Mental rotation and mathematics: Gender-stereotyped beliefs and relationships in primary school children

This study aimed to examine gender differences in mental rotation and in gender-stereotyped beliefs and to assess relationships among mental rotation performance, mathematics ability, and gender-stereotyped beliefs in primary school children. Sixty-three 2nd graders (mean age 7.83) and sixty 4th graders (mean age 9.82) were administered a 2-D animal and a 3-D cube mental rotation test, a mathematics ability test, together with a selfreport questionnaire devised to measure gender-stereotyped beliefs in both typical masculine, and feminine fields. Results indicated that boys scored higher than girls in mental rotation, but not in mathematics. They also highlighted that both sexes hold gender-stereotyped beliefs, and that mental rotation ability was significantly related with mathematics ability of fourth graders; however, there was no significant relationship with mathematics ability of second graders and mental rotation ability. The discussion focuses on sex differences in mental rotation, mathematics, gender-stereotyped beliefs and their relationships in childhood

Does the Weekly Practice of Recalling and Elaborating Episodes Raise Well-Being in University Students?

Increasing well-being is a prominent worldwide goal that can be achieved primarily through social support and environmental factors. However, in times of social distancing or isolation, it is important to also rely on self-managed activities. This study aimed to (a) test the effectiveness of a seven-week well-being intervention, in increasing need satisfaction, self-compassion, emotion regulation, and grateful disposition by curbing need frustration, self-derogation, and emotional suppression, and (b) examine the maintenance and long-term effects of the practices based on recall, elaboration, and writing. One hundred and twenty university students weekly recalled and elaborated for seven consecutive weeks on three recent episodes of gratitude, self-affirmation, goal setting, or meaningful things, according to the group to which they were assigned. Before the intervention, immediately after and one month later, they filled in questionnaires to assess need satisfaction/frustration, self-compassion/derogation, emotion regulation and grateful disposition. The results confirmed an increase in well-being and a decrease in ill-being for all groups (Cohen d for the significant differences ranging from 0.18 to 0.53). The effects were maintained one month later and even increased for self-compassion, self-derogation, need frustration, and emotional reappraisal. A follow-up assessment revealed that a third of the participants continued with the well-being practices. Implications and suggestions for future well-being interventions are discussed

Does displayed enthusiasm favour recall, intrinsic motivation and time estimation?

none1noDisplayed enthusiasm has been shown to relate to intrinsic motivation, vitality, and positive affect, but its effects on recall performance and time estimation have not yet been explored. This research aimed at studying the effects of a delivery style characterized by High Enthusiasm (HE) on recall, time estimation, and intrinsic motivation. In line with previous studies, effects on intrinsic motivation were expected. In addition, higher recall and lower time estimations were hypothesised. In two experiments, participants assigned to a HE condition or to a normal reading control condition listened to a narrative and to a descriptive passage. Then, they were asked to rate perceived time, enthusiasm, pleasure, interest, enjoyment and curiosity, before writing a free recall. Experiment 1 showed that in the HE condition participants recalled more, were more intrinsically motivated, and expressed lower time estimations compared to the control condition. Experiment 2 confirmed the positive effects of HE reading compared to normal reading, using different passages and a larger sample.restrictedMoè, AngelicaMoe', Angelic

Questionario di Attribuzione (scheda descrittiva)

Test psicologico. Scheda descrittiva creata all'interno del progetto Bibliomedi

Gender stereotypes and incremental beliefs in STEM and non-STEM students in three countries: relationships with performance in cognitive tasks

Women’s underrepresentation in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) has been linked, among others, to gender stereotypes and ability-related beliefs as well as gender differences in specific cognitive abilities. However, the bulk of studies focused on gender stereotypes related to mathematics. The present study, therefore, aimed to map gender stereotypes and incremental beliefs (i.e., the conviction about modifiability) with respect to a wide range of stereotypical male-favouring and female-favouring abilities. Gender stereotypes and incremental beliefs were assessed with self-report questionnaires in 132 STEM students (65 women) and 124 non-STEM students (73 women) in three European countries ranked in the top, middle, and bottom of the Global Gender Gap Report. Moreover, a mental rotation and a verbal fluency test were completed. Men endorsed male-favouring stereotypes more than women, and women endorsed female-favouring stereotypes more than men, an effect that was most pronounced in the country with the larger gender gap. Male STEM students endorsed male-favouring stereotypes more strongly than male non-STEM and female STEM students. Male non-STEM students endorsed female-favouring stereotypes less than female and male STEM students. Female STEM students reported higher incremental beliefs than female non-STEM students, especially in the country with the lowest gender gap. Men outperformed women, and STEM students outperformed non-STEM in mental rotation, while women outperformed men in verbal fluency. Male STEM students’ stronger endorsement of male-favouring stereotypes might reflect genuine group differences, at least in mental rotation. While potentially such gender stereotypes can help creating a “chilly climate” where women in academic STEM degrees are expected to perform poorly, those women believed more in the possibility to change and improve in male-favouring abilities which could help them to overcome the potential negative effect of stereotyping

