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This research pioneered the investigation of the statistically predictive power of academics' research agendas for their organizational commitment--beyond age, gender, academic rank, and academic discipline. Three hundred and thirty-two academics from nine research-oriented comprehensive universities in Zhejiang province and Shanghai, mainland China, responded to the "Multi-Dimensional Research Agendas Inventory-12 Items" (MDRAI-12) and the "Organizational Commitment Inventory." Three main findings were obtained. First, the MDRAI-12 was confirmed to be a valid and reliable instrument for assessing the research agendas of academics in mainland China. Second, both academics' research agendas and their organizational commitment varied as a function of demographics. Third and most importantly, when age, gender, academic rank, and academic discipline were put under control, three of the four trailblazing research agendas (scientific ambition, collaboration, and discovery) predicted the three adaptive organizational commitments (affective, normative, and ideal), whereas the two cohesive research agendas (convergence and conservative) chiefly contributed to the two maladaptive organizational commitments (economic and choice). These findings have shed new light on the literature concerning research agendas and that on organizational commitment. At the same time, the findings have practical implications for university academics and senior managers in their respective efforts to promote innovative research and adaptive organizational commitment among academics.

For more than a century, whether or not the research-teaching nexus exists has remained an intensely debated issue in the global academy at both the conceptual and empirical levels. Situating teaching styles within the context of teaching, conceptualizing research agendas as a dimension of research, and using academic self-efficacy as a mediator, the present study empirically investigated the research-teaching nexus. Participants were 256 academics in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields from all of the eight institutions funded by the University Grants Committee in Hong Kong. In the context of participating in the "Academic Profession in the Knowledge-based Society" (APIKS) international survey between late 2017 and early 2018, the participants responded to a short version of the Multi-Dimensional Research Agendas Inventory, a short version of the Research-Teaching Efficacy Inventory, and two scales from the Thinking Styles in Teaching Inventory. Results showed that academics' research agendas statistically predicted their teaching styles -- after age, gender, academic rank, and institutional ranking were considered. Furthermore, academic self-efficacy, especially research efficacy, provided a pathway from research agendas to one of the two teaching styles examined. Limitations and theoretical contributions of the research are discussed; and practical implications of the research findings are proposed for academics in STEM fields and for university senior managers.

This study's principal objective was to explore the statistically predictive power of academics' research agendas for their job dissatisfaction beyond demographics. Five hundred and forty-seven academics from the eight publicly funded universities in Hong Kong responded to the Multi-Dimensional Research Agenda Inventory-12 (MDRAI-12) and the Job Dissatisfaction Scale (JDS). Three key findings were obtained. First, good psychometrics for the MDRAI-12 and the JDS were obtained. Second, research agendas varied by age, gender, academic rank, and academic discipline, while job dissatisfaction varied by age, academic rank, and institutional ranking. Third and most importantly, when age, gender, academic rank, academic discipline, and institutional ranking were statistically controlled, trailblazing research agendas generally negatively contributed to job dissatisfaction, whereas a cohesive (conservative) research agenda positively predicted job dissatisfaction, as hypothesized. Implications of the findings are discussed for academics and university senior managers.

Four hundred and twelve secondary school students in Hong Kong responded to the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI), the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), and the Temporal Satisfaction with Life Scale (TSWLS) to examine the relationship between time perspective and subjective well-being. Past-Positive, Present-Hedonistic, and Future time perspectives predicted higher levels of subjective well-being, whereas Past-Negative and Present-Fatalistic time perspectives predicted lower levels of subjective well-being. Of the 412 students, 149 volunteered to take part in an intervention to optimise their time perspectives. After coarsened exact matching was applied, the results showed that the intervention optimised students' time perspective profile with a significant increase in Present-Hedonistic time perspective and reduction in Past-Negative and Present-Fatalistic time perspectives. It also led to a significant increase in positive affect, past and future life satisfaction for the students in the experimental group compared with those in the control group.

This study investigates the changeability of learning approaches via a longitudinal design (Study 1) and explores the factors that potentially influence the use of and change in learning approaches through a qualitative research method (Study 2) in a Chinese cultural context. In Study 1, 439 Chinese university students participated in the pre-test, and 352 of them also participated in the post-test 9 months later. The results of repeated measures MANOVA show that students' deep learning approach did not change, but they increasingly used surface learning approach during their studies. In Study 2, 26 students from Study 1 joined focus group interviews. The results of content analysis indicate that assessment requirements, quality of teachers, students' interests, and perceived peer influence affected learning approaches. These influences could also explain the differences in learning approaches based on academic disciplines and year of study. Theoretical and practical implications in education are discussed.

The principal objective of this research was to examine the relationships between thinking styles and time perspectives. Four hundred and fifty-one secondary school students from Hong Kong responded to the Thinking Styles Inventory-Revised II (TSI-R2) and the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI). Results showed that when gender, school year level, and age were taken into account, thinking styles significantly predicted time perspectives. Students possessing successful thinking styles (i.e. using a wide range of thinking styles, especially creativity-generating styles) tended to have the more desirable time perspectives. The optimal profile of a balanced time perspective was predicted positively by the hierarchical and external styles. Implications of the findings for secondary school students and educators are discussed.

