Intellectual styles: A comparison of factor structures in gifted and average children and adolescents.

Describes and compares structures of intellectual activity in gifted and average children, as found in 2 studies. In Study 1, 307 gifted and 192 average children in Grades 5–10 gave self-reports about their curiosity and about their frequency of and attitudes toward daydreaming. Demographic information and IQ scores were obtained from school records. The intercorrelations of these variables were factor analyzed for the gifted and average groups separately. Results indicated the presence of independent intellectual power (general intelligence) and intellectual style (daydreaming and curiosity) factors in each group. Comparisons of the analyses indicate considerable similarity in the structures of intellectual style in the gifted and average groups. These results were cross-validated in Study 2, dealing with self-reported daydreaming in 98 gifted and 105 average children in Grades 9–12. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Consistency of daydreaming styles across samples of college male and female drug and alcohol users.

Examined the consistency of patterns of daydreaming across groups of male and female college students categorized as users and nonusers of drugs and alcohol. The Imaginal Processes Inventory, a battery of 28 scales tapping attitudes toward daydreaming and the content of spontaneous thought, was factor-analyzed for the total sample of 1,095 students and for 8 subgroups formed by Ss' sex and pattern of drug and alcohol use. Six primary factors were extremely stable over S classifications; the correlations among the factors were also relatively invariant over groupings. Three orthogonal 2nd-order factors were also derived and labeled Positive-Constructive Daydreaming, Guilt and Fear of Failure Daydreaming, and Attentional Control. Results suggest that moderate experimentation with drug and alcohol use by Ss did not result in radical reorganization of the structural characteristics of daydreaming and private experiences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of sex, intelligence, and style of thinking on creativity: A comparison of gifted and average IQ children.

15 boys and 15 girls, aged 9–11 yrs, from a gifted program (IQs of 130 or more on the Otis Lennon Test of Mental Abilities) and 30 age- and sex-matched average children (IQs between 95 and 110) were compared on Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking and left hemisphere, right hemisphere, and integrated thinking styles. Results show that sex, IQ, and thinking style each had an effect on different dimensions of Ss' creativity. Girls, irrespective of their IQ level and thinking style, scored higher than boys consistently across the 7 creativity subscales, reaching significance in verbal and figural fluency. Gifted Ss, independent of their thinking style, were better than the nongifted Ss but only in verbal originality. The integrated thinking style was related to creativity on the Elaboration and Figural Flexibility subtests. Results support the relative independence of select facets of children's creativity from general intellectual factors; they also suggest that performance on each of the creativity subtests may be strongly influenced by different psychological, intellectual, and perhaps, social factors. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Childhood depression, locus of control, and school achievement

Childhood depression and locus of control (as assessed by a 20-item peer nomination inventory and the Children's Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale, respectively) were studied as they relate to each other and to measures of school achievement and intellectual functioning. Ss were 452 male and 492 female 4th and 5th grade public school children. Measures of achievement included standardized reading and math scores and teacher ratings of work/study habits and school achievement. The Draw-A-Person Test was used as an index of intellectual functioning. Locus of control and depression were positively related. All measures of achievement were negatively related to both external locus of control and depression. The negative relationship also held for IQ, although it was not as strong. The joint association of depression and locus of control with achievement and IQ was evidenced by a significant correlation between canonical variates representing these 2 sets of variables. (29 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Curiosity, achievement, and avoidant motivation as determinants of epistemic behavior.

Measures of n Achievement (n Ach), Test Anxiety (Anx), level of Academic performance (AL), and "Involvement" (Inv) in task content, differentiated students tested for Rote retention and Comprehension of written material under 2 conditions of knowledge seeking: (a) achievement oriented, and (b) curiosity oriented. Predictions from Atkinson's Motive-Expectancy-Incentive (M-E-I) model regarding the superiority of High n Ach, Low Anx over Low n Ach, High Anx Ss, and of High over Low AL Ss, were upheld for Comprehension, but not for Rote, in the Achievement condition. As predicted from a combination of the M-E-I model and Berlyne's theory of epistemic curiosity, superiority of the High AL, High Inv over the Low AL, Low Inv Ss held for both Comprehension and Rote in the Curiosity condition. Hypothesized differences across conditions were partially confirmed. (19 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Academic procrastination: Frequency and cognitive-behavioral correlates.

