"Letztes Halbjahr stand ich zwei" : Zur Akkuratheit selbst berichteter Noten

Pädagogisch-psychologische Studien verwenden oft die von Schülern selbst berichteten Noten als Leistungsindikatoren. In der vorliegenden Studie wurde die Akkuratheit dieser Selbstangaben überprüft, indem selbst berichtete Mathematiknoten der letzten Klassenarbeit und des letzten Zeugnisses mit den Lehrerangaben verglichen wurden. Es zeigen sich hohe Korrelationen, allerdings wurden die Noten im Mittel überschätzt. Die Akkuratheit der Selbsteinschätzung ist praktisch unabhängig von Geschlecht, mathematischem Fähigkeitsselbstkonzept und mathematischer Leistung (erfasst über Items aus dem TIMSS-Instrumentarium)

Effects of an inquiry-based short intervention on state test anxiety in comparison to alternative coping strategies

Background and Objectives: Test anxiety can have undesirable consequences for learning and academic achievement. The control-value theory of achievement emotions assumes that test anxiety is experienced if a student appraises an achievement situation as important (value appraisal), but feels that the situation and its outcome are not fully under his or her control (control appraisal). Accordingly, modification of cognitive appraisals is assumed to reduce test anxiety. One method aiming at the modification of appraisals is inquiry-based stress reduction. In the present study (N = 162), we assessed the effects of an inquiry-based short intervention on test anxiety. Design: Short-term longitudinal, randomized control trial. Methods: Focusing on an individual worry thought, 53 university students received an inquiry-based short intervention. Control participants reflected on their worry thought (n = 55) or were distracted (n = 52). Thought related test anxiety was assessed before, immediately after, and 2 days after the experimental treatment. Results: After the intervention as well as 2 days later, individuals who had received the inquiry-based intervention demonstrated significantly lower test anxiety than participants from the pooled control groups. Further analyses showed that the inquiry-based short intervention was more effective than reflecting on a worry thought but had no advantage over distraction. Conclusions: Our findings provide first experimental evidence for the effectiveness of an inquiry-based short intervention in reducing students’ test anxiety

University and school students' motivation for effortful thinking: Factor structure, reliability, and validity of the German Need for Cognition Scale

Need for cognition (NFC) reflects a relatively stable trait regarding the degree to which one enjoys and engages in cognitive endeavors. We examined whether the previously demonstrated one-dimensional structure of the German NFC Scale could be replicated in three samples of undergraduates and secondary school students. Moreover, we investigated the test-retest reliability of the German NFC Scale, which has not yet been tested. Further, we investigated whether the scale would be valid in a sample of secondary school students. Multigroup confirmatory factor analyses established the one-dimensional factor structure of the long form as well as the short form of the German NFC Scale for undergraduates (N = 559), students of academic track secondary schools (German Gymnasium; N = 555), and students of vocational track secondary schools (German Realschule; N = 486). The scale proved to have a high test-retest reliability in a university student sample (N = 43). For secondary school students, we again found a high test-retest reliability (N = 157), and also found the scale to be valid (N = 181)

(Biased) grading of students' performance: Students' names, performance level, and implicit attitudes

Biases in pre-service teachers’ evaluations of students’ performance may arise due to stereotypes (e.g., the assumption that students with a migrant background have lower potential). This study examines the effects of a migrant background, performance level, and implicit attitudes toward individuals with a migrant background on performance assessment (assigned grades and number of errors counted in a dictation). Pre-service teachers (N = 203) graded the performance of a student who appeared to have a migrant background statistically significantly worse than that of a student without a migrant background. The differences were more pronounced when the performance level was low and when the pre-service teachers held relatively positive implicit attitudes toward individuals with a migrant background. Interestingly, only performance level had an effect on the number of counted errors. Our results support the assumption that pre-service teachers exhibit bias when grading students with a migrant background in a third-grade level dictation assignment

Passionate thinkers feel better : Self-control capacity as mediator of the relationship between need for cognition and affective adjustment

The present study tested a possible explanation for the positive relationship between the motivation to engage in cognitive endeavors (need for cognition, NFC) and indicators of affective adjustment (e.g., higher self-esteem, lower depression) that has been demonstrated in previous studies. We suggest that dispositional self-control capacity mediates this relationship, since NFC has been found to be related to self-control capacity, and self-control capacity is crucial for adjustment. NFC, dispositional self-control capacity, self-esteem, habitual depressive mood, and tendency to respond in a socially desirable manner were measured among 150 university students via self-report. Regression analyses and Sobel tests revealed that self-control capacity was a potential mediator of the positive relationship between NFC and affective adjustment. The findings were robust in terms of social desirability

Überprüfung des erweiterten Modells des internal/external frame of reference

Die Erweiterung des internal/external frame of reference-Modells wird überprüft, indem Leistungen in den Fächern Mathematik, Deutsch sowie Englisch (als Fremdsprache) zu den Fähigkeitsselbstkonzepten in diesen Fächern in Beziehung gesetzt werden. Bei 227 Schülerinnen und Schülern wurden Noten als Leistungsmaße sowie referenzrahmenfrei die Fähigkeitsselbstkonzepte erfasst. Während das Modell bezüglich der Fächer Mathematik und Deutsch klar gestützt wird, zeigt sich hinsichtlich der Leistung in Englisch und dem Fähigkeitsselbstkonzept für das Fach Englisch keine eindeutige Evidenz für die vorgeschlagene Erweiterung. Es wird empfohlen zu präzisieren, wovon es abhängt, ob verschiedene Fächer zum Gegenstand des dimensionalen Vergleichs werden

