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BackgroundAlthough physical activity can mitigate disease trajectories and improve and sustain mental health, many people have become less physically active during the COVID-19 pandemic. Personal information technology, such as activity trackers and chatbots, can technically converse with people and possibly enhance their autonomous motivation to engage in physical activity. The literature on behavior change techniques (BCTs) and self-determination theory (SDT) contains promising insights that can be leveraged in the design of these technologies; however, it remains unclear how this can be achieved. ObjectiveThis study aimed to evaluate the feasibility of a chatbot system that improves the user’s autonomous motivation for walking based on BCTs and SDT. First, we aimed to develop and evaluate various versions of a chatbot system based on promising BCTs. Second, we aimed to evaluate whether the use of the system improves the autonomous motivation for walking and the associated factors of need satisfaction. Third, we explored the support for the theoretical mechanism and effectiveness of various BCT implementations. MethodsWe developed a chatbot system using the mobile apps Telegram (Telegram Messenger Inc) and Google Fit (Google LLC). We implemented 12 versions of this system, which differed in 3 BCTs: goal setting, experimenting, and action planning. We then conducted a feasibility study with 102 participants who used this system over the course of 3 weeks, by conversing with a chatbot and completing questionnaires, capturing their perceived app support, need satisfaction, physical activity levels, and motivation. ResultsThe use of the chatbot systems was satisfactory, and on average, its users reported increases in autonomous motivation for walking. The dropout rate was low. Although approximately half of the participants indicated that they would have preferred to interact with a human instead of the chatbot, 46.1% (47/102) of the participants stated that the chatbot helped them become more active, and 42.2% (43/102) of the participants decided to continue using the chatbot for an additional week. Furthermore, the majority thought that a more advanced chatbot could be very helpful. The motivation was associated with the satisfaction of the needs of competence and autonomy, and need satisfaction, in turn, was associated with the perceived system support, providing support for SDT underpinnings. However, no substantial differences were found across different BCT implementations. ConclusionsThe results provide evidence that chatbot systems are a feasible means to increase autonomous motivation for physical activity. We found support for SDT as a basis for the design, laying a foundation for larger studies to confirm the effectiveness of the selected BCTs within chatbot systems, explore a wider range of BCTs, and help the development of guidelines for the design of interactive technology that helps users achieve long-term health benefits.

It is well established that the number of males studying psychology in the UK, both at A-level and on degree courses, is disproportionately low compared to females. There is a paucity of research, however, which discusses how psychology is viewed by this group. The present study employed focus groups with 35 pre-tertiary males (some of whom were studying psychology and some of whom were not) to discuss their perceptions of the discipline in terms of its scientific status and gendered associations with females. A thematic analysis revealed that participants positioned psychology as 'a sort' of science, with a diverse subject base, much of which was not considered appropriate or relevant for males to study. The implications of this are discussed in terms of the inherent challenges it reveals in attracting men to study psychology, debating what could be done to make the discipline more appealing to males.

In this contribution to the Widening Participation Special Issue of Psychology Teaching Review we consider our experiences in education as people who can't spell using an auto-ethnographic methodology (Sparkes, 2007), specifically, evocative auto-ethnography (Anderson, 2006) and guided by a social constructionist approach to identity (Burr, 1995). We consider how we have become the people we are through the ways others have responded to the Dyslexic or Dyslexic type aspects of ourselves. We start with Paul ruminating about life in education as a terrible speller. We then move on to explore Stella's experiences as a Dyslexic student and on into the early days of her academic career. We finish conversationally by questioning each other about the significance of our experiences and their implications both for education and the social construction of identity. The overall aim of this article is to ask teachers who are intolerant of poor spellers to take a more supportive approach, mindful of the impact they can have. We also seek to support University students who suffer at the hands of their teachers and important others on account of their Dyslexic type symptoms. The students will know who they are as they will have been labelled so many times but we do worry that the teachers may not be able to identify themselves, such are the power relations inherent in the social construction of identity (Phoenix, 2007). (Contains 2 figures.)

Using published findings and by further analyses of existing data, the structure, validity and utility of the Academic Behavioural Confidence scale (ABC) is critically considered. Validity is primarily assessed through the scale's relationship with other existing scales as well as by looking for predicted differences. The utility of the ABC scale is demonstrated through its ability to discriminate between undergraduate students on different courses; between dyslexic and non dyslexic undergraduate students; undergraduate students in different countries and undergraduate students of different sex. Changes in ABC over time are considered and linked to an over-confidence bias in students in higher education. Finally, it is suggested that the ABC scale and a related measure, the Performance Expectation Ladder can identify and help teachers in higher education understand students with low academic confidence who need supporting. (Contains 2 figures.)

