K. Robert Bridges

Academic procrastination and irrational thinking: a re-examination with context controlled

Abstract As a test of the theory that academic procrastination is due to irrational thinking, undergraduate students at two universities were given the Procrastination Assessment Scale for Students (PASS), a measure of academic procrastination, and the Irrational Beliefs Inventory (IBI), an improved measure of irrational thinking. Because earlier research in this area had not adequately controlled for context effects (Council, 1993), the measures were administered at 2–3 week intervals as if they were separate research projects. Self-reported procrastination correlated with both a global measure of irrational thinking and with the subscale of problem avoidance. Implications for procrastination intervention strategies are discussed.

Normative studies with the Scale for Interpersonal Behaviour (SIB): II. US students A cross-cultural comparison with Dutch data

The Scale for Interpersonal Behaviour (SIB), a multidimensional, self-report measure of state assertiveness, was administered to a nationwide sample of 2375 undergraduates enrolled at 11 colleges and universities across the USA. The SIB was developed in the Netherlands for the independent assessment of both distress associated with self-assertion in a variety of social situations and the likelihood of engaging in a specific assertive response. This is done with four factorially-derived, first-order dimensions: (i) Display of negative feelings (Negative assertion); (ii) Expression of and dealing with personal limitations; (iii) Initiating assertiveness; and (iv) Praising others and the ability to deal with compliments/praise of others (Positive assertion). The present study was designed to determine the cross-national invariance of the original Dutch factors and the construct validity of the corresponding dimensions. It also set out to develop norms for a nationwide sample of US students. The results provide further support for the reliability, factorial and construct validity of the SIB. Compared to their Dutch equivalents, US students had meaningfully higher distress in assertiveness scores on all SIB scales (medium to large effect sizes), whereas differences on the performance scales reflected small effect sizes. The cross-national differences in distress scores were hypothesized to have originated from the American culture being more socially demanding with respect to interpersonal competence than the Dutch, and from the perceived threats and related cognitive appraisals that are associated with such demands.

The Irrational Beliefs Inventory: cross cultural comparisons between American and Dutch samples

The 50-item Irrational Beliefs Inventory (IBI) was developed in the Netherlands for the assessment of irrational thinking. The IBI was derived from the Rational Behavior Inventory (RBI) and the Irrational Beliefs Test (IBT). The present study was designed to assess the applicability of the IBI in a different cultural context. The IBI was administered to a non-clinical sample in the USA; scores were consistent with Dutch findings and support the utility of the English language version of the IBI.

Goodbye Lecture: A Student-Led Seminar Approach for Teaching Upper Division Courses.

This article describes a seminar approach for teaching small classes of advanced undergraduates modeled on graduate seminar-style courses. Students act as daily discussion leaders for assigned readings, first in small teams and later individually, and the instructor acts as facilitator. Students received evaluations based on both their active discussion and written assignments. Student survey responses revealed high levels of satisfaction for the courses and with the instructors, as well as the perceived amount of new information learned. Students also commented positively on the discussions and the seminar format. The technique is applicable to teaching any advanced undergraduate topic, appeals to students, and emphasizes the active role of student learners.

Using attributional style to predict academic performance : how does it compare to traditional methods?

Research investigating the relationship between attributional style and performance has documented the effects of a negative explanatory style in a variety of settings. However, the literature on the nature of a negative explanatory style and academic performance has not shown such a consistent pattern. The present study was designed to compare the predictive value of attributional style to more traditional predictors, such as scores on the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) and high school grade point average, in a sample of American undergraduate students. The Attributional Style Questionnaire was administered to 127 students enrolled in introductory psychology at a large research university during the third week of a 15-week semester. Among the traditional predictors of university performance, only SAT scores were related to performance on subsequent course-based objective examinations; attributional style and the other traditional predictors were not. These findings contradict much of the attribution literature, and suggest that despite their limitations, SAT scores may still be one of the most effective tools possessed by colleges and universities to anticipate academic achievement in undergraduate students.

