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This study examined whether students engaged in university sport have different drinking outcome expectancies and normative beliefs than students who are not engaged in university sport. A cross-sectional survey of university students in England in 2008-2009 was undertaken. A questionnaire battery, including the Drinking Expectancies Questionnaire (DEQ) and a measure of normative beliefs, was completed by 770 students from seven universities across England. Responses from 638 students who were not abstaining from alcohol were analyzed. Students engaged in university sport have significantly higher drinking expectancies of assertion compared with students not engaged in university sport. Moreover, students engaged in university sport consistently report higher personal alcohol consumption and higher perceptions of consumption in those around them than students not engaged in university sport. Both assertion and the perception that students around them drink heavily provide only a partial explanation for why students engaged in university sport drink more than those not engaged in university sport. Further research is required to identify the reasons for heavy drinking among students involved in university sport in England. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the relationship between college students' perceptions of the motivational climate (i.e., caring, task- and ego-involving) in physical activity courses to their physical self-concept, hope, and happiness. Midwestern university undergraduates (N = 412), enrolled in group physical activity classes, completed the following measures: class climate, physical self-concept, hope, and happiness. Canonical correlation analysis revealed that students who perceived a caring, task-involving climate were more likely to report high physical self-concept, hope, and happiness. A gender comparison found that while perceptions of the ego-involving climate were significantly higher for males, the ego climate did not significantly contribute to the males' canonical correlation. In addition, while physical self-concept was positively associated with climate for both genders, males were more likely to experience higher physical self-concept than females. Results suggest positive and supportive exercise environments may not only help individuals reap the physical benefits of exercise but also the psychological benefits. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although many researchers have examined ill-being (e.g., injury and illness) in dancers, few researchers have examined well-being. In the current study, dancer's perceptions of the dance motivational climate, dance performance anxiety, dance self-concept, and their relationships to dance well-being were examined. A total of 182 university dance students from five universities completed surveys and a series of multiregression analyses were undertaken to predict well-being. Both dance self-concept and perceptions of a task climate were moderately related to well-being and contributed significantly to elements of well-being: vigor, enthusiasm, confidence, and dedication. An ego climate was unrelated to any of the four dimensions of well-being. Substantial variance was predicted in the various elements of engagement, ranging from 15% to 55%. In particular, two significant interactions indicated that a task climate may have protective effects against anxiety in terms of reducing the detrimental influence that anxiety may have on two forms of well-being: confidence and dedication. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Heavy episodic drinking (HED) is related to an increase in negative consequences (Wechsler, Lee, Kuo, & Lee, 2000) including approximately 599,000 unintentional injuries and 1,825 deaths annually among college students (Hingson, Edwards, Heeren, & Rosenbloom, 2009). College athletes participate in greater alcohol consumption and experience more negative consequences than their nonathlete peers (Hildebrand, Johnson, & Bogle, 2001). Protective behavioral strategies (PBS) have played a significant role in reducing alcohol-related negative consequences within the college population (Martens et al., 2004). However, little is known about PBS use within specific at-risk populations such as athletes. This study aimed to identify the relationship between alcohol consumption, the use of protective behavioral strategies, and negative consequences among intercollegiate athletes. Results indicated that PBS partially mediated the relationship between alcohol consumption and negative consequences. Implications for intercollegiate athlete intervention and prevention programs are discussed as well as limitations of the study and directions for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For decades, academic libraries made efforts to provide study environments differing in acoustic environment. The present study aimed to provide an evidence basis for this practice by comparing background noise acceptance and personality factors of two groups of college-aged students self identified as preferring quiet or background noise when performing cognitive tasks. Twenty young adult college students participated. Each participant completed background noise assessment (reading and listening) and personality assessment (five factor inventory, locus of control, and self-control). Results of the present study indicate that personality factors are not related to an individual's acoustic environment preference while studying; however, background noise acceptance measured while reading and while listening to speech was related to study environment choice. Findings of the present study indicate that students accurately self-assess their acoustic study environment needs. This evidence indicates that academic libraries should continue to offer multiple acoustic study environments for college students. