This study investigated the relationship between temperament and cognitive modifiability with 92 academically successful but disadvantaged Black South African adolescents. The Task Orientation and Personal-Social Flexibility temperament dimensions were directly related to learning, academic performance, and cognitive change. (Author/DB)

Discusses the following factors influencing learning: (1) environment; (2) emotional makeup; (3) persistence; (4) timing of learning; (5) teaching method; (6) cognitive style; (7) food intake; and (8) psychological factors, including the difference between analytical and global thinking. Discusses how to get a sense of one's personal learning…

Two elementary teachers rated 91 learning-disabled students (56 mainstreamed and 35 in self-contained classes) using the Weller-Strawser Scales of Adaptive Behavior. Results indicated that personality variables and problem behavior were related to teachers' perceptions of the ability of learning-disabled students to adapt to the classroom.…

Effects of loss of a parent--assessed by the Beck Depression Inventory and other measures--were measured using 34 female and 16 male adolescents. High levels of informal social support, good relations with the surviving parent prior to the loss, balanced personality, and the presence of religious beliefs influenced healthy adaptation. (SLD)

The Client Interaction Scale is a 12-item assessment tool for measuring client integration into the client-to-client interactive milieu in community support programs for persons with chronic mental illness. Results from administration of the scale to 95 clients indicate that the scale shows excellent inter-item reliability. (TJH)

Professors--obsessed with being perfect, eager to criticize, disillusioned after years of sacrifice in graduate school--may be making themselves emotionally ill. Something in the academic environment contributes to the personality profile that David F. Machell has developed. (MLW)

Relationships among locus of control, academic program, and sex of 267 ninth-graders were studied. As hypothesized, students in the advanced level program were more internally controlled than were general or basic level students. Although locus of control was related to academic level, its relationship to gender was not consistent. (SLD)

Examines gender stereotyping and the use of alcohol. Analyzes responses of 70 female and 46 male college students to a social stereotyping study derived from the Bem Social Roles ventory. Finds that expectations regarding beer drinking and getting drunk are aspects of traditional male gender role. (FMW)

Assessed personality factors of 152 adolescent drivers. Found that subjects convicted of driving while intoxicated (DWI) and juvenile offenders without DWI citations more often endorsed feelings of powerlessness and stressful life events than did drivers without DWI citations. DWI offenders were more likely to indicate that alcohol made them loud,…

Explored relationship between situational variables, personality (relational competence) variables, and two outcome variables (perceived control and0d/AIW ssion) that increase risk of child abuse. Found control and depression among high-risk parents to be consistently predicted by relational competence variables such as shyness, assertiveness,…

Examined family unemployment in terms of its effects on adolescent work values and self-concept. Findings from 344 high school students from Israeli development town showed no significant differences among youth from families where father was employed or unemployed. Findings suggest that father's work status has little impact on adolescent family…

A research review of ability and effort studies in the United States and Japan finds: (1) effort considered the primary determinant of achievement in Japan; (2) different concepts; and (3) the Japanese fostering task involvement through cooperation. Social structure may account for the attributional patterns of Japanese children. (SLD)

A research-based model is presented that accounts for major patterns of adaptive and maladaptive behavior in terms of underlying psychological processes. It is postulated that as individuals' self-attributes are translated into allied goals, these goals generate corresponding behavior patterns. (SLD)

Tested mildly depressed undergraduates (N=52) in treatment for depression using cognitive-behavioral, self-help manual. Results suggest that Holland's Realistic personality types are most successful in terms of reduction of depression scores, whereas Enterprising types are least successful in terms of attrition. Low superiority, high generalized…

For almost 60 years, researchers and practitioners have relied on the "Mental Measurements Yearbook" series for information about published instruments. The new edition contains descriptive information on 477 tests in 18 major categories. This edition maintains its predecessors' tradition of excellence. (SLD)