Incremental Theory Research Articles

Growth mindset and academic achievement in Chinese adolescents: A moderated mediation model of reasoning ability and self-affirmation

Although growth mindset (i.e., the belief that intelligence can be developed) has been shown to play an important role in academic achievement, little is known about the underlying mediating and/or moderating mechanisms in adolescents. The current study investigated (a) the mediating role of reasoning ability in the relationship between growth mindset and academic achievement, and (b) the moderating role of self-affirmation in the direct and indirect relationships between growth mindset and academic achievement. Participants were 1828 Chinese adolescents (age, M = 16.88; 59.4% male). Participants filled out questionnaires regarding growth mindset, academic achievement, reasoning ability, and self-affirmation. After controlling for age, sex, annual family income, hukou (household registered), and parent’s educational level, we found that growth mindset was significantly positively associated with academic achievement. Mediation analysis revealed that reasoning ability partially mediated this relationship. Growth mindset (incremental theories of intelligence) significantly predicted academic achievement in adolescents with high self-affirmation, but not in those with low self-affirmation. Moderated mediation analysis further indicated that the direct and indirect relationships between growth mindset and academic achievement were moderated by self-affirmation. The indirect effect of growth mindset on academic achievement via reasoning ability was stronger for adolescents with high self-affirmation than in those with low self-affirmation.

Natural element method for axisymmetric elastoplasticproblems

Based on the meshless natural element method and incremental theory of plasticity, a new algorithm for elastoplastic analysis of a symmetric structure is put forward. The meshless method is a recently developed numerical method, which only requires the nodal information and can effectively overcome the difficulties brought about by the meshes. As widely known, conventional meshfree methods suffer from the numerical difficulties in dealing with the essential boundary conditions. Differing from most of meshfree methods, the natural element method (NEM) is a Galerkin-based meshless method that is built upon the notion of the natural neighbor interpolation. It is noteworthy that, there are two natural neighbor interpolants: Natural neighbor-based Sibson interpolation and Laplace interpolation (non-Sibsonian interpolation). The interpolation relies on the concepts of Delaunay triangulations and Dirichlet tessellations of a set of nodes to build the shape function. Compared with the moving least squares approximation widely used in many meshless methods, the natural neighbor interpolation does not involve complex matrix inversion, needs no artificial parameter but can improve the computational efficiency. Because the constructed shape functions from the natural neighbor interpolation possess the Kronecker delta function property, the essential boundary conditions can be imposed accurately without any special techniques. Meanwhile, the NEM does not require extra efforts to generate the background because it utilizes a set of Delaunay triangles, which are automatically identified in process of the basis function definition, as its background cell. Therefore, the NEM is a most promising numerical method which can be widely applied to nonlinear analysis of materials, three-dimensional calculation and large deformation problems. Generally, plasticity would make many projects more reasonable, and would fully utilize intensity potentially of structures. The NEM has been successfully used to solve elastoplastic problems of plane structures. In the present work, the NEM is applied to elastoplastic analysis of axisymmetric structures. Firstly, a brief description of the rudiments of Voronoi diagrams and Delaunay triangles in the context of natural neighbor interpolation is delineated. The basic principle of Sibson natural neighbor interpolation approach is also presented. A three-dimensional axisymmetric structure is created by the rotation of the cross section around the axis of symmetry and a set of properly scattered nodes within the cross section are employed. In the analysis of elastoplastic problems, the increments of stress and strain for axisymmetric problems are utilized to characterize the elastoplastic constitutive relationship. Owing to the nonlinear nature of plastic deformation, the computation at each load step employs an iterative solution method, either the Newton-Raphson method or the modified Newton-Raphson method. In order to reduce the expensive operations of stiffness matrix evaluation and factorization, the modified Newton-Raphson method with initial elastic stiffness matrix is adopted in the paper. The tangent predictor-radial return algorithm is applied to integrate the constitutive equations. The elastoplastic analyses of two classical axisymmetric structures have been successfully carried out and the fact that the present results show a good agreement with the analytical solutions demonstrate the effectiveness and accuracy of the proposed method for axisymmetric elastoplastic analyses.

