Increasing workshop production through self-visualization on videotape.

Although technology has enabled premature infants to survive, longitudinal assessments have primarily focused on IQ outcomes. The purpose of this study was to establish the usefulness of mastery assessment in establishing developmental outcome. Mastery motivation and cognition were examined in 167 preschool children born at various degrees of medical risk. Mastery motivation was measured by a videotaped toy sequence designed to tap sensorimotor practice, effect production, and problem solving. Patterns of correlations indicate that the relationship between mastery and IQ were complementary and not redundant. Three regression models showed that significant interactions between perinatal status and mastery motivation behaviors confirm mastery assessment worthy of consideration in biologically high-risk children.

Achievement↗

PubMed1995

When less is more: counterfactual thinking and satisfaction among Olympic medalists.

Research on counterfactual thinking has shown that people's emotional responses to events are influenced by their thoughts about "what might have been." The authors extend these findings by documenting a familiar occasion in which those who are objectively better off nonetheless feel worse. In particular, an analysis of the emotional reactions of bronze and silver medalists at the 1992 Summer Olympics--both at the conclusion of their events and on the medal stand--indicates that bronze medalists tend to be happier than silver medalists. The authors attribute these results to the fact that the most compelling counterfactual alternative for the silver medalist is winning the gold, whereas for the bronze medalist it is finishing without a medal. Support for this interpretation was obtained from the 1992 Olympics and the 1994 Empire State Games. The discussion focuses on the implications of endowment and contrast for well being.

Achievement↗

PubMed1995

Racial identity, academic achievement, and the psychological well-being of economically disadvantaged adolescents.

The relation between racial identity and personal psychological functioning was examined within the framework of the "racelessness" construct proposed by Fordham and Ogbu (S. Fordham, 1988; S. Fordham & J. U. Ogbu, 1986). These researchers have proposed that academically successful African American students achieve their success by adopting behaviors and attitudes that distance them from their culture of origin, resulting in increased feelings of depression, anxiety, and identity confusion. Studies 1 and 2 describe the development of the Racelessness Scale (RS) designed to test these assumptions. Study 2 also investigated Race X Achievement level differences in students' responses to the RS. In Study 3, correlations between the RS and measures of depression, self-efficacy, anxiety, alienation, and collective self-esteem were assessed. The pattern of results in Study 2 suggest that the behaviors and attitudes described by Fordham and Ogbu are common to high-achieving adolescents and not specific to African Americans. However, racial differences in the pattern of associations between the RS and measures of depression suggest that racelessness may have important psychological consequences for African American adolescents.

Achievement↗