Sixteen mother-handicapped infant pairs participated in a study which found that mothers of severely handicapped babies did not attribute less communication to infants' behavior than did mothers of mildly handicapped infants. Through the process of adaptation, mothers' attributions of communication were influenced by factors besides the infants'…

This study investigated effects of preperformance information on actual classroom teacher's expectations and attributions for a hypothetical male student. Teachers were found to have higher expectations for students with ascending performance patterns, and for students labeled learning disabled rather than mildly retarded. (Author/LMO)

Two experiments investigate how attributes of peer models influenced achievement behaviors among children who had experienced difficulties learning mathematical skills in school. Children in the single-coping-model, multiple-coping-model, and multiple-mastery-model conditions demonstrated higher self-efficacy, skill, and training performance,…

This experiment explored the mediating functions of attributional and self-efficacy variables on achievement outcomes for skill training treatments offered in conjunction with attributional feedback. Children who were identified as learned helpless and deficient in division skills received training on division operations either through modeling…

Investigates whether 53 mothers' beliefs about achievement were related to their seventh grade children's sex differences, and the association between these beliefs and their children's performance in mathematics. (HOD)

Investigates children's person-by-situation knowledge of probable causes of emotion in self and in others, and compares this to adults' construals. Shows that children can generate contextual explanations for affective states in self and others that are both shared by other children and adults and selectively related to different kinds of…

Studies of learning disabled students' self concept and attributions suggest that the passive learning style may reflect their beliefs that they are not in control of their destinies. The paper reviews strategies to help LD children acquire more adaptive notions about the causes of their successes and failures. (Author/CL)

Sixth graders (n=124) were tested for their perceptions of self-efficacy with print and TV, perceived media realism, and attributions of failure and success with each medium. The amount of invested mental effort (AIME) and achievement were measured. The roles of a priori perceptions and AIME in learning are discussed. (Author/BS)

Thirty Black, Caucasian, and Mexican-American undergraduates rated photographs of infants of each race on physical attractiveness and 12 bipolar adjectives. Results indicated that strong expectations that "beauty-is-good" are elicited soon after birth for Caucasians and non-Caucasians. Activity in babies appears to be a negative…

Results of three studies provide considerable support for the importance, existence, and the normative adequacy of the cognitive process of "second guessing." Preliminary data suggest that people are quite good at detaching sources of bias and make reasonable adjustments in their judgments to correct for those biases. (PD)

Examines kindergarten, second-, and fourth-grade children's use of the presence or absence of extrinsic rewards to make inferences about the intrinsic motivation of another person. Results are discussed in terms of parameters of the attributional effects, the possible mechanism responsible for the phenomena, and significance for other…

Two experiments investigated how attributional feedback sequence influences children's motivation, attributions, self-efficacy, and performance. Third graders lacking subtraction skills received training and solved problems with one of four ability and/or effort feedback sequences. Children initially receiving ability feedback developed higher…

"Data Trends" reports present summaries of research on mental health services for children and adolescents and their families. The article summarized in this "Data Trends" asks: Does the stress and adversity associated with poverty cause mental illness or is poverty the result of downward social mobility of persons with mental…

Many children with emotional and behavioural difficulties behave well in a one-to-one situation with an adult. It is when they are in a group with their peers that their behaviour deteriorates dramatically. The more teachers understand about group dynamics, the better equipped they will be to support children who find such skills as turn-taking…

While research on prosocial behavior has dramatically increased during the last 20 years, there are few studies examining the role of self-evaluative emotions such as pride and guilt as consequences of and motivations for helping others. This study examined how children attribute pride and guilt for actions germane to the moral or competence…