Christoph Randler

Lessons with living harvest mice: An empirical study of their effects on intrinsic motivation and knowledge acquisition

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of living animals on pupils’ intrinsic motivation and knowledge. Various studies from the late 1970s and 1980s stress the high effectiveness of authentic learning experiences in pupils’ knowledge acquisition. However, there are only few current empirical studies on this topic. The research question of our study is to assess whether the use of living animals in the biology classroom supports intrinsic motivation and knowledge acquisition. In a pre-/post-test design, 185 fifth graders received two different treatments: the experimental group (Nu2009=u200974) was taught with living harvest mice (Micromys minutus) and the control group (Nu2009=u2009111) received lessons with the same content which was presented in short film clips on laptop computers. Knowledge acquisition was assessed with open-ended and closed questions, while intrinsic motivation was tested with an adapted version of the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory (IMI). There were no differences in knowledge acquisition between the treatments. However, the results of the IMI showed significant differences in favour of the experimental group in interest/enjoyment, perceived competence, and perceived autonomy. Thus, living animals exert a positive influence on motivation.

From Lark to Owl: developmental changes in morningness-eveningness from new-borns to early adulthood

Morningness-eveningness or chronotype changes significantly throughout the life span. This has been reported for the transition during adolescence in some studies, and to a lesser extent in early adulthood. Primary and pre-school children have been under investigation in fewer studies. This is the first comprehensive study covering the age range from very young children until early adulthood (0–30 years) based on the same measurement instrument. Here, we show that the turn towards eveningness starts at an early age in German children. Based on 26,214 cross-sectional data, we further show that at the end of adolescence, morningness-eveningness does not significantly change during early adulthood. Sex differences arise during puberty and remain until 30 years. The breaking point for the turn towards morningness is 15.7 years in girls and 17.2 boys. At the age of 0–1 years, there are about 70% morning types, and about 1% evening types, while at the age of 16 years, only 5% are morning types and 19% are evening types.

Morningness-eveningness in a large sample of German adolescents and adults

People differ in their sleep-wake behavior. This individual difference is conceptualized in different aspects, such as wake up times, bed times, times of peak performance, as well as in morning affect. A total of 14,987 visitors of an exhibition in the LWL State Museum of Natural History, Münster (Germany), did the survey on chronotype and gave their consent that these data can be used for a scientific study. Age groups were coded into 5-year bins. Mean age (mean ± SD) was 28.2 ± 17.5 years. There were 8075 females (54%) and 6912 males in the sample. The German version of the rMEQ (reduced Morningness-Eveningness-Questionnaire) was used for data collection. The data showed clear age effects. Younger children are more morning oriented and become rapidly evening oriented during puberty, while the more attenuated turn towards morningness occurs from the age of 20 years. Then between the ages 25 to 30 morningness-eveningness remained rather stable. Significant gender differences existed in the reproductive age, i.e., the age groups 20 to 50 (corresponding to the age 16–50 years). In other age groups, no gender differences could be detected. Seasonal effects were also found. Chronotype score was lowest during the summer months (and more evening oriented). Based on the single item analysis of the five questions of the rMEQ, we found age group differences in all items. Gender differences occurred in all items except item 1, which deals with the preferred wake-up time. Men always scored significantly lower (i.e. more evening oriented) than women except in item 2 (tiredness after awakening). Seasonal effects were only significant in item 3, which is related to preferred bed times. People showed a later bed time preference during summer. The classification of chronotypes according to the cut-off scores provided by Adan and Almirall (1991) and by using the 20/80 percentile provided identical cut-off scores (values of 11 and below for evening types and 18 and above for morning types).

Is problematic mobile phone use explained by chronotype and personality

ABSTRACT In this study, the relationships among problematic mobile phone use, age, gender, personality and chronotype of Turkish university students were examined. The study included 902 university students (73% female, 27% male) and their participation in the study was anonymous and voluntary. Data were collected from each participant by assessing a demographic questionnaire, Composite Scale of Morningness (CSM) as a measure of chronotype, the Big Five Inventory (BIG-5) for personality assessment and Mobile Phone Problem Usage Scale (MPPUS). The most important result was that CSM scores were the best predictor for problematic mobile phone usage, and as a consequence, evening-oriented university students scored higher on the MPPUS. This result remained, even when compared with the most influential personality predictor, conscientiousness. In addition, while extraversion positively predicted, emotional stable and chronotype negatively predicted problematic mobile phone use. Lastly, age and gender were not predictors of problematic mobile phone use.

Morningness–eveningness correlates with sleep time, quality, and hygiene in secondary school students: a multilevel analysis

At the onset of puberty, students shift their sleep to later hours, but school starts early. It is suggested that evening orientation and early school start times do not go well together. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate sleep problems in adolescence, and it was expected that the adolescents eveningness orientation is associated with many sleep-related problems. Students of secondary education (nxa0=xa03201; meanxa0=xa013.8xa0±xa01.8 years) filled out a self-report questionnaire containing measures of morningness-eveningness, sleep time (midpoint of sleep, social jetlag), sleep length (on schooldays and on weekends), sleep quality, and sleep hygiene as well as questions on electronic screen media use. The impact of circadian preference on sleep time (midpoint of sleep and social jetlag), sleep length (on schooldays and on weekends), sleep quality, and sleep hygiene of adolescents was tested via multilevel analyses while controlling for covariates on the student level (age, sex, screen media use, and time leaving home) and on the class level (school type, grade level, and school start time). Morningness-eveningness was a significant predictor of all dependent variables and associations were highest (βxa0>xa00.40) for midpoint of sleep, social jetlag, problems with going to bed, problems with falling asleep, and problems with returning to wakefulness. Providing guidance for parents on sleep hygiene behavior routines for their child, an educational program in sleep hygiene, and later school start times could help to synchronize adolescents circadian rhythms to daily educational and social demands.

