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Peer-tutoring (PT) is a widely studied learning strategy. No studies, to our knowledge, have examined the effects of PT on tutors' metacognitive abilities, particularly in relation to implicit theories of intelligence. Study 1 aimed to determine the effects of PT on tutors' theory and beliefs of intelligence and self-confidence in their own intelligence. Study 2 aimed to explore the efficacy of a metacognitive training administered to tutors on some metacognitive dimensions for both tutors and tutees. In Study 1, we compared tutors and no-tutors before and after PT; in Study 2 we compared tutors, who completed a brief metacognitive training, with a group of standard tutors, as well as their relative tutees. Participants were assigned to experimental conditions and assessed using various standardised questionnaires. Study 1 revealed a surprising negative effect: after PT, tutors tended to abandon the idea of intelligence as a modifiable construct and adopt a more dysfunctional theory of entity intelligence (Cohen's d =.66). Study 2 also showed that the PT experience negatively affected tutors' theory of intelligence (Cohen's d =.94), but this held only for untrained tutors. We also found a positive indirect effect of the training on tutees' attitudes towards maths. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Perfectionism is a multidimensional trait that has been associated with psychological distress and reduced well-being. The maladaptive Evaluation Concerns (EC) dimension has been consistently linked to maladjustment while the adaptive Positive Strivings (PS) dimension has been occasionally associated with better functioning. The present study examined how the two dimensions are related to peace of mind (PoM) or the state of peace and harmony. The current research also investigated the mediating function of implicit theories of intelligence. It was hypothesized that entity theory would mediate the relationship of EC and PoM. On the other hand, it was expected that incremental theory would mediate the effect of PS on PoM. A total of 451 (477 females, 74 males) Filipino undergraduate students took part in the present study. The results revealed that EC predicted entity theory, but the latter was not significantly related to PoM. Conversely, PS predicted higher incremental beliefs which, in turn, positively predicted PoM. This indicates that EC perfectionists are more inclined to believe that their intelligence is fixed. But their entity beliefs are not necessarily detrimental to their PoM. In contrast, perfectionists with high PS are more likely to experience greater PoM because they believe in the malleability of their abilities. Taken together, the present study provided interesting insights on the differences in the characteristics and motivation of EC and PS perfectionists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals who believe that intelligence can be improved with effort (an incremental theory of intelligence) and who approach challenges with the goal of improving their understanding (a learning goal) tend to have higher academic achievement. Furthermore, parent praise is associated with children's incremental theories and learning goals. However, the influences of parental criticism, as well as different forms of praise and criticism (e.g., process vs. person), have received less attention. We examine these associations by analyzing two existing datasets (Study 1: N = 317 first to eighth graders; Study 2: N = 282 fifth and eighth graders). In both studies, older children held more incremental theories of intelligence, but lower learning goals, than younger children. Unexpectedly, the relation between theories of intelligence and learning goals was nonsignificant and did not vary with children's grade level. In both studies, overall perceived parent praise positively related to children's learning goals, whereas perceived parent criticism negatively related to incremental theories of intelligence. In Study 2, perceived parent process praise was the only significant (positive) predictor of children's learning goals, whereas perceived parent person criticism was the only significant (negative) predictor of incremental theories of intelligence. Finally, Study 2 provided some support for our hypothesis that age-related differences in perceived parent praise and criticism can explain age-related differences in children's learning goals. Results suggest that incremental theories of intelligence and learning goals might not be strongly related during childhood and that perceived parent praise and criticism have important, but distinct, relations with each motivational construct.