This study explored factors that influence academics to collaborate in research with their doctoral students. It focused on Hong Kong academics, using data from the Academic Profession in Knowledge Society survey conducted in 2017-2018. The study found that academics' research collaboration with doctoral students is influenced by several factors, including research and teaching styles and institutional conditions. Specifically, those academics whose research agendas were characterised by "discovery" and "collaboration" were more likely to report working with their doctoral students, whereas those whose research agendas focused more on "convergence" were less likely to do so. The more "legislative" the academics' teaching style was, the less they collaborated with their doctoral students. Independence in research and institutional expectations of external funding increased the propensity to collaborate with doctoral students. Academics in the humanities were found to collaborate less with their doctoral students than those in other disciplines. The study suggests that the scholarly preference and styles of the academics, as well as their disciplinary and institutional backgrounds, need to be considered to improve research collaboration between academics and their doctoral students.

Introduction: The present research pioneered the effort in assessing adolescents' coping with visual impairment through adapting the Brief COPE in an eastern context. The first study preliminarily explored the applicability of the Brief COPE to Chinese adolescent students with visual impairments. Based on the results, the Brief COPE was modified and renamed, COPE-Revised. The second study tested the internal psychometric properties and the criterion-related validity of the COPE-Revised. Criterion-related validity was obtained through investigating the correlation between coping and self-esteem. Method: The first study involved 176 adolescent students with visual impairments, comprising a survey using the Brief COPE and follow-up interviews. In the second study, another cohort of 170 adolescent students with visual impairments responded to the COPE-Revised together with an inventory assessing self-esteem. Results: The COPE-Revised showed adequate psychometric properties. Three higher-order factors, namely self-directed, other-directed, and relinquished-control coping, were identified. The way in which self-esteem was correlated with these three dimensions of coping provided evidence for the criterion-related validity of the COPE-Revised. Discussion: The findings indicate that the COPE-Revised has sound psychometric properties among adolescents with visual impairments. Limitations regarding the sample-selection bias and the means of questionnaire survey among visually impaired adolescents are noted. Implications for practitioners: This research tailored a coping inventory for educators, counselors, and researchers who are interested in investigating adolescents' ability to cope with visual impairments. The relationship between coping with visual impairment and self-esteem found in this research has reference significance for educational and counseling services for visually impaired adolescents.

Whether or not styles are malleable is one of the major controversial issues in the field of intellectual styles. Taking thinking styles (one of the intellectual style constructs) as the theoretical basis, the present study aimed at clarifying the issue by examining the change of thinking styles over one year from multiple perspectives. Seven hundred and forty-three university students completed the same questionnaire assessing demographic factors and thinking styles twice with a one-year interval. Results revealed different levels of change and stability in thinking styles in terms of mean-level change, rank-order consistency, individual stability, and ipsative consistency. Research findings indicated that thinking styles are stable state, but still changeable. Implications of the research findings are discussed.

Much research has been conducted to investigate the impact of work environment on academics' job satisfaction. However, little is known about what contributes to academics' job dissatisfaction. Job satisfaction and job dissatisfaction are two distinct entities because a lack of job satisfaction cannot be simply equated with job dissatisfaction. This research investigated the mediating role of academic self-efficacy in the relationship between perceived work environment and job dissatisfaction. Participants were 547 academics from the 8 University Grants Committee-funded higher educational institutions in Hong Kong. Results show that academics' perceptions of their work environment (including their perceptions of institutional expectations regarding research, university governance and management, and working conditions) statistically predicted job dissatisfaction both directly and indirectly through academic self-efficacy in research and teaching, irrespective of age, gender, academic rank, institutional ranking, and primary academic discipline. The findings enrich the literature concerning perceived work environment, academic self-efficacy, and job dissatisfaction. At the same time, they establish a meaningful link among the fields of psychology, higher education, and career development and have practical implications for academics and university senior managers and, most likely, for senior leaders in other occupations.

This research pioneered the investigation of the statistically predictive power of academics' emotions in teaching for their organizational commitment--beyond age, academic rank, academic degree, sex, and taught academic discipline. Two hundred 22 academics from 13 higher educational institutions in Shanghai, mainland China, responded to a revised version of the Emotions in Teaching Inventory (Trigwell, 2009) and the Organizational Commitment Inventory (Ling, Fang, & Zhang, 2002). Results revealed that positive emotions in teaching primarily predicted the adaptive types of organizational commitment, including affective, normative, and ideal commitment, whereas negative emotions in teaching chiefly contributed to the maladaptive types of organizational commitment, including economic and choice commitment. These findings have brought new insights into the literature on emotions in teaching and that on organizational commitment. At the same time, the findings have practical implications for academics and university senior managers.

