Typical lists of core competencies for undergraduates feature written communication, critical thinking and information literacy, among others, but merely presume, leaving unstated, the bedrock importance of "reading" skills. Lifelong learning, a dedication to which is part of practically all mission or aspirational statements, includes…

This study examined the effectiveness of ground rules--simple instructions outlining the communication expectations of an investigative interview--with 73 younger (age 18-40) and 57 older (age 60+) adults. Participants watched a film depicting an implied sexual assault and were interviewed after a brief delay. One third received no ground rules,…

Purpose: This study examined the relationship between measurements derived from spontaneous speech and participants' scores on the Montreal Cognitive Assessment. Method: Participants (N = 521) aged between 64 and 97 years completed the cognitive assessment and were prompted to describe an early childhood memory. A range of acoustic and linguistic…

This project developed and examined the psychometric properties of an Italian version of the Courage Measure, the reduced version composed of six items as suggested by Howard and Alipour (J Posit Psychol 9:449-459, 2014). Two studies were conducted with independent samples of Italian adults, providing psychometric support for the Italian…

Volunteering can be a means of identity development in emerging adulthood and it can provide a protective environment for vocational identity formation. The aims of our study were two-fold: (1) to investigate vocational identity statuses of student emerging adult volunteers (N = 385, 75.1% females) and (2) to analyze how these statuses are linked…

Food selectivity is a common feeding problem among autistic children. The objective of this qualitative study was to explore the impact of selective eating on key social domains--with family, peers, and in other social situations--of transition-age autistic youth who self-identified as being food selective. Interviews were conducted with 20…

How do people come up with humorous ideas? In creative cognition research, exposure to good examples sometimes causes fixation (people get "stuck" on the examples) but other times sparks inspiration (people's responses are more creative). The present research examined the effects of funny and unfunny examples on joke production. A sample…

Purpose: Difficulty in understanding spoken speech is a common complaint among aging adults, even when hearing impairment is absent. Correlational studies point to a relationship between age, auditory temporal processing (ATP), and speech perception but cannot demonstrate causality unlike training studies. In the current study, we test (a) the…

Interest in understanding gifted adults is growing amongst health professionals, researchers, educators, and gifted adults themselves. This study brings together international experts studying and working with gifted adults to find out what they think about the state of research in the area, and what is needed to move the field forward. Three…

Biography can be a valuable tool in understanding historical perspectives on adult learning. The purpose of this study was to look at three examples of times throughout Abraham Lincoln's life when he demonstrated a high level of self-directedness in learning in order to solve problems that he faced. Specifically, we examined (a) Lincoln's youth,…

Practitioners often struggle to assess reflective learning in the workplace because of difficulties conceptualizing reflection and its effects in the workplace. This article addresses this problem by offering a pragmatic approach to assessment that asks practitioners to specify why they are using reflection, what they are hoping to gain from it,…

This article describes three programs which provide formal student engagement training and leadership opportunity with adult basic education learners.

Opportunities for choice often become limited as individuals with disabilities age. Previous research reports that staff practices directly influence choice-making opportunities for adults with disabilities. Given the link between choice-making and staff behavior, more research is needed on training staff in postsecondary settings in providing…

This study illuminates students' purposive cultivation of guanxi, or social networks based on continuous exchange of resources, in the context of China's Adult Higher Education (HE) system. Interviews with 30 students reveal the motivations underpinning their creation of informal ties amongst peers, which they consider to procure beneficial…

Full virtue and practical wisdom comprise the end of neo-Aristotelian moral development, but wisdom cannot be cultivated straight away through arguments and teaching. Wisdom is integrated with, and builds upon, habituation: the acquisition of virtuous character traits through the repeated practice of corresponding virtuous actions. Habit formation…