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The economic decline of the Great Recession has increased the need for a university degree, which can enhance individuals' prospects of obtaining employment in a competitive, globalized market. Research in the social sciences has consistently demonstrated that students with low socioeconomic status (SES) have fewer opportunities to succeed in university contexts compared to students with high SES. The present article reviews the psychological barriers faced by low-SES students in higher education compared to high-SES students. Accordingly, we first review the psychological barriers faced by low-SES students in university contexts (in terms of emotional experiences, identity management, self-perception, and motivation). Second, we highlight the role that university contexts play in producing and reproducing these psychological barriers, as well as the performance gap observed between low- and high-SES students. Finally, we present three examples of psychological interventions that can potentially increase both the academic achievement and the quality of low-SES students' experience and thus may be considered as methods for change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The purpose of this pilot study was to evaluate the Resilience and Coping Intervention (RCI) with college students. Participants: College students (aged 18–23) from a large Midwest US university who volunteered for a randomized controlled trial during the 2015 spring semester. Methods: College students were randomly assigned to an intervention (n = 64) or a control (n = 65) group. Intervention participants received three 45-minute RCI sessions over subsequent weeks. All participants completed pre- and post-intervention assessments at the beginning of Week 1 and end of Week 3. Student resilience, coping, hope, stress, depression, and anxiety were assessed. Results. RCI participants reported significantly more hope and less stress and depression from Week 1 to Week 3 compared with control participants. Results for resilience also approached statistical significance. Effect sizes were small to moderate. Conclusions: This study found preliminary evidence that RCI is an effective resilience intervention for use with college students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There is a high prevalence of depression among college students, which is linked to lower levels of help-seeking intentions. However, there has been a lack of research examining variables that may help explain this relationship. The present study aimed to address this gap by examining whether psychological resources (optimism and self-esteem) mediate the relationship between depressive symptoms and help-seeking intentions, and whether this relationship is moderated by perceived social support. Participants were 8121 college students (66% female) aged 17–25 years (M = 20.42, SD = 1.90), who completed the My World Survey Post-Second Level, a national survey on youth mental health. Linear regression analysis confirmed that depressive symptoms predicted lower informal help-seeking intentions. Moderated mediation indicated that social support moderated the direct relationship between depressive symptoms and informal help-seeking intentions and that optimism and self-esteem mediated this relationship, when gender was controlled for. Findings indicate that social support and psychological resources help further our understanding of the relationship between depressive symptoms and help-seeking in young people. Campaigns promoting help-seeking in college students should focus on the beneficial role of social support and on fostering optimism and self-esteem as facilitators of help-seeking intentions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dissolution of a romantic relationship can adversely affect functioning among college students and represents one primary reason for seeking campus counseling. This study examined the associations among common coping strategies and distress following relationship dissolution. Avoidance and repetitive negative thinking (RNT) were significantly associated with distress, and gender was found to moderate the relationship between RNT and distress. Findings suggest that college counselors should consider emotional coping strategies following relationship dissolutions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The application of theory in this article expanded on Chickering and Reisser's () 7-vectors framework by considering the effects of childhood sexual abuse (CSA) on the normal experience of student development in higher education. The article includes an overview of the prevalence and effects of CSA and a case study of a college student survivor of CSA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anxiety is a common symptom among college counseling clients. Perhaps because of the unique developmental tasks they face, many later adolescents (ages 18-24 years) use religious coping to manage anxiety. Many counselors are uncertain about how to address religious themes in therapy, if at all. However, most clients of faith do not want counselors to ignore their religious beliefs. In fact, later adolescents may use faith-based coping mechanisms to navigate the challenges of their developmental stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research problem: This study investigates the factors influencing students' intentions to use emergency notification services to receive news about campus emergencies through short-message systems (SMS) and social network sites (SNS). Research questions: (1) What are the critical factors that influence students' intention to use SMS to receive emergency notifications? (2) What are the critical factors that influence students' intention to use SNS to receive emergency notifications? Literature review: By adapting Media Richness theory and prior research on emergency notifications, we propose that perceived media richness, perceived trust in information, perceived risk, perceived benefit, and perceived social influence impact the intention to use SMS and SNS to receive emergency notifications. Methodology: We conducted a quantitative, survey-based study that tested our model in five different scenarios, using logistic regression to test the research hypotheses with 574 students of a large research university in the northeastern US. Results and discussion: Results suggest that students' intention to use SNS is impacted by media richness, perceived benefit, and social influence, while students' intention to use SMS is influenced by trust and perceived benefit. Implications to emergency managers suggest how to more effectively manage and market the service through both channels. The results also suggest using SNS as an additional means of providing emergency notifications at academic institutions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The non-medical use of prescription medication for the pursuit of increasing cognitive and intellectual capacities (defined neuroenhancement) has received growing attention from the scientific community and policymakers alike. To date, limited qualitative data exist exploring the nature of the phenomenon, especially as a potentially emerging trend among university students in England. Existing American literature suggests that students believe that neuroenhancement helps the individual to maximize his/her time, consenting a suitable balance between work and leisure. Students' motivation to experiment with neuroenhancement appears to be more in line with a need to regulate emotions surrounding study/work settings than to actually improve cognitive