The main objective of the present study was to explore the role of the forces in the context external to the setting of a specific vocational setting (i.e., an academic major in a university) in the congruence-satisfaction relationship. Four hundred and fifty-three Chinese university students responded to the Career Personality Styles Inventory, the revised Contextual Supports and Barriers Scale, and the Academic Major Satisfaction Scale. Results indicated that the congruence between individual vocational interests and their academic majors (for brevity, congruence) and two types of external forces (external barriers and support from social relations) were significant predictors of students' satisfaction with their academic majors. In comparison, the predictive power of external forces for students' satisfaction with their academic majors was far beyond that of congruence. Moreover, external barriers were a marginally significant moderator in the relationship between congruence and satisfaction. Implications and limitations of the findings are discussed.

This research pioneered the investigation of the role of doctoral students' thinking styles in their program satisfaction and perceived intellectual competence. Participants were 285 STEM (science, technology, engineering, mathematics) students in Hong Kong. Results showed that students' thinking styles as measured by the Thinking Styles Inventory--Revised II (Sternberg, Wagner, & Zhang, 2007) statistically significantly predicted their program satisfaction and perceived intellectual competence as assessed by two of the scales in the newly constructed Graduate Student Survey (Shin et al., 2015)--beyond their gender, program year, and academic discipline. Findings have brought new insights into the assessment of doctoral students' program satisfaction and perceived intellectual competence. At the same time, findings have contributed to the literature on intellectual styles and that on doctoral education in STEM fields. Practical implications of the findings are proposed for STEM doctoral students in understanding their own ways of thinking and program experiences and outcomes, as well as for academics and senior managers in their efforts to enhance students' access to positive program experiences and outcomes.

The key purpose of this research was to investigate the mediating role of academics' self-efficacy in teaching and research (termed 'academic self-efficacy') in the relationship between emotions in teaching and teaching styles. Two hundred and thirty-two academics from 13 higher educational institutions in Shanghai, mainland China, responded to three self-report inventories, each assessing academics' emotions in teaching, efficacy in teaching and research, and teaching styles, respectively. Results showed that academics' emotions in teaching statistically predicted teaching styles, both directly and indirectly -- through academic self-efficacy. Findings have enriched the literature on emotions in teaching, that on teaching styles, and that on teacher/academic self-efficacy. Practical implications are proposed in relation to academics and university senior managers.

The article describes the development and validation of the Career Personality Styles Inventory (CPSI). The CPSI comprehensively assesses Holland's career personality styles with only 22 items. Based on a series of 3 studies, we found satisfactory internal consistency, factor structure, and criterion validities of the newly constructed CPSI.

The authors explored how thinking styles relate to quality of university life among deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) and hearing university students in mainland China. The first of two studies affirmed the validity and reliability of a modified version of the Quality of University Life Measure (QULM; Sirgy, Grezskowiak, & Rahtz, 2007) among 833 university students (366 DHH, 467 hearing). The second investigated relationships between thinking styles and quality of university life; the Thinking Styles Inventory--Revised II (Sternberg, Wagner, & Zhang, 2007) and modified QULM were administered to 542 students (256 DHH, 286 hearing). Students scoring higher on Type I styles (i.e., more creativity-generating, less structured, cognitively more complex) tended toward greater satisfaction with university life; those scoring higher on Type II (i.e., more norm-favoring, more structured, cognitively more simplistic) tended toward less satisfaction. Contributions, limitations, and implications of the research are discussed.

This study investigated the predictive power of thinking styles for academic stress coping. Participants were 563 (280 males, 275 females, 8 gender unspecified) secondary school students in grades 7 through 12 from mainland China. Thinking styles were measured using the Thinking Styles Inventory-Revised II which was based on the theory of mental self-government. Coping strategies were measured by the COPE-Revised, which was derived from Carver's COPE (1989). Results showed that thinking styles had statistically significant predictive power for academic stress-coping strategies beyond age and gender, largely in the expected directions. Theoretical implications for research on intellectual styles and coping are discussed; and some practical implications for school teachers and students are proposed.

This research investigated the statistical predictive power of organisational commitments for academics' teaching approaches. Participants were 268 academics working in six elite universities in Beijing, mainland China. Results showed that academics' organisational commitments as measured by the Organisational Commitment Inventory significantly predicted their teaching approaches as assessed by the Approaches to Teaching Inventory--beyond gender, age, taught academic discipline, academic rank and type of institution. Limitations and theoretical contributions of the study are noted; and practical implications of the findings are discussed in relation to academics and university senior managers.

This research aimed at identifying the statistically predictive relationship of personality traits to teaching approaches. The NEO Five-Factor Inventory and the Approaches to Teaching Inventory were administered to 268 academics from six elite universities in mainland China. Results showed that personality traits significantly contributed to teaching approaches beyond gender, type of institution, and taught academic discipline. Specifically, as expected, openness was beneficial to the conceptual-change teaching approach, whereas neuroticism was conducive to the information-transmission teaching approach. Furthermore, extraversion was related to the conceptual-change teaching approach, whereas agreeableness was associated with the information-transmission teaching approach. Implications of these findings are discussed with respect to academics and university senior managers.