Cross-cultural validity of Morningness-Eveningness Stability Scale improved (MESSi) in Iran, Spain and Germany

ABSTRACT Morningness-Eveningness Stability Scale improved (MESSi) is a newly constructed measure to assess circadian types and amplitude. In this study, we applied this measure to participants from three different countries: Germany, Spain and Iran. Confirmatory factorial analysis (CFA) of MESSi displayed mediocre fit in the three countries. Comparing increasingly stringent models using multigroup confirmatory factor analyses indicated at least partial measurement invariance (metric invariance) by country for Morning Affect and Distinctness subscales. Age was positively related to Morning Affect (MA), and negatively related to Eveningness (EV) and Distinctness (DI). Men reported higher MA than women, whereas women reported higher DI than men. Regarding country effect, Iranian participants reported highest MA compared to Spaniards and Germans, whereas Germans reported higher DI compared to Iranians and Spaniards. As a conclusion, our study corroborated the validity and reliability of MESSi across three different countries with different geographical and cultural characteristics.

The influence of chronotype on the academic achievement of children and adolescents – evidence from Russian Karelia

Abstract The inter-individual differences of human time-of-day preferences could divide population into “morning”, “intermediate” and “evening” types. This variety of sleep patterns is accompanied by differences in the timing of peak cognitive performance. The morningness–eveningness trait, also known as chronotype, is distributed on a continuum, with unequivocal early morning and night owl types at the opposite extremes of the distribution while most of the population shows an intermediate or neither type weak sleep pattern. Obviously, the discrepancy between biological and the social clocks has a distinct impact on physiological processes in humans with different chronotype. It is known that natural light regime in circumpolar regions influences human performance. Most work focused on the relationship between academic achievement and chronotype in students from middle latitudes. The primary aim of our study is to investigate the relationship between chronotype and academic achievement in schoolchildren (6th–11th grade) from north-west Russia (Russian Karelia). The Munich chronotype questionnaire was used in the study, and all participants were required to answer a question about their school achievement. Early midpoint of sleep and longer average sleep duration were associated with better grades. Large social jetlag was associated with worse grades. In a linear regression, gender was the most important predictor of grades, followed by midpoint of sleep and age. This is the first study that has been carried out among school pupils from Russian Karelia, and it shows that evening orientation linked with poorer academic grades at this high latitude.

Conscientiousness but not agreeableness mediates females' tendency toward being a morning person

Individuals differ in their chronotype, and some are identified as morning ones and others as evening ones. Earlier studies showed that women were higher on morningness, conscientiousness, and agreeableness. In this study, we aimed at exploring the mediational effects of conscientiousness and agreeableness in the relationship of gender and morningness-eveningness. Participants were 669 university students. Results supported positive relationships between morningness and conscientiousness and agreeableness and between conscientiousness and agreeableness. Females were higher on all these three variables. Mediation analyses suggested that the effect of gender (here females) on chronotype (here morningness) was mediated by conscientiousness but not agreeableness so that after the mediation partially occurred, the genders effect did not remain significant anymore. This study backed our hypothesis that conscientiousness might play a more pronounced role than the intrinsic diurnal rhythm concerning the sex differences in chronotype.

Chronotype correlates with developmental index, intelligence and academic achievement: A study based on nationwide indicators

ABSTRACT Chronotype or morningness–eveningness (M/E) is an individual trait with a biological basis. In this study, I analysed the relationship between M/E and nationwide available data, such as economic variables, school achievement, intelligence and conscientiousness, which is a personality trait. These variables have been chosen because, first, they are linked on the individual level with circadian preference, and, second these associations have been found based on meta-analyses, which gives these findings a high plausibility. In addition, economic status has also been proposed to be related to M/E. Higher developed countries showed a lower morningness, based on both, the ranking of countries as well as on the HDI value. Similarly, GNI was related to morningness, while higher intelligence and performance in PISA were related to eveningness. Conscientiousness was related to morningness, although the results failed the significance level marginally. When using IQ as a control variable in partial correlations, the relationship between GNI and morningness disappeared, as did the correlation between eveningness and PISA results.

Chronotype in children and adolescents

Circadian preference or chronotype has axa0genetic basis and is influenced by environmental variables. In adolescence, there is axa0dramatic shift towards eveningness or late chronotype, and this behavior has an influence on many outcome variables, such as school achievement, wellbeing, and health. On average, girls are more morning oriented than boys. This short review gives an overview of the factors that determine the individual biological rhythm and the associations with other outcomes.ZusammenfassungDie zirkadiane Präferenz oder der Chronotyp hat eine genetische Basis und wird von Umgebungsvariablen beeinflusst. In der Adoleszenz gibt es eine drastische Verschiebung in Richtung Eveningness (Abendorientierung) oder späten Chronotyp. Dieses Verhalten hat Einfluss auf viele Outcomevariablen, wie die schulischen Leistungen, das Wohlbefinden und die Gesundheit. Mädchen sind im Durchschnitt mehr morgenorientiert als Jungen. Diese kurze Übersicht gibt einen Überblick über die Faktoren, die den individuellen biologischen Rhythmus bestimmen, sowie die Assoziation mit weiteren Variablen.