Childhood preference for spatial toys. Gender differences and relationships with mental rotation in STEM and non-STEM students

Women tend not to choose STEM degrees, for a number of reasons associated with aptitudes, motivation and experience with certain spatial tasks such as mental rotation. This study considered an unexplored experiential factor: childhood preference for spatial toys and sports. It was predicted that the higher the preference for spatial activities in childhood, the higher the mental rotation performance and intrinsic motivation, and likewise the greater the probability of choosing a STEM degree. One hundred seventy-six Italian and German students attending the first year of either a STEM (n = 90) or a no STEM (n = 86) degree filled in the Mental Rotation Test, a self-report to assess intrinsic motivation, and two questionnaires to assess their actual practice with spatial sports and their childhood preference for either spatial or non-spatial toys and sports. The results showed that women in STEM degrees preferred spatial toys more than women in non-STEM degrees and performed better in mental rotation when preferred spatial toys in childhood. The discussion focuses on the relationship between childhood toy preferences and the choice of a STEM degree

Women drive better if not stereotyped

A commonly held stereotype is that women are poor drivers. This stereotype is recognized and endorsed by women and girls very early on, long before taking their driving licence, nevertheless they are less involved in accidents and drive safer and less fast than men. In line with the stereotype threat theory, the present study tests the hypothesis that making the driving stereotype salient will lead women to underperform in a driving simulation task. In Experiment 1 women in the stereotype threat condition were told that the aim of the study was to detect gender differences in driving whereas in a control condition no study aim was provided. In Experiment 2, two conditions were compared: stereotype threat (same instructions as in Experiment 1), and stereotype boost (the alleged goal was to compare driving ability of young vs. old people). As predicted, the results of both experiments showed that women under stereotype threat, as compared to either control or stereotype boost participants, doubled the number of mistakes. Nevertheless, they overall expected/self-reported to drive/have driven poorly. Importantly, their level of expectation was a significant predictor of their actual driving performance only in the stereotype threat condition. Implications of these effects of stereotype threat on women's driving performance and self-assessment are discussed. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Costruire un apprendimento di successo. Attività per promuovere strategie, atteggiamenti e motivazione nella scuola secondaria di secondo grado

Il testo affronta nello specifico cinque ambiti proponendo brevi riflessioni ed indicazioni per l’insegnante e schede operative per studenti e studentesse. Si focalizza in particolare sul percepirsi competenti e saper fare, sul valorizzare ed essere valorizzati e sulle capacità di sapersi motivare e rimotivare anche a fronte di difficoltà ed insuccessi. La prospettiva assunta è quella che vede gli studenti e le studentesse al centro, protagonisti e attivi costruttori della propria conoscenza e degli strumenti per acquisirla. Le proposte includono riflessioni metacognitive e attività di co-costruzione e scoperta delle proprie strategie e motivazioni per poi eventualmente poterle perfezionare

Exploring the circumplex model of motivating and demotivating teaching styles:The role of teacher need satisfaction and need frustration

This study explored the relationships between teacher satisfaction/frustration of the three basic psychological needs for competence, autonomy and relatedness, and adoption of motivating and demotivating teaching styles. Nine hundred and forty-nine Italian teachers filled in self-report questionnaires. The results showed that competence and relatedness satisfaction were associated with the participative, attuning, guiding, and clarifying motivating subareas. Although competence frustration was associated with all the demotivating subareas, relatedness frustration was only associated with the domineering and abandoning subareas. Autonomy frustration was associated with the demanding, domineering, and awaiting subareas. The theoretical and practical implications for fostering teachers' motivating style are discussed

Aspetti emotivo-motivazionali che accompagnano le difficoltà d'apprendimento

Il capitolo illustra i principali aspetti emotivo-motivazionali che possono risultare deficitari nei disturbi dell'apprendimento e offre indicazioni per promuovere la motivazione utili in particolare per ragazzi/e con DSA