To overcome the major weakness in the response format of the Defense Mechanisms Inventory and to use the information most relevant to the population concerned in the present study, an alternative form of the Defense Mechanisms Inventory (DMI-AF) was designed. The 80 Likert-scaled items in the inventory were tested among 385 university students in mainland China. Good psychometric data were obtained for the DMI-AF. Although no age difference was found in any of the defense styles, statistically significant differences were discovered in particular defense styles based on gender, academic discipline and social desirability. Both similarities and differences were identified between the present findings and the past findings obtained through using the 200-item Likert-scaled DMI and the 200-item forced-choice DMI. Limitations, significance and practical implications for university education are discussed.

This study explores how students' thinking styles are related to their university self-efficacy, by administering the Thinking Styles Inventory-Revised II and the University Self-Efficacy Scale to 366 deaf or hard-of-hearing (DHH) and 467 hearing university students in mainland China. Results showed that, among all participants, those with Type I styles (i.e., more creativity-generating, less structured, and cognitively more complex) had higher levels of university self-efficacy. At the same time, DHH students with Type II styles (i.e., more norm-favoring, more structured, and cognitively more simplistic) had lower levels of university self-efficacy. The contributions, limitations, and implications of the present research are discussed.

This research pioneered the investigation of the predictive power of organisational commitments for academics' teaching styles. Participants were 370 faculty members from 15 higher educational institutions in Beijing, the People's Republic of China. Results showed that academics' organisational commitments as measured by the Organisational Commitment Inventory statistically significantly predicted their teaching styles as assessed by the Thinking Styles in Teaching Inventory over and above their gender, age, taught academic discipline and academic rank. Practical implications of the findings are proposed for academics and for university senior managers.

This study investigated the extent to which learning approaches can be accounted for by personal factors (i.e., demographics, ability, and personality). The participants were 443 students in a university in mainland China. The Revised Two-factor Study Process Questionnaire, the NEO Five-Factor Inventory-3, and the short form of Raven's Advanced Progress Matrices were respectively applied to test students' learning approaches, personality, and ability. The results of correlations and structural equation modeling indicated that male students were more likely to be deep learners than female students; relative to Year-one students, Year-three students were more likely to use the surface learning approach and less likely to use the deep learning approach. Openness to experience and conscientiousness had strong positive effects on the deep learning approach. Neuroticism had positive effect, whereas conscientiousness had negative effect on the surface learning approach. Approximately 44 % of the variance in the deep learning approach and approximately 18 % of the variance in the surface learning approach could be explained by the three personal factors. Personality was the strongest predictor of learning approaches, whereas ability was the weakest predictor. The implications of the results were discussed.

For long, the research-teaching nexus has maintained the interest of the scholarly community. The present study introduced a process variable--teaching styles--into the investigation of the association between research and teaching. The study adopted a predominantly quantitative-driven, mixed research method design, with a questionnaire survey supplemented by insiders' views. Three hundred and fifty-four academics from 15 institutions in Beijing, P. R. China, responded to the "Thinking Styles in Teaching Inventory" and reported their research publications for 3 years. The quantitative findings suggested that after key demographics and contextual factors were controlled for, teaching styles were related to research productivity largely in the anticipated directions. Subsequently, four additional academics who met the criteria of possessing expertise in teaching styles and of having experiences as academics in China were invited to explain the quantitative findings concerning the relationships between specific teaching styles and particular types of publications. It was concluded that although the magnitude of the relationship between teaching and research is rather small, the research-teaching nexus does exist. Theoretical significance is discussed and practical implications of the findings are proposed for academics and for university senior managers.

This study explores how university students' thinking styles changed over a single academic year by twice administering the Thinking Styles Inventory-Revised II to 256 deaf or hard-of-hearing (DHH) students and 286 hearing students from art and design academic disciplines in China. Results showed that after having studied at the university for one academic year, hearing students showed increased use of Type I thinking styles (more creativity generated, less structured, and more complex) and less use of Type II thinking styles (more norm favoring, more structured, and more simplistic), whereas DHH students demonstrated increased use of both Type I and Type II thinking styles. Moreover, students' changes in thinking styles differed across university class levels. The contributions, limitations, and implications of the present research are discussed.

The present study examined the association between students' perceived general learning environment and their thinking styles (a specific term for "intellectual styles"). Seven hundred and fifty-two undergraduates in Shanghai responded to the Thinking Style Inventory-Revised II and the Inventory of Students' Perceived Learning Environment. Results indicated that students' perceived learning environment statistically predicted their thinking styles beyond gender, grade, major, and socio-economic status. Specifically, constructivist-oriented teaching, as well as peer morale and identities, were mainly associated with thinking styles that are characterised by cognitive complexity, nonconformity, autonomy and low degrees of structure (known as Type I styles), while clear goals and coherence of curricula mainly statistically predicted thinking styles that are characterised by cognitive simplicity, conformity, authority, and high degrees of structure (known as Type II styles). Student-student cooperation, the nature of assessment and assignments and learning facilities also statistically contributed to thinking styles to varying extents. The implications and limitations of the present findings are discussed.

