Students In Psychology Courses Research Articles

Predicting Motivation and Learning Strategies in Community College Students

The present study examined the relationship among student characteristics, types of academic motivation, learning strategies, and grade point average (GPA). Community college students in psychology courses (N = 131) completed an online survey, which assessed 3 types of academic motivations (intrinsic, extrinsic, and amotivation), learning strategies (deep and surface), academic self-concept, and demographic variables. Results suggested that academic self-concept (β = .30, p < .001) and age (β = .21, p = .02) added to the prediction of intrinsic motivation. Academic self-concept also significantly predicted amotivation (β = –.60, p < .001). The model tested significantly predicted deep learning strategies (ΔR2 = .37, p < .001) and surface strategies (ΔR2 = .13, p < .001) but not consumeristic motivation (ΔR2 = –.02, p = .78) or GPA (ΔR2 = –.01, p = .53). Overall, the results provided mixed support for the proposed model of student learning in which student characteristics predict motivation, which is related to learning strategies and academic performance. Results are discussed in terms of implications for multifactor models of learning in the community college population.

Teaching Engineering Ethics Through a Psychology Course

While ethics instruction is now widespread, studies are still looking for different ways to integrate ethics in engineering programs. In this article, we propose a novel approach by teaching engineering ethics through a psychology course. Starting with the relevant literature studies, we have argued that the phenomeno-logical experience of ethics is a source to explain psychological truths, while en-gineering ethics can be better taught from psychological / behavioral perspectives. A pedagogical approach of experiential learning has been applied to integrate engineering ethics into the psychology course. The empirical study with 400 stu-dents in psychology courses show that teaching engineering ethics through a psychology course has a significant effect on improving the knowledge of engi-neering ethics for students. The relationship between the two pre- and post-test scores was a strong positive linear relationship. A regression equation with a slope of a straight line of 0.57 and a constant of 1.52 has been provided to predict the improvement of post-test scores through pre-test scores. This study proposes the formation of a "psychology and ethics" module in technical schools.

The Five Factor Borderline Inventory: Behavioral outcomes across time.

The Five-Factor Borderline Inventory Short Form (FFBI-SF) is a 48-item dimensional measure of borderline personality disorder (BPD) that was developed from the Five-factor model (FFM). Previous research has examined the relationships of the FFBI-SF to the FFM and BPD. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the relationship of FFBI-SF scales with behavioral outcomes, such as self-injury, physical fights, panic symptoms, promiscuous sex, theft, attempted suicide, reckless driving, and binge eating. A potential advantage of the FFBI-SF, relative to other measures of BPD, is the provision of subscales, which provides a more precise and differentiated assessment. In the current study, the predictive validity of the FFBI-SF in relation to various impulsive behaviors was investigated across a 2-month time period. Additional comparisons were also made with respect to a more traditional measure of borderline personality disorder and an assessment of the normal range of the FFM. Undergraduate students in psychology courses (T1 = 938, T2 = 284, T3 = 163) and workers from Amazon Mechanical Turk (T1 = 215, T2 = 167, T3 = 157) were administered personality measures and a measure of impulsive behaviors across 3 time points. The results are discussed with respect to the comparative validity of the FFBI-SF, relative to traditional measures of borderline personality disorder and the FFM. Overall, the study provided evidence that the FFBI-SF is able to predict specific maladaptive behaviors over time and therefore may be useful in clinical and research settings. (PsycINFO Database Record

Sexual victimization, childhood emotional abuse, and distress: Daily coping and perceived control as mediators.

The primary aim of the present study was to assess 2 potential mediators (daily avoidant coping and perceived control) of the relations between past sexual victimization and childhood emotional abuse and current distress. Participants (N = 268) were undergraduate students in psychology courses at a large Midwestern university who completed measures of sexual victimization, childhood emotional abuse, neuroticism, and distress at baseline; daily measures of avoidant coping and perceived control over stressors for 14 days (Time 2); and measures of avoidant coping, perceived control, and distress at Time 3. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the mediation model. The indirect path between childhood emotional abuse and T3 distress through daily avoidant coping was significant and remained significant in an alternate model that controlled for baseline neuroticism. The indirect effect of childhood emotional abuse on T3 distress through perceived control was not significant. Sexual victimization was not associated with greater use of avoidant coping or perceived control in the SEM models. The present study added to the literature by assessing multiple traumas and multiple mediators using longitudinal, daily diary methods. (PsycINFO Database Record

Mediators of the relation between sexual victimization and distress: Comparison to bereavement.