This three-year longitudinal study explored the approach to study and academic performance of a group of male psychology undergraduates. In induction week, 112 new psychology students completed the survey. Later in the year, some of the males were interviewed in small groups. Performance was measured from marks at the end of Years 1 and 3. In Year 1, compared with their female contemporaries, male respondents had higher self-esteem (p less than 0.01), expected higher marks (p less than 0.001) and anticipated performing better than their peers (p less than 0.05). In interviews, males described themselves as being less motivated and less organised than females, but did not consider this a problem. The only difference in marks showed males doing worse in coursework at Year 1 (p less than 0.05). However, significantly more males failed to complete the course. These findings are set in the context of concerns about under achievement of males and discussed in relation to research into transition to university. (Contains 5 tables.)

Introduction: The objective of this research study was to establish interdependence relationships between cognitive learning strategies, motivational strategies toward study and academic stress, as variables of the Competency Model for Studying, Learning and Performing under Stress (SLPS), in a group of professional examination candidates. Method: Participating were a total of 179 candidates who sought to obtain posts as primary school teachers. The variables were measured using previously validated self-reports. The study design was linear ex post-facto, with inferential analyses (ANOVAs and MANOVAs). Results: The results showed very significant, positive interdependence relationships between cognitive learning strategies and motivational strategies toward study. In addition, very significant, negative relationships were found between motivational strategies toward study and academic stress. However, direct interdependence relationships did not appear between cognitive learning strategies and academic stress. Discussion: These results show that subjects with a high level of cognitive learning strategies used more motivational strategies toward study than subjects with a medium level, and these in turn used more motivational strategies than subjects with a low level. Moreover, they also show that subjects high in motivational strategies toward study suffered less academic stress than the medium and low subjects in this variable. Consequently, the results suggest that these variables are interrelated, and that both cognitive and motivational strategies can be worked on, not only as support for study, but also as prevention of academic stress and its negative effects, especially in highly stress-prone contexts.

This paper draws on the psychological theories of self-efficacy and the self-concept to understand students' self-confidence in academic study in higher education as measured by the Academic Behavioural Confidence scale (ABC). In doing this, expectancy-value theory and self-efficacy theory are considered and contrasted with self-concept and self-esteem. Particular emphasis is placed on the social environment in which students are studying, supported by psychological research from social comparison theory, frames of reference and discourse communities. Against this background, the ABC scale is compared and contrasted with self-efficacy and self-concept measures. It is argued that the ABC scale bridges the gap between these two approaches. In conclusion, it is suggested that the ABC scale can be used to gain a better understanding of students' confidence in themselves as learners, making it a useful survey tool in pedagogical research and practice. (Contains 1 table and 1 footnote.)

Introduction: Research has shown that students do not like student presentations, yet a case can be made for them. This study seeks to understand the effects that presentations have on students. Method: Within an action research framework, two repeated-measures studies were completed, one with students undertaking assessed presentations the other with those doing non-assessed presentations. Respondents completed both measures of the Views on Teaching, Learning and Assessment questionnaire (VTLA, derived from Sander et al., 2000) at the start and at the end of each study. All respondents completed the Academic Behavioural Confidence scale (ABC, Sander & Sanders 2003) at the start of each study but its second measurement was taken when only part of each cohort had undertaken a presentation. Results: In the assessed presentation study, students who had done their presentations showed an overall increase in ABC, (p less than 0.05) indicating improved confidence. No such increase was found after the non-assessed presentation. In both studies, students showed significant increases in their responses to items on the ABC that related to public speaking, (p less than 0.05). The VTLA revealed that experiencing presentations as a teaching method can help students feel more positive about them and able to acknowledge benefits of presenting than they did prior to this experience. It also confirmed that students find presentations daunting and some have some concerns about learning from peers. Discussion: The different responses in the two studies may have been influenced by the way that presentations were integrated into modules at different levels. However, it would seem that the experience of presentations might raise student confidence in their own abilities although it is less likely to change their views of the prospect of presenting. (Contains 9 tables.)