abilities beyond normal levels. This study aimed to qualitatively explore representations, motivations, beliefs, and consumption styles of a cohort of university student users residing in England. Through snowball sampling, 13 informants were contacted and interviewed regarding their experience with neuroenhancers. Narrations were analyzed and interpreted using qualitative analysis software and Grounded Theory methodology. Participants belonged to a broad variety of university courses and were predominantly habitual consumers of modafinil. Neuroenhancers were acquired either through friends or via the Internet. Motivations regarded the need to "catch up" and be on par with high achieving students. The entire cohort had previously experimented with other psychotropic substances. Synthetic compounds in particular were believed to be "gateway" drugs to using neuroenhancers. Experimentation with neuroenhancement can be seen as a self-governing strategy aimed at achieving continued focused productivity. Participants acknowledged sustainable benefits in neuroenhancement as it optimized work performance. The majority of the cohort also contemplated the possibility of using these drugs in the future once they entered the workforce. Neuroenhancing drug users expressed "situated morality," differentiating between using these substances for assessments (exams) or during revisions, finding only the former as an immoral conduct. In the present scenario, it appears that neuroenhancement is practiced by small numbers of students. Nonetheless, the instrumental views of psychotropic substances held by many young adults and the globalization of these practices make the normalization of neuroenhancement a plausible possibility of the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mobile phone dependence (MPD) is a behavioral addiction that has become an increasing public mental health issue. While previous research has explored some of the factors that may predict MPD, the underlying neural mechanisms of MPD have not been investigated yet. The current study aimed to explore the microstructural variations associated with MPD as measured with functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). Gray matter volume (GMV) and white matter (WM) integrity [four indices: fractional anisotropy (FA); mean diffusivity (MD); axial diffusivity (AD); and radial diffusivity (RD)] were calculated via voxel-based morphometry (VBM) and tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) analysis, respectively. Sixty-eight college students (42 female) were enrolled and separated into two groups [MPD group, N = 34; control group (CG), N = 34] based on Mobile Phone Addiction Index (MPAI) scale score. Trait impulsivity was also measured using the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11). In light of underlying trait impulsivity, results revealed decreased GMV in the MPD group relative to controls in regions such as the right superior frontal gyrus (sFG), right inferior frontal gyrus (iFG), and bilateral thalamus (Thal). In the MPD group, GMV in the above mentioned regions was negatively correlated with scores on the MPAI. Results also showed significantly less FA and AD measures of WM integrity in the MPD group relative to controls in bilateral hippocampal cingulum bundle fibers (CgH). Additionally, in the MPD group, FA of the CgH was also negatively correlated with scores on the MPAI. These findings provide the first morphological evidence of altered brain structure with mobile phone overuse, and may help to better understand the neural mechanisms of MPD in relation to other behavioral and substance addiction disorders. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Engaging students in class is paramount if they are to gain a deep understanding of class content. Student engagement is manifested by attention to the various components of instruction. However, there is little research at the tertiary level focusing on what aspects of instruction are related to changes in student attention during class. To address this gap, we collected multiple streams of data that provide a measure of student attention during instruction. We had students in an organic chemistry course who wear hats with a camera mounted on the brim, to provide a record of student gaze (i.e. looking at the board, notes, and friends). We also had students who use electronic pens that allowed us to record what information students transferred into their notes (pencasts). Based on our initial results, we believe the data provided by the point-of-view cameras and electronic pens hold great promise for using these technologies as viable research tools in educational settings to address various research questions. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This paper documents the ongoing development of a framework for reflection for undergraduate learners new to the reflective process. Motivated by the gap between students’ abilities and experience of reflection and the expectations of them at undergraduate level, the author experimented with a variety of approaches over a number of years. After much trial and error, a three-step pyramid method loosely based on Mezirow's three stages of the reflective process has been meeting with some success and is presented here. Findings indicate that recognizing the limitations in novice practitioners ability to reflect effectively, and providing them with a practical framework of initial support can empower them and result in greater expression and confidence in their reflective journal writing. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Practice on a given sequence of movements can lead to robust procedural memory (skill). In young adults, in addition to gains in performance accrued during practice, speed and accuracy can further improve overnight; the latter, delayed, 'offline', gains are thought to emerge when procedural memory consolidation processes are completed. A recent study suggested that female college students with ADHD show an atypical procedural memory consolidation phase, specifically, gaining speed but losing accuracy, overnight. Here, to test if this accuracy loss reflected a cost of overlong training in adults with ADHD, we compared the performance of female college students with (N=16) and without (N=16) ADHD, both groups given a shorter training protocol (80 rather than the standard 160 task repetitions). Speed and accuracy were recorded before training, immediately after, and at 24-h and 2 weeks post-training. The shortened practice session resulted in as robust within-session gains and additional overnight gains in speed at no costs in accuracy, in both groups. Moreover, individuals with ADHD showed as robust speed gains and retention as in the longer training session, but the costs