The present study pioneered in adopting test accommodations to validate the Thinking Styles Inventory-Revised II (TSI-R2; Sternberg, Wagner, & Zhang, 2007) among Chinese university students with hearing impairment. A series of three studies were conducted that drew their samples from the same two universities, in which accommodating test directions (N = 213), combining test directions with language accommodations from students' perspectives (N = 366), and integrating test directions with language accommodations from teachers' perspectives (N = 129) were used. The accommodated TSI-R2 generally indicated acceptable internal scale reliabilities and factorial validity for Chinese university students with hearing loss. Limitations in relation to the study participants are discussed, as well as test accommodations and the significance and implications of the study.

Background: Intellectual style, an encompassing term for such constructs as learning style, teaching style, teaching approach, and thinking style, refers to one's preferred way of processing information. For the past several decades, whether or not there is a need for a match between teachers' teaching styles and students' learning styles has been the focal point for debate among researchers, educators, and the general public. Aims: The preliminary objective of this research was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Preferred Teaching Approach Inventory (PTAI). The research's primary objective was to re-examine the concept of "style match" through testing the predictive power of students' thinking styles for their preferred teaching approaches. Samples: Data were collected from two samples of university students, one each from Shanghai, mainland China ("N" = 236), and Hong Kong ('N" = 123). Methods: Participants provided the required demographic information and responded to two self-report inventories: the Thinking Styles Inventory-Revised II and the PTAI. Results: Acceptable reliability and good validity were found for the PTAI. All of the eight multiple regressions indicated that students' thinking styles significantly contributed to their preferences for teachers' teaching approaches. These contributions varied by gender among the Shanghai students and by academic discipline among the Hong Kong students. Conclusions: Students, especially Shanghai female students and Hong Kong natural science students, are open to teaching approaches that do not precisely match their thinking styles. The concept of "style match" requires new understanding. Findings have implications for research and education. (Contains 2 tables and 2 footnotes.)

This study explores how psychosocial development and personality traits are related. In particular, the study investigates the predictive power of the successful resolution of the Eriksonian psychosocial crises for the Big Five personality traits beyond age and gender. Four hundred university students in mainland China responded to the Measures of Psychosocial Development and to the NEO Five-Factor Inventory. Results indicate that the successful resolution of particular Eriksonian crises reversely predicted neuroticism, but positively predicted extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. The amounts of these contributions went substantially beyond what was predicted by age and gender. Implications of the findings are discussed in relation to research and university education. (Contains 3 tables.)

This research had two objectives. The first was to determine the reliability and validity of the multifaceted assessment of creativity (MAC) for evaluating Hong Kong university students' conceptions of creativity. The second was to establish if the theory-practice and gender gaps discovered among mainland Chinese university students would be replicated. The theoretical foundation for the MAC is the investment theory of creativity. Participants were 156 university students in Hong Kong. Results showed that Hong Kong university students' conceptions of creativity fit well with the six resources for creativity measured by the MAC: intelligence, knowledge, intellectual style, personality, motivation and environment. The present data not only confirmed the theory-practice and gender discrepancies previously found among mainland Chinese university students, but also revealed an additional gap -- a theory-practice gap found only in participants' evaluation of female school students. Implications are discussed for research and for the psychology of teaching and learning.

The primary objective of this study was to examine the predictive power of personality traits for occupational stress among Chinese university academics. Two hundred and forty-six participants responded to the NEO Five-Factor Inventory and the Occupational Stress Inventory-Revised. Results indicated that the strongest predictor for occupational stress is neuroticism, with those higher on neuroticism being more vulnerable to role overload and psychological strain. An equally important predictor is conscientiousness, with academics higher on conscientiousness reporting more frequent use of adaptive coping strategy and less susceptible to the feeling of role insufficiency. Extraversion and openness contributed modestly to occupational stress, while agreeableness was the least important factor in occupational stress. Implications of these findings are discussed concerning faculty members and university senior managers. (Contains 3 tables.)

The principal objective of this research is to ascertain if the "research-teaching dichotomy" as revealed in the relationship between conceptions of effective teachers and teaching styles among Han Chinese academics can be found among Tibetan academics. As a preliminary objective, this research examines the appropriateness of the Effective Teacher Inventory (Zhang, 2003) for evaluating Tibetan academics' conceptions of effective teachers and compares the conceptions of effective teachers between Tibetan and Han Chinese academics. The Thinking Styles in Teaching Inventory (Grigorenko & Sternberg, 1993) and the Effective Teacher Inventory (Zhang, 2003) were administered to 162 Tibetan academics. For the purpose of comparison, data from 93 Han Chinese academics in Zhang's (2009) study were integrated into the present research. The results warranted two conclusions. First, the Effective Teacher Inventory was appropriate for assessing Tibetan academics' conceptions of effective teachers; and there was no substantial difference in the conceptions of effective teachers between the two samples. Second, as it was among Han Chinese academics, the apparent "research-teaching dichotomy" was identified among Tibetan academics. Limitations and significance of this research are discussed and directions for future research are proposed. (Contains 4 tables.)

This study examines the construct of hardiness with the Big Five personality traits among 362 Chinese university students. Participants in the study responded to the Dispositional Hardiness Scale (Bartone, Ursano, Wright, & Ingraham, 1989) and the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (Costa & McCrae, 1992). Results indicate that personality traits statistically predicted hardiness beyond age and gender among Chinese university students. These results support the argument that hardiness represents a healthy personality disposition. Implications of the present findings are discussed for university teachers and for university counselors. (Contains 2 tables.)

