Dissertation dish: Self-regulation and college achievement

A small and select sample....but interesting findings, particularly as they relate to the domain of self-regulation in the Model of Academic Competence and Motivation (MACM) in the Beyond IQ project

Research also related to recent special issue of Educational Psychology Review on self-regulation

The relationship of self-regulation and academic achievement in college students with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: A brain-behavior perspective by Chang, Wen-Pin, Ph.D., Colorado State University, 2008, 218 pages; AAT 3332741
Abstract (Summary)

• Abstract: The main purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the relationships among three constructs: (a) the underlying executive processes of self-regulation, (b) self-regulation behaviors, and (c) academic achievement in college students with and without ADHD.

• Thirty-two adult college students (16 males and 16 females) between the age of 18 and 30 years (mean = 23.68 ± 3.65) who reported no known disorders participated in this study. Thirty-six adult college students (18 males and 18 females) between the age of 18 and 30 years (mean = 23.69 ± 3.73) who had been diagnosed with ADHD also participated in this study. All participants had an estimated IQ above 96 measured by the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence (WASI). They also filled out the Conners Adult ADHD Rating Scale (CAARS) and the Adult Self-Report (ASR) to confirm their current ADHD symptoms and other comorbid problems. The participants performed three event-related potential (ERP) tasks; i.e., the Posner cue attention task, visual letter flanker task, and go/no-go task during electroencephalogram (EEG) recordings. They also filled out several self-repot questionnaires; i.e., the Adult Temperament Questionnaire (ATQ), Behavioral Rating Inventory of Executive Function - Adult Version (BRIEF-A), Self-Regulation Scale (SRS), and Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ). The participants were also given the Woodcock Johnson III - Tests of Achievement Form C/Brief Battery (WJ III Brief Battery).

• The results revealed that (a) for control students, the ERP components accounted for 36.6% of the variance of the letter-word identification score, 37.4% of the variance of the spelling score, 63.9% of the variance of the calculation score and 59.6% of the variance of the academic skill score, and (b) for students with ADHD, the ERP components accounted for 38.3% of the variance of the spelling score, and 31% of the variance of the academic skill score.

• In conclusion, the results of this study supported that there is a relationship between self-regulation and academic achievement in college students with and without ADHD. The ERP components, representative of the executive processes of self-regulation, accounted for a significant amount of the variance in performance on academic achievement tests.

Technorati Tags: psychology, school psychology, educational psychology, neuropsychology, education, special education, self-regulation, self-regulated learning, conative, motivation, executive function, MACM, Beyond IQ

Confidence and IQ test performance: iAbstract

Trying a new mobile blogging feature today-- the iAbstract

Below is an image of most of the abstract from an article in the
latest edition of the Journal of Educational Psychology. I read these
from the Bloglines RSS feed on my iPhone and can immediately capture
the image and then instantly email it to my blog. It saves me a ton of
time and allows me make use of small moments of down time--right now
my morning coffee.

DOUBLE CLICK on image to enlarge. If anyone wants to review the
article in exchange for a guest blog post at IQs Corner, contact me
and I'll get a PDF of the article to you.

Feedback on this feature is welcomed.

Beyond IQ: Social emotional learning and Beyond IQ project

The other day SharpBrains had a post on the importance of social-emotional learning in school learning. This post is consistent with the thrust of the Beyond IQ (A model of academic competence and motivation) project I've previously posted. Clearly there is more to intelligent "performance" than just intelligence.

psychology, educational psychology, school psychology, neuropsychology, social emotional learning, CASEL, Beyond IQ, MACM, conative, IQ, intelligence,

IQ Research bytes # 3: Reading fluency and writing dispositions

A couple of interesting articles related to school learning in reading and writing.

First, there has been much recent interest (in the area of LD eligibility) in reading fluency. The following article identifies three different types of fluency....fluency at the word level, at the semantic level of phrases and sentences, and at the level of paragraph text comprehension. All three were found to be related to reading comprehension.

