Observed Emotional and Behavioral Indicators of Motivation Predict School Readiness in Head Start Graduates

Emotions and behaviors observed during challenging tasks are hypothesized to be valuable indicators of young children's motivation, the assessment of which may be particularly important for children at risk for school failure. The current study demonstrated reliability and concurrent validity of a new observational assessment of motivation in young children. Head Start graduates completed challenging puzzle and trivia tasks during their kindergarten year. Children's emotion expression and task engagement were assessed based on their observed facial and verbal expressions and behavioral cues. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that observed persistence and shame predicted teacher ratings of children's academic achievement, whereas interest, anxiety, pride, shame, and persistence predicted children's social skills and learning-related behaviors. Children's emotional and behavioral responses to challenge thus appeared to be important indicators of school success. Observation of such responses may be a useful and valid alternative to self-report measures of motivation at this age.     

Children's understanding of the implications of causal attributions for emotional experiences

Children's perceptions of how the cause of achievement outcomes affects individuals' emotional responses were studied. In Study 1, children aged 6 and 7, 9 and 10, and 12 and 13 listened to stories describing hypothetical children's achievement outcomes. Success and failure were explicitly attributed to luck, ability, effort, or another person's intervention. After each story subjects rated the story child's emotional reactions. Only seventh graders associated pride and shame exclusively with outcomes attributed to ability and effort. Guilt was strongly associated with effort attributions, and surprise was associated with luck attributions for fourth- and seventh-grade children but not for first-grade children. The attribution-affect linkages assumed by the older children are the same as those found in previous studies of adults. In Study 2, children aged 6 and 7, 9 and 10, and 12 and 13 rated the cause of the outcomes in the same stories according to Weiner's controllability and locus dimensions. Children's placement of specific attributions on these dimensions was used to explain age differences in their beliefs about the effect of the attributions on emotional responses.     

Temperament and Parenting Antecedents of Individual Differences in Three-Year-Old Boys' Pride and Shame Reactions

To examine individual differences in pride and shame reactions of 3-year-olds and their temperamental and parenting antecedents, 110 boys were studied at ages 36 and 37 months in a "rigged" achievement situation. After being trained to complete explicitly stipulated "easy" and "difficult" tasks before a buzzer sounded, success and failure were manipulated by artificially "rigging" how much time the child had to work on these tasks. Children's facial, verbal, and postural reactions to success and failure were composited to create pride scores following success and shame scores following failure. As expected, pride reactions were greater following success on the difficult than on the easy task, and shame reactions were greater following failure on the easy than on the difficult task. Early temperament (at 12/13 months) proved unrelated to pride and shame. With respect to parenting, measurements composited across 15, 21, 27, and 33 months showed that mothers and fathers who were more positive in their parenting had children who displayed less pride, and that children whose parents (especially mothers) were more negative in their parenting evinced less shame. These counterintuitive findings are discussed in terms of differences between assessments of parenting obtained in this investigation of parenting antecedents and those obtained in other studies of parental responses in the achievement situation itself. Directions for future research are outlined.     

Development of decision making in school-aged children and adolescents: evidence from heart rate and skin conductance analysis

Age differences in decision making indicate that children fail to anticipate outcomes of their decisions. Using heart rate and skin conductance analyses, we tested whether developmental changes in decision making are associated with (a) a failure to process outcomes of decisions, or (b) a failure to anticipate future outcomes of decisions. Children aged 8-10, 12-14, and 16-18 years performed the Hungry Donkey task, a child version of the Iowa Gambling Task, while heart rate and skin conductance activity were continuously recorded. Children aged 16-18 learned to make advantageous choices over task blocks faster than the two younger age groups. Age differences were present for anticipation-related autonomic activity but not outcome-related autonomic activity. The results are interpreted vis-à-vis models of prefrontal cortex maturation.     

Self-evaluation, social reinforcement, and academic achievement of black and white schoolchildren.

Black and white male schoolchildren covertly evaluated their own performance at a verbal task administered by black and white male experimenters. It was hypothesized that academically successful children would be predisposed to appraise themselves favorably, whereas relatively unsuccessful pupils would be biased toward self-criticism. The covert self-evaluations were assumed to represent at internalization of early experiences of predominantly positive or negative social reinforcement from adult socializing agents. The predicition for self-criticism was upheld in the white experimenter condition but not in the black experimenter condition. Relationships consistent with the theory were found between subjects' self-appraisals and their retrospective reports of positive and negative reinforcements received from parents and teachers in various typical situations. These relationships were more evident for black subjects than for white subjects. The extent to which children's self-praise and self-criticism mediated affect was assessed by means of a color conditioning technique. Contrary to predicition, possibly due to the easy nature of the experimental task.     