This research aims to understand university students' thinking styles and the relationship with their views of creativity. The Thinking Styles Inventory-Revised II was used to measure 13 thinking styles as defined in Sternberg's theory of mental self-government and the Conceptions of Creativity Scales was used to inquire students' views about the conditions for evaluating creativity from six aspects: intelligence, knowledge, style of thinking, personality, motivation and learning environment. Significant relationships were identified between thinking styles and conceptions of creativity. This research contributes to the understanding about the relationship between conceptions of creativity and thinking styles, and brings insights for educators about educational innovations, as one of the key objectives of educational innovations is to develop creativity of the younger generation. (Contains 4 tables.)

Temperament and personality have been presumed to affect achievement goals based on the hierarchical model of achievement motivation. This research investigated the relationships of temperament dimensions and the Big Five personality traits to achievement goals based on the 2 x 2 achievement goal framework among 775 Chinese adolescent students. Confirmatory factor analysis showed that the 2 x 2 framework could be generalised to the Chinese context. Six of the nine temperament dimensions (e.g. activity level--general, flexibility-rigidity, and task orientation) significantly predicted mastery-approach, mastery-avoidance, performance-approach and performance-avoidance goals. Neuroticism, extroversion and conscientiousness significantly predicted all the above-mentioned four achievement goals; openness and agreeableness significantly predicted the mastery-orientated and performance-oriented achievement goals, respectively. Compared with temperament, personality was the stronger predictor for achievement goals. These results supported the posited relationship of "hard-wiring" variables to achievement goals in the conceptual model of achievement motivation. (Contains 1 note and 3 tables.)

Much theorization and research have been done independently on thinking styles and psychosocial development. The primary objective of this research was to further investigate the predictive power of thinking styles for psychosocial development through replicating Zhang and He's (in press) study of Chinese university students in Shanghai, mainland China. Data were collected from two Chinese contexts: Nanjing (N = 362) in mainland China and Hong Kong (N = 117). All participants responded to the Thinking Styles Inventory-Revised II (TSI-R2, Sternberg, Wagner, & Zhang, 2007) and to the Measures of Psychosocial Development (MPD, Hawley, 1988). The TSI-R2 is grounded in Sternberg's (1997) theory of mental self-government, while the MPD is rooted in Erikson's (1968) theory of psychosocial development. Hierarchical multiple regression results confirmed Zhang and He's finding that Type I styles (typified by their creativity-generating characteristics) positively contributed to psychosocial development, whereas Type II styles (noted for their norm-favoring features), especially the monarchic and conservative styles, negatively contributed to psychosocial development. Two of the Type III styles (Type III styles may display the characteristics of either Type I or Type II styles, depending on the specific situation) consistently predicted psychosocial development: the external style positively contributed to psychosocial development, whereas the anarchic style did so negatively. Implications of these results are discussed for university students, faculty members, and for university student development educators. (Contains 7 tables.)

The study examined the incremental validity of thinking styles in predicting academic achievement after controlling for personality and achievement motivation in the hypermedia-based learning environment. Seventy-two Chinese college students from Shanghai, the People's Republic of China, took part in this instructional experiment. The End-Of-Semester test was designed to examine the students' achievement in the course of General Psychology. The results partially supported the hypotheses concerning the relationships between students' Type I and II thinking styles and their academic achievement in Type I test (including analysis, problem-solving, and essay tests) and Type II test (including multiple-choice and cloze tests), and showed that some Type III styles were significantly related to their academic achievement. Hierarchical regression analysis indicated that the capacity of thinking styles for explaining and predicting academic achievement was sometimes over and above the sum of personality traits and achievement motivation. Implications for educational practice are discussed. (Contains 4 tables.)

The principal objective of this study was to explore the predictive power of thinking styles for metacognition when self-rated abilities were taken into account. As a preliminary step, the study examined the psychometric properties of the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (MAI). Four hundred and twenty-four university students from mainland China responded to the MAI, the Thinking Styles Inventory-Revised II, and the Self-Rated Ability Scale. The study ascertained the reliability and validity of the MAI. More importantly, results suggested that three creativity-generating styles (hierarchical, liberal and legislative) and the executive style predicted metacognition beyond self-rated abilities. Practical significance of the main research finding was discussed for university faculty members, students and university senior managers. (Contains 3 tables.)

The present study examined the relationships between thinking styles and achievement motivation among Chinese university students. The Thinking Styles Inventory--Revised (TSI-R; Sternberg, Wagner, & Zhang, 2003) and the Achievement Motives Scale (AMS; Gjesme & Nygard, 1970; Ye & Hagtvet, 1988) were administered to 238 Chinese university students from Shanghai, the People's Republic of China. Results largely supported the hypothesis that the more creativity-generating and complex thinking styles (Type I styles) were positively correlated with achievement motivation to approach success (MS), and negatively correlated with achievement motivation to avoid failure (MF). Results partially supported the hypothesis that the more norm-favoring and simplistic thinking styles (Type II styles) had negative correlation with MS, and positive correlation with MF. The study also found that the situation-/task-dependent thinking styles (Type III styles) were positively correlated with MS, and negatively correlated with MF. Implications for educational practice were discussed. (Contains 5 tables.)