in accuracy incurred in the latter were eliminated. The shortening of practice sessions may benefit motor skill acquisition in ADHD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Although the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) is the most widely used measure of global self-esteem in the literature, there are ongoing disagreements about its factor structure. This methodological debate informs how the measure should be used in substantive research. Using a sample of 1,127 college students, we test the overall fit of previously specified models for the RSES, including a newly proposed bifactor solution (McKay, Boduszek, & Harvey, 2014). We extend previous work by evaluating how various latent factors from these structural models are related to a set of criterion variables frequently studied in the self-esteem literature. A strict unidimensional model poorly fit the data, whereas models that accounted for correlations between negatively and positively keyed items tended to fit better. However, global factors from viable structural models had similar levels of association with criterion variables and with the pattern of results obtained with a composite global self-esteem variable calculated from observed scores. Thus, we did not find compelling evidence that different structural models had substantive implications, thereby reducing (but not eliminating) concerns about the integrity of the self-esteem literature based on overall composite scores for the RSES. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

College students' academic performance is their primary concern (Houston, 1971), which is believed to hinder their learning unless managed either actively or passively (Boekaerts, 1993). Thus, the purposes of this investigation were to explore (a) how college students express concern about their academic performance to their instructors, (b) sex differences in expressed academic concerns, and (c) how these expressed academic concern behaviors are related to students' intrinsic motivation. The results of frequency counts, EFAs, a linear regression, and an independent samples t-test indicate that both male and female college students actively express academic performance concerns to their instructors. However, students' tendencies to express academic performance concerns were influenced positively by their level of intrinsic motivation. Moreover, the methods used coupled with the findings obtained in this study establish construct, content, and face validity of the Academic Concern Scale, which was developed in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research indicates that involvement in curricular and co-curricular activities are important and necessary components of student development and academic success (Astin, 1999; Komives & Johnson, 2009). Through involvement, students can lead, engage others, learn and practice new skills. Students can develop a sense of agency and responsibility to become a contributing and engaged member within their community (Eccles, Barber, Stone & Hunt, 2003). In addition, students can appreciate the importance of participating in civic engagement opportunities by assisting in community service (Youniss, McLellan, & Yates, 1997). This study is framed in a generational lens as the survey respondents were largely members of the population segment commonly referred to as the Millennials, or those who were bom between 1982 and 2003 (Howe & Strauss, 2000). The authors seek to understand the core values and/or capacities that mediate the college social change behavior of Millennials as precipitated by their pre-college involvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present study established three equivalence classes (each comprising nonfamiliar stimuli and a facial expression of emotion) and verified transfer of function among equivalent stimuli with a semantic differential in order to investigate stability over time of both equivalence classes and of transfer of functions. Nonfamiliar stimuli were abstract pictures and the emotions of the facial expression were happiness, anger, and neutrality. A control group evaluated the familiar stimuli from each class. Sixteen college students attained criteria for equivalence class formation. Their evaluations of the nonfamiliar abstract stimuli were similar to the evaluation that control group made of the facial expressions. Thirty days later, participants from the experimental group were resubmitted to the equivalence tests and to the semantic differential device. During maintenance tests, 11 participants attained criterion for maintenance of the happy class, 8 participants for the neutral class, and 6 for the angry class. Participants who maintained performance on equivalence tests maintained performances on the semantic differential device. Participants who failed on maintenance tests also deviated from previous performances on the test for transfer of function. Results indicated valence of stimuli influenced stability of equivalence classes and transfer of function. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crowdsourcing platforms provide an affordable approach for recruiting large and diverse samples in a short time. Past research has shown that researchers can obtain reliable data from these sources, at least in domains of research that are not affectively involving. The goal of the present study was to test if crowdsourcing platforms can also be used to conduct experiments that incorporate the induction of aversive affective states. First, a laboratory experiment with German university students was conducted in which a frustrating task induced anger and aggressive behavior. This experiment was then replicated online using five crowdsourcing samples. The results suggest that participants in the online samples reacted very similarly to the anger manipulation as participants in the laboratory experiments. However, effect sizes were smaller in crowdsourcing samples with non-German participants while a crowdsourcing sample with exclusively German participants yielded virtually the same effect size as in the laboratory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objectives of this study are: (1) to describe virtues, character strengths and coping strategies of college students; (2) to analyze the relationship between virtues, character strengths and coping strategies; and (3) to evaluate the predictive relationship between virtues and coping strategies. Ninety-one college students (98 % females), aged between 19 and 42 years (M = 23.5; SD = 4.0), completed questionnaires VIA Inventory of Strengths, and Coping Responses Inventory-Adult. Strong positive correlations were found between the six virtues and three coping strategies. Specifically, Wisdom presented a positive correlation with behavioral and cognitive approach coping. Sixteen strengths presented positive correlations with behavioral approach coping strategies and four strengths presented positive correlations with cognitive approach coping. Wisdom described 23 % of the variance in cognitive-approach coping, and Transcendence together with Temperance described 33.5 % of the variance in behavioral approach coping. We conclude that the college setting offers a rich opportunity for further studies of these relationships. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: University students have high rates of depression, and friends are often the most commonly-used source of support for emotional distress in this population. This study aimed to explore students' ability to provide effective support for their peers with depressive symptoms and the factors influencing the quality of their mental health first aid (MHFA) skills, including students' gender, course of study, and gender of student experiencing depression.Methods: Via an online survey, students at two British universities (N = 483) were quasi-randomly allocated to view a video vignette of either a male or female student depicting symptoms of depression. An open-ended question probed MHFA actions they would take to help the vignette character, which were rated using a standardised scoring scheme based on MHFA guidelines.Results: Students reported low MHFA scores (mean 2.89, out of possible 12). The most commonly reported action was provision of support and information, but only eight (1.6%) students stated an intention to assess risk of harm. Those studying clinically non-relevant degrees with limited mental health content reported poorer MHFA (p = <0.001) and were less confident about their ability to support a friend with depression (p = 0.04). There was no main effect of vignette gender, but within the group of students on non-relevant courses the male vignette received significantly poorer MHFA than the female vignette (p = 0.02). A significant three-way interaction found that male participants studying non-relevant degrees who viewed a male vignette had poorer MHFA compared to females studying non-relevant degrees who viewed the female vignette (p = 0.005).Conclusions: Most students lack the necessary MHFA skills to support friends suffering from symptoms of depression, or to help them get appropriate support and prevent risk of harm. Students on courses which do not include mental health related content are particularly ill-equipped to support male students, with male students receiving the poorest quality MHFA from fellow male students on these courses. MHFA training has the potential to improve outcomes for students with depression, and could have a valuable role in reducing the excess risk of harm seen in male students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined the changes in students' academic behavioural confidence over the course of their first year of academic study and whether changes differ by their achievement goal profile. Self-report data were collected from 434 participants in three waves: at the beginning of the first semester of their first year of undergraduate study, at the beginning of the second semester, and again at beginning of the second year of undergraduate study. At the outset of their studies the authors identified three clusters of achievement goal profiles which differentiated between students' confidence in attaining grades, independent study and discussing course material. By the beginning of the second year any dips in confidence had disappeared which the authors construe in a positive light. The clusters of achievement goals shown at the outset of the first year of academic study does not seem to show any differentiated lasting disadvantage or advantage to students' confidence. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The objective of this study was to identify circadian rhythms in self-monitoring, a component of executive functions. Participants were 10 undergraduate students, age: 18.5 ± 2.68 years, two male and eight female. They were recorded on a 30-h constant routine protocol; rectal temperature was recorded every minute and performance on a tracking task was assessed every 100 min. Self-monitoring indicators were adjustments of responses to random changes of speed and trajectory of a circle moving on the computer screen. Participants showed better accuracy during the afternoon, with decreases in the morning (06:20 and 08:00 h). These variations showed a phase delay of 2:29 ± 2:19 h with respect to the circadian rhythm of body temperature. In conclusion, there are circadian variations in self-monitoring. The decline in this component of executive functions could cause serious accidents among people working or studying during a morning shift, as well as commuting to and from work or school. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Research Findings: Adults’ attitudes about attachment relationships are central to how they perceive and respond to children. However, little is known about how attachment styles are related to teachers’ attitudes toward and interactions with infants and toddlers. From a survey of 207 students taking early childhood (EC) courses at 4 U.S. universities, we report relations among students’ attachment styles and their (a) career goals, (b) attitudes about caring for and educating infants and young children, and (c) interaction skills for responding in developmentally supportive ways. Overall, attachment security was positively associated with career goals focused on working with younger children, knowledge about infant/toddler development, attitudes that acknowledge the importance of adult support in children’s development, and developmentally supportive interaction skills. Students who scored high on attachment fearfulness minimized the importance of adults in children’s lives, minimized the importance of the early years for later learning, and endorsed strict and controlling forms of child guidance.Practice or Policy: A conceptual mediation model linking a path from attachment to caregiving skill through knowledge and attitudes is articulated. We propose a person-centered pedagogy for infant/toddler professional preparation that provides opportunities for reflection on one’s own attachment and its effects on work with young children. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Focus groups were conducted with 51 college students to examine how participants engaged in meaning making about the presence and use of cell phones with non-present others while in the context of dating and spending time with romantic partners. Grounded in relational dialectics theory, qualitative analysis revealed two sets of competing discourses at play in college students’ talk about cell phones: discourses of community and romance and discourses of control and freedom. The interplay of these competing discourses illuminated participants’ struggles with being available to others while trying to provide attention to their dating partners. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