The purposes of this research were (a) to examine relationship quality and neuroticism as mediators of the relation between past sexual victimization and current distress in 2 samples of college students and (b) to examine the specificity of the mediated effects by assessing whether these variables also mediated the relation between the most common potentially traumatic event in both samples (past bereavement) and current distress. This study improved on prior research by using longitudinal data, assessing multiple mediators, assessing specificity of mediated effects, and replicating results across 2 samples. Participants in both studies were undergraduate students in psychology courses (Ns = 1,528 and 1,084, respectively). In both studies, sexual victimization, bereavement and the 2 mediators (relationship quality and neuroticism) were assessed at baseline, and distress was assessed at baseline and 2 months later using standard measures. Structural equation modeling was used to assess the indirect (mediated) effects of sexual victimization and bereavement on later distress through relationship quality and neuroticism, controlling for baseline distress. In Study 1, the indirect effects of sexual victimization on distress through relationship quality and neuroticism were both significant. In Study 2, only the indirect effects through neuroticism were significant. None of the indirect effects were significant for bereavement, suggesting that the mediators were specific to sexual victimization. Neuroticism was a consistent mediator of the relation between lifetime sexual victimization and current distress, suggesting that it may be an important target of intervention for those with a history of sexual victimization. (PsycINFO Database Record

HARNESSING VALUES TO PROMOTE MOTIVATION IN EDUCATION.

We review the interventions that promote motivation in academic contexts, with a focus on two primary questions: How can we motivate students to take more STEM courses? Once in those STEM courses, how can we keep students motivated and promote their academic achievement? We have approached these two motivational questions from several perspectives, examining the theoretical issues with basic laboratory research, conducting longitudinal questionnaire studies in classrooms, and developing interventions implemented in different STEM contexts. Our research is grounded in three theories that we believe are complementary: expectancy-value theory (Eccles & Wigfield, 2002), interest theory (Hidi & Renninger, 2006), and self-affirmation theory (Steele, 1988). As social psychologists, we have focused on motivational theory and used experimental methods, with an emphasis on values - students' perceptions of the value of academic tasks and students' personal values that shape their experiences in academic contexts. We review the experimental field studies in high-school science and college psychology classes, in which utility-value interventions promoted interest and performance for high-school students in science classes and for undergraduate students in psychology courses. We also review a randomized intervention in which parents received information about the utility value of math and science for their teens in high school; this intervention led students to take nearly one semester more of science and mathematics, compared with the control group. Finally, we review an experimental study of values affirmation in a college biology course and found that the intervention improved performance and retention for first-generation college students, closing the social-class achievement gap by 50%. We conclude by discussing the mechanisms through which these interventions work. These interventions are exciting for their broad applicability in improving students' academic choices and performance, they are also exciting regarding their potential for contributions to basic science. The combination of laboratory experiments and field experiments is advancing our understanding of the motivational principles and almost certainly will continue to do so. At the same time, interventions may benefit from becoming increasingly targeted at specific motivational processes that are effective with particular groups or in particular contexts.

A Classroom Activity to Demonstrate Self-Other Agreement in Personality Judgments

This article describes a classroom activity to demonstrate (dis)agreement in personality judgments, using an exercise derived from Watson’s research on the accuracy of rating strangers’ personalities. On the first day of class, undergraduate students in psychology courses rated their own personality and the personality of a classmate, using items from the International Personality Item Pool (IPIP). Across five samples, self-other correlations were strong for extraversion but varied for the other four traits. Comparisons with control groups on relevant test items provided preliminary evidence that the exercise promotes learning of relevant material. This exercise can be used in introductory or personality psychology courses to facilitate discussion of various topics including interpersonal judgment and accuracy and methodological and statistical issues.

Understanding what students bring to the classroom: Moderators of the effects of diversity courses on student attitudes.

We investigated the impact of required diversity courses on students' understanding of racial inequality and their social development with regard to racial outgroups, with a specific focus on the effects of student race and empathy as moderators of diversity course effectiveness. First-semester students (N = 173), enrolled in either diversity courses or introduction to psychology, completed surveys at the beginning and end of the semester. Diversity courses increased understanding of White privilege, acknowledgment of blatant racism, and intersectional consciousness overall, but had a greater impact on intersectional consciousness for White students compared with students of color. White students taking diversity courses experienced a reduction in Protestant work ethic ideology that was absent for White students in psychology courses and for all students of color. Notably, empathy moderated the effect of diversity courses on both outgroup comfort and willingness to act to promote diversity.