Investigated the frequency of 342 college students' procrastination on academic tasks and the reasons for procrastination behavior. A high percentage of Ss reported problems with procrastination on several specific academic tasks. Self-reported procrastination was positively correlated with the number of self-paced quizzes Ss took late in the semester and with participation in an experimental session offered late in the semester. A factor analysis of the reasons for procrastination Ss listed in a procrastination assessment scale indicated that the factors Fear of Failure and Aversiveness of the Task accounted for most of the variance. A small but very homogeneous group of Ss endorsed items on the Fear of Failure factor that correlated significantly with self-report measures of depression, irrational cognitions, low self-esteem, delayed study behavior, anxiety, and lack of assertion. A larger and relatively heterogeneous group of Ss reported procrastinating as a result of aversiveness of the task. The Aversiveness of the Task factor correlated significantly with depression, irrational cognitions, low self-esteem, and delayed study behavior. Results indicate that procrastination is not solely a deficit in study habits or time management, but involves a complex interaction of behavioral, cognitive, and affective components. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gender differences in the learning status of diabetic children.

Evaluated the learning status of 95 diabetic boys and girls and 97 matched controls using the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised (WAIS—R) IQ factors and school histories. Of interest was whether diabetic boys would evidence more learning difficulties. Results indicated that diabetic boys had significantly lower Freedom From Distractibility scores compared with the scores of diabetic girls and control Ss and lower Perceptual Organization scores compared with scores of control boys. Although group scores were still within the average range of functioning, a significantly high percentage of diabetic boys (40%) compared with diabetic girls (16%) had learning problems that warranted either special instructional services or grade retention. Diabetic children experienced more learning difficulties (24%) than controls (13%), supporting research findings that diabetes is associated with increased risk of learning problems. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A comparison study of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised in a college population.

Administered the WAIS and the WAIS-R to 70 18–29 yr old college students in a counterbalanced order. A highly significant test?×?order interaction was found such that the WAIS-R resulted in significantly higher estimates of ability when administered following the WAIS than did the WAIS when following the WAIS-R. However, a comparison of scores for Ss taking their 1st Wechsler scale revealed that for this group the WAIS-R resulted in significantly lower estimates of intellectual ability than the WAIS—Verbal IQ 8 points lower, Performance IQ 9 points lower, and Full Scale IQ 9 points lower. Results are discussed in terms of the clinical implications, particularly as they pertain to the interaction effect. (3 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

WAIS—R abbreviated forms in the elderly: A comparison of the Satz-Mogel with a seven-subtest short form.

The Satz-Mogel abbreviation of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised (WAIS—R) was compared with a 7-subtest short form (L. C. Ward, see record 1991-00137-001) in samples of normal and neurologically impaired elderly persons 75 yrs and older. The normals were 130 Ss from the old-age WAIS—R standardization sample, and the brain-damaged group consisted of 40 men with medically diagnosed brain dysfunction (average age 79.5 yrs). The short forms were highly similar in administration times, correlations with the WAIS—R IQs, estimation of the average IQ scores, and in classification of intelligence for both the normal and neurologically impaired Ss. Finally, both short forms correctly estimated significant Verbal IQ–Performance IQ discrepancies about 75% of the time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measuring death anxiety: Conceptual, psychometric, and factor-analytic aspects.