Klauda. S. & Guthrie, J. Relationships of Three Components of Reading Fluency to Reading Comprehension. Journal of Educational Psychology, 100 (2), 310–321 (click to view)

• Abstract: This study examined the relationships of 3 levels of reading fluency—the individual word, the syntactic unit, and the whole passage—to reading comprehension among 278 5th graders heterogeneous in reading ability. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that reading fluency at each level related uniquely to performance on a standardized reading comprehension test in a model including inferencing skill and background knowledge. The study supports an automaticity effect for word recognition speed and an automaticity-like effect related to syntactic processing skill. In addition, hierarchical regressions using longitudinal data suggest that fluency and reading comprehension have a bidirectional relationship. The discussion emphasizes the theoretical expansion of reading fluency to 3 levels of cognitive processes and the relations of these processes to reading comprehension.

Second, as I've written before, I have a strong belief in the importance of conative variables in school learning. I've outlined a suggested model (MACM - Model of Academic Competence)of such factors in the "Beyond IQ Project" . The following article touches on some of these variables in the development of a writing dispositions scale. As per the MACM model, I would consider the factors the authors identified as being similar to domains in the MACM model (persistence in writing = academic motivation; confidence in writing = academic self-efficacy and ability conception; passion toward writing = intrinsic motivation and academic interests/attitudes). An important finding from this study is that it is possible to develop empirical measures of MACM constructs.

Piazza, C. & Siebert, C. (2008). Development and Validation of a Writing Dispositions Scale for Elementary and Middle School Students. Journal of Educational Research, 101 (5), 275-285. (click to view)

• Abstract: The authors report the development and validationof the Writing Dispositions Scale (WDS), a self-report instrument for measuring affective stances toward writing. The authors collected survey data from 854 elementary and middle school students and randomly split the data to facilitate both an exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The findings of the EFA demonstrated that an 11-item WDS has desirable internal and content reliability and discriminant validity. The CFA supported the item selection of the EFA and demonstrated excellent factorial validity and reliability. The analyses confirmed that writing dispositions are related to 3 affective stances: confidence, persistence, and passion toward writing.

Is it possible to be too smart?

Is it possible that too much (high) fluid intelligence (Gf) can be detrimental to some forms of cognitive performance? Possibly, according to Shamosh and Gray's (2007) article "The relation between fluid intelligence and resource depletion" published in Cognition and Emotion. Although a small and select sample (the ubiquitous sample of undergraduate students), this study suggested the possibility that individuals with higher Gf may "deplete" their self-regulation resources more than individuals with lower Gf. Maybe this is why people who engage in strenuous cognitive performance over time often end up feeling drained...and in need of a break. At least this is going to give me a valid excuse when I feel I simply can't copy anymore after "thinking too hard."

• Abstract: Self-regulation depends on a limited resource that can be depleted temporarily, but little is known about how this resource relates to individual differences in cognitive ability. We investigated whether self-regulatory depletion would vary with individual differences in fluid intelligence (gF), a stable index of cognitive ability with ties to executive function. Participants performed an emotion regulation task varying in self-regulatory demand, followed by the Multi-Source Interference Task to assess depletion. On a separate day, participants completed Raven’s Advanced Progressive Matrices to assess gF. Emotion suppression led to impairment on the interference task, indicating self-regulatory depletion. Critically, higher gF was associated with greater depletion. Controlling for variables reflecting susceptibility to task demands and trait motivation did not influence this effect. The results have implications for theories of the relation between self-regulatory and cognitive abilities, and the mechanisms supporting the control of behaviour.

Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, school psychology, neuropsychology, fluid intelligence, Gf, intelliigence, IQ, IQ scores, IQ tests, self-regulation.executive function

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Definitions of various self constructs

Thanks to Affective Teaching for the brief defitions of self-esteem, self-efficacy, self-confidence, and self-concept.


Technorati Tags: psychology, educational psychology, school psychology, education, self-efficacy, self-concept, self-confidence, self-esteem, edcuation, conative, aptitude

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