Expectancy-value theory of achievement motivation: A developmental perspective

I consider Eccles et al.'s (1983) expectancy-value model of achievement performance and choice from a developmental perspective, by examining how recent research on the development of young children's competence beliefs, expectancies for success, subjective task values, and achievement goals can be incorporated into the model. The kinds of change in children's achievement beliefs considered include change in the factor structure of children's competence beliefs and values; change across age in the mean level of those constructs; and change in children's conceptions of ability beliefs and subjective values. I also discuss how achievement goals are conceptualized in this model, and how goals are conceived by other current motivation researchers. Changes in the nature of relations among competence beliefs, subjective task values, achievement goals, and achievement behaviors also are considered.     

Long-term prediction of achievement and attitudes in mathematics and reading

The purpose of the longitudinal study was to investigate the prediction of children's academic achievement on the basis of cognitive tasks given prior to kindergarten, and academic attitudes on the basis of teachers' and mothers' ratings of the children's general cognitive abilities and actual achievement. Subjects were tested initially before entering kindergarten; from 105 to 154 of the 255 kindergarten children were followed through grades 1, 2, 3, 5, and 10. A subset of cognitive tasks maintained a high relation to high school achievement scores, especially in reading. Tenth-grade self-concept of ability, expectancy for success, value of success, and perception of task difficulty showed effects of sex and academic content area, with boys generally being more favorable toward math and girls more favorable toward reading. Children's attitudes were related both to mothers' earlier ratings of their children's cognitive abilities and actual achievement scores; this was especially the case for girls. There was a negative relation between mothers' ratings and girls' attitudes toward mathematics. Sex differences in all measures throughout the 11-year period are reviewed.     

Cognitive-Motivational Influences on the Task-Related Help-Seeking Behavior of Black Children

The present study examined the relation between children's mastery motivation, self-assessment of performance, and task-related help-seeking behavior during task performance. Average-achieving black American children, varying in mastery motivation as measured by subscales of the Harter's Intrinsic-Extrinsic Orientation in the Classroom Scale, performed a multitrial verbal task and were given the opportunity to seek help on each trial after making a tentative response and assessing their performance by rating their confidence in the correctness of the response. A response-contingent payoff system was implemented to encourage children to restrict their help seeking to those instances in which they perceived that they could not make a correct response without assistance. As predicted, children's self-assessments of performance, regardless of their accuracy, appeared to influence help seeking more than the actual performance outcomes. Neither children's self-assessments of performance nor their overall rate of help seeking varied with level of measured mastery motivation. However, the type of help sought varied as expected with mastery motivation. Children characterized by high intrinsic orientations toward independent mastery in academic achievement contexts sought indirect help (i.e., hints) more often than they sought direct help (i.e., answers), whereas children characterized by low intrinsic orientations toward independent mastery showed no preference. These differences in motivational orientation influenced requests for help only when children perceived their initial solutions to be incorrect. These findings are discussed in the context of the analyses of help seeking as an instrumental learning and achievement strategy. The implications of the findings for analyses of black children's achievement styles are highlighted.     

Performance‐approach goals,task‐avoidant behaviour and conceptual knowledge as predictors of first graders’ school performance

The present paper aims to examine the relationship between first grade children’s performance‐approach goal orientation, task‐avoidant behaviours, conceptual knowledge and their achievement in maths and literacy. The sample consisted of 174 first grade children and their class teachers. Children’s self reports of their performance‐approach goals and avoidant behaviours as well as teacher‐reports of children’s avoidant behaviours were used. Our results indicate that performance‐approach goal orientation positively predicts children’s self‐reported task‐avoidant behaviours which in turn have a negative effect on children’s achievement outcomes. The negative effect of teacher‐rated avoidant behaviours on children’s achievement outcomes was even greater than the positive influence of children’s conceptual knowledge. These results suggest that the relationships between goal‐orientations, achievement behaviours and achievement outcomes start to form early in children’s school career (or even before that) and that children’s self‐report of their achievement goals and behaviours provide a valuable knowledge already in this early age.     

Why does children's generosity increase with age: susceptibility to experimenter influence or altruism?