Fairy Tale Situation Test for Implicit Theories of Personality

When judging others, individuals often unconsciously apply their own special knowledge and personal constructs about human beings, which eventually forms some implicit theories of personality (ITPs). On the basis of different implicit personality theories, these individuals thus divided into two categories: a type of people believe that personality attributes or traits are sequestration, namely entity theorists; another type of people believe that personality attributes or characteristics are gradient, i.e. incremental theorists. Unlike studies that focus on how personality traits interact, implicit personality theory explores people’s beliefs about the fixity and plasticity of personality traits. Based on projective techniques, a fairy tale situation test is developed to explore whether the implicit personality theories of college students have consistency across different personal attributes (such as characteristic or ability), as well as whether entity theory and incremental theory are two dimensions or two poles of the same dimension. The result of the pretest shows that the compiled fairy tale situation test could be a measurement to analyse the universality of implicit personality theory and the structural pattern of its dimension. A formal test separated the implicit personality theories of 120 college students. The results of both the pretest and the formal test indicated that (a) college students had a common and consistent implicit theory across five personal attributes including character, ability, temperament, morality, and emotion and that (b) entity theory and incremental theory were two inverse poles of the same dimension in implicit theories of personality. These results show that Implicit Theories of Personality has the characteristics of two dimensions (entity theory vs. gradient theory).

Implicitna uverenja nastavnika o (matematičkoj) inteligenciji

Implicit theories of intelligence are individual beliefs about the nature of intelligence, which are used on a daily basis as part of self-assessment and assessment of others, and are a significant factor shaping attitudes and behaviors. Research to date suggests that teachers can influence their students' beliefs about intelligence, which in turn affect motivation and achievement. According to Dweck's model, implicit theories of intelligence are a bipolar construct, with two theories at its extremes - the entity theory, which stresses the immutability of intelligence, and the incremental theory, which holds that intelligence can be improved through training and learning. Recent research, however, indicates that these two theories represent distinct, uncorrelated dimensions. The aim of this study was to carry out a psychometric evaluation of the Implicit Theories of Intelligence Scale (ITIS) and the Mathematics-Oriented Implicit Theory of Intelligence Scale (MOITIS). 228 primary and secondary school teachers in Serbia (87.7% female; average age 42.79 years) took part in the study. The results of factor analysis suggest the existence of two factors on both scales: incremental theory and entity theory. Further analysis showed that both factors of the ITIS and MOITIS scales have satisfactory psychometric properties. Significant differences were detected between primary and secondary school teachers on the ITIS scale. More specifically, among teachers of science subjects, mathematics and medical subjects the attitude that intelligence is a fixed trait is more pronounced than among teachers of the arts, humanities and social sciences.

Study on the Instability Mechanism and Grouting Reinforcement Repair of Large‐Scale Underground Stopes

The environmental conditions due to unreasonable mining in underground stopes, the slurry diffusion mechanism in the grouting reinforcement of a stope within its influence, the causes of large‐scale instability collapse, and the catastrophic stope process are analyzed, and limit upper line analysis theory and numerical analysis methods are comprehensively adopted, revealing the continuous catastrophic collapse mode of large‐scale underground stopes. The method of determining the stope instability collapse boundary and the slip surface within the range based on the theory of the maximum shear strain increment is proposed, and the diffusion radius and range of the grouting slurry during the reinforcement process, which considers the multifield coupling factors, are obtained. The results show that the U‐shaped hidden danger area formed after the collapse of the large‐scale underground stope. The influence range reaches six adjacent stopes, which are symmetrically distributed around the collapse; the mining instability is manifested as a catastrophic chain process of stress change, energy accumulation, state change, and instability collapse. The damage mode of instability collapse is a combination method of wedge collapse, circular arc rotation, triangular translation, and strip slip. According to the multiphysics coupling numerical calculation, the diffusion radius of the grouting slurry is 12 m, exhibiting an elliptical distribution. The research results can be used to comprehensively control the underground mining environment, thus effectively solving the safety problems faced by tunnel or roadway excavations above the goaf.