Developed a brief, reliable, and valid questionnaire for measuring attitudes toward death and dying. In Stage 1, 4 groups of 30–82 yr old Ss (34 psychology and 27 gerontology graduate students, 25 senior-citizen-center attendees, and 14 nursing home residents) completed the Death Anxiety Questionnaire (DAQ), Taylor Manifest Anxiety Scale, and the Albert Einstein College of Medicine Depression Scale (a revised version of the Self-Rating Depression Scale). During Stage 2, results on these scales were cross-validated on a new sample of 70 gerontology students, and the Death Anxiety Scale and Death Concern Scale were also completed. Internal consistency of the DAQ was .83, and test–retest reliability was .87. No significant sex or age differences were found. A principal-components factor analysis suggested 4 independent dimensions of death anxiety: Fear of the Unknown, Fear of Suffering, Fear of Loneliness, and Fear of Personal Extinction. Recommendations for future research include an investigation of the degree to which scores on these 4 dimensions might differentiate sex, age, personality, affective, and diagnostic groups. (50 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of age-extended norms for the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised in patients with Alzheimer's disease.

Recent studies by R. J. Ivnik et al (see record 1993-04116-001), J. F. Malec et al (see record 1993-04120-001), and J. J. Ryan et al (see record 1991-08835-001) have provided age-extended norms for the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised (WAIS—R). The current study compared IQ scores based on these newer age-extended norms in 216 elderly Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. Results showed that when the norms from Ryan et al were used, IQ scores were consistently the same as or higher than when WAIS—R manual norms were used. When the norms provided by Ivnik et al and Malec et al were used, IQ scores tended to be lower than WAIS—R manual norms for younger patients with more intellectual impairment. Results illustrate the importance of reporting the normative sample upon which IQ test scores for older adults are based and provide guidelines for selecting which set of age-extended WAIS—R norms to use with cognitively impaired elderly Ss. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Further appraisal of the Verbal scale as a short form of the WAIS.

Verbal IQ from the WAIS has been found to overestimate Full Scale IQ, and consequently, the Verbal scale has been judged unsatisfactory as a WAIS short form. To investigate this question further, a regression equation relating Verbal and Full Scale IQs was derived from the scores of 100 psychiatric and medical patients and was cross-validated on a 2nd sample (40 Ss from the same S pool). In both groups, scores were highly correlated, and Verbal IQ significantly exceeded Full Scale IQ. Regression estimates, however, closely estimated mean Full Scale IQ, suggesting that the Verbal scale can serve effectively as a WAIS abbreviation. (2 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Factors mediating the effects of enhanced rapport on children's performance.

Tested 72 elementary schoolchildren matched by grade, sex, and Otis IQ on the even numbered items of the Test Anxiety Scale for Children (TASC). 1 wk. later Ss completed a short form of the WISC, a motivation battery, and the remainder of the TASC under enhanced and standard rapport conditions. Enhanced rapport consisted of friendly conversation and verbal reinforcement for the 1st correct response on each WISC subtest. Ss in enhanced rapport showed significantly higher WISC IQs, better motivation scores, and more verbal productivity. Enhanced rapport was more effective with the older Ss. Enhancement did not produce lower TASC scores, but while Ss performed equally under enhancement, low-anxious Ss scored significantly better on the WISC than high-anxious Ss in the standard condition. It is concluded that the higher IQs observed in the enhanced rapport condition are the result of the E's friendliness and reinforcement of verbal productivity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dimensions of attitudes toward technology.

Administered an 80-item questionnaire measuring attitudes toward mechanization to 45 undergraduate students in physical science, biological science, social science, and fine arts. Responses were factor analyzed using a varimax rotation. Factor scores were created for 6 of the resulting factors: Global Mechanism, Mechanical Curiosity, Preference for Hand-made Goods, Alienation, Spiritual Benefits of Technology, and Human Vitalism. These factor scores were then used as dependent variables in a multivariate comparison of the students in different major fields. Most of the between-group differences in attitude toward mechanization were reflected by differences in mechanical curiosity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reading achievement and creativity as related to open classroom experience.

From 2nd-, 3rd-, and 4th-grade classes selected for their open characteristics, 49 children were matched on IQ, socioeconomic status, sex, age, and grade with 49 Ss from classrooms identified as traditional. Reading achievement and creativity were assessed with a 2 * 2 factorial analysis of variance, open and traditional * high and low IQ. All 98 Ss were administered the reading test, and 39 pairs were given the creativity measures. Both reading and figural creativity analyses showed significant main effects for IQ and significant interactions. Among low IQ groups, open and traditional Ss could not be distinguished on reading achievement or creativity. Among high IQ Ss, traditional Ss had significantly higher reading and figural creativity scores. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Locus of control and academic achievement: Results from a preschool intervention program.

