The following hypothesis is tested and validated: that individual differences in interviewers' tendencies to rate generously or harshly, applicant characteristics, and the dissimilarity between applicant and interviewer characteristics contribute simultaneously to the prediction of interviewers' ratings of medical school applicants. (JMD)

This study used data from the Australian Temperament Project to examine how child temperament characteristics and the "fit" between parent and child from early in life might influence social competence when children were 11 and 12 years old. Findings indicated that problematic child functioning, poor fit, or both, had negative…

Familial/individual predictor variables related to reading disability were assessed, using 66 lower-to-upper-middle-class second graders. Subjects were evaluated as preschoolers, at age 60 months, and at the end of grade 2. Familial reading problems and individual differences in vocabulary, phonological awareness, and early literacy skills were…

Reviews current literature about personal, demographic, situational, and cognitive attributes that affect computer-aided decision making. The effectiveness of computer-aided decision making is explored in relation to decision quality, effectiveness, and confidence. Studies of the effects of age, anxiety, cognitive type, attitude, gender, and prior…

Discusses an empirical study that examined the relative efficiency of individual differences variables and user-based situational variables as predictors of the actual information/knowledge needed by users to accomplish word processing tasks. Information seeking versus information use is discussed, and results of canonical correlation analyses are…

Examined the extent to which risk factors for concurrent binge drinking in adolescence can predict changes during transition to young adulthood. Found that being male, possessing low self-efficacy, and drinking primarily "to get drunk" were unconditional risk factors for increased binge drinking over time. Other adolescent risk factors…

Increasing numbers of full-time university students mix their studies with paid employment. The current research examined the nature, extent and correlates of paid work amongst a sample of 246 university students. Approximately 85% of the sample reported having a paid job during semester, a figure that exceeds that found in previous studies. Five…

The effects of age at entrance into school on subsequent elementary school performance were studied in a cohort of children who started grade 1 in the Dallas school system (Texas) in fall 1981. Most of the subjects were born on or after September 1, 1974 and before September 1, 1975; the spread of ages was 1 year. A total of 3,028 male and 3,019…

The findings and conclusions of an inquiry into the use and value of college academic records as a primary basis for predicting later occupational success are summarized. The inquiry revealed a wide variation in the meaning of grades from school to school. The quality of students accepted by different colleges varies widely. This variation is…

Data collected during the standardization of the 1976 Metropolitan Readiness Tests (MRT) were examined to provide information on sex differences in prereading skills. The MRT are designed for administration either at the beginning of kindergarten or between kindergarten and first grade. Performance on the six subtests and the total test on both…

The Rostock Longitudinal Study, which has followed 247 at-risk children from birth to age 14, seeks to identify factors contributing to interindividual developmental differences. Results reported underscore the limited prognostic value of single risk factors, the diminishing impact of organic perinatal risk factors over time, and the increasing…

Studied whether individual differences in print exposure and exposure to other media can account for individual differences in acquired declarative knowledge, controlling for confounds between experience and ability. Results with 268 undergraduates (90 males and 178 females) suggest that exposure is a significant contributor to knowledge…

This study was designed to investigate the fears of children and adolescents in Alabama in the aftermath of 9/11 and after the initial invasion of Iraq in 2003. The American Fear Survey Schedule for Children (FSSC-AM; Burnham, 1995, 2005) was utilized to measure the fears of youth in Grades 2-12. (Contains 4 tables.)

Background: Cognitive and family factors are implicated in the origins of behavioural problems, but little is known about their independence or interplay. Methods: We present data from 127 two-year-olds from predominantly disadvantaged families who completed tests of "theory of mind" (ToM), executive function (EF) and verbal ability. Researchers'…

In this study, the author examined the relationship between theory-of-mind understanding and preschool-aged children's peer-related social competence. One hundred eleven 3- to 5-year-old children (48 boys, 63 girls) participated in 2 theory-of-mind tasks designed to assess their understanding of false belief. Teachers rated children's peer-related…