psychology, economics, education and criminology, one powerful influence is the ability to delay gratification, operationalised in this paper as "delay-discounting". It is intuitively plausible that the…