The purpose of this investigation was to identify the types of citizenship behavior students use in the college classroom, and to examine the link between their use of citizenship behavior and their perceptions of classroom climate, interest, and self-reports of learning outcomes. Participants were 416 undergraduate students enrolled at a large Mid-Atlantic university. Three findings were obtained. First, participants use three types of citizenship behavior: involvement, affiliation, and courtesy. Second, involvement and courtesy are related positively to classroom climate, classroom connectedness, instructor rapport, emotional interest, and cognitive interest, whereas affiliation is related positively to classroom climate, classroom connectedness, instructor rapport, and emotional interest. Third, involvement and courtesy are related positively to three dimensions of affective learning, perceived cognitive learning, state motivation, and communication satisfaction, whereas affiliation is related positively to one dimension of affective learning, perceived cognitive learning, state motivation, and communication satisfaction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Leaving home to attend college is an important milestone for college students. However, the transition from home to college can be challenging, especially for students studying abroad. In this article, the authors explore factors that contribute to the academic, cultural, social, and psychological adjustments of international students. Adjustment issues include psychological distress such as homesick, depression, and anxiety. This article seeks to increase the reader's understanding of some of the issues faced by international students during the process of adjusting to a new collegiate environment. More specifically, the article discusses factors that contribute to adjustment and different phases of cultural adjustment. This article may help the students, educational institutions, and policy makers to provide the resources necessary for a seamless transition for international students to overcome the issues. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this diary study was to examine the effect of self-set grade goals and core self-evaluations on academic performance. Data were collected among 59 university students ( M age = 18.4 yr., SD = 0.8) in a 2-wk. exam period on up to five exam days. Multilevel analyses revealed that the individual grade goals students set for their exams were positively related to the grades they obtained for these exams. However, the goal--performance relationship only applied to students scoring high on core self-evaluations. The results of this study contribute to the understanding of the effect of self-set grade goals and core self-evaluations on academic performance and imply important practical applications to enhance academic performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People in many countries are unwilling to donate organs. Drawing on previous research regarding the use of message framing and the theory of exemplification promoting intentions to donate organs, this study examined messaging strategies. This study used a 2 x 2 between-subjects factorial design to examine the joint effects of gain/loss frames and statistical/exemplar appeals on the intentions of 189 Taiwanese college students (108 women, 81 men; age range = 19-24 yr., M = 21.6, SD = 2.9) regarding organ donation. Each participant was randomly assigned to read one of four versions of an organ donation promotional message and then to complete a questionnaire. The analysis of variance showed a significant interaction between the two factors. Loss--exemplar messages elicited significantly more positive intentions toward donation than did loss--statistical messages. There was no significant difference between the statistical and exemplar appeals observed under the gain-framed condition. The practical implications of developing effective organ donation promotional materials and the limitations of this study are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this exploratory cross-sectional study was to examine the associations among relationship status, identity processes, and self-construals among Polish young adults. The theoretical framework of the study consisted of Erikson's psychosocial theory of human development (Erikson, 1963; 1968; 1980), the dual-cycle model of identity formation (Luyckx, Goossens, & Soenens, 2006), and the concept of independent and interdependent self- construals. A total of 291 university students (155 females and 136 males) aged 20-25 completed the Dimensions of Identity Development Scale (DIDS; Luyckx, Schwartz et al., 2008) (Polish adaptation - Brzezińska & Piotrowski, 2010a) and Self-Construal Scale (SCS; Singelis, 1994) (Polish adaptation - Pilarska, 2014). Results showed that single individuals scored higher on exploration in breadth, exploration in depth, and ruminative exploration, and lower on commitment making and identification with commitment than did partnered individuals. Further, single and partnered individuals did not differ in the area of independent and interdependent self-construals. Discriminant function analysis revealed that especially ruminative exploration and exploration in breadth were important variables for discriminating single from partnered status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: It is well established that stimuli correlated with the absence of aversive events may come to signal periods of safety from those events. In previous research, stimuli that signaled periods of safety were largely neutral in nature. In the present investigation, we examined whether aversive events also could be conditioned as safety signals. Methods: Seven university students were initially exposed to a 72 dB tone, which all rated as highly aversive. Next, they were required to play a computerized game in which mouse clicks on a map produced points ('treasures') or point losses ('bombs'). Participants were instructed that bombs could be disabled by pressing a foot pedal, although pedal presses produced the aversive tone. In the next phase of the game, no bombs were programmed. During some sessions, pedal presses produced the tone and in other sessions they did not. Results: Rates of pedal pressing maintained when the sound was produced; however, pedal pressing eventually ceased in sessions in which it was absent. Follow-up measures indicated that 6 of the 7 participants