This article discusses the issues of the basic processes underlying intelligence, considering both historical and contemporary perspectives. The attempt to elucidate basic processes has had, at best, mixed success. There are some problems with pinpointing the underlying basic processes of intelligence, both in theory and as tested, such as what constitutes a basic process, what constitutes intelligence, and whether the processes, basic or not, are the same across time and space (cultural contexts). Nevertheless, the search for basic processes has elucidated phenomena of intelligence that the field would have been hard-pressed to elucidate in any other way. Intelligence cannot be fully understood through any one conceptual or methodological approach. A comprehensive understanding of intelligence requires the converging operations of a variety of approaches to it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mindset and motivation that teachers demonstrate are likely to influence their students’ mindset and motivation. While mindset and motivation of in-service teachers have been investigated thoroughly, the same cannot be said of pre-service teachers. Pre-service teachers’ mindset and motivation are likely developed during in-class experiences or practicum, the latter seen as the defining experience of pre-service teachers’ preparation. Understanding the changes that pre-service teachers undergo during their practicum experiences in terms of theories of intelligence, teaching efficacy, resilience, and grit is therefore crucial. This study used these constructs as examples of mindsets, self-beliefs, capacities, and personality traits. A cross-sectional design compared American and Canadian pre-practicum versus post-practicum pre-service teachers’ growth mindset and motivation and illustrated that similar effects occur across national contexts through a primarily quantitative questionnaire with open-ended questions. Triangulated statistical and thematic analyses illustrated that post-practicum students were less idealistic about the incremental nature of intelligence and reported higher resilience and a more pragmatic approach to teaching than their pre-practicum peers. The study’s findings extended other studies’ findings illustrating that changes occur specifically in teacher mindset as well as their strategies. Teacher education programs informed by these specific changes can capitalize on the pragmatic shift of teachers’ strategy selection while also coaching them to retain an incremental view of intelligence for their students’ benefit.

Copyright of Journal of Social Sciences Research / Sosyal Bilimler Arastirmalari Dergisi is the property of ODU Journal of Social Sciences Research and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

An important goal of learning analytics (LA) is to improve learning by providing students with meaningful feedback. Feedback is often generated by prediction models of student success using data about students and their learning processes based on digital traces of learning activities. However, early in the learning process, when feedback is most fruitful, trace-data-based prediction models often have limited information about the initial ability of students, making it difficult to produce accurate prediction and personalized feedback to individual students. Furthermore, feedback generated from trace data without appropriate consideration of learners’ dispositions might hamper effective interventions. By providing an example of the role of learning dispositions in an LA application directed at predictive modeling in an introductory mathematics and statistics module, we make a plea for applying dispositional learning analytics (DLA) to make LA precise and actionable. DLA combines learning data with learners’ disposition data measured through for example self-report surveys. The advantage of DLA is twofold: first, to improve the accuracy of early predictions; and second, to link LA predictions with meaningful learning interventions that focus on addressing less developed learning dispositions. Dispositions in our DLA example include students’ mindsets, operationalized as entity and incremental theories of intelligence, and corresponding effort beliefs. These dispositions were inputs for a cluster analysis generating different learning profiles. These profiles were compared for other dispositions and module performance. The finding of profile differences suggests that the inclusion of disposition data and mindset data, in particular, adds predictive power to LA applications.

Dropout from engineering studies has been linked to 'fixed mindset' beliefs of intelligence as fixed-at-birth that make students more likely to disengage when facing new challenges. In contrast, 'growth mindset' beliefs that intelligence can be improved with effort make students more likely to persist when confronting difficulties. This systematic literature review of engineering, education and psychology databases explores the effectiveness of different interventions in developing growth mindset in engineering students, what measures have been used in assessing the effectiveness of these interventions and who has benefited from these interventions, in terms of gender and year of study. We compare interventions by geographical location, intervention type, methodology for assessing mindsets, other topics studied, and effectiveness. The results show a variation in effectiveness among the fifteen included studies. The findings will be useful for educators who want to encourage growth mindset and thereby support the academic success of their students. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Against intuition, a set of "desirable difficulties" has been touted as a way in which to improve learning and lengthen retention. This includes, for instance, varying the conditions of learning to allow for more active, effortful, or challenging, contexts. In the current paper, we introduce data that show that, on the contrary, learning to know when to take the easy road may be crucial when it comes to avoiding "laboring in vain." We presented participants with prior problems – either easy or difficult – followed by choices of selecting an easy or a difficult current problem. Our primary goal was to examine the notion that past failures (which are more likely on the difficult prior items) may be a basis for allowing learners to then choose the easy rather than the difficult current problem. In other words, if one has labored in vain already, the easier items may now be more desirable. In addition, we compare the selections that are made between incremental and entity perspectives, given their fundamentally opposing views on effort. Our results showed that, interestingly, incremental theorists, who generally are proponents of effort, were more likely to select the easy problems, but only when they had experienced failure on prior, and similar, difficult tasks. We interpret these data to suggest that those holding an incremental view may be more in tune with their past efforts, resulting in a Metacognition-by-Experience, or ME strategy, and also hint at its generalizability through cross-cultural comparisons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research explored the cultural and cognitive factors that promoted college students' intrinsic value for academic learning, which has been shown to be an important correlate of college students' GPA. Cultural values and theories of intelligence were both hypothesized to predict students' intrinsic value, but only cultural values were shown to be an important predictor in these relationships. Explanations and implications for these findings are explored. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The mindset and motivation that teachers demonstrate are likely to influence their students' mindset and motivation. While mindset and motivation of in-service teachers have been investigated thoroughly, the same cannot be said of pre-service teachers. Pre-service teachers' mindset and motivation are likely developed during in-class experiences or practicum, the latter seen as the defining experience of pre-service teachers' preparation. Understanding the changes that pre-service teachers undergo during their practicum experiences in terms of theories of intelligence, teaching efficacy, resilience, and grit is therefore crucial. This study used these constructs as examples of mindsets, self-beliefs, capacities, and personality traits. A cross-sectional design compared American and Canadian pre-practicum versus post-practicum pre-service teachers' growth mindset and motivation and illustrated that similar effects occur across national contexts through a primarily quantitative questionnaire with open-ended questions. Triangulated statistical and thematic analyses illustrated that post-practicum students were less idealistic about the incremental nature of intelligence and reported higher resilience and a more pragmatic approach to teaching than their prepracticum peers. The study's findings extended other studies' findings illustrating that changes occur specifically in teacher mindset as well as their strategies. Teacher education programs informed by these specific changes can capitalize on the pragmatic shift of teachers' strategy selection while also coaching them to retain an incremental view of intelligence for their students' benefit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students' personal theories about education change as students gather new evidence about intelligence, learning, and knowledge. The present study investigated whether college instructors' play a role in changing students' personal theories with the messages professors send in the classroom. Students (N = 162) and instructors (N = 15) of undergraduate-level math and science summer courses completed surveys assessing personal theories about education and the frequency of messages related to educational beliefs. Multilevel models found that both between-class and within-class differences in reported messages corresponded with students' personal beliefs at the end of the course. Instructors' personal theories were generally not predictive of students' personal theories, and students' initial personal theories predicted the messages they remembered hearing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Existing research on theories of intelligence shows that students with growth mindsets tend to outperform those with fixed mindsets in mathematics. We used nationally representative data to address two related questions in the general population: (a) Are there subgroup differences in the endorsement of a fixed mindset? (b) Does the negative association of a fixed mindset and math achievement vary across subgroups? We found that White students and students from higher socioeconomic backgrounds are more likely to view intelligence as a fixed trait than non-Whites and students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds. Furthermore, for low-achieving students, we found that a fixed mindset at 10th grade predicted lower gains in academic achievement by 12th grade than it did for their high-achieving counterparts. Our results reflect that contextual differences play a critical role in shaping fixed mindsets and its consequences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals who believe that intelligence can be improved with effort (an incremental theory of intelligence ) and who approach challenges with the goal of improving their understanding (a learning goal ) tend to have higher academic achievement. Furthermore, parent praise is associated with children’s incremental theories and learning goals. However, the influences of parental criticism, as well as different forms of praise and criticism (e.g., process vs. person), have received less attention. We examine these associations by analyzing two existing datasets (Study 1: N  = 317 first to eighth graders; Study 2: N  = 282 fifth and eighth graders). In both studies, older children held more incremental theories of intelligence, but lower learning goals, than younger children. Unexpectedly, the relation between theories of intelligence and learning goals was nonsignificant and did not vary with children’s grade level. In both studies, overall perceived parent praise positively related to children’s learning goals, whereas perceived parent criticism negatively related to incremental theories of intelligence. In Study 2, perceived parent process praise was the only significant (positive) predictor of children’s learning goals, whereas perceived parent person criticism was the only significant (negative) predictor of incremental theories of intelligence. Finally, Study 2 provided some support for our hypothesis that age-related differences in perceived parent praise and criticism can explain age-related differences in children’s learning goals. Results suggest that incremental theories of intelligence and learning goals might not be strongly related during childhood and that perceived parent praise and criticism have important, but distinct, relations with each motivational construct. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In a previous study, parent-child praise was observed in natural interactions at home when children were 1. 