Previous research has shown that university students, when asked to rank different methods of learning and assessment tend to rate student presentations unfavorably. There are though, sound reasons for constructing learning situations around student presentations, resulting in presentations being an integral part of our psychology degree over the last ten years. However, the course has experienced a considerable rise in the number of students during the same period, making it much harder to create meaningful opportunities for student presentations. In spite of this growth, the team considered ways in which presentations can remain within the course and systematically evaluated their effectiveness. Whilst data show that students may find the experience stressful and that they have some concerns about the quality of their learning, these concerns, we believe are more than outweighed by the advantages, which are discussed at length. Students' retrospective reflections on courses that have been designed around student presentations give a much more favorable view of this learning method than that given through hypothetical ratings. (Contains 6 tables.)

Mesozoic marine reptiles and modern marine mammals are often considered ecological analogs, but the extent of their similarity is largely unknown. Particularly important is the presence/absence of deep-diving suction feeders among Mesozoic marine reptiles because this would indicate the establishment of mesopelagic cephalopod and fish communities in the Mesozoic. A recent study suggested that diverse suction feeders, resembling the extant beaked whales, evolved among ichthyosaurs in the Triassic. However, this hypothesis has not been tested quantitatively. We examined four osteological features of jawed vertebrates that are closely linked to the mechanism of suction feeding, namely hyoid corpus ossification/calcification, hyobranchial apparatus robustness, mandibular bluntness, and mandibular pressure concentration index. Measurements were taken from 18 species of Triassic and Early Jurassic ichthyosaurs, including the presumed suction feeders. Statistical comparisons with extant sharks and marine mammals of known diets suggest that ichthyosaurian hyobranchial bones are significantly more slender than in suction-feeding sharks or cetaceans but similar to those of ram-feeding sharks. Most importantly, an ossified hyoid corpus to which hyoid retractor muscles attach is unknown in all but one ichthyosaur, whereas a strong integration of the ossified corpus and cornua of the hyobranchial apparatus has been identified in the literature as an important feature of suction feeders. Also, ichthyosaurian mandibles do not narrow rapidly to allow high suction pressure concentration within the oral cavity, unlike in beaked whales or sperm whales. In conclusion, it is most likely that Triassic and Early Jurassic ichthyosaurs were 'ram-feeders', without any beaked-whale-like suction feeder among them. When combined with the inferred inability for dim-light vision in relevant Triassic ichthyosaurs, the fossil record of ichthyosaurs does not suggest the establishment of modern-style mesopelagic animal communities in the Triassic. This new interpretation matches the fossil record of coleoids, which indicates the absence of soft-bodied deepwater species in the Triassic.

Introduction: The 3P and DEDEPRO Models predict interactive relationships among "presage," "process," and "product" variables through teaching and learning of self-regulation. The DEDEPRO Model has established different possibilities for interaction between student characteristics of self-regulation and external characteristics of regulatory teaching. The aim of this investigation is empirical validate the model of four interaction types. Method: The sample included 765 undergraduate students from two universities in the south of Spain. Using an ex post-facto design, the date collection was obtained from three validated instruments: Self-regulation scale (SRQ), the Scales for Assessment of the Teaching-Learning Process (ATLP-S) and the Academic Behaviour Confidence (ABC) scales at two different points in time. Academic performance was evaluated through the final grade for each subject area. Multivariate Analyses were used and from Structural Equation Modelling was used to explore possible causal relationships. Results: Results offer evidence for a consistent, four-fold interaction typology and empirical causal model, thus giving significant confirmation of the proposed rational model. As predicted, the most significant of these interactions was the student's self-regulation with regulatory instruction. Conclusion: The best type of interaction is high personal self-regulation with a highly regulated teaching-learning process, yielding high performance and academic confidence.

Introduction: Research with the Academic Behavioural Confidence scale using European students has shown that students have high levels of confidence in their academic abilities. It is generally accepted that people in more collectivist cultures have more realistic confidence levels in contrast to the overconfidence seen in individualistic European and North American countries. This research was designed to see if the more realistic confidence level in collectivist countries would be mirrored in Mexican students' academic confidence scores. Method: The Academic Behavioural Confidence scale was validated in the Mexican university system with a sample of 97 undergraduates at a large autonomous university and the findings contrasted with pre-existing data from 2685 European students. Results: The results suggest that a reduced 14 item scale comprising the same 4 subscales, Grades, Studying, Verbalising and Attendance is the statistically preferable model for both the Mexican and European data. Using the mean confidence levels for the modified subscales, it was found that the Mexican psychology students had significantly higher Grades and Verbalising confidences than their European counterparts. Discussion and Conclusion: This contra-prediction finding is considered against the literature from cultural and cross cultural psychology which suggests that people in Collectivist cultures like Mexico have more connected attitudes to their lives and thus would show lower but more realistic self-confidence. Further research to establish the cross cultural validity of the ABC scale is discussed. (Contains 3 tables, 1 figure and 2 footnotes.)

