Negative thinking versus positive thinking in a Singaporean student sample: Relationships with psychological well-being and psychological maladjustment

This study examines the relationships of positive thinking versus negative thinking with psychological well-being and psychological maladjustment. Three hundred and ninety-eight undergraduate students from Singapore participated in this study. First, positive thinking were positively correlated with indicators psychological well-being – life satisfaction and happiness, and negatively correlated with indicators of psychopathology – stress, anxiety, depression, and anger. In contrast, negative thinking were positively correlated with indicators of psychopathology – stress, anxiety, depression, and anger, and negatively correlated with indicators of psychological well-being – life satisfaction and happiness. Second, hierarchical multiple regression results showed that females were more likely than males to be stressed and anxious at the first step of entry. However, there were no significant differences between the sexes in terms of depression, anger, life satisfaction, and happiness. Age did not significantly predict any of the criterion variables. Third, hierarchical multiple regression results showed that negative thinking accounted for more of the significant incremental unique variance in depression, stress, anxiety, life satisfaction, anger, and happiness in order of effect size. This is also found that positive thinking do accounted for a sizable significant incremental unique variance in happiness and life satisfaction, while a very small percentage of 1% significant incremental unique variance for stress, depression, anxiety, and anger. Implications and limitations of these findings were discussed.     

Response strength and temporal control in fixed-interval schedules

Pigeons responded in a two-component peak procedure in which the components differed in terms of reinforcement magnitude (Experiment 1), immediacy (Experiment 2), or probability (Experiment 3). The prediction of behavioral momentum theory that responding in the relatively richer component should be more resistant to change was tested by (1) presenting response-independent food in the intervals between components according to a variable-time (VT) schedule, (2) prefeeding, and (3) extinction. In all the experiments, peak location in baseline occurred earlier, relative to the schedule value in the richer component. Peak response rate was more resistant to change in the richer component during the VT and prefeeding tests, and change in peak rate was more sensitive to differential reinforcement than change in overall response rate. Changes in measures of performance on peak trials during the disruptor tests were partially consistent with predictions of the behavioral theory of timing. The results suggest that peak response rate provides a more sensitive index of resistance to change for fixed-interval schedules than does overall response rate and that reinforcement strengthens both peak responding and temporal control.     

Connectedness of Korean adolescents: profiles and influencing factors

The purpose of the present study was to identify profiles of Korean adolescent connectedness across multiple contexts (e.g., family, school, neighborhood, etc.), using cluster analysis. In addition, this study examined how the profiles of Korean adolescent connectedness are discriminated by demographic and adjustment-related variables. Data were collected from 538 Korean adolescents aged 13?C19. Participants completed a Korean version of Measure of Adolescent Connectedness (MAC-K). Results from a cluster analysis revealed three profiles of connectedness to parents, siblings, teachers, school, friends, and neighborhood. Results placed participants into categories of Well-connected, Disconnected, and Socially connected. The first two profiles were characterized by reports of either strong or weak connectedness to all contexts. The last profile is characterized by reports of strong connections only to friends and neighborhood. The results also indicated that adolescents?? school adjustment, problem behaviors, self-esteem, and gender were significant discriminators between the three profiles. Implications for counseling practice and future studies are discussed.     

Supporting Science Teachers in Alignment with State Curriculum Standards through Professional Development: Teachers’ Preparedness, Expectations and Their Fulfillment

Since A Nation at Risk was released in the 1980s, standards-based reform has been the most dominant trend in American educational policy, and the No Child Left Behind Act pushed the trend further by requiring states to develop rigorous curriculum standards. Though much has been said about these new standards, less has been said about whether or how well professional development helps teachers link their instruction to these standards. This study examined the impact of a professional development program for K-12 science teachers in helping teachers meet state curriculum standards. Seventy-five science teachers in Michigan participated in a 2-week summer workshop that used Problem-Based Learning for improving teachers’ content knowledge and pedagogical content knowledge. Researchers surveyed participating teachers about the change of teachers’ preparedness for standards-based teaching, their expectations to meet state curriculum standards, and whether their expectations were met. In addition, the usefulness of workshop activities was examined. Data analysis showed that to align teaching with state curriculum standards, participating teachers expected to learn instructional strategies and enhance science content knowledge through professional development, and by and large their expectations were well met. Collaboration with colleagues and facilitators helped teachers achieve their goals in terms of teaching within state curriculum standards. These findings have important implications for designing professional development to help teachers align instruction with curriculum standards.