From the Continuity Problem of Set Potential to Georg Cantor Conjecture

Background in 1878, Cantor puted forward his famous conjecture. Cantor's famous conjecture is whether there is continuity between the potential of the set of natural numbers and the potential of the set of real numbers. In 1900, Hilbert puted forward the first question of 23 famous mathematical problems at the International Congress of mathematicians in Paris. Purpose To study the continuity of set potential between the natural number set and the real number set, so as to provide mathematical support for the study of male gene fragment in human genome. Method The potential is extended by infinite division of sets and differential incremental equilibrium theory. There is a symmetry relation that the smallest element of infinite partition is 2. When a set A corresponds to a subset of a set B one by one, but it can't make A correspond to B one by one, the potential of A is said to be smaller than that of B. If a is the potential of A, and b is the potential of B, then a < b. We use ∼•0 to express the potential of natural number set and ∼•1 to express the potential of real number set. At present, it is not known whether there is a set X, the potential of X satisfies ∼•0 < x < ∼•1. Results There is no continuity problem in the set potential of the natural number set and the real number set, and four mixed potentials can be formed. It belongs to the category of super finite theory. Conclusion Cantor's conjecture is proved that potential of the natural number set and the real number set. That is, the potential of X satisfies ∼ 0 < x < ∼ 1 does not exist.

Finite-Time Incremental Passivity and Output Tracking Control for Switched Nonlinear Systems

This paper studies the finite-time incremental passivity of switched nonlinear systems. Then, the established theory is applied to solve the finite-time output tracking control problem of switched nonlinear systems. First, finite-time incremental passivity is firstly defined for switched nonlinear systems. Each subsystem is finite-time incrementally passive during its active time interval. Unlike incremental passivity, the state trajectories of finite-time incrementally passive system with no external supplied energy can converge to each other in finite time. Second, the criterion of finite-time incremental passivity is established. Third, finite-time incremental passivity is shown to be preserved under the feedback interconnection. A composite switching law design method is provided. Under this switching law, the interconnected switched systems can switch asynchronously. Finally, the finite-time output tracking control problem was solved by the established finite-time incremental passivity theory of the switched nonlinear systems, even if the finite-time output tracking control of individual subsytem is not solvable. The effectiveness of the proposed method is verified by an example.

Study on Energy-saving Lighting Design Method for Interior Zone of High-altitude Highway Tunnel

In order to ensure the driving safety of high-altitude highway tunnel and effectively reduce the lighting cost, this paper adopts the method considering the influence of automobile headlights luminance which combines reaction time incremental theory at different altitudes and lighting design simulation calculation. The paper has studied the design pattern of high-altitude highway tunnel, which are dominated by fixed lighting and supplemented by automotive lighting. The results show that: to ensure driving safety, the luminance of the lighting design for interior zone of highway tunnel increases with the increasing altitude. Based on the supplementary lighting of automobile headlights, the lighting design standards for the interior zone of high-altitude highway tunnel(the altitude is 2000m, 3000m, 4000m, 5000m respectively) are 0.73cd/m2, 0.82cd/m2, 0.91cd/m2, 1.0cd/m2.

Efficacy of a Brief Intervention Based on an Incremental Theory of Personality in the Prevention of Adolescent Dating Violence: A Randomized Controlled Trial

