Peter Fridjhon

Online flow experiences, problematic Internet use and Internet procrastination

This study explores the theoretical and practical overlap between online procrastination, problematic Internet use, and flow on the Internet. At the theoretical level there is a great deal of interrelatedness between these three concepts (for example, all three concepts deal with the issue of a lack of control over time spent online and acknowledge the distracting and entertaining properties of the Internet); yet, one can also argue that the concepts are theoretically distinct (for example, flow is a total absorption in the work at hand, whereas procrastination is the avoidance of the work at hand). All three concepts have been used to describe either desirable (flow) or undesirable (procrastination and problematic Internet use) states when online. In this study a sample of 1399 Internet users was obtained from a survey placed on a South African online information technology magazine. Using the problematic Internet use questionnaire (PIUQ), the distraction subscale of the online cognition scale (OCS), and a modified version of the Flow scale it was found that there were strong positive relationships between all three variables (the strongest relationship being between problematic Internet use and online procrastination). The results also suggested that procrastination may be a connector between PIU and flow; also that PIU is a connector between procrastination and flow, but that flow is independent of the relationship between PIU and procrastination. These results are discussed in relation to previous studies on problematic Internet use and in particular, whether these relationships are unique to respondents involved in the information technology sector.

Performance on Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices by African, East Indian, and White engineering students in South Africa

The hypothesis is tested that the Raven’s Advanced Progressive Matrices (APM) has the same construct validity in African university students as it does in non-African university students. Analyses were made of scores from 294 highly select 17–23-year-olds in the Faculties of Engineering and the Built Environment at the University of the Witwatersrand (187 Africans, 40 East Indians, 67 Whites; 70 women, 224 men). Out of a total of 36 problems, the African students solved an average of 22, the East Indian students, 25, and the White students, 29 (P<.001), placing them at the 57th, 64th, and 86th percentiles, respectively, and yielding IQ equivalents of 103, 106, and 117 on the 1993 US norms. Four months earlier, they had completed the Standard Progressive Matrices. The two tests correlated .60 or higher for both the Africans and the non-Africans, and both tests predicted final end-of-year grades with mean r’s = .30 (P’s<.05). Items found difficult by one group were difficult for the others; items found easy by one group were easy for the others (mean r’s = .90, P<.001). The African–East Indian–White differences were ‘‘Jensen Effects,’’ being most pronounced on the general factor of intelligence (measured in this instance by items with the highest item-total correlations). Indeed, the g loadings showed cross-cultural generality: For example, item-total correlations calculated on the East Indian students predicted the magnitude of the African–White differences. When each of the

Suitability of published neuropsychological test norms for urban African secondary school students in South Africa

Abstract Variations in neuropsychological test performance as a function of ethnic/cultural group membership, socioeconomic and educational status are widely documented. In South Africa, issues of cultural difference, sociopolitical disadvantage, cognitive and educational limitations, are of particular relevance. Accordingly, this study investigated the performance on a neuropsychological test battery of urban African high school students. A group of 100 Soweto students in Grades 8–12, and a second group of 152 sixth grade Soweto students aged 13–15 years, scored significantly lower on most of the measures than their American counterparts, as reflