Non-cognitive Abilities Research Articles

Parenting style and the non-cognitive development of high school student: evidence from rural China.

Understanding the relationship between parenting style and the non-cognitive development of high school students is crucial, particularly in rural China. Non-cognitive abilities, including traits such as emotional regulation, resilience, and interpersonal skills, play a significant role in students' overall development and future success. This study aims to investigate how different parenting styles impact non-cognitive abilities among high school students in rural China. This study surveyed 6,549 high school students and their primary caregivers in rural China. The students had an average age of 17.61 years, with 48% being male, and 62% of Han ethnicity. Primary caregivers self-reported their parenting styles, while the students' non-cognitive abilities were assessed using the Big Five Inventory-Short (BFI-S). The relationship between parenting style and non-cognitive development was analyzed using two distinct methods: two dimensions (authoritative and authoritarian) and four categories of parenting styles. The study revealed that an authoritative parenting style had a positive impact on the non-cognitive abilities of students. Conversely, a negative association was observed between the authoritarian parenting style and the students' non-cognitive development. This association was more pronounced in the non-cognitive developmental scores of girls compared to boys. Additionally, parents from wealthier families or those with higher levels of education were more likely to adopt an authoritative parenting style rather than an authoritarian one. The results of this study highlight the significant influence of parenting styles on the non-cognitive development of high school students in rural China. Authoritative parenting, characterized by warmth and structure, appears to foster better non-cognitive outcomes, while authoritarian parenting, marked by strictness and less warmth, is associated with poorer non-cognitive development. The gender differences observed suggest that girls may be more sensitive to variations in parenting style. Furthermore, the socioeconomic and educational background of parents plays a crucial role in determining the parenting style adopted. These findings underscore the importance of developing and implementing parenting training interventions in rural China, aimed at promoting authoritative parenting practices to enhance the non-cognitive development of students.

New human capital theory from the perspective of time allocation: Evolution and prospects

In the modern economic system, where the service sector has significantly increased in importance, the accumulation of human capital no longer relies solely on traditional factors such as education, training and healthcare, but increasingly depends on informal education, particularly learning activities during leisure time. Driven by the amalgamation of personality economics and neuroeconomics, a novel theory of human capital has surfaced, which emphasizes the acquisition of cognitive and noncognitive abilities through informal learning activities such as hobbies and social engagements. Utilizing the time allocation theory as a foundation, this study investigates the role of leisure time in bolstering human capital. The paper spotlights the ‘Learning by Doing’ and ‘Learning by Playing’ phenomena, which are instrumental in enhancing practical abilities and creativity. The study offers a critical examination of how human capital theory has evolved, particularly regarding the influence of leisure on skill development. This study also highlights the crucial importance of learning during leisure as a contributing factor to economic growth and positions it as a vital pathway for future human capital accumulation. Moreover, it proposes new avenues of research to deepen the understanding of human capital and leisure economy theories, thereby providing valuable perspectives for the progress of society and the economy.

Psychoeducational research on the wisdom of harmonious co-existence in marine ecological protection: An example of scientific education on Japanese release of radioactive wastewater

From the perspective of harmonious co-existence, along with Japanese release of radioactive wastewater, this study examined the "wisdom" that describes the laws of social development, and illustrated its logic and significance of shaping cognitive and non-cognitive abilities. This study explored a law based on the concept of human development, both the survey research with universality and the experimental research with a commemorative ceremony were employed to analyze its basic characteristics and to verify its practical law. This study found out that the education on wisdom of harmonious co-existence in marine ecological protection can shape the public's cognitive and non-cognitive abilities, and then form behavioral intentions with enduring values. Centered on shaping effect with the wisdom of harmonious co-existence, this study proposed countermeasures that complement internal public constraints to external government regulation.

Coconut oil ameliorates behavioral and biochemical alterations induced by D-GAL/AlCl3 in rats

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a chronic, progressive neurodegenerative condition marked by cognitive impairment. Although coconut oil has been shown to be potentially beneficial in reducing AD-related cognitive deficits, information on its mechanism of action is limited. Thus, we investigated the effects of coconut oil on spatial cognitive ability and non-cognitive functions in a rat model of AD induced by G-galactose (D-GAL) and aluminum chloride (AlCl3), and examined the changes in synaptic transmission, cholinergic activity, neurotrophic factors and oxidative stress in this process. The AD model was established by administering D-GAL and AlCl3 for 90 days, while also supplementing with coconut oil during this time. Cognitive and non-cognitive abilities of the rats were evaluated at the end of the 90-day supplementation period. In addition, biochemical markers related to the pathogenesis of the AD were measures in the hippocampus tissue. Exposure to D-GAL/AlCl3 resulted in a reduction in locomotor activity, an elevation in anxiety-like behavior, and an impairment of spatial learning and memory (P < 0.05). The aforementioned behavioral disturbances were observed to coincide with increased oxidative stress and cholinergic impairment, as well as reduced synaptic transmission and levels of neurotrophins in the hippocampus (P < 0.05). Interestingly, treatment with coconut oil attenuated all the neuropathological changes mentioned above (P < 0.05). These findings suggest that coconut oil shows protective effects against cognitive and non-cognitive impairment, AD pathology markers, oxidative stress, synaptic transmission, and cholinergic function in a D-GAL/AlCl3-induced AD rat model.

The effect of noncognitive abilities on promoting the adoption of soil testing and formula fertilization technology by farmers: empirical insights from Central China

The effect of noncognitive abilities on promoting the adoption of soil testing and formula fertilization technology by farmers: empirical insights from Central China

Parental non-cognitive abilities and child mental health

Parents play a crucial role in the mental health and development of their children. This study investigates the impact of parental non-cognitive abilities on the mental health of their children. Our findings show that parental non-cognitive abilities, especially conscientiousness, agreeableness, and neuroticism, positively influence child mental health. This effect varies based on the child’s gender and place of residence. Moreover, disparities in non-cognitive abilities between the father and mother yield a significant negative effect on child mental health. These effects can be ascribed to three primary channels: the influence of parental non-cognitive abilities on the child’s sense of happiness, confidence in the future, and the level of interpersonal communication skills. Furthermore, our findings suggest that cognitive abilities of parents can moderate the influence of their non-cognitive abilities on the mental health of their children.

Teachers’ administrative positions and students’ non-cognitive abilities in China: evidence from a quasi-natural experiment

ABSTRACT This research investigates the causal relationship between teachers’ administrative positions and students’ non-cognitive abilities (NCAs) in China using a quasi-natural experiment of random student-classroom assignment. The results suggest that headteachers’ administrative positions significantly improve students’ NCAs, especially the extraversion and neuroticism. This positive effect is more pronounced in headteachers with higher administrative positions, middle titles, and more teaching experience. Meanwhile, girls and urban students benefited more from headteachers’ administrative positions. Furthermore, the mechanism analysis indicates this positive effect can be explained by the improvement of teachers’ job satisfaction, higher frequency of using more advanced teaching equipment, more parental respect, increased sense of belonging to the class, and peer effects. Our findings further enrich the impact of teacher characteristics on students’ NCAs and highlight the potential benefits of teachers’ administrative positions on student human capital. Also, this paper had policy implications for promoting students’ human capital development by optimizing teacher assignment and allocation.

Reexamining the effect of birth order on cognitive and non-cognitive abilities: New evidence from China

We present rich new evidence on birth order effects on cognitive and non-cognitive ability using a rural sample from China Family Panel Studies. Within families, being the later-born child confers both statistically and economically significant disadvantages in cognition, but has no effects on non-cognitive ability. In particular, the deficits in the cognition of the later-born are persistently large between the ages 10 and 18. We shed new light on the mediating role of school starting age, which explains more than a quarter of the total effect of birth order on cognition. We also find that birth order is negatively associated with home environment and parent–child interactions. In addition, we find a negative relationship between birth order and education among adults.

The Division of Labor in Parenting and Its Impact on Adolescent Development

The Law of the People’s Republic of China on Family Education Promotion explicitly requires both parents to engage in their children’s education, but so far there has not been sufficient empirical research on the division of labor in parenting in China. This study, based on questionnaire survey data, is an in-depth investigation of the current situation of the division of labor in parenting, differences in parental status in the family, and the influence of these factors on adolescent development in China. Our findings show that 1) The main pattern of the division of labor in parenting in China is one of intensive maternal parenting with no paternal educational input, followed by a pattern of low participation by both parents. The least common is a pattern of high participation by both parents. 2) The patterns of division of labor in parenting are significantly related to differences in parental status. A family in which the father is highly educated or has a higher level of education than the mother is more likely to evince the pattern of a high level of joint participation by both parents. 3) The division of labor in parenting does not significantly affect the academic performance of adolescents, but has a significant impact upon their mental health and noncognitive abilities. In terms of mental health, strong two-parent participation and intensive maternal parenting with no paternal input are more effective than a low level of participation by both parents. This indicates that a high level of participation by either parent improves children’s mental health. In terms of non-cognitive abilities, we found that a high level of joint two-parent participation is more effective than either the pattern of intensive maternal parenting with no paternal educational participation or the pattern of low participation by both parents. The indicates that a father’s active role in developing children’s non-cognitive abilities cannot be replaced by the mother. 4) A father’s contribution in any dimension of parenting can have positive effects on children’s mental health and non-cognitive abilities, while a mother can only help with children’s mental health and non-cognitive abilities by means of her investment in emotional support and assistance in daily living. The above conclusions indicate that the paternal role is crucial and that greater participation by both parents is highly significant for full adolescent development.

"Intelligence, Social and Emotional Intelligence: Correlation of Concepts in Modern Psychology "

The purpose of our article is to carry out an analysis of the author’s research on social intelligence according to Structural and Functional Approach; describe our researches of Social Intelligence; to propose own definition of “emotional intelligence”; to show the correlation of concepts “intelligence”, “social intelligence” and “emotional intelligence” in Modern Psychology. Methods of the research. The following theoretical methods of the research were used to solve the tasks formulated in the article: the categorical method, structural and functional methods, the methods of the analysis, systematization, modeling and generalization. The results of the research. We think, that social intelligence is a system of cognitive characteristics of the individual. It consists of three basic components: social-perceptive abilities, social imagination and social technique of communication. So, the effectiveness of subject-subject communication largely depends on the formation of social intelligence. Social intelligence is considered as a certain cognitive component of communicative competence, which is defined as the ability of the individual to accept the position, point of view of another person, to predict his/her behavior, to solve effectively various problems arising between subjects of dialogical interaction. Conclusions. We believe that emotional intelligence is defined as a set of non-cognitive abilities, competencies or skills that affect a person’s ability to face challenges in the external environment, the emotional intelligence should be attributed to the empathic aspect of social intelligence. That is, we will consider emotional intelligence as a component of social intelligence. Let’s justify our own point of view. In this context, emotional intelligence is a set of general personality’s abilities, interconnected four skills, such as: awareness of one’s own emotions, the ability to determine what emotion the person feels at a given moment in time, to determine what basic emotions consists of this understanding; the ability to manage one’s own emotions (to change the intensity of emotions), to determine the source and the cause of their occurrence, the degree of usefulness; understanding other people’s emotions, determining emotional states by their verbal and non-verbal manifestations; management of other people’s emotions, providing purposeful action on emotions. At the same time, we’d like to make a generalization regarding the definition of emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence, as we see, is the ability of an individual to perceive, evaluate and express emotions adequately; the individual’s ability to generate feelings when they contribute to thinking, to understand emotions and knowledge related to these emotions, the individual’s ability to regulate emotions, contributing to one’s own emotional and intellectual growth.

The impact of boarding schools on the development of cognitive and non-cognitive abilities in adolescents

BackgroundSince China adopted a policy to eliminate rural learning centers, boarding has become an important feature of the current rural student community. However, there is a lack of consensus on the impact of boarding schools on students' cognitive and non-cognitive development. This study investigates the effect of boarding schools on the development of cognitive and non-cognitive abilities of junior high school students in rural northwest China.MethodsUsing a sample of 5,660 seventh-grade students from 160 rural junior high schools across 19 counties, we identify a causal relationship between boarding and student abilities with the instrumental variables (IV) approach.ResultsThe results suggest that boarding positively influences memory and attention, while it has no significant effect on other cognitive abilities such as reasoning, transcription speed, and accuracy. Furthermore, we find no significant association between boarding and the development of non-cognitive skills.ConclusionsGiven the widespread prevalence of boarding schools in rural regions, our study highlights the growing importance of improving school management to promote the development of students’ cognitive abilities and integrating the development of non-cognitive or social-emotional abilities into students’ daily routines.

The influence of non-cognitive ability on the wage of rural migrant workers

PurposeThe study aims to study the effect of non-cognitive ability in human capital on the wages of rural migrant workers in China. The study also examines the mechanisms by which career choice, career development and social capital influence.Design/methodology/approachBased on the new human capital theory, this paper empirically investigates the effects and mechanisms of rural migrant workers' non-cognitive ability on wages using the 2018 China Family Panel Studies database and Stata 17.0 for construct validation and hypothesis testing.FindingsThe results showed that non-cognitive ability has a significant positive effect on rural migrant workers' wages. Subsequently, the mechanism of non-cognitive ability was examined. In further analysis, the study found that non-cognitive ability has a greater effect on the wages of vulnerable individuals (females, low and medium skills) among the rural migrant workers.Originality/valueThe originality of this study is to break through the existing research perspectives, overcome the limitations of scholars' existing research perspectives focusing on the employment and competitiveness of rural migrant workers in China and explore the factors affecting the rural migrant workers' wages from the perspective of non-cognitive ability as a new entry point by combining psychology. At the same time, the study design is more rigorous, avoiding the measurement error of variables.

The differential impact by gender of the Covid-19 pandemic on the labor outcomes of older adults

AbstractWe study the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic during the first semester of 2020 on the labor market outcomes of elderly workers, using data from the Survey of Health, Ageing and Retirement in Europe. We measure the gender gap in the conditional mean of the probability of experiencing a job interruption, of changing the number of hours worked, and of working from home. We control for a rich set of observable characteristics, including several measures of cognitive and non-cognitive ability. We apply decomposition methods to distinguish, on the one hand, the part of the gap that is due to gender differences in the endowments of the determinants of the outcome in question and, on the other, to gender differences in the effects of these determinants. We find that there is no gender gap in the probability of experiencing a job interruption nor in the probability of working fewer hours than before the pandemic. In contrast, there were significant differences in the probability of increasing the amount of worked hours or working remotely, which were larger for females in both cases. For the latter variable, the difference is largely attributable to different endowments between men and women. However, the gap in the probability of working longer hours is mostly attributable to the coefficients component.

Teacher characteristics and student performance: Evidence from random teacher-student assignments in China

This paper investigates the impacts of teacher characteristics on student performance using a randomly assigned teacher-student sample in China. We find that having a more experienced or female homeroom teacher (HRT) with additional classroom management duties significantly improves students’ test scores and cognitive and noncognitive abilities. In contrast, these effects are not observed for subject teachers who are responsible only for teaching. More experienced or female HRTs are also associated with a better classroom environment, more self-motivated students, more parental involvement, and higher parental expectations. These mechanisms explain 10–25 percent of HRT effects on test scores and cognitive ability and 50–60 percent of HRT effects on noncognitive ability. Our findings highlight the importance of teacher management skills in education production.

Student Self-assessment: Reflecting on Physician Assistant Educator's Perceptions and Current Practices in Physician Assistant Training

Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine relationships between physician assistant (PA) educators' perspectives on students' self-assessment (SA) accuracy and students' use of SA education practices and types of abilities assessed. Methods Using correlation analysis and a novel, online survey, PA educators were asked about their perceptions of students' SA accuracy in relation to SA educational activities and assessed abilities. Results A total of 308 educators responded. Most respondents used at least one type of SA activity, with feedback and practice being the most common types and comparative assessment, the least common type. Most respondents indicated that students self-assess noncognitive abilities more than cognitive abilities, with SA of communication skills occurring most. Spearman's correlation coefficient was used for correlation analysis with a significant, small correlation noted between the frequency of activities and educators' overall perceptions of students' SA accuracy (r = 0.15, P = .02) and SA accuracy of cognitive abilities (r = 0.17, P = .02). Educators' perceptions of students' SA accuracy were positively skewed, regardless of student training level (ie, didactic and clinical training phases). A mild predictive relationship exists between overall perception of students' SA accuracy and how frequently educators use SA activities (r = 0.29, P = .05). Conclusion Although respondents indicated they used practice and feedback activities, providing instruction on how to self-assess and using comparative evaluations to calibrate SAs will improve accuracy. Further research is needed to understand why educators perceive PA students' SA abilities as more accurate, regardless of training level.

Cognitive and non-cognitive traits and the intergenerational transmission of socioeconomic inequality

This paper studies the roles of cognitive and non-cognitive characteristics in a standard Roemerian Inequality of Opportunity (IOP) model. Using Australian microdata, we model the effects of individuals’ backgrounds and their psychological traits on two adult income variables. We find that measurable psychological traits (intelligence, locus of control, big five personality traits) are slightly more important than background characteristics (such as race, gender, social class at birth) in explaining income disparities. However, the fraction of IOP confounded by psychological factors is small (11%–12%), which suggests that background inequalities do not meaningfully reflect differences in cognitive or non-cognitive ability.