espanolRESUMEN La necesidad de nuevos enfoques de intervencion para la prevencion de la violencia en el noviazgo (VN) deriva de las limitaciones de los programas existentes para lograr cambios conductuales. El objetivo principal de este estudio fue examinar el efecto de una intervencion breve –de una sesion– dirigida a promover una teoria incremental de la personalidad, sobre la perpetracion (PVN) y victimizacion (VVN) de violencia en el noviazgo. Se realizo un ensayo clinico aleatorizado doble ciego con dos grupos paralelos (experimental vs. control). Los participantes fueron 123 adolescentes (53,7% mujeres, Medad = 15.20, DT = 0.99). Las medidas de evaluacion se administraron una semana antes de la intervencion, seis meses despues de la intervencion y un ano despues de la intervencion. Los resultados de los modelos lineales jerarquicos mostraron que la interaccion entre el tiempo y la condicion fue estadisticamente significativa para la PVN, mostrando una disminucion significativa tanto en el abuso tradicional como en el ciberacoso en la pareja en la condicion experimental. La intervencion no tuvo ningun efecto para la VVN. Nuestros hallazgos sugieren que la intervencion disminuye la perpetracion de actos agresivos hacia la pareja y apoyan la idea de que las estrategias dirigidas a prevenir conflictos entre iguales pueden tambien prevenir la PVN. El incremento de evidencia empirica sobre la eficacia de una intervencion autoaplicable de una hora de duracion es de gran relevancia para avanzar en la prevencion de la VN. EnglishABSTRACT New intervention approaches are required for dating violence (DV) prevention, given the limited results of existing programs in achieving behavioral changes. The main objective of this study was to explore the effect of a brief, single-session intervention aimed at promoting an incremental theory of personality (ITP) on dating violence perpetration (DVP) and dating violence victimization (DVV). A double-blind randomized controlled trial (RCT) with two parallel groups (experimental vs. control) was conducted. Participants were 123 adolescents (53.7% females, Mage = 15.20, SD = 0.99). Assessment measures were administered one week prior to the intervention, and six months and one year after the intervention. The results of the hierarchical linear models showed that the interaction between time and condition was statistically significant for DVP, showing a significant decrease both in traditional and cyber dating abuse in the experimental condition. The ITP intervention had no effect on DVV. Our findings suggest that the ITP intervention decreases the perpetration of aggressive acts toward the dating partner and support the idea that strategies aimed at preventing peer conflict may also prevent DVP. Increasing our empirical evidence about the efficacy of a one-hour self-applied intervention is of great relevance for moving forward in the prevention of DV.

Confirmatory Factor Analysis of Implicit Beliefs Measure and the Role of Demographics among Pakistani Sample.

Implicit theories (also referred to self-theories) represent a cognitive conceptualization about a matter, generally raised as a belief. It is marked as the primary aspect of cognitive processing among living beings affecting their overall behavior towards others'. In the present study, it is attempted to consider a Pakistani perspective on this phenomenon of self-theories and also to validate the implicit theories Scale. It is a measure of people's beliefs about things to be fixed or changeable. A quantitative approach of correlational methodology was employed. Participants of the study were 355 Pakistani young adults with an age range of 20-30 years (M = 23.08, SD = 1.99). There were 175 males and 180 females (as they reported their gender) from Islamabad. Confirmatory factor analysis was computed to assess the dimensionality of the scale. An adequate model fit indices were found as Root Mean Square Error of Approximation = .04, Comparative Fit Index = .99, Tucker-Lewis Index = .98, Goodness of Fit Index = .97, and Incremental Fit Index = .99, confirming a bidimensional implicit theories measure. The reliability coefficients of Entity Theory and Incremental Theory subscales were assessed through internal consistency and test-retest methods which are found to be in an acceptable range. Demographic specifications are also addressed to reflect upon the indigenous importance of this concept. This will be an additive feature in the literature to consider the cultural specification enabling individuals to align their mindsets in the desired direction of growth and achievement.

Apologies as signals for change? Implicit theories of personality and reactions to apologies during the #MeToo movement.

During a national reckoning against sexual violence, the public read or heard dozens of apologies offered by prominent public figures in response to allegations of sexual misconduct. This study examined people’s reactions to these apologies, with a focus on whether their implicit theories of personality—their beliefs about whether personality is changeable—influenced their evaluations of the apologies and the men who issued them. Using a nationally representative sample (N = 720) and real apologies offered during the #MeToo movement, it was found that, relative to people holding more of an entity (i.e., fixed) view of personality, those holding more of an incremental (i.e., malleable) view evaluated the apologies and apologizers more favorably, held more positive general attitudes toward this recent wave of apologies for misconduct, and were more likely to indicate that redemption was possible for the accused men. These findings suggest that people who hold more of an incremental theory of personality might interpret an apology as a meaningful signal that a person is ready and willing to change their ways and work toward self-improvement.

