This study evaluated the efficacy of the undergraduate service program "Controlling Stress & Tension" at the University of Maryland in terms of improving the health status of participants across biomedical stress reactivity and psychometric variables. Six hundred fifty-three participants were compared to 264 control subjects for pre-…

Parallel studies, by Sally L. Lusk at the University of Michigan, and by Linda Petty at Hampton Institute (Virginia), tested the hypothesis that students with a high amount of test anxiety would derive the greatest benefit from using information retrieval aids in the form of notecards during an examination. Also examined was the relationship…

It has been suggested that egotistical attributions for success and failure are mediated by the affective reactions resulting from achievement outcomes. To establish the motivational impact of failure-related affect on subsequent ego-defensive attributions, an excitation transfer paradigm was used to manipulate the negative feelings elicited by…

Research has found that differential attributional styles exist between depressed and nondepressed populations. Depressed (N=32) and nondepressed (N=32) undergraduate female students were selected on the basis of scores on the Beck Depression Inventory and Multiple Affect Adjective Checklist. Participants performed a key press task where the…

Reported are results of a study that examined the relationships between university students' entry characteristics and achievement in biology. Variables judged most likely to be predictors of achievement were: (1) scholastic aptitude (quantitative and verbal); (2) level of cognitive development; (3) locus of control; (4) grade point average; (5)…

Reported are results of a replicated study designed to examine the relationships between university students' entry characteristics and achievement in biological science. Variables selected for examination included scholastic aptitude test (SAT) scores (quantitative and verbal); locus of control; grade point average; and achievement motivation.…

Feminist therapy, a form of psychotherapy which reflects an androgynous view of sex roles, strives to identify the constraints of traditional sex role expectations and to help women take control of their lives. Women's studies courses may also achieve similar goals. Female students (N=32) enrolled in a psychology of women course were tested to…

Attribution theory research has been criticized for minimizing the influences of social structure variables on individuals. The role of social factors in attributions was explored with 90 females and 50 males who, after reading interviews between police and assault victims, made attributions of blame about different types of assault. The…

Students from thirteen middle school science classes participated in this study to determine their formal reasoning ability and locus of control. Students were observed through a sequence of lessons for their classroom behavior. Results indicated that achievement was related to high formal reasoning ability, attention to instruction, and internal…

Data from the National Longitudinal Study (NLS) for a sample of students who had completed a four-year college course were examined for difference in locus of control (LOC) and self concept (SC) of persisters and changers in six college majors. Data were based on two four-item five-point questionnaire scales which were administered in 1972, 1973,…

Sex and ethnic differences in the use of social power were investigated using role theoretical and attributional perspectives. Performance and self-attribution processes of power usage were related to ascribed versus achieved role characteristics. One hundred and sixty subjects, equal numbers of Chicano and Anglo males and females, participated as…

The relationships of children's perceptions of the causes of academic success or failure to achievement behavior and to reading ability were examined using two measures: Crandall's Intellectual Achievement Responsibility Scale (IAR), and a measure of students' causal attributions relating to performance of a single, specific task. Subjects were…

Systematic investigations have verified the existence of a number of behavioral manifestations of the "Type A" behavior pattern. For example, brief exposure to salient uncontrollable stress has led to enhanced performance by Type A's on a subsequent task, whereas prolonged exposure has lead to performance deterioration. The ongoing experiences of…

Many psychological theories point to the importance of siblings in individual personality development. The impact of sibling status on interpersonal and achievement orientation was examined with undergraduates (N=1782) who completed a series of objective personality measures and a background questionnaire. Sibling status was defined in terms of…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether children with differing cognitive abilities can benefit from differing educational environments. The investigation was specifically concerned with two questions: (1) Are there differences in the mathematics achievement between children with an internal or external locus of control in both open and…