rated the tone as aversive at the end of the study. Discussion: These findings suggest that the aversive stimulus functioned as a positive reinforcer, given that participants chose to produce the sound even when it did not abate aversive stimulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The emergence of transitivity-indicative performances occasioned by novel probes was observed following exposure to multiple-exemplar transitivity training and/or staged testing for transitivity. Twenty-four of 101 college students failed to demonstrate transitivity-indicative performances in an initial test that contained 6 stimulus sets drawn from 3 domains: glyphs, satellite images, and nonsense syllables, each of whom was assigned to 1 of 4 experimental conditions. Subjects in Condition 1 did not receive any intervention. Subjects in Condition 2 received transitivity training with 20 new glyph sets. Subjects in Condition 3 were reexposed to the stimuli from the initial test, but with one domain at a time (i.e., staged testing). Subjects in Condition 4 received both transitivity training and staged testing. Finally, all subjects were reexposed to the initial test (i.e., posttest). The number of subjects and the number of stimulus sets in the posttest that occasioned transitivity-indicative responding did not change for subjects in Condition 1, showed moderate increases for subjects in Conditions 2 and 3, and showed large increases for subjects in Condition 4. The improvements in Conditions 2 and 3, however, varied with stimulus domain. Improvements were minimal for the glyph stimuli, moderate for the satellite stimuli, and largest for the nonsense syllables. Thus, the emergence of a generalized transitivity repertoire was influenced by an interaction between transitivity training, test repetition, and the perceptual similarities of the stimuli used for testing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research into advertising using celebrity has been undertaken for nearly 40 years. It has principally used surveys and experiments to explore how consumers respond to celebrity advertisements. A recent meta-study of 32 papers has demonstrated that different populations respond in different ways to celebrity endorsements. Specifically, both US subjects and college students are more likely to respond in a significant way to the presence of celebrity than subjects who are not from the US, or who are not studying at college. Given that the nationality and student status of subjects matter, this article explores the make up of the samples that have been used to examine celebrity advertising. The article finds that these samples are not representative of US populations (because so many are students), nor of populations outside the US (because so few live beyond it). Furthermore, the history of dominance of US-based student samples, and the citation practices which keep them circulating in academia, suggests that theories of celebrity advertising have for a long time been excessively influenced by ideas tested on this unrepresentative group. This fact will limit the applicability of research into celebrity advertising to the wider world. I explore whether this matters, and how deficiencies might be addressed in further research. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This article reviews the role of psychiatry in colleges and universities, and argues that psychiatrists are significantly underutilized as consultants and educators in managing emotionally troubled students. Focusing on the 2007 Virginia Tech mass shooting case as a sentinel event, the article outlines mental health issues facing post-secondary institutions and legal issues related to psychiatric services, including the following: the increased need for psychiatric services on campus; communication challenges among campus groups involved in managing high-risk students; efforts to balance patient confidentiality with public safety; confusion over privacy laws; and the changing role of the campus psychiatrist. An important conclusion is that psychiatrists working in campus settings have distinctive, vital skill sets that enable them to go far beyond their traditional roles of psychiatric evaluation and treatment and to serve in critical leadership, educational, and consultative capacities to benefit both emotionally troubled students and the wider campus community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined undergraduate students’ reports of emotions and emotion regulation during studying from a self-regulated learning (SRL) perspective. Participants were 111 university students enrolled in a first-year course designed to teach skills in SRL. Students reflected on their emotional experiences during goal-directed studying episodes at three times over the semester. Measures included self-evaluations of goal attainment, emotion intensity ratings and open-ended descriptions of emotion regulation strategies. Findings generally revealed that positive emotions were positive predictors and negative emotions were negative predictors of self-evaluations of goal attainment, although positive emotions were associated with larger changes in self-evaluations. Boredom was analysed separately and was found to be a positive predictor at the between-person level but not a predictor at the within-person level. Finally, students reported (a) enacting a variety of strategies to regulate their emotions and (b) using a different strategy more often than the same strategy from one study session to the next. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study is primarily focused on assessing the students' logical thinking and cognitive levels in an online collaborative environment. The aim is to investigate whether the online collaboration has significant impact to the students' cognitive abilities. The assessment of the logical thinking involved the use of the online Group Assessment Logical Thinking (GALT) test that has been conducted in two phases; before and after the online collaborative activities. The sample of respondents for this study is sixty first year Diploma in Computer Science students from Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Perlis, Malaysia where they were divided into fifteen collaborative groups. These collaborative groups were then engaged in a 3-hour session of collaborative activities via the Online Collaborative Learning System (OCLS). The results for this study has revealed that the online collaborative learning has significant impact to the students' logical thinking levels with the increment of 21.7% high logical thinkers with p-value<0.05 (sig. 2-tailed). Meanwhile, the investigation of the students' cognitive levels is being done by monitoring the students' abilities to solve the given questions via OCLS. The questions have been previously constructed according to the Bloom's taxonomy cognitive domain. The results have also revealed that the students at the early stage of learning programming are able to solve complex programming problems at the cognitive level Application and Analysis. There was also a strong correlation between students' logical thinking skills with their abilities to solve problems in an online platform with r= 0.631, significant at 0.012. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