A numerical method to predict work-hardening caused by plastic deformation

The hardening layer might form on the machined workpiece surface especially under worn cutting edge, which is caused by plastic deformation. The increased surface hardness affects the using or re-processing performance of workpiece. The finite element method was adopted in most previous works to acquire the elastic-plastic behavior and hardening layer. However, the complexity of meshing is an obvious limitation. To address this, a meshless finite block method with infinite element is developed to conduct elastic-plastic deformation analysis and hardening layer prediction for the first time. The Lagrange interpolation constructs the differential matrices in normalized domain with Chebyshev's distribution of nodes. The infinite element was introduced by a block of quadratic types to reduce the nodes used. The Prandtl–Reuss incremental theory with isotropic hardening was applied. Good agreements on stress and strain predictions were observed between this method and finite element method (ABAQUS), while a higher convergence of this method was demonstrated. The stress and strain results of ABAQUS is more sensitive to node density, which might bring larger error. Finally, the simulated work-hardening layer results show that the traction force plays a more important role than pressure force to cause a larger plastic deformation and a deeper work-hardening layer.

Preservice teachers’ self-efficacy: predicting changes over the internship period through attributional styles and implicit theories of intelligence

This study focuses on preservice teachers’ self-efficacy and its development throughout the course of a school-internship. Based on previous findings, we expected that preservice teachers’ self-efficacy would increase during their internship. Moreover, we argued that this initial development of self-efficacy would be associated with the way the first teaching experiences are attributed to different causes as well as to preservice teachers’ implicit theories of intelligence. To this end, surveys with N = 162 German preservice teachers were conducted at the beginning and at the end of their 17-week internship. Results revealed an increase of self-efficacy throughout the course of the internship. Using a structural equation model, self-efficacy at the end of the internship was significantly predicted by self-efficacy at the beginning as well as by attributing successes to internal, stable, and controllable causes, but not by an incremental theory of intelligence. Implications for further research and teacher education are discussed.

The influence law of grouser shape on soil slide sinkage when tracked vehicle travels on soft road

The influence law of a tracked vehicle grouser shape on the soil slide sinkage was investigated in this study via the numerical simulations and physical tests. A finite element model was built using the plastic incremental theory and generalized Hokker’s law, while constitutive soil parameters were obtained via triaxial test. The numerical simulation model was verified by physical test results. Based on the verified numerical simulation model, the influence law of the tracked vehicle grouser shape on the soil slide sinkage was determined. The results show that (1) shear displacement in the lateral direction can increase the soil sinkage in the vertical direction, which is referred to as the “slide sinkage”; (2) there is a linear relationship between the slide sinkage and the shear displacement; (3) the grouser width and height have a positive influence on the amount of slide sinkage. Under the same load, an increase in grouser width and height will cause an increase in the soil slide sinkage. Grouser thickness and pitch have a negative influence on the slide sinkage, and under the same load, increased grouser width and height cause a reduction in the soil slide sinkage. Grouser angle characteristics have no significant effect on the soil sinkage. The application of the slide sinkage in tracked vehicles traveling on soft roads was investigated in multibody system dynamics analysis software Recurdyn to confirm these observations. The results presented in this paper may provide a workable reference for the analysis of tracked vehicles in multibody system dynamics scenarios.

Pre-post Changes in Implicit Theories of Second Language Acquisition After a Successful Learning Experience

Students enrolled in language classes often report believing that natural talent is necessary to acquire a second language in adulthood, and this belief can reduce motivation and learning. The purpose of this research was to test if a positive experience promotes the belief that language learning is an ability that can be developed through persistence and effort (i.e., an incremental implicit theory, or growth mindset). We hypothesized that participants would endorse an incremental implicit theory more after using effective study strategies to successfully learn characters in another language. In this study, participants were taught how to read twenty Japanese characters, and their implicit theories of second language acquisition were measured at three time points: days before the learning experience, and immediately and two weeks after the learning experience. Results showed that this brief episode of success in language learning increased an incremental implicit theory of second language acquisition, and this change persisted two weeks later.

Effects of an incremental theory of personality intervention on the reciprocity between bullying and cyberbullying victimization and perpetration in adolescents.

