Psychology Commons^™

Conceptions Of Heroic Leadership In Civil Society, Theresa A. Thorkildsen

Heroism Science

While nations face multiple disruptions to civil society, individuals in late adolescence and early adulthood are overlooked for heroic leadership opportunities in some cultures. An underestimation of individuals’ abilities is sometimes fostered by biological definitions of human development that align competence with physical changes in the brain (Blakemore, 2012). Prolonged exposure to such disregard can encourage individuals to restrict the information they notice, fostering distortion in the intentions that support leadership readiness (Pratkanis, 2007). Studies of individuals’ conceptions of how the world operates can improve leadership readiness if such evidence is used to verify that individuals notice essential information. Using …

Adult Learners With Learning Disabilities’ Motivation To Succeed In Higher Education Online Learning During Covid19, Sara Michelle Rodriguez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many students had to transition to online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic while other students were already enrolled in online education. Online study may hold additional struggles for students with learning disabilities. The problem addressed in this qualitative, phenomenological study was the motivating factors of online higher education students who have a learning disability during the COVID-19 pandemic. The theoretical foundation was Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Data were gathered through 10 semistructured interviews and then analyzed through the thematic analysis yielding five themes: (a) lack of professional support, (b) resources, (c) support system, (d) consistent motivation, and (e) low …

Adult Learners With Learning Disabilities’ Motivation To Succeed In Higher Education Online Learning During Covid19, Sara Michelle Rodriguez

Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies

Many students had to transition to online learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic while other students were already enrolled in online education. Online study may hold additional struggles for students with learning disabilities. The problem addressed in this qualitative, phenomenological study was the motivating factors of online higher education students who have a learning disability during the COVID-19 pandemic. The theoretical foundation was Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Data were gathered through 10 semistructured interviews and then analyzed through the thematic analysis yielding five themes: (a) lack of professional support, (b) resources, (c) support system, (d) consistent motivation, and (e) low …

What Is Your Why? A Qualitative Study About Motivational Differences Of Latinos/Hispanics And African American/Black In A Computerized Cognitive Training Program To Prevent Alzheimer’S Disease, Lizbeth C. Vera Murillo

UNF Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Recruitment of diverse populations is a major barrier in advancing clinical research (Areán & Gallagher-Thompson, 1993; Areán & Alvidrez, 2003). The need to increase racial diversity is imperative due to the substantial growth of historically marginalized racial communities in the United States (Weinstein et al., 2017). Despite researchers’ efforts to increase racial/ethnic representation in clinical trials, there is still a lack of understanding of the best practices to recruit racial/ethnic minorities in clinical trials. The current study explores the qualitative motivations of why research participants (aged 65+ years old) volunteered for an Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) prevention clinical trial. Racial/ethnic differences …

An Analysis Of Most Important Values Among Low-Income, High-Ability Middle School Students, Jennifer Riedl Cross

SENG Journal: Exploring the Psychology of Giftedness

Value orientations, based on Schwartz’s theory of human values, were collected from low-income, high-ability middle school students (N = 215; 87.4% Black, Hispanic, or Mixed) through a values affirmation activity in the 7^th and again in the 8^th grade. Students ranked “Being successful” highest in 7^th grade, “Being safe and secure” highest in 8^thgrade. Most important values in the Conservation and Self-Transcendent quadrants predominated and were most stable from 7^th to 8^th grade. Analysis of essays on their most important values identified the significance of Others in their lives, including the desire …

Inter-Relationships Among Several Person-Related Attributes In Reading And Metacomprehension: Complexity And Educational Implications, Lin-Miao L. Agler, Larisa K. Alfsen

Journal of Educational Research and Practice

Reading is one of the most basic academic skills. An accurate monitor of one’s text comprehension (i.e., metacomprehension) is essential for effective reading as it guides learning and choices of appropriate strategy used to maximize overall understanding. The processes of reading comprehension and metacomprehension are affected by text-related, task-related, and reader- /person-related factors. One of the two purposes of this report is to provide a brief review of consistent research findings on the interrelationships among several person-related variables and the complexity of those associations in reading and metacomprehension. The person variables discussed include personality, motivation, goal orientations, self-regulation, reading strategy …

The Role Of Hardiness And Autonomy Support On College Student Engagement, Kevin Douglas Cherry

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

The gap between college student enrollment and graduation rates remains a problem for college students and administrators. Literature on persistence in college suggests that factors such as hardiness and autonomy support may contribute to student perseverance through degree attainment. The current study focused on these constructs using a framework based on self-determination theory (SDT; Ryan & Deci, 1985). Factors related to student persistence, namely hardiness and autonomy support, were expected to positively predict college student engagement. Furthermore, hardiness was expected to moderate the relationship between autonomy support and college student engagement. College students from a university and a community college …

Covid-19 And Procrastination: The Struggle To Stay Motivated In A Pandemic, Singapore Management University

Social Space

COVID-19 has led to the cancellation of countless internships, travel plans, summer jobs, music concerts and festivals, graduations, conferences, you name it. Fixed deadlines have become fluid, and both short-term and long-term goals are presently at the mercy of something far beyond our control. In the face of a global pandemic, we may find ourselves wondering, “Why bother planning for anything anyway?" Yet this very mindset is the crux of the coronavirus procrastination problem, says CHARDONNAY NEEDLER.

