Improving Multiple-Choice Test Performance for Examinees with Different Levels of Test Anxiety

The effectiveness of a strategy for improving performance on multiple-choice items for examinees was assessed. An aptitude-treatment interaction model was used to test the possibility of different treatment effects for examinees with different levels of test anxiety. Undergraduate measurement students responded to the Mandler-Sarason Test Anxiety Scale and to an objective test covering course content. For low-anxious examinees, generation of an answer before selecting a multiple-choice response led to higher test performance; for highly test anxious examinees, there was a slightly negative effect on performance.     

A social learning explanation for age-related changes in children's conceptual behavior

A social learning explanation for children's conceptual development is proposed. Recent training research on conservation is discussed, and it is concluded that it fails to support three key assumptions underlying Piaget's theory (a) Children are able to learn to conserve without being “in transition,” (b) nonconservation experiences are successful in promoting developmentally immature cognitive functioning, and (c) there is evidence of inconsistencies in children's cognitive functioning across tasks assessing the same cognitive stage. Two aspects of children's conservation responding are explained according to a social learning position: decalages and the shift from perceptual cues to quantitative cues. This explanation involves consideration of cognitive factors such as prior rule learning as well as impinging social experience.     

Technical Communication Teachers as Mentors in the Classroom: Extending an Invitation to Students

In this article, we argue that mentoring of technical communication students must occur within the classroom. In our survey of students, we found that most students felt they had not been mentored. In our ethnography, we found that although students could define the term “mentor”, many were conflicted about its value. This confusion made students less likely to seek out or recognize mentoring opportunities. Students recognized mentoring practices that teachers implemented; however, they did not necessarily identify those practices as “mentoring”. We conclude that confusion arose from students' ambiguous views about mentoring and the lack of standard mentoring practices in the humanities. Therefore, teachers who intend to mentor in the classroom must (a) be more explicit in implementing elements that distinguish mentoring from teaching (e.g., intent and involvement), (b) extend an invitation to students to be mentored, and (c) help students develop a professional identity.     

Understanding Nonsocial Play in Early Childhood

Nonsocial play continues to be perceived as a behavior that is detrimental young children’s development. The research evidence in this area is mixed but lends itself to a more positive view of nonsocial play. Despite the substantial amount of literature available, the terminology used fails to be consistent and may prove to be distracting and confusing to practitioners and caregivers. This paper reviews the current literature on young children’s nonsocial play. Distinctions among different types of nonsocial play are identified, as well as some reasons children engage in these activities. By developing a better understanding of the role of nonsocial play in early childhood, caregivers may better understand when children need their help in promoting more social types of play and when intervention may or may not be necessary.     

Self-Efficacy: An Essential Motive to Learn

During the past two decades, self-efficacy has emerged as a highly effective predictor of students' motivation and learning. As a performance-based measure of perceived capability, self-efficacy differs conceptually and psychometrically from related motivational constructs, such as outcome expectations, self-concept, or locus of control. Researchers have succeeded in verifying its discriminant validity as well as convergent validity in predicting common motivational outcomes, such as students' activity choices, effort, persistence, and emotional reactions. Self-efficacy beliefs have been found to be sensitive to subtle changes in students' performance context, to interact with self-regulated learning processes, and to mediate students' academic achievement. Copyright 2000 Academic Press.     

Infants of depressed mothers show "depressed" behavior even with nondepressed adults

To determine whether the "depressed" behavior (e.g., less positive affect and lower activity level) of infants noted during interactions with their "depressed" mothers generalizes to their interactions with nondepressed adults, 74 3-6-month-old infants of "depressed" and nondepressed mothers were videotaped in face-to-face interactions with their mothers and with nondepressed female strangers. "Depressed" mothers and their infants received lower ratings on all behaviors than nondepressed mothers and infants. Although the infants of "depressed" versus nondepressed mothers also received lower ratings with the stranger adult, very few differences were noted between those infants' ratings when interacting with their mother versus the stranger, suggesting that their "depressed" style of interacting is not specific to their interactions with depressed mothers but generalizes to their interactions with nondepressed adults as early as 3 months of age.     

“Dancing” Together: Infant–Mother Locomotor Synchrony

Pre-mobile infants and caregivers spontaneously engage in a sequence of contingent facial expressions and vocalizations that researchers have referred to as a social “dance.” Does this dance continue when both partners are free to move across the floor? Locomotor synchrony was assessed in 13- to 19-month-old infant–mother dyads (N = 30) by tracking each partner’s step-to-step location during free play. Although infants moved more than mothers, dyads spontaneously synchronized their locomotor activity. For 27 dyads, the spatiotemporal path of one partner uniquely identified the path of the other. Clustering analyses revealed two patterns of synchrony (mother-follow and yo-yo), and infants were more likely than mothers to lead the dance. Like face-to-face synchrony, locomotor synchrony scaffolds infants’ interactions with the outside world.     

Working Towards Building Cultures of Peace: A Primer for Students and New Professionals

As the counseling profession moves into the 21st century, counselors and psychologists are increasingly expanding their roles in the reduction of violence across settings. For students and new professionals, this new horizon of needs and opportunities can create some role confusion as traditional direct service functions of individual and group therapy are evolving into indirect services that focus on broader interventions to help create peace. This article seeks to contribute a foundational guide for readers interested in peace psychology. The article provides a brief overview of the peace psychology movement, current trends, and informational sources. It reflects on factors that influence the decision to get involved and provides possible ways to participate in social action, as well as citing a personal example of how one student got involved in building cultures of peace within an international setting.     

Web 2.0 support for residents' and fellows' patient care and educational needs

This article discusses librarian support of medical education programs and patient care with blogs and wikis. Pedagogical background for using Web 2.0 tools in educational settings is explored and example applications given. A survey of health sciences libraries usage of blogs and wikis was conducted in 2009-2010. Using the results from the survey plus five years of experience using blogs and wikis at the University of Washington Health Sciences Library, best practices were compiled and are presented for guidance in establishing new blogs and wikis.