Introduction: The main goal of this study is to evaluate the psychometric and assessment features of the Scale for the "Assessment of the Teaching-Learning Process, Student Version" (ATLP-S), for both practical and theoretical reasons. From an applied point of view, this self-report measurement instrument has been designed to encourage student participation in the daily assessment of how the teaching-learning process occurs. From a theoretical point of view, this 30-item scale was initially developed with rational criteria, inspired by the most common curriculum models; in addition, we propose to empirically validate the instrument. Method: A total sample of 1250 Spanish university students and 275 university students from the UK participated in the assessment. The analyses made to assess its reliability, internal validity (exploratory and confirmatory factorial analysis), and external validity (correlations and MANOVAs). Results and Discussion: We can be considered adequate and have proved to be powerful enough to define relations with other variables--learning approach, or teaching and learning experiences--in the sample with Spanish and UK versions of the instruments. (Contains 8 tables and 2 figures.)

Introduction: The current panorama of Higher Education reveals a need to improve teaching and learning processes taking place there. The rise of the information society transforms how we organize learning and transmit knowledge. On this account, teaching-learning processes must be enhanced, the role of teachers and students must be evaluated, and new ICT methodologies must be tried out. The DEDEPRO[R] model makes significant methodological and technological contributions toward this end. Method: A total of 728 male and female students and their teachers, from the Universities of Almeria, Granada (Spain) and UWIC, Cardiff (UK) participated in this educational experience. A quasi-experimental type design was used, with a non-equivalent control group. The ETL Questionnaire (Housell, Entwistle & colls, 2001) and IATLP Scales (De la Fuente & Martinez, 2004) were used for evaluation. The intervention made use of the DEDEPRO methodology and web utilities TLPA (De la Fuente & Trujillo, 2005) and Pleyade (De la Fuente & Martinez, 2004), both derived from this model. Results: Multivariate analyses showed in both questionnaires a significant interaction effect towards improvement of "Group x Time," both with respect to regulated teaching (professor) and self-regulated learning (students). Discussion: Usefulness of the methodology and web tools drawn from the DEDEPROTM Model is discussed, as well as possibilities for generalization. (Contains 3 tables and 6 figures.)

Introduction. Sander, Stevenson, King and Coates (2000) identified differences between medical students in a conventional university and psychology students in a post-1992 university in their responses to different styles of learning and teaching. Method. It had been hypothesised that differing levels of confidence explained why the former felt student presentations would teach them little while the response of the latter was based on fear of presenting. The study reported here investigated differing levels of academic confidence in these two groups using a scale designed to measure Academic Behavioural Confidence (ABC). Results. There was a significant difference between the ABC scores for the two groups (p less than 0.05) in line with the prediction. Further examination of data showed that the ABC scores of the medical students as a group were more varied than those of the psychologists whilst the latter showed more variation across the elements of the scale. Proposals for the further development and deployment of the scale are considered. Conclusion: This study suggests that these two groups come to university very differently prepared for meet the demands of higher education. (Contains 2 tables, 2 figures, and 1 footnote.)

Introduction: This paper reports a preliminary study into the commitment and academic confidence of male students in undergraduate psychology, prompted by our own observations of the performance of male students and the literature on sex differences in education. Method: Using an analytical survey, level 1 psychology students at a new university in South Wales, UK, were asked to complete the Academic Behavioural Confidence scale (Sander and Sanders, 2003) and a second scale, You And Your University Study, designed specifically for this investigation. The findings from a selective sample (n=72), with male students outnumbered 1:6 by the female students, are presented. Results: The data show that when asked to rate the importance of the academic studies and the non-academic side of university life, the male students tended to give lower ratings to their studies than to the non-academic side, whereas the reverse was the case for the female students. Some students, particularly female students, who did rate the non-academic side of university life as the more important reported the need to build a strong and secure social network to support them through their studies. No differences in overall academic confidence were found, contrary to predictions, although there were some individual statement differences. Conclusion: The data suggest that male students may be at a disadvantage through their attitude or approach to their academic studies, compounding the problems of being in a minority. Further research is being done to explore these preliminary findings. (Contains 4 tables.)