Investigated the relationship between children's beliefs in personal control over their successes and failures and academic achievement. 32 kindergarten and 1st grade children who had been judged to be at risk for academic difficulties and who had participated in a 5-yr efficacy-oriented intervention program were compared to 34 children in high-risk nonintervention low-risk comparison groups. The high-risk intervention and low-risk Ss had stronger beliefs in personal control over academic success, and these beliefs were good predictors of achievement and task-related classroom behaviors. This was not true of the high-risk nonintervention Ss, in whom only IQ was related to achievement. IQ scores were not related to achievement in intervention Ss. The importance of motivational components of achievement is discussed and the influence of socializing environments in establishing relations among beliefs in personal control, subsequent goal-directed classroom behaviors, and achievement outcomes is noted. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Academic underachievement, other-direction, and attitudes toward women's roles in bright adolescent females.

Studied achievement patterns and the relationship of other-direction and attitudes toward women to achievement in 43 10th-grade females with IQ scores above 110. Underachievers were Ss whose high school grade average was below the class mean. Achievement indices consisted of high school grades and scores on the Stanford Achievement Test and the Iowa Tests of Educational Development. Grade averages from Grades 2 through 10 were examined. Achievement patterns revealed a significant difference between the grades of achievers and underachievers beginning at Grade 6. Other-direction and attitudes toward women were significantly related to mathematical achievement test scores and high school grades. Results are discussed in relation to research in locus of control and factors contributing to adult underachievement in bright females. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Validation of ideational fluency measures of original thinking in children.

Examined original thinking in 142 middle- and lower-class children across a wide range of age (7–13 yrs) and intellectual ability (low average to gifted). The instruments were lenient and stringent solution-standard measures of original problem solving and 2 subtests of the WISC-R. Scores for quantity (popular responses) and quality (unusual responses) were computed for lenient and stringent measures. Two sets of findings that were obtained in all age, intelligence level, and socioeconomic status groups provided impressive support for the construct validity of the conceptualization of the creative process as a problem-solving one, with ideational fluency as an essential component in the process. These were consistently high relationships between corresponding scores on lenient predictor and stringent criterion measures, and of quantity and quality scores within the lenient and the stringent measures. The scores of lower-class Ss on original thinking were lower than those of middle-class Ss when a stringent standard for quality of response was invoked. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive functioning and academic achievement in children with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM).

Discusses the effects of insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM) on cognitive and academic functioning in children. IDDM children may have lower intellectual functioning, but their performance is usually average. Early age of disease onset, severe hypoglycemia, and diabetic ketoacidosis are the disease risk factors for lower IQ scores. Boys with IDDM are at greater risk for learning problems than girls, and both acute and chronic metabolic abnormalities may relate to poorer cognitive functioning. The high-risk children need periodic monitoring of their academic achievement, and may require special intervention. Intensive preschool or early intervention programs may be especially beneficial for those under the age of 5. An abbreviated Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children—Revised (WISC—R) or WISC-III may be used for evaluating children with IDDM, as prorated performance or full scale IQ scores may not act as traditional measures of nonverbal intelligence in such children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality and IQ change.

"For a group of 140 boys and girls in the Fels Research population on whom continuous Binet IQ data were available, a distribution of IQ change was obtained by subtracting each S's smoothed IQ at age 6 from his smoothed IQ at age 10. This distribution of differences was divided into quartiles, and the Rorschach and TAT protocols of the upper (maximum increase in IQ), and lower (maximum decrease in IQ) quartiles were analyzed and compared. The results showed that in comparing the Ss who showed IQ increases with those showing IQ decreases, the former head, on the TAT, significantly more (a) achievement imagery… and (b) themes of curiosity… . [It is concluded] that high need achievement, competitive striving, and curiosity about nature are correlated with gains in IQ score." From Psyc Abstracts 36:01:1HD61K. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)