There have been several attempts to account for the impact of Mathematical Anxiety (MA) on brain activity with variable results. The present study examines the effects of MA on ERP amplitude during performance of simple arithmetic calculations and working memory tasks. Data were obtained from 32 university students as they solved four types of arithmetic problems (one- and two-digit addition and multiplication) and a working memory task comprised of three levels of difficulty (1, 2, and 3-back task). Compared to the Low-MA group, High-MA individuals demonstrated reduced ERP amplitude at frontocentral (between 180-320 ms) and centroparietal locations (between 380-420 ms). These effects were independent of task difficulty/complexity, individual performance, and general state/trait anxiety levels. Results support the hypothesis that higher levels of self-reported MA are associated with lower cortical activation during the early stages of the processing of numeric stimuli in the context of cognitive tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated the separate and combined effects of emotion-laded exemplars and responsibility frames on readers' perceptions and evaluations. Two hundred and sixty-nine students participated in an experiment involving a news story that dealt with the social issue of homelessness in South Korea. Six versions of a news story differed in emotion-laden exemplars with textual information (anger-evoking, sympathy-evoking) and responsibility news frames (attribution of responsibility to society, attribution of responsibility to individual, and no frame). This study found that, compared to the responsibility frames, emotion-laden exemplars significantly affected readers' moral evaluations toward the target individuals and their perceptions of the social issue's severity. The results also indicated that the anger-evoking exemplars influenced readers to attribute responsibility of a problem more to the target individuals than the societal system. In contrast, the sympathy-evoking exemplars prompted greater attribution to the societal system than the target individuals. The likelihood of a reader supporting related governmental aid policy was influenced by both emotional exemplars and responsibility news frames. Implications for further research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

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Previous research has established the association between Extraversion and pleasure orientation. This paper focuses on how Extraversion predicts problem-solving ability. The present study examined the role of Extraversion and pleasure-orientation values (i.e., Hedonism & Stimulation) and welfare-orientation values (i.e., Universalism & Benevolence) in the prediction of problem-solving ability. Specifically, it was hypothesized that measures of pleasure orientation would mediate extraversion in the prediction of problem solving. Participants were a sample of 195 university students, who completed several online measures of problem-solving ability, personal values and personality. Problem solving was measured using the Towers of Hanoi test, which is a three-disk configuration problem, and values and personality traits were measured using self-report scales. Consistent with the hypotheses, Extraversion predicted problem-solving ability through the mediating effects of pleasure-oriented values, Hedonism and Stimulation. The findings suggest that being high in extraversion or pleasure-orientation may not be sufficient for the individual to be good at solving problems. However, extraversion in association with pleasure orientation leads to greater problem-solving ability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Film clips are widely utilized to elicit emotion in a variety of research studies. Normative ratings for scenes selected for these purposes support the idea that selected clips correspond to the intended target emotion, but studies reporting normative ratings are limited. Using an ethnically diverse sample of college undergraduates, selected clips were rated for intensity, discreteness, valence, and arousal. Variables hypothesized to affect the perception of stimuli (i.e., gender, race-ethnicity, and familiarity) were also examined. Our analyses generally indicated that males reacted strongly to positively valenced film clips, whereas females reacted more strongly to negatively valenced film clips. Caucasian participants tended to react more strongly to the film clips, and we found some variation by race-ethnicity across target emotions. Finally, familiarity with the films tended to produce higher ratings for positively valenced film clips, and lower ratings for negatively valenced film clips. These findings provide normative ratings for a useful set of film clips for the study of emotion, and they underscore factors to be considered in research that utilizes scenes from film for emotion elicitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article presents valence/pleasantness, activity/arousal, power/dominance, origin, subjective significance, and source-of-experience norms for 1,586 Polish words (primarily nouns), adapted from the Affective Norms for English Words list (1,040 words) and from my own previous research (546 words), regarding the duality-of-mind approach for emotion formation. This is a first attempt at creating affective norms for Polish words. The norms are based on ratings by a total of 1,670 college students (852 females and 818 males) from different Warsaw universities and academies, studying various disciplines in equal proportions (humanities, engineering, and social and natural sciences) using a 9-point Likert Self-Assessment Manikin scale. Each participant assessed 240 words on six different scales (40 words per scale) using a paper-and-pencil group survey procedure. These affective norms for Polish words are a valid and useful tool that will allow researchers to use standard, well-known verbal materials comparable to the materials used in other languages (English, German, Portuguese, Spanish, French, Dutch, etc.). The normative values of the Polish adaptation of affective norms are included in the online supplemental materials for this article. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]