2, and 3 years of age. Children who received a relatively high proportion of process praise (e.g., praise for effort and strategies) showed stronger incremental motivational frameworks, including a belief that intelligence can be developed and a greater desire for challenge, when they were in 2nd or 3rd grade (Gunderson et al., 2013). The current study examines these same children's (n = 53) academic achievement 1 to 2 years later, in 4th grade. Results provide the first evidence that process praise to toddlers predicts children's academic achievement (in math and reading comprehension) 7 years later, in elementary school, via their incremental motivational frameworks. Further analysis of these motivational frameworks shows that process praise had its effect on fourth grade achievement through children's trait beliefs (e.g., believing that intelligence is fixed vs. malleable), rather than through their learning goals (e.g., preference for easy vs. challenging tasks). Implications for the socialization of motivation are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Numerous studies have shown that individuals' help-seeking behavior increases when a computerized helper is endowed with humanlike features in nonachievement contexts. In contrast, the current research suggests that anthropomorphic helpers are not universally conducive to help-seeking behavior in contexts of achievement, particularly among individuals who construe help seeking as a display of incompetence (i.e., entity theorists). Study 1 demonstrated that when entity theorists received help from an anthropomorphized (vs. a nonanthropomorphized) helper, they were more concerned about negative judgments from other people, whereas incremental theorists were not affected by anthropomorphic features. Study 2 showed that when help was provided by an anthropomorphized (vs. a nonanthropomorphized) helper, entity theorists were less likely to seek help, even at the cost of lower performance. In contrast, incremental theorists' help-seeking behavior and task performance were not affected by anthropomorphism. This research deepens the current understanding of the role of anthropomorphic computerized helpers in online learning contexts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals' implicit theories of intelligence exist on a spectrum, from believing intelligence is fixed and unchangeable, to believing it is malleable and can be improved with effort. A belief in malleable intelligence leads to adaptive responses to challenge and higher achievement. However, surprisingly little is known about the development of academic-domain-specific theories of intelligence (i.e., math vs. reading and writing). The authors examined this in a cross-section of students from 1st grade to college (N = 523). They also examined whether students hold different beliefs about the role of fixed ability in adult jobs versus their own grade. The authors' adult-specific beliefs hypothesis states that when children learn societally held beliefs from adults, they first apply these beliefs specifically to adults and later to students their own age. Consistent with this, even the youngest students (1st and 2nd graders) believed that success in an adult job requires more fixed ability in math than reading and writing. However, when asked about students in their own grade, only high school and college students reported that math involves more fixed ability than reading and writing. High school and college students' math-specific theories of intelligence were related to their motivation and achievement in math, controlling for reading and writing-specific theories. Reading and writing-specific theories did not predict reading and writing-specific motivations or achievement, perhaps because students perceive reading and writing as less challenging than math. In summary, academic-domain-specific theories of intelligence develop early but may not become self-relevant until adolescence, and math-specific beliefs may be especially important targets for intervention. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study was to observe the relation between students' perception on intelligence and their school performance, and also to check if this relationship can be improved upon by creating an optimum environment for development within the classroom. 137 students from different public and private schools in Oradea, Bihor county, were implied in this research. They completed measures on theories of intelligence, school environment and teacher perception. Also, their school grades were recorded from the official school documents. The results showed significant positive association between school grades and the incremental theory on intelligence. Also, school satisfaction was positive related to students' perception on teachers' support. The results have important implications in understanding students' motivation and their wellbeing in school context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A person’s belief about whether intelligence can change (called their implicit theory of intelligence) predicts something about that person’s thinking and behavior. People who believe intelligence is fixed (called entity theorists) attribute failure to traits (i.e. I failed the test because I’m not smart.) and tend to be less motivated in school; those who believe intelligence is malleable (called incremental theorists) tend to attribute failure to behavior (i.e. I failed the test because I didn’t study.) and are more motivated in school. In previous studies, researchers have characterized participants as either entity or incremental theorists based on their agreement or disagreement with three statements. The present study further explored the theories-of-intelligence construct in two ways: first, we asked whether these theories are coherent, in the sense that they show up not only in participants’ responses to the three standard assessment items, but on a broad range of questions about intelligence and the brain. Second, we asked whether these theories are discrete or continuous. In other words, we asked whether people one thing or the other (i.e. that intelligence is malleable or fixed), or if there is a continuous range of beliefs (i.e., people believe in malleability to a greater or lesser degree). Study (1) asked participants a range of general questions about the malleability of intelligence and the brain. Study (2) asked participants more specific questions about the brains of a pair of identical twins who were separated at birth. Results showed that theories of intelligence are coherent: participants’ responses to the three standard survey items are correlated with their responses to questions about the brain. But the theories are not discrete: although responses to the three standard survey items fell into a bimodal distribution, responses to the broader range of questions fell into a normal distribution suggesting the theories are continuous.