Daumenregel oder Kopfzerbrechen? Zum Zusammenhang zwischen Erfolgserwartung und allgemeinen oder spezifischen Fähigkeitsselbstkonzepten

Erfolgserwartungen in Bezug auf spezifische Aufgaben sollen den Annahmen verschiedener Theorien zufolge enger mit dem entsprechenden spezifischen Fähigkeitsselbstkonzept als mit allgemeinen Fähigkeitsselbstkonzepten zusammenhängen. Im Gegen-satz dazu wird hier argumentiert, dass im Falle peripherer Informationsverarbeitung die Erfolgserwartung enger mit dem allgemeinen, im Falle zentraler Informationsverarbeitung enger mit dem spezifischen Fähigkeitsselbstkonzept zusammenhängen sollte. In einem Experiment (N = 252) zeigte sich hypothesengemäß, dass bei hoher Relevanz korrekter Erfolgserwartungen (die zu zentraler Informationsverarbeitung führen sollte) die Erfolgserwartung durch das spezifische, nicht aber durch das allgemeine Fähigkeitsselbstkonzept vorhergesagt werden konnte. In einer Kontrollbedingung zeigte sich dieses Zusammenhangsmuster jedoch nur für Personen mit einer hohen Freude am Nachdenken (Need for Cognition), während Personen mit einem niedrigen Need for Cognition die Erfolgserwartung für eine spezifische Aufgabe aus ihrem allgemeinen Fähigkeitsselbstkonzept abzuleiten schienen

Coursework selection: A frame of reference approach using structural equation modelling

Background. Choice behaviour has far-reaching consequences on students’ educational careers. Previous models on course selection -- like the model of achievement-related choices (Wigfield & Eccles, 2000) and self-efficacy-theory (Bandura, 1997) -- stress the importance of ability-perceptions (self-concept of ability) as a major determinant of choice. Aim. The article suggests a model of course selection, which assumes, that comparisons within an internal frame of reference (which were proposed by Marsh, 1986, for the association between achievement and self-concepts) also can be applied on the association between self-concepts and course selection. Therefore it is hypothesised that course selection is not only positively influenced by the self-concept with respect to the corresponding subject but also negatively by the self-concept with respect to alternative subjects. Moreover it should be tested, if the effects of previous achievement on course selection are completely mediated by the self-concepts. Sample. The assumptions were empirically tested using a sample of 296 students from secondary school classes who could specialize for example in Chemistry or Biology in the next term. Method. Self-concepts and course selection were assessed via questionnaire. The postulated models were tested using a structural equation modelling approach for ordinal variables. Results. The core assumption, that course selection is determined by dimensional comparisons was supported by significant negative paths from self-concepts on the selection of non-corresponding subjects. Moreover, the effects of previous achievement on selection were completely mediated by self-concepts. Conclusion. Previous models of choice behaviour should be extended, by considering not only the selected alternatives but also the unselected ones. The finding that the influence of achievement on choice is completely mediated by self-concepts demonstrates, that subjective interpretations of previous achievement influence subsequent behaviour

Kein Mensch kann alles? Effekte dimensionaler Vergleiche auf das Fähigkeitsselbstkonzept

Referenzrahmenmodelle nehmen an, dass neben sozialen Vergleichen auch dimensionale Vergleiche Einfluss auf die Entstehung von Fähigkeitsselbstkonzepten nehmen. Haben Personen die Möglichkeit, die eigene Leistung in einem Bereich A mit schlechteren Leistungen in einem anderen Bereich B zu kontrastieren (dimensionaler Abwärtsvergleich), so soll dies zu einem Ansteigen des Fähigkeitsselbstkonzepts in Bezug auf A führen, ein dimensionaler Aufwärtsvergleich dagegen zu einem Absinken. In zwei Experimenten, in denen mit fingierter Leistungsrückmeldung gearbeitet wurde, zeigten sich tatsächlich Effekte dimensionaler Vergleichsinformation auf Fähigkeitsselbstkonzepte. Erstmals konnten im Experiment 2 sowohl positive Effekte dimensionaler Abwärtsvergleiche als auch negative Effekte dimensionaler Aufwärtsvergleiche nachgewiesen werden

Dispositional self-control capacity and trait anxiety as relates to coping styles

In the present article, we analyzed the relationship between dispositional self-control capacity, trait anxiety, and coping styles. Since self-control is often crucial for adapting one’s behavior to be positive, we predicted that dispositional differences in the capacity to exert self-control play a role in determining individuals coping styles. To test this assumption, we assessed participants’ (N = 163) dispositional self-control capacity using the Self-Control Scale, and their dispositional coping styles by using the short version of the German Coping Questionnaire SVF78 (German: Stressverarbeitungsfragebogen). A path analysis supported our hypothesis; higher levels of dispositional self-control capacity were positively associated with positive coping style and negatively associated with negative coping style. Basing on attentional control theory, we further assumed that this relationship was mediated by trait anxiety. In a second study based on a sample of N = 98 participants, we additionally applied the trait version of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. The results of a path analysis revealed that trait anxiety mediated the relationship between dispositional self-control capacity and coping styles. The results suggest that it may be useful to take a closer look at the role of self-control in the anxiety-coping relationship