The non-cognitive skills self-control and grit are often considered predictors of school performance, but whether this relationship is causal remains unclear. We investigated the causality of this association using a twin design. Specifically, we evaluated the direct impact of self-control and grit on school performance, while controlling for…

This study explores the attributions to which undergraduate university students ascribe academic achievement. Attribution theory was used as a means to understand scholastic success-failure. The questions that guided the study were the following: What are the causal attributions that predominate in students' academic achievement? Is there a…

This study examines personality factors as antecedents of student social capital. We hypothesize relationships between two constructs taken from the five-factor model of personality (agreeableness and extraversion) and two variables that reflect a student's social capital (quantity of ties and strength of ties) in an academic setting. Analysis of…

Learned helplessness as a negative motivational state can latently underlie repeated failures and create negative feelings toward the education as well as depression in students and other members of a society. The purpose of this paper is to predict learned helplessness based on students' personality traits. The research is a predictive…

The relation of moral reasoning to moral behavior has been the subject of a substantial number of empirical studies; it may be more productive to employ a configuration of characteristics to predict moral behavior. To investigate the relation of moral reasoning and personality variables to moral behavior, 74 undergraduates, 30 males and 44…

Procrastination is a prevalent and pernicious form of self-regulatory failure that is not entirely understood. Hence, the relevant conceptual, theoretical, and empirical work is reviewed, drawing upon correlational, experimental, and qualitative findings. A meta-analysis of procrastination's possible causes and effects, based on 691 correlations,…

Two studies were conducted to investigate the vulnerability of the Self-Appraisal Questionnaire (SAQ) to deception and self-presentation biases. The SAQ is a self-report measure used to predict recidivism and guide institutional and program assignments. In the first study, comparisons were made between 429 volunteer offenders who completed the SAQ…

Examined whether reading the Darley and Batson study served to change subjects' understanding of the determinants of helping, and if subjects would come to regard degree of hurry as an important predictor in similar helping situations. Found subjects predicting helping behavior in similar situations were influenced moderately by hurry. (RC)

Observed 18- to 30-month-olds' use of force against peers. Found no sex differences in average aggression levels or in mothers' aggression ratings. Rate of hitting peers and mothers' ratings were stable over 6 months for girls only. Toddlers especially sensitive to peers' possible intentions hit peers more and were more likely than to use force…

Adult literacy programs offer individuals, particularly women, opportunities to improve their educational levels and economic circumstances; however, persistence in these programs is an issue for many. Two hundred forty five participants in a statewide adult literacy program took the Adult Education Persistence Scale, a measure of self-efficacy,…

Studies using unipolar models of sex role identity in conjunction with an attributional approach to female achievement prediction have found that androgynous women tend to consider ability to be a more feasible explanation for success than do either feminine or undifferentiated women. Androgynous, masculine, feminine and undifferentiated males and…

Surveyed female students (N=226) to determine the extent of sexual harassment and to test several popular explanations. Results showed nearly one-third of the students reported sexual harassment by a male teacher. These reports could not be interpreted as reflecting feminist beliefs or oversensitivity. (JAC)

Relationships among locus of control, academic program, and sex of 267 ninth-graders were studied. As hypothesized, students in the advanced level program were more internally controlled than were general or basic level students. Although locus of control was related to academic level, its relationship to gender was not consistent. (SLD)

Addressing two issues of Dweck and Leggett's (1988) social cognitive theory of personality, this short-term longitudinal field study investigated the relationship between implicit theories about the self and school anxiety among adolescents making the transition to junior high school. It was hypothesized that students who believed that their…

Career development theories provide useful ideas for understanding career indecision, but neglect of a measurement of career indecisiveness has caused confusion. To examine the relationship between trait indecisiveness, vocational uncertainty, and interpersonal characteristics, 325 freshmen students were tested with a Trait Indecisiveness Scale…