Copyright of Turkish Journal of Giftedness & Education is the property of ResearchTrentz and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Commercial computerized cognitive training (CCT) programs have grown rapidly in popularity over the past several years. However, the effectiveness of commercial CCT at improving cognition is highly contested, and the degree to which expectations of CCT outcomes affect self-reported gains remains unclear. Here, we examined the malleability of CCT expectations by testing if a brief positive or negative message about CCT would influence attitudes regarding its effectiveness in 565 participants from Amazon's Mechanical Turk. We also assessed if personality, need for cognition (NFC), and fixed versus incremental theories of intelligence (TOI) moderate these effects. As predicted, individuals in the positive condition had more positive CCT expectations relative to those in the negative condition. Individuals with incremental TOI had more positive expectations than fixed TOI individuals, regardless of message condition. Higher NFC and open-mindedness were associated with more positive expectations in the positive condition and more negative expectations in the negative condition. Agreeableness was associated with more positive expectations in the positive condition. These results indicate that CCT expectations are malleable to persuasive messages, and this effect is influenced by NFC, TOI, open-mindedness, and agreeableness. The results support the need for future research to investigate expectancy effects on CCT outcomes. • Persuasive messages about cognitive training influenced training expectations. • Individuals with higher need for cognition were more influenced by the messages. • Incremental theory of intelligence was associated with more optimistic expectations. • Agreeableness and openness were associated with being influenced by the messages. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Children with specific learning disabilities (SLDs) are characterized by a poor academic achievement despite an average intelligence. They are therefore typically assessed not only with achievement tests, but also with intelligence tests, usually the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC). The assumption of a discrepancy between IQ and achievement in children with SLD has been questioned, however, and the implications of using different measures in batteries of intellectual subtests have not been thoroughly investigated. The present study examined these issues, taking advantage of a large database of scores obtained in the ten core subtests of the WISC-IV by a group of 910 Italian children with a clinical diagnosis of SLD, who were compared with the children considered for national standardization purposes. Our results support the doubts raised concerning the IQ-achievement discrepancy model, showing that relevant discrepancies can emerge even within the WISC profile. The four main WISC-IV indexes were found differently related to intelligence (measured by means of the g -factor) and the g content of many subtests differed in children with SLD vis-à-vis typically-developing children. These results have important implications both theoretical, indicating that the g -factor is weakly identified in children with SLD children, and practical, indicating that the QI obtained with the WISC-IV may not be a good measure of intellectual functioning for children with SLD, which are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Endorsing an entity theory of intelligence has negative effects on students' academic trajectories. Research focused on students' personal theories of intelligence has shown that girls are more likely than boys to hold an entity theory of intelligence. However, no study has examined the possibility of a gender stereotype basis for this belief. Aims We examined whether secondary school students are knowledgeable about others' beliefs describing female students' intelligence as less malleable than male students' intelligence. Sample and method A sample of 85 French ninth graders were asked to rate to what extent others perceived: (1) female or male students' intelligence as malleable and fixed; (2) female or male students as making efforts for their current achievement; and (3) female or male students as having potential for future success. Results Participants reported that others perceived girls' intelligence as less malleable than boys' intelligence. Moreover, the relationship between current efforts and potential for future achievement depended on the target's gender. The more hardworking a female student was perceived to be in school, the less she was considered to have potential to succeed in the future, whereas such a link was not observed for a male student. Conclusions Secondary school students seem to be knowledgeable about a gender stereotype regarding intelligence and potential for academic success which is unfavourable for female students. Implications for students' academic trajectories are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship between theories of intelligence and goal orientations, and their joint connections to students’ academic achievement in the Chinese cultural context. A total of 418 university students in Hong Kong participated in the present study. The survey was administered to collect information on students’ beliefs about their goal orientations, theories of intelligence and their college grade point averages. The data were analysed using structural equation modelling. The results suggest that beliefs in the incremental theory of intelligence contribute to students’ academic achievements by facilitating their endorsement of mastery goals and performance-approach goals. Students’ performance-avoidance goals have a negative association with academic success. Cultural factors and considerations are addressed to clarify further the culture-specific findings. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