The Relationship Between Gender Role Conflict And Academic Progress Comparing Division Ii Male Student-Athletes To Male Non-Student-Athletes, Andrew Schroeder

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Capstones

Data shows that there is a lack of progress in male graduation rates in recent decades in higher education (Diprete & Buchmann, 2013). This study examines the impact of gender role conflict and academic motivation on academic progress with first and second year Division II male student-athletes and male non-student-athletes at a Midwestern, Carnegie classified master’s college and university (larger program institution). Gender role conflict creates a narrow definition for masculinity in which males are expected to behave (O’Neil, 1981). Using general linear regression and binary logistic regression models, the researcher analyzed data of participants’ (N = 116; N …

David And Goliath, Jacob Thorpe

Marriott Student Review

Book review of David and Goliath by Malcolm Gladwell.

A Collaborative Approach To Address Student Behavior And Academic Achievement Across Systems, Beverly Ngozi Okereke

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

Academic achievement and in-classroom behaviors are two significant child outcomes that affect student success in school. According to Systems Theory, in order to truly understand the factors that affect these outcomes for children, one must look to the major systems that encapsulate the child (including their school and home environments). This project is a meta-analytic review that examined the effectiveness of measures representing each system in predicting child achievement and behavior: School-Wide Positive Behavior Supports (SWPBS) for the school as a system, level of parent involvement (high versus low) for the home system, and student motivation (intrinsic versus extrinsic) for …

Family Communication Motivating Athletics Over Generations: A Mixed Method Expansion Of Self-Determination Theory, Elizabeth Hanson Smith

Dissertations

Mixed methods were utilized to test the communication within a model of self-determination (Deci & Ryan, 1985) in a multi-generational sports framework in order to argue for an update to self-determination theory (SDT) that includes a communication element. Fourteen qualitative research questions were posed to examine how communication functioned to move tennis players, golfers, and runners from the initial family influence in participating, to integrating family values to the extent that participants modeled athletic values to offspring and community members. Three hypotheses correlating the variables of self-efficacy, autonomy-controlling and autonomy-supportive family communication supported the argument that communication functioned to develop …

Sources Of Self-Efficacy Information For Writing: A Qualitative Inquiry, Mary E. Holmes

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This study explored the sources of information that inform students’ self-efficacy beliefs in the area of writing. A qualitative phenomenological case study approach was use to capture the experiences of gifted middle school students.

Writing is a critical skill for success in school and beyond, and many students in the United States are not able to adequately write extended texts (Bruning & Horn, 2000; National Center for Education Statistics, 2012). Understanding students’ motivation for engaging with writing might provide insight into how to better support students’ experience with writing in school. Self-efficacy is a key construct within motivation, and it …

Motivational Effects Of Non-Contingent Reinforcement In Children, Alexandra S. Leaskas

Departmental Honors Projects

Non-contingent reinforcement is random and non-informative feedback. Berglas and Jones (1978) first reported that non-contingent reinforcement leads to self-handicapping in adult males. Self-handicapping can be described as a premeditated adaptive behavior that protects against negative attributions to the self after failure. The purpose of this study is to explore whether or not the same effect will be found in children of both sexes. Participants (children in first and second grade) received contingent (informative) or non-contingent (non-informative) reinforcement while playing the children’s game “I Never Forget a Face.” Children were given the opportunity to self-handicap immediately after reinforcement. After the opportunity …

Resilience In School, Milka Ndura

Master's Capstone Projects

This study explores the factors that motivate students to perform well in the national examination at their basic primary education level despite the unlikely environment to support this success in Kibera slums, Kenya. In the current situation in Kenya, national examinations are used as a basis of distributing the fewer than students slots in secondary school, despite the different circumstances facing each candidate, passing of the Kenya Certificate of Primary Education is still an important factor that determines a child’s eligibility to attend secondary school. Students enrolled in Kenyan primary school system take the same national exams regardless of the …

Life Factors And Attendance Rates For Women Enrolled In A Parenting Program, Lilia Elizabeth Mucka

Wayne State University Theses

Parenting interventions consistently have been shown to improve positive parenting effectiveness, child adjustment, and family functioning (Gardner et al., 2010). However, attendance rates reported in the literature tend to be low and dropout rates tend to be high, which likely diminishes the positive impact of such programs (Dumas et al., 2007). Parenting group success begins with attendance, therefore, the study aimed to understand which life factors were associated with attendance. Specifically, the study both qualitatively and quantitatively evaluated parents' responses to a brief intervention using MI techniques by using a coding system developed by the author to understand maternal expectations …

Creating A Learning Environment To Increase Early Adolescent Motivation: A Dissertation, Mark Logan

Educational Studies Dissertations

This study focuses on early adolescent motivation in school. It is an inquiry that seeks to understand the factors that contribute to students’ engagement in their learning through student and teacher perceptions. I examined significant research often cited as impacting motivation, including early adolescent development, middle school structures, transitions, student/teacher relationships, and parental involvement. I surveyed 345 sixth grade students on their perceptions of their own learning, thoughts, and behaviors. Participating students attended schools with various middle school age configurations, including K-8, K-12, 5-8, and 6-8. Schools represented public and charter public schools and were located in urban, suburban, and …

Exploring The Complexities Of Learning Motivation In Pre-Service Teacher Education Students: A Grounded Theory Approach, Kristin K. Grosskopf

College of Education and Human Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research

This qualitative, grounded-theory study investigated learning motivation differences among three achievement groupings of undergraduate students enrolled in the College of Education and Human Sciences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Nine students participated in in-depth interviews that explored their reasons for pursuing their degree, their learning experiences in a university setting, their perceptions about meaningful learning experiences, and the nature of factors that both enhance and challenge their learning motivation. Participant responses conveyed strategies and conditions that were coded and analyzed, and a theoretical model was developed describing causal conditions that underlie students’ motivation to learn, phenomena that arose from those …