The incremental theory of personality interventions (ITPI) teaches adolescents that people can change. Researchers have found that these interventions can reduce the perpetration of bullying and cyberbullying. Moreover, there is reciprocity between perpetrating bullying behaviors and being a victim of them. The objective of this study was to examine whether the ITPI reduces the reciprocity between victimization and perpetration of bullying and cyberbullying. A sample of 858 high school students (52% boys) aged 12 to 17 at pretest (M = 14.56, SD = 0.97) participated in a double-blind randomized controlled trial (452 participants were assigned to the experimental condition and 406 to the control condition). Measures of bullying and cyberbullying were taken at baseline, six-month, and 12-month follow-ups. The results indicated that victimization was a strong predictor of perpetration for bullying and cyberbullying over time. Perpetration was not a predictor of victimization. Consistently, for both forms of aggressive behavior, the intervention reduced the intensity of the association between victimization and perpetration. This effect was not moderated by the age or sex of the participants. Finally, the effectiveness of the ITPI was moderated by age. Specifically, among the youngest (< 14.48 years), those who received the ITPI showed a slight tendency to reduce aggressive behavior that contrasted with the growing trend in the control group. Among the oldest participants (> 14.48), the trajectories were similar in the two groups. Our findings show that influencing adolescents’ reactions to peer aggression victimization is one of the mechanisms that could explain the beneficial effects of the ITPI and other preventive interventions.

Believing People Can Change: A Randomized Controlled Trial of an Incremental Theory Intervention in Adolescence

Believing People Can Change: A Randomized Controlled Trial of an Incremental Theory Intervention in Adolescence

General axisymmetric active earth pressure obtained by the characteristics method based on circumferential geometric condition

Existing solutions for axisymmetric active earth pressure are based on certain hypotheses of the circumferential stress, lacking of strict basis. This article presents a technique for deriving the actual circumferential stress according to the circumferential geometric condition, the Drucker-Prager criterion and incremental theory. Based on the actual circumferential stress, a new characteristics method for determining the axisymmetric active earth pressure in plastic flow is developed in this article. In this new method, the inclined angle of boundaries, interface friction of contact interface, dilatation effect and flow velocity of soil are considered at the same time. The validity of the new method is confirmed using several sets of experimental data from the literature. The pressure coefficients are investigated individually in detail, and some different conclusions are found. Finally, a practical formula for calculating axisymmetric active earth pressure is presented based on the linear superposition principle, and related tables of coefficients are also provided for engineering application.

Tube Material Properties Determination and Final Forming Pressure Calculation of Hydraulic Formed Corrugated Tubes

Abstract In this article, a test method to determine the tube material properties and two methods to calculate the final hydraulic forming pressure of corrugated tubes are presented based on the plastic incremental theory. Numerical simulation and hydroforming experiment are carried out to demonstrate the reasonability of these methods. Simulation results show that tube force state during corrugated tube hydroforming is similar to that during tube local free hydraulic bulge. By comparison of final forming pressure, respectively, obtained from calculation, and hydroforming experiment, all of these methods are proved reasonable. Numerical simulation results also indicate that the two calculation methods still retain accuracy under different transition filet radius, although transition filets are ignored in calculation of final hydraulic forming pressure calculation.

Trajectories of implicit theories and their relations to scholastic aptitude: A mediational role of achievement goals

Implicit theories of intelligence play an important role in students’ academic motivation and achievement. This longitudinal study examined how the trajectories of implicit theories of intelligence from Grade 8 to Grade 10 were related to Grade 12 SAT achievement via Grade 11 achievement goals. We employed parallel process models to examine changing patterns of Korean students’ (N = 6491) entity and incremental theories over three years. Results showed that both entity and incremental theories increased over time. The intercept and the slope of entity theory were negatively related with the intercept and the slope of incremental theory, respectively. In line with Dweck’s theoretical framework, increases in incremental theory were found to predict SAT achievement via mastery-approach goals, whereas increases in entity theory predicted SAT achievement via performance-approach goals. The results indicate that different types of achievement goals play unique roles in mediating the relation between changes in implicit theories and SAT achievement.