The primary objective of this study was to examine the predictive power of occupational stress for teaching approaches. Participants were 246 faculty members from a large university in Guangzhou in the People's Republic of China, who completed the Approaches to Teaching Inventory, four scales from the Occupational Stress Inventory-Revised (assessing role overload, role insufficiency, psychological strain, and rational/cognitive coping), and the Self-rated Ability Scale. Results suggested that after the participants' self-rated abilities were controlled for, the combination of role overload and the use of rational/cognitive coping was conducive to the conceptual-change teaching approach (both intention and strategy), and that role insufficiency negatively predicted the conceptual-change teaching strategy. Furthermore, together, rational/cognitive coping and psychological strain contributed to an information-transmission teaching strategy. The implications of these findings for university academics and for university senior managers are discussed. (Contains 3 tables.)

The present study investigates the predictive power of conceptions of effective teachers for teaching styles. Ninety-three academic staff from two large comprehensive universities in the People's Republic of China responded to The Effective Teacher Inventory [Zhang, L.F. (2003). The effective teacher inventory. Unpublished test, The University of Hong Kong: Hong Kong.] and to the Thinking Styles in Teaching Inventory [Grigorenko, E.L., & Sternberg, R.J. (1993). Thinking styles in teaching inventory. Unpublished test, Yale University.]. Results suggested that teachers who considered being superior in research-related activities as a more important attribute of an effective university teacher reported that they taught more conservatively, whereas teachers who perceived teaching-related activities as being more critical functions of an effective teacher reported that they taught more creatively. Implications of this finding for university teachers and administrators are discussed. (Contains 2 tables.)

The purpose of this study was to examine the roles of university students' cognitive distortions in their sense of autonomy. One hundred and three third-year university students from Shanghai, The People's Republic of China, responded to the Cognitive Distortion Scales [Briere, J. (2000). "Cognitive Distortion Scales: Professional manual". Lutz, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc.] and to the Iowa Developing Autonomy Inventory [Jackson, L. M., Hood, A. B. (1985). The Iowa Developing Autonomy Inventory. In A. B. Hood (Ed., 1997), "The Iowa student development inventories" (2nd Ed), (pp. 32-43). Iowa City, IA: HITECH Press]. Results suggested that in general, cognitive distortions have a significantly negative impact on Chinese students' sense of autonomy. However, there was also an indication that cognitive distortions could play the roles of psychological defense mechanisms, which provided some support to Bowins' [Bowins, B. (2004). "Psychological defense mechanisms: A new perspective." "American Journal of Psychoanalysis", 64 (1), 1-26] recent argument that cognitive distortions may not always be dysfunctional. Implications of the present findings are discussed in relation to students, faculty members, and university counselors.

The present study examines the predictive power of socialization variables for thinking styles among adults in the workplace. One hundred and seventeen managerial personnel (aged between 18 and 55 years) in England responded to the Thinking Styles Inventory-Revised based on Sternberg's theory of mental self-government and to questions concerning two groups of socialization variables: overt and covert. The overt variables included demographic characteristics and actual work environments, while the covert variables were relevant to perceived work environments and self-rated abilities. Results indicated that covert socialization variables were more powerful than were overt variables in predicting thinking styles. The implications of these findings are discussed for ordinary managerial workforce, management leaders, organizational counselors, and for educators.

The present study replicated investigation of the link between Holland's six career interest types and Costa and McCrae's big five personality traits in a Chinese context. A sample of 79 university students from Hong Kong evaluated their own abilities and responded to the Short-Version Self-Directed Search (SVSDS) and the NEO Five-Factor Inventory. Results demonstrated external validity for the SVSDS, and suggested that even when students' self-rated abilities were taken into account, career interests and personality traits still significantly overlapped, although each construct made a unique contribution to the variance in the data. The specific ways in which the dimensions of career interests and personality traits were related to one another were generally consistent with those documented in the literature. The implications for educational research and educational practice in the Chinese context are discussed. (Contains 1 figure and 3 tables.)

The primary aim of this research is to investigate the predictive power of occupational stress for teaching style among university faculty members. A sample of 144 faculty members from a large university in the People's Republic of China rated themselves on three ability scales and responded to the Thinking Styles in Teaching Inventory and to four scales from the Occupational Stress Inventory-Revised (role overload, role insufficiency, psychological strain, and rational/cognitive coping). Satisfactory reliability and validity data were obtained for the Chinese version of the four occupational stress scales. After self-rated abilities were taken into account, occupational stress remained a significant predictor of teaching style. A stronger feeling of role overload and more frequent use of a rational/cognitive coping strategy were conducive to employing both creativity-generating and conservative teaching styles; a stronger feeling of role insufficiency and psychological strain had a negative impact on the use of creative-generating teaching styles. The implications of this research for both university faculty members and university administrators are discussed. (Contains 2 tables.) [This project was supported by the Wu Jieh-Yee Education Research Fund.]

