Focuses on the problem of predicting college success given traditional cognitive measures. The first four chapters describe a study conducted in the United States and Estonia to determine variables associated with college success. The next four chapters contain commentary and critiques of the study, with reaction in the final chapter by the study…

Presents the results of a meta-analysis of cross-time relations of academic/cognitive and social/behavioral readiness assessments from preschool to second grade that used 70 longitudinal studies. Discusses findings in terms of assessment and conceptualization of school readiness, the role of school and classroom experiences in individual…

Many school administrators want to develop profiling procedures to identify violence-prone students before bullets start flying. Warning signs (chronic depression, anger, abusive home conditions, violent history) are a staring point. Two FBI agents recommend visiting classrooms, identifying troubled kids, and ensuring that they get help. (MLH)

Examined the selection ratio for 253 doctorate-level psychology programs. Used the selection ratio to estimate the existing range restriction on the Graduate Examination (GRE) (referred to as General Record Examination) scores in validation studies. Results show that the GRE is a valid predictor of graduate school performance. (SLD)

With data from 444 civil service employees, a model was developed to weight individual and occupational characteristics in order to assign employees to interpersonal or technical skills training. Age, gender, education, management level, and job tenure were significant variables associated with each type of training. (Contains 56 references.) (SK)

Infants' ability to track temporarily occluded objects that moved on circular trajectories was investigated in 20 infants using a longitudinal design. They were first seen at 6 months and then every 2nd month until the end of their 1st year. Infants were presented with occlusion events covering 20% of the target's trajectory (effective occlusion…

The association between negative maternal attributions and child conduct problems is well established in correlational studies. However, little is known about how these variables influence each other over time. The present study examined patterns of prediction over time between maternal attributions and pre-school conduct problems. Sixty mothers…

Attending academically selective schools is intended to have positive effects, but a growing body of theoretical and empirical research demonstrates that the effects are negative for academic self-concept. The big-fish-little-pond effect (BFLPE), based on social comparison theory, posits that equally able students will have lower academic…

Survey data from a southwestern metropolitan area are used to analyze whether the ability of personal Christian religiosity to predict social conformity is spuriously due to self-control. Results indicate that both personal religiosity and self-control display statistically significant, independent negative net relationships with many forms of…

This study examined whether child, parental, and socioenvironmental factors predict disruptive school behavior two years later. Data from a sample of 10-to 12-year-old youths, including 289 African American, 183 Hispanic/Latino, and 335 non-Hispanic white youths from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth were analyzed. Findings indicate that…

Objective: To examine the prevalence of acute stress disorder (ASD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in injured children and to evaluate the utility of ASD as a predictor of PTSD. Method: Children hospitalized for injuries sustained in a traffic crash were enrolled in a prospective study. ASD was assessed in 243 children within 1 month…

The accuracy of the prediction of criminal violence may be improved by combining psychopathy with other variables that have been found to predict violence. Research has suggested that assessing intelligence (i.e., IQ) as well as psychopathy improves the accuracy of violence prediction. In the present study, the authors tested this hypothesis by…

This study examined the physiological response (skin conductance and heart rate [HR]) of youth exposed to a mildly phobic stimulus (video of a large dog) and its relation to child- and parent-reported anxiety symptoms and cognitive bias in a community-recruited sample of youth (n = 49). The results of this study indicated that HR and…

This study explored how some college students understand the nature of the theory of evolution and how they evaluate its scientific status. We conducted semistructured interviews with 15 college biology seniors in which we asked them to explain why they think evolution assumes the status of a scientific theory, how it compares to other scientific…

Behavior analysts assume that private events like thinking and feeling have the same kinds of physical dimensions as other events in the world. They still claim, however, that private events can never be initiating causes of behavior. I point out that this position seems theoretically inconsistent, though exactly what qualifies as an initiating…