Test-Completion Speed: Its Relationship to Performance on Three Course-Based Objective Examinations

This investigation was designed to: (a) resolve the contradictions raised in earlier research on the relationship between test-completion speed and performance and (b) to extend the range of inquiry from performance on one test to performance on all tests in a course of study. Test scores were obtained from 278 college students on three course-based objective examinations. Data analyses yielded no linear or curvilinear relationships between completion speed and performance on individual tests. Similarly, no relationship was found between average completion speed on three tests and total score. The results suggest that test-completion speed on an untimed test is unrelated to test performance. The implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Teaching Undergraduate Positive Psychology: an active learning approach using student blogs

In just over ten years positive psychology has become a major subfield in psychology. This is reflected in the development of positive psychology courses at many universities and in over a thousand empirical articles published in peer-reviewed journals. Thus far, there is little published research suggesting ways to incorporate active learning techniques into these courses. This article describes the use of student blogs, employing a university blog platform, to teach several interventions in an undergraduate positive psychology course. The authors asked students enrolled in an introductory positive psychology course at a large university to complete three exercises, referred to as Three Good Things (recalling three good things that happened in the last 24 hours), Signature Strengths (using signature strengths in novel ways), and the Gratitude Letter (writing a letter of gratitude to someone who has been a positive influence in ones life), and record their experience in a blog. These exercises have been found to increase happiness and positive emotions. Students made a significantly higher evaluation of the course with blogs than of the same course without blogs. The authors describe how the techniques were assigned and scored, and examine the benefits and challenges of this method.

Spectacles, distinctiveness, and face recognition: a web-based experiment.

This study sought to clarify previous research in the face recognition literature regarding memory for faces with spectacles. A second aim of this research was to further investigate Valentines face-space model, a leading model of face recognition that predicts better performance on distinctive faces compared to typical faces. Prior to this experiment, independent observers provided distinctiveness ratings for faces with, and without, spectacles. Experimental participants then accessed the PsychExperiments website and completed a face recognition experiment. Based on the judgments of the independent observers, the face-space model predicts that memory for spectacled faces should be superior to memory for non-spectacled faces. An analysis of hit rate (percent correct) supported this notion, as a higher hit rate was observed for spectacled faces compared to non-spectacled faces. However, the analysis of false alarms (false identifications) did not support the predictions made by the face-space model, as participants demonstrated reliably higher false alarm rates for faces with spectacles. A further analysis of response bias suggests that the overall pattern of responding may have been largely due to changes in response criteria for trials where spectacled faces were presented. Implications for models of face recognition are discussed.

Compulsive Buying: The Impact of Attitudes Toward Body Image, Eating Disorders, and Physical Appearance Investment:

Objective: The current research examined whether eating disorder risk and the attitudinal elements related to body image predict compulsive buying. Method: A sample of students attending two public universities located in the northeast United States were surveyed. Results: A multiple regression indicated that attitudes related to one’s physical appearance, fitness, and health as well as eating disorder risk were predictors of compulsive buying with appearance orientation being the strongest predictor of compulsive buying. Conclusions: Understanding the factors that affect compulsive buying aids the identification of problematic compulsive buying and informs the treatment of compulsive buying. Treatment models may be more effective if additional attention is given to addressing the anxiety compulsive buyers experience when they experience a discrepancy between their ideal and actual self.

Development and Psychometric Evaluation of the Sexual Intent Scale

Men have been found to attribute more sexual meaning to cross-gender interactions than women do—a finding that has come to be known as the oversexualization effect. Despite the large body of research supporting the notion that men are more biased in their perceptions than women, researchers are moving beyond gender differences and examining personality variables to identify factors that can explain and predict the oversexualization effect. However, results have been mixed. Thus, the goal of this study was to develop a measurement tool, the Sexual Intent Scale, which assesses individual differences in attributing sexual intent. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) of the Sexual Intent Scale revealed the scale has three components we termed Sexual Facility, Friendship Facility, and Sexual Empathy. Temporal reliability and convergent and construct validity as well as norms and subscale correlations are presented. Results are discussed in terms of the scales utility and directions for future research are explored.