Conscientiousness as a Predictor of the Gender Gap in Academic Achievement

In recent decades, female students have been more successful in higher education than their male counterparts in the United States and other industrialized countries. A promising explanation for this gender gap are differences in personality, particularly higher levels of conscientiousness among women. Using Structural Equation Modeling on data from 4719 Dutch university students, this study examined to what extent conscientiousness can account for the gender gap in achievement. We also examined whether the role of conscientiousness in accounting for the gender gap differed for students with a non-dominant ethnic background compared to students with a dominant ethnic background. In line with our expectations, we found that conscientiousness fully mediated the gender gap in achievement, even when controlling for prior achievement in high school. This was the case among both groups of students. These findings provide insight into the mechanisms underlying the gender gap in achievement in postsecondary education settings. The current study suggests that the use of conscientiousness measures in university admission procedures may disadvantage male students. Instead, the use of such measures may be a fruitful way to identify those students who may benefit from interventions to improve their conscientiousness. Future research could examine how conscientiousness can be fostered among students who are low in conscientiousness

Speed Matters: Relationship between Speed of Eye Movements and Modification of Aversive Autobiographical Memories

Eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR) is an efficacious treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder. In EMDR, patients recall a distressing memory and simultaneously make eye movements (EM). Both tasks are considered to require limited working memory (WM) resources. Because this leaves fewer resources available for memory retrieval, the memory should become less vivid and less emotional during future recall. In EMDR analogue studies, a standardized procedure has been used, in which participants receive the same dual task manipulation of 1 EM cycle per second (1 Hz). From a WM perspective, the WM taxation of the dual task might be titrated to the WM taxation of the memory image. We hypothesized that highly vivid images are more affected by high WM taxation and less vivid images are more affected by low WM taxation. In study 1, 34 participants performed a reaction time task, and rated image vividness, and difficulty of retrieving an image, during five speeds of EM and no EM. Both a high WM taxing frequency (fast EM; 1.2 Hz) and a low WM taxing frequency (slow EM; 0.8 Hz) were selected. In study 2, 72 participants recalled three highly vivid aversive autobiographical memory images (n = 36) or three less vivid images (n = 36) under each of three conditions: recall + fast EM, recall + slow EM, or recall only. Multi-level modeling revealed a consistent pattern for all outcome measures: recall + fast EM led to less emotional, less vivid and more difficult to retrieve images than recall + slow EM and recall only, and the effects of recall + slow EM felt consistently in between the effects of recall + fast EM and recall only, but only differed significantly from recall + fast EM. Crucially, image vividness did not interact with condition on the decrease of emotionality over time, which was inconsistent with the prediction. Implications for understanding the mechanisms of action in memory modification and directions for future research are discussed

Cognitive Diagnostic Assessment in University Statistics Education: Valid and Reliable Skill Measurement for Actionable Feedback Using Learning Dashboards

E-learning is increasingly used to support student learning in higher education, facilitating administration of online formative assessments. Although providing diagnostic, actionable feedback is generally more effective, in current practice, feedback is often given in the form of a simple proportion of correctly solved items. This study shows the validation process of constructing detailed diagnostic information on a set of skills, abilities, and cognitive processes (so-called attributes) from students’ item response data with diagnostic classification models. Attribute measurement in the domain of statistics education is validated based on both expert judgment and empirical student data from a think-aloud study and large-scale assessment administration. The constructed assessments provide a valid and reliable measurement of the attributes. Inferences that can be drawn from the results of these formative assessments are discussed and it is demonstrated how this information can be communicated to students via learning dashboards to allow them to make more effective learning choices

Parenting intervention for children’s conduct problems: Equally effective for different families?

Parenting programmes are an effective strategy for reducing children’s behavioural problems. It is important to understand who benefits more from these programmes and who benefits less. There are trends that suggest that families with a migration background or lower levels of education are not referred to evidence-based programmes, based on the untested assumption that these programmes do not meet their needs. The same holds for families of children with co-occurring ADHD symptoms and emotional problems. A better understanding of who benefits from parenting programmes will allow more careful matching between families and programmes. We used data from 786 families (with children aged 2–10 years) from four trials in the Incredible Years parenting programme in the Netherlands. Of these families, 29 % had a migration background and 31 % had lower educational levels. Our findings show that Incredible Years reduced disruptive child behaviour. Effects did not differ between families with different migration or educational backgrounds, or between children showing more or fewer ADHD symptoms. Children with more severe disruptive behaviour and children with more emotional problems benefited more in terms of reduced disruptive child behaviour. Thus the parenting programme yielded similar benefits for families with diverse backgrounds. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved

Ouderinterventie voor gedragsproblemen bij kinderen : Even effectief voor verschillende gezinnen?

Parenting programmes are an effective strategy for reducing children’s behavioural problems. It is important to understand who benefits more from these programmes and who benefits less. There are trends that suggest that families with a migration background or lower levels of education are not referred to evidence-based programmes, based on the untested assumption that these programmes do not meet their needs. The same holds for families of children with co-occurring ADHD symptoms and emotional problems. A better understanding of who benefits from parenting programmes will allow more careful matching between families and programmes. We used data from 786 families (with children aged 2–10 years) from four trials in the Incredible Years parenting programme in the Netherlands. Of these families, 29 % had a migration background and 31 % had lower educational levels. Our findings show that Incredible Years reduced disruptive child behaviour. Effects did not differ between families with different migration or educational backgrounds, or between children showing more or fewer ADHD symptoms. Children with more severe disruptive behaviour and children with more emotional problems benefited more in terms of reduced disruptive child behaviour. Thus the parenting programme yielded similar benefits for families with diverse backgrounds. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2018 APA, all rights reserved

Predicting the Effectiveness of Work-Focused CBT for Common Mental Disorders: The Influence of Baseline Self-Efficacy, Depression and Anxiety

Purpose This study examined who benefits most from a cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)-based intervention that aims to enhance return to work (RTW) among employees who are absent due to common mental disorders (CMDs) (e.g., depression, anxiety, or adjustment disorder). We researched the influence of baseline work-related self-efficacy and mental health (depressive complaints and anxiety) on treatment outcomes of two psychotherapeutic interventions. Methods Using a quasi-experimental design, 12-month follow-up data of 168 employees were collected. Participants either received work-focused cognitive behavioural therapy (W-CBT) that integrated work aspects early into the treatment (n = 89) or regular cognitive behavioural therapy (R-CBT) without a focus on work (n = 79). Results Compared with R-CBT, W-CBT resulted in a faster partial RTW, irrespective of baseline self-efficacy. Among individuals with high self-efficacy, W-CBT also resulted in faster full RTW. The effectiveness of W-CBT on RTW did not depend on baseline depressive complaints or anxiety. The decline of mental health complaints did not differ between the two interventions, nor depended on baseline self-efficacy or mental health. Conclusions Considering the benefits of W-CBT for partial RTW, we recommend this intervention as a preferred method for employees with CMDs, irrespective of baseline self-efficacy, depression and anxiety. For individuals with high baseline self-efficacy, this intervention also results in higher full RTW. For those with low self-efficacy, extra exercises or components may be needed to promote full RTW.status: publishe

Evidence of the existence of an internal labour market in the Great Eastern Railway Company, 1875-1905

Evidence from promotion ladders and the wage payment system of the GER is evaluated to see if it supports existing claims, primarily based on welfare and pension provision, that by 1900 the railway companies had become the first important adherents in the country to a system of internal labour markets. It is suggested that promotion was internalised and that it was based on merit and seniority, that some form of seniority wage payments system did evolve, and that wage increases were sharpest in the first ten years of employment and were associated with spatial mobility