This study evaluated whether age differences in children's generosity are due to increasing altruistic motivation or increasing susceptibility to experimenter influence strategies. 282 first, third, and fifth graders voted on how to spend a gift of money under 1 of 5 instructional sets--3 levels of experimenter influence, peer influence, or no influence, or no influence. Voting choices (in increasing order of generosity according to experimenter-defined scoring weights) were splitting up the money equally among class members, buying something for their class, buying something for their school, or giving the money to poor children. Voting choices also were scored according to empirically derived weights based on rankings provided by an independent sample of 50 first, third, and fifth graders. Both scoring systems indicated that fifth graders were more generous than younger children, but only under high levels of experimenter demand, and peer influence did not increase children's generosity. Furthermore, first graders appeared more generous when the child-derived rather than the experimenter-derived scoring system was used. Thus generalizations regarding age differences in generosity observed in laboratory experiments may require qualification, specifying the degree and type of experimenter influence involved.     

The effects of cooperatively and competitively structured learning enironments on inter- and intrapersonal behavior.

This study examines the effects of cooperative versus competitive goal structures on the subsequent intra- and interpersonal behavior of fourth-grade children. 2 situational variables were operating in each situation: first, the variable of working on a project as a group versus as an individual; and second, the variable of public reward. Results indicate that the effects of competitively structured environments differ for winners and nonwinners and for boys and girls. Girls, both winners and nonwinners, adopt the evaluations of the experimenter and generalize worthiness or deservedness to other situations as evidenced by their prize giving to self and others. After failure to win, girls also refrain from taking a toy away from the winner. After failure to win, boys behave competitively by taking a toy away from the winner and rewarding self more relative to others. The data also suggest that boys may not have experienced cooperative winning as success.     

The effect of personal relevance on psychological inference: a developmental analysis

The effect of personal relevance was examined as a motivational alternative to capacity-based explanations of young children's failure to describe others in terms of psychological characteristics. In Study 1, children at 2 age levels (5-6 and 9-10 years) were asked to describe actors exhibiting different behaviors and to select partners for different games. As predicted, children who expected to interact with the actors were much more likely to describe them in psychological terms. Older children selected partners based on instrumental goals, maximizing their own outcomes, whereas younger children selected partners based on liking. The findings were replicated in Study 2, and expecting interaction was also found to affect behavior (toy allocation). The results suggest that the verbal inferencing skills of young children have been underestimated in the past, and that younger children may be more oriented than older children toward affective relative to instrumental goals in anticipating interaction with a peer.     

Follow-Up Section: Early Childhood Emotional Competence: Young Children's Emotionally-Charged Moral Narratives: Relations with Attachment and Behavior Problems

Participants were 45 mostly African-American or Latino young children (25 boys, 20 girls, mean age = 56.4 months), with about half recruited from a mental health facility and half from preschool settings. Children were administered two separate interviews examining their affectively-charged moral narratives regarding acts of victimization (Moral MSSB) and their attachment-related narratives (SAT). In addition, children's teachers or therapists completed assessments of the attachment-like aspects of their relationships with children (STRS), and a measure of children's behavior problems and competencies (C-TRF). Overall, after controlling for child age, gender, SES, and expressive language ability, children with more externalizing problems were more likely to describe aggressive themes, and less likely to mention adult aid or taking responsibility for transgressions in their moral narratives. In addition, more positive attachments (both the SAT and STRS) were associated with fewer externalizing problems. More than half of the total variance in children's externalizing scores could be predicted from a combination of the attachment and Moral MSSB variables. These findings have implications for understanding the affective origins of young children's externalizing behavior problems involving both peers and adults.     

Multifaceted Impact of Self-Efficacy Beliefs on Academic Functioning

This research analyzed the network of psychosocial influences through which efficacy beliefs affect academic achievement. Parents' sense of academic efficacy and aspirations for their children were linked to their children's scholastic achievement through their perceived academic capabilities and aspirations. Children's beliefs in their efficacy to regulate their own learning and academic attainments, in turn, contributed to scholastic achievement both independently and by promoting high academic aspirations and prosocial behavior and reducing vulnerability to feelings of futility and depression. Children's perceived social efficacy and efficacy to manage peer pressure for detrimental conduct also contributed to academic attainments but through partially different paths of affective and self-regulatory influence. The impact of perceived social efficacy was mediated through academic aspirations and a low level of depression. Perceived self-regulatory efficacy was related to academic achievement both directly and through adherence to moral self-sanctions for detrimental conduct and problem behavior that can subvert academic pursuits. Familial socioeconomic status was linked to children's academic achievement only indirectly through its effects on parental aspirations and children's prosocialness. The full set of self-efficacy, aspirational, and psychosocial factors accounted for a sizable share of the variance in academic achievement.     