Estimating the Influence of Adolescents' Non-Cognitive Skills on Awareness of Social Disaster Responses.

This study examines the influence of 2 noncognitive skills, self-esteem and teamwork, on social disaster response awareness among Korean adolescents. Although self-esteem is a well-established predictor of health-related knowledge, the inclusion of teamwork in this study is motivated by its collective nature and its relevance to social norms. This study used data from the Korean Children and Youth Panel Survey 2018 (KCYPS 2018). Sibling fixed effects models, which account for the common unobserved characteristics shared by siblings within the same family, were estimated. Conventional ordinary least square models showed that both self-esteem and teamwork are significant predictors of social disaster response awareness (bs = .011 and .014, respectively). However, our preferred sibling fixed effects estimates revealed that the controlling for unobserved family-level confounders attenuates the association for self-esteem, rendering it statistically insignificant (b = .003, p = .33). Despite some attenuation, the association between teamwork and social disaster response awareness was robust to controlling for sibling fixed effects (b = .010, p < .001). The study's finding emphasizes the role of students' interpersonal noncognitive abilities in their social disaster response awareness. An intervention aimed at enhancing adolescents' teamwork may be effective to improve their awareness about how to respond to social disasters. Policymakers and practitioners may consider developing social disaster preparedness curricula that highlight the importance of social disaster response measures as community rules or social norms, in addition to safeguarding personal safety.

Effects of After-School Programs on Student Cognitive and Non-Cognitive Abilities: A Meta-Analysis Based on 37 Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Studies

The after-school program is a crucial initiative for implementing the Double Reduction policy; however, prior research has not provided conclusive evidence on whether extended school hours contribute to students’ cognitive and non-cognitive development or on which types of after-school services are more beneficial for student development. This study analyzed 37 after-school programs from 18 publications using meta-analytic techniques, and the results indicated that participation in after-school programs had positive effects on student cognitive and non-cognitive development despite the small effect size (d = 0.327, p = 0.000). The decomposition of the effects of after-school programs revealed that they had modestly positive effects on academic achievement (d = 0.369) and social-emotional competence (d = 0.220). In addition, the analysis of moderating variables revealed that socioeconomic status, educational phase, number of after-school service days per week, sample size, and testing instrument all influenced the after-school program effects. This study concludes, based on the results of the meta-analysis, that there should be a balanced consideration of the development of student cognitive and non-cognitive abilities in planning after-school service, a substantial variety of activities in after-school programs, a flexible adoption of diverse after-school programs, and a reasonable participation frequency in after-school service.

Parental marriage and the non-cognitive abilities of infants and toddlers: Survey findings from China Family Panel Studies

Early childhood is a critical period for developing children’s abilities. Non-cognitive abilities are comparable to or even stronger than cognitive abilities in predicting many socioeconomic outcomes. Usually, most scholars take personality as the core indicator of non-cognitive abilities. While temperament is also an important component of children’s non-cognitive abilities, it was often ignored in previous studies. Based on the panel data from the 2018 and 2020 China Family Panel Studies (CFPS), this study investigates the effects of parental marital satisfaction on the non-cognitive development of children aged one to three; meanwhile, the heterogeneous effects and mechanisms were also examined. The results show that young children exhibit more negative emotions when their parents reported dissatisfaction with their marriages. Parental depression was an important mechanism of parental marital satisfaction affecting children’s non-cognitive development, while the frequency of parent-child interaction was not. The effects of marital dissatisfaction on non-cognitive abilities were heterogeneous across child age and gender, as well as parental genders and education levels. The findings shed some light on the early interventions and offer important reference values for public policies aimed at improving family welfare and children’s non-cognitive development.

College Hierarchy and Market Returns: Evidence from CFPS2010 Adult Data

As higher education’ expanding, it is what types of colleges people are enrolled rather than whether people are enrolled by colleges is becoming increasingly important to market returns. Using the adult data from 2010 Chinese Household Panel Survey and basing on OLS regression model, the paper analyzes the variation of market returns of the laborers who graduated from ‘Project 211’ colleges and those who did not graduate from ‘Project 211’ colleges. The results show that the types of colleges have a significant impact to laborer's market returns, even after controlling for individual ability. Although the estimated coefficient based on PSM is slightly smaller than the coefficient based on OLS regression results, it is still significant. In addition, the paper finds that non-cognitive ability rather than intelligence has a significant impact on college-educated laborer' market returns.