Selective subject attrition from longitudinal study panels can bias estimates of developmental change. Particularly in studies of older adults, sampling effects can adversely affect attempts to estimate true ontogenetic change. Selective attrition effects were examined in 636 Pennsylvania adults (138 males, 498 females), aged 58-91, who were…

Creativity is a natural skill, but one that can be lost in the pursuit of linear knowledge in the academic classroom. There are historical reasons why the development of natural creativity has been suppressed (the Enlightenment, for example, with its emphasis on scientific method and empirical proof). Right brain/left brain research and…

Stress in various occupations is of interest to managers, counselors, and personnel workers. A study was undertaken to examine, through the use of self-report scales, stress-related characteristics of workers in occupations which require many and varied human interactions. Subjects were 244 full-time employees in six professions: health services,…

Past research has produced conflicting results concerning the manner in which Type As and Bs make attributions following success and failure. Some studies find that Type As are more likely than Type Bs to blame themselves for all outcomes, particularly failure. Other research indicates that Type As are more self-serving in their post-performance…

A review of the literature on job analysis and job evaluation reveals several aspects of jobs which are important to organizations. To better explain the psychological dimensions of the work environment, three models of perceived job characteristics were compared using confirmatory factor analysis: Walsh, Taber, and Beehr's (1980) components of…

Spouse abuse research has indicated that marital violence occurs in all age groups, among all races, and in all levels of education and social class. To provide further information by comparing battered and exbattered women, 18 battered and 14 exbattered women completed a questionnaire about themselves and their assailants. Information was…

There is little literature comparing personality differences between traditional (under age 25) and reentry women students (aged 25 and older). The purpose of the present study is to examine these differences. A background questionnaire and five additional scales: (1) the Work and Family Orientation Questionnaire (WOFO-3); (2) the…

Self-efficacy, a person's perceived capacity to execute a behavior required to produce a desired oucome, can affect motivation and behavior. It appears that individuals gain self-efficacy information from performance accomplishments, vicarious experience, verbal persuasion, and emotional arousal. Effective clinical interventions must promote…

Two variables, expectations and self-efficacy, were investigated to illuminate their relationship with achievement. The school was the unit of analysis chosen, and three levels of subjects were evaluated--students, teachers, and principals. Students, teachers, and principals within high achieving schools were hypothesized to evidence significantly…

Research has shown that children who are socially rejected exhibit classroom behavior problems and are at risk for adjustment dificulties in later life. To examine the relationship between locus of control for social relationships and peer social status, 413 fifth grade students completed positive and negative same-sex peer nominations, a same-sex…

A new construct, the Science Locus of Control (SciLOC) Orientation, was examined as a predictor of attitudes toward science teaching among 108 preservice elementary teachers. It is postulated that each person holds beliefs regarding the degree of his or her personal control in situations where decision, actions, or other modes of performance…

Many gerontologists have noted the tendency of nursing homes to nurture dependency and learned helplessness in residents. To test the effectiveness of a control-relevant intervention strategy, nursing home residents (N=40) were given the opportunity to care for wild birds by tending individually placed bird feeders. Residents were assigned to one…

This study of student teachers' reflective abilities defines reflecting about teaching as the capability and willingness of prospective teachers to question and critically analyze their teaching and teaching experiences. In discussing differences between student teachers in psychological and personal dimensions, the characteristics examined were:…

Little is known about the power strategies adolescents view as effective in influencing an intimate partner to have or avoid having sexual intercourse. These strategies were examined in a pretest survey of 203 adolescents who reported their agreement or disagreement with strategies used to have protected sex or to avoid having sex with a…

Research examining alcohol consumption by using Rotter's Internal-External Locus of Control Scale has reported conflicting results, possibly related to comparisons of clinical groups of alcoholics with nonclinical light drinkers or to an overuse of correlational statistics and a lack of appropriate controls. This study sampled a wide range of ages…