This study had two objectives. The preliminary objective was to further test the psychometric properties of the short-version self-directed search that was intended to be a brief research tool for measuring Holland [Holland, J. L. (1973). "Making vocational choices: A theory of careers." Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall; Holland, J. L. (1994). "Self-directed search." Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources] six career interest types. The primary objective, though, was to examine the predictive power of modes of thinking for career interest types. Modes of thinking were grounded in Torrance's [Torrance, E. P. (1981). "Implications of whole-brained theories of learning and thinking for computer-based instruction." "Journal of Computer-Based Instruction," 7(4), 99-105] notion of brain dominance. Two hundred and seventy-two university students from Shanghai, People's Republic of China, responded to the style of learning and thinking and the short-version self-directed search. Results showed that after gender effect was taken into account, the holistic mode of thinking (characterized by its creativity-generating tendency) significantly predicted five of the six career interest types (realistic, investigative, artistic, social, and enterprising) defined by Holland. The analytic mode of thinking (characterized by its tendency for norm-conformity) contributed to Holland's conventional career interest type. We discuss implications of these findings for university educational and career counselors and for faculty members. (Contains 1 figure and 2 tables.)

The present study empirically addresses two longstanding controversial issues in the field of intellectual styles. The first concerns the distinction (or similarity) between various style constructs. The second relates to whether or not intellectual styles make a difference to students' academic achievement. Specifically, the study investigated the relationship between Torrance's modes of thinking and Sternberg's thinking styles. It also examined the role of the two style constructs in achievement in Chinese, English, and mathematics. Three self-report inventories were administered to 452 students from a senior secondary school in rural China. After students' age, gender, and self-rated abilities were controlled for, thinking styles predicted modes of thinking. In general, conservative intellectual styles predicted better achievement across the three subjects among students in lower grade levels, whereas creative intellectual styles contributed to achievement in Chinese among students in higher grade levels. It is concluded that each of the two style constructs has a unique value in explaining individual differences in human performance. Furthermore, the study makes another call for cultivating creative intellectual styles among school students. (Contains 2 tables.)

This study examines the role of students' thinking styles in their knowledge and use of as well as in their attitudes towards the use of computing and information technology (CIT) in education. One hundred and five students from a large university in Texas responded to the Thinking Styles Inventory and to a brief measure of their attitudes towards the use of CIT in education. Between the present study and a previous study of Hong Kong students, the following common findings have been obtained. First, the more creativity-generating thinking styles positively predicted knowledge and use of CIT as well as a favorable attitude towards the use of CIT in education, whereas the more norm-conforming thinking styles negatively did so. Second, female students reported less knowledge and use of CIT. Minor differences were also identified between the U.S. and Hong Kong groups. These findings have implications for teachers, staff development personnel, and for CIT program designers.

The present study had three purposes. The first was to further explore the psychometric properties of the Preferred Thinking Styles in Teaching Inventory [Zhang, L. F. (2003). "The preferred thinking styles in teaching inventory." Unpublished test. The University of Hong Kong: Hong Kong]. The second was to test the hypothesis that the preferred teaching styles of mainland Chinese university students in the present investigation are similar to those of students in Hong Kong and the United States in previous studies. The final and most important purpose was to examine the incremental validity of modes of thinking beyond students' self-rated abilities in predicting students' preferred teaching styles. Two hundred and fifty-six (109 male and 147 female) university students from Beijing, the People's Republic of China, participated in the research. After the reliability and validity of the Preferred Thinking Styles in Teaching Inventory were ascertained, the following findings were obtained. First, like university students in Hong Kong and the United States in previous studies, mainland Chinese students in the present study also expressed a strong like for teaching styles that are creativity-generating and that allow collaborative work. Similarly, they indicated a strong dislike for teaching styles that are norm-conforming, that require multi-tasking but without communicating a sense of priority, and that restrict students to working individually, without collaboration with others. Going beyond the previous studies, the present study found that an integrative mode of thinking positively contributed to students' preference for teaching styles that are creativity-generating and that encourage group work, but negatively contributed to students' preference for teaching styles that are norm-favoring and that discourage collaborative work. Implications of these findings are discussed in relation to teaching that accommodates diverse thinking styles and teaching that generates creative thinking. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)

The present paper reports a series of six studies, each investigating the power of self-rated analytical, creative, and practical abilities for predicting one of six individual-difference variables: cognitive development, modes of thinking, career interests, learning approaches, thinking styles, and personality traits. Contributing to the composition of 18 samples, the 5019 (1904 males and 3115 females) university students were from three cultural groups: Hong Kong, mainland China, and the United States. Each of the six variables was assessed by a self-report inventory. Results indicated that in all three cultures, students who rated themselves higher on the ability scales tended to score significantly higher on the individual-difference variable scales that denote positive values, such as higher cognitive-developmental levels and creativity-generating thinking styles. Moreover, students who rated themselves lower on the ability scales tended to score significantly higher on the individual-difference variable scales that indicate negative values such as a lower cognitive-developmental level and norm-favoring thinking styles. Implications of these findings are discussed in relation to both research and education.