Copyright of Ilkogretim Online is the property of Ilkogretim Online and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This articles discusses Feuerstein's place among theorists of intelligence and intellectual development and the pervasive influence his work has had. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chinese students are well-known for their academic excellence. However, studies that explore the underlying mechanism of how cultural factors relate to the motivational process and academic achievement of Chinese students have been limited. This study aimed to examine the role of filial piety in shaping Chinese students' theories of intelligence so as to obtain a clearer understanding of the process by which parent-child connectedness is linked to Chinese students' academic achievement. A sample of 312 university students in Hong Kong were assessed concerning their filial piety beliefs, theories of intelligence and academic achievement. Data were analysed using structural equation modelling. The results indicated that different filial piety beliefs relate to students' academic achievement by shaping different theories of intelligence. Reciprocal filial piety beliefs were found to facilitate an incremental view of intelligence, which in turn contributes to students' academic achievement. Authoritarian filial piety beliefs were shown to be associated with an entity view of intelligence, which consequently deteriorates students' academic achievement. Cultural views of motivational processes can shed light on how motivational beliefs are developed as a product of cultural or socialization processes, which, in turn, contribute to students' academic success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This small-scale qualitative study was carried out to examine a perceived gap in the teaching and learning experiences of a group of students in a two-year childcare course of a specific College of Further Education. The distinction between teaching and learning will be discussed, while acknowledging Gardner's theories and encouraging cross-curricular interactions within the Further Education setting. Students were asked to identify how they thought they learnt material in the context of Gardner's Theories of Multiple Intelligences to see if it would assist them in addressing a persistent assessment problem. The research involved an individual interview at tutorial, a follow-up group interview and a small-scale student-centred application of the resultant findings that could be addressed in a cross-curricular approach using resources already available in the setting. Students experienced a new type of learning, which centred on each individually identifying their own best learning methodology that could be applied to any learning situation presented thus opening up learning as a goal not a challenge. More importantly, students were involved in a process, which allowed them to contribute to greater understanding of a persistent learning problem on the part of students in their college department.

Previous research overwhelmingly suggests that feelings of ease people experience while processing information lead them to infer that their comprehension is high, whereas feelings of difficulty lead them to infer that their comprehension is low. However, the inferences people draw from their experiences of processing fluency should also vary in accordance with their naive theories about why new information might be easy or difficult to process. Five experiments that involved reading novel texts showed that participants who view intelligence as a fixed attribute, and who tend to interpret experiences of processing difficulty as an indication that they are reaching the limits of their ability, reported lower levels of comprehension as fluency decreased. In contrast, participants who view intelligence as a malleable attribute that develops through effort, and who do not tend to interpret experiences of processing difficulty as pertaining to some innate ability, did not report lower levels of comprehension as fluency decreased. In fact, when these participants were particularly likely to view effort as leading to increased mastery, decreases in fluency led them to report higher levels of comprehension. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

How people maintain and repair their self-esteem has been a topic of widespread interest. In this article, the authors ask, What determines whether people will use direct, remedial actions, or defensive actions? In three studies, they tested the hypothesis that a belief in fixed intelligence (entity theory) would produce defensiveness, whereas a belief in improvable intelligence (incremental theory) would foster remediation. In each study, participants assigned to the entity condition opted for defensive self-esteem repair (downward comparison in Studies 1 and 3; a tutorial on already mastered material in Study 2), but those in the incremental condition opted for self-improvement (upward comparison in Studies 1 and 3; a tutorial on unmastered material in Study 2). Experiment 3 also linked these strategies to self-esteem repair; remedial strategies were the most effective in recovering lost self-esteem for those in the incremental condition, whereas defensive strategies were most effective for those in the entity condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authors tested a developmental model of children's theories about intelligence in kindergarten, second grade, and fourth grade children by using paper-and-pencil maze tasks. Older children were more likely than younger children to espouse learning goals (e.g., that they preferred difficult mazes to improve their skill), and less likely to espouse performance goals (e.g., that they preferred easy mazes to be successful). Children in all 3 age groups reported stronger beliefs in the malleability of intelligence than the stability of intelligence. In general, the results supported the authors' hypotheses about developmental change in children's theory-like conceptions of intelligence: Beliefs, goals, and motivation were related in expected ways for second and fourth graders more than for kindergartners. The authors discussed contextual influences on children's beliefs and the development of children's conceptualizations of intelligence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]