奖学金制度对研究生的心理激励探讨——基于厦门大学的案例研究

以厦门大学为例,采用调查法对硕士研究生奖学金制度改革的实效进行分析,通过引入核心自我评价和成就动机两种心理品质来研究奖学金制度对研究生自我价值感与成就动机倾向的影响。结果表明,硕士研究生总体上追求成功动机的得分高于避免失败动机的得分;在硕士不同年级中,文科生追求成功的动机要低于理工科学生;核心自我评价在研究生对奖学金制度改革的满意度和避免失败的动机中起着部分中介的作用。厦门大学的奖学金制度改革对研究生具有一定的心理激励影响,但在奖学金金额梯度设置、优化学科资源和倡导良性竞争等方面仍需要不断完善。     

Regression and reorganization of intonation between 6 and 23 months

The purpose of this study was to describe the pattern in which English-speaking children acquire intonation. A second goal was to account for emerging intonation from a theoretical perspective. Six groups of 10 children each between the ages of 6 and 23 months participated in individual play sessions with their mothers and an experimenter. Pitch contours were acoustically analyzed in monosyllabic utterances produced by each child. The observed nonlinear shape of intonation development suggested a linguistically based pattern of regression and reorganization. However, the precocious expression of intonation in the youngest infants also pointed to the role of physiological universals and emotional experience. It is concluded that children's early intonation reflects biological, affective, and linguistic influences.     

Preschool literacy experience and later reading achievement

During their children's preschool years, parents were asked about the frequencies of adult reading, parent-child reading, and children's solitary book activities in the home. Parental responses were compared for three groups of children defined according to the parents' reading skills and the children's reading achievement in Grade 2. The results indicated that the 22 preschoolers who became poorer readers had less frequent early literacy-related experiences than the 34 children who became better readers.     

Mothers' causal attributions concerning the reading achievement of their children with and without familial risk for dyslexia

The present study analyzed data from the Jyv?skyl? Longitudinal Study of Dyslexia to investigate the factors to which mothers of children with and without familial risk for dyslexia attribute the causes of their first-grade children's reading achievement. Mothers' causal attributions were assessed three times during their children's first school year. Children's verbal intelligence was assessed at 5 years and their word and nonword reading skills at 6.5 years. The results showed that the higher the word reading skills the children had, the more their mothers attributed their success to ability than to effort. However, if children had familial risk for dyslexia, their mothers' attribution of success to ability decreased during the first grade as compared with the ability attributions of mothers whose children were in the control group.     

Mother- and father-reported reactions to children's negative emotions: relations to young children's emotional understanding and friendship quality

Mother- and father-reported reactions to children's negative emotions were examined as correlates of emotional understanding (Study 1, N = 55, 5- to 6-year-olds) and friendship quality (Study 2, N = 49, 3- to 5-year-olds). Mothers' and fathers' supportive reactions together contributed to greater child-friend coordinated play during a sharing task. Further, when one parent reported low support, greater support by the other parent was related to better understanding of emotions and less intense conflict with friends (for boys only). When one parent reported high support, however, greater support by the other parent was associated with less optimal functioning on these outcomes. Results partially support the notion that children benefit when parents differ in their reactions to children's emotions.     

Gender effects in children's beliefs about school performance: a cross-cultural study

Do young boys and girls understand what leads to academic success (e.g., talent, effort, good teaching, luck) in the same way? Do young girls and boys have equivalent perceptions of their academic competence? Are these beliefs engendered in the same way across sociocultural contexts? In a cross-cultural study of over 3,000 children in grades 2 to 6, ages 7.2 to 13.6, we discovered that boys and girls around the world have very similar ideas about what generally leads to academic success. Moreover, in the few contexts where boys' and girls' academic performances were equal, their beliefs were also equal. However, when girls outperformed boys, their beliefs in their own talent were no greater than boys' beliefs, even though they did have stronger beliefs than boys in other facets of their achievement potential (e.g., putting forth effort, being lucky, getting their teacher's help). Our findings support the generally close correspondence between children's achievement and their competence-related beliefs, with the exception that young girls appear to specifically discount their talent. The effects held regardless of the children's achievement, intelligence, or age (approximately 8 to 13 years). Girls were more biased in some contexts than in others, however, suggesting that competence-related biases are rooted in culture-specific aspects of school settings.