Biomedical subjects

Jeffrey B Vancouver

Publications and source records attributed to Jeffrey B Vancouver.

5 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2006

When self-efficacy negatively relates to motivation and performance in a learning context.

Recent reviews of the training literature have advocated directly manipulating self-efficacy in an attempt to improve the motivation of trainees. However, self-regulation theories conceive of motivation as a function of various goal processes, and assert that the effect of self-efficacy should depend on the process involved. Training contexts may evoke planning processes in which self-efficacy might negatively relate to motivation. Yet the typical between-persons studies in the current literature may obscure the effect. To examine this issue, 63 undergraduate students completed a series of questionnaires measuring self-efficacy and motivation before 5 class exams. Self-efficacy was negatively related to motivation and exam performance at the within-person level of analysis, despite a significant positive relation with performance at the between-persons level.

Affect↗

PubMed2005

The depth of history and explanation as benefit and bane for psychological control theories.

A longstanding debate has recently re-erupted in the self-regulation literature around the concept of self-efficacy. This article presents an argument that the debate emerges from a lack of understanding of the history of control theories within both the social and physical sciences and the various levels of explanation to which phenomena can be subjected. This history, coupled with the issues of determinism, materialism, and empiricism evoked by the deeper level of explanation that some versions of control theory provide, has led some critics to mis-apply non-psychological properties to control theories and obscure their usefulness. Here, the usefulness of a deeper control theory level of explanation is illustrated using comparisons with explanations found in goal-setting theory and social cognitive theory.

Cognition↗

PubMed2005

School-based mental health programming for children with inattentive and disruptive behavior problems: first-year treatment outcome.

This article examines the effectiveness of an evidence-based behavioral treatment package for children with inattentive and disruptive behavior problems when delivered in the context of a school-based mental health program. Child symptomatology and functioning are assessed in a treatment group (n = 30) and a waitlist control group (n = 12) across multiple time points (fall, winter, and spring). Treatment includes a daily report card procedure, year-long teacher consultation, and parenting sessions. According to the parent report, treated children show marked reductions in hyperactive and impulsive, oppositional or defiant and aggressive behavior, and marked improvement in peer relationships. Teachers observe treatment-related group differences in inattention, academic functioning, and the student-teacher relationship. Feasibility and acceptability data have implications for transporting evidence-based treatments to community settings and for integrating mental health services into the culture of the school community.

Achievement↗

PubMed2004

The effect of feedback sign on task performance depends on self-concept discrepancies.

Control theories claim that information about performance is often used by multiple goal systems. A proposition tested here was that performance information can create discrepancies in self-concept goals, directing cognitive resources away from the task goal system. To manipulate performance information, 160 undergraduates were given false positive or false negative normative feedback while working on a task that did or did not require substantial cognitive resources. Half of the participants were then given an opportunity to reaffirm their self-concepts following feedback, whereas half were not. Feedback sign positively related to performance only for those working on the cognitively intense task and not given a chance to reaffirm. Otherwise, feedback sign was negatively related to performance, albeit weakly.

Adult↗

PubMed2002

Two studies examining the negative effect of self-efficacy on performance.

Although hundreds of studies have found a positive relationship between self-efficacy and performance, several studies have found a negative relationship when the analysis is done across time (repeated measures) rather than across individuals. W. T. Powers (1991) predicted this negative relationship based on perceptual control theory. Here, 2 studies are presented to (a) confirm the causal role of self-efficacy and (b) substantiate the explanation. In Study 1, self-efficacy was manipulated for 43 of 87 undergraduates on an analytic game. The manipulation was negatively related to performance on the next trial. In Study 2, 104 undergraduates played the analytic game and reported self-efficacy between each game and confidence in the degree to which they had assessed previous feedback. As expected, self-efficacy led to overconfidence and hence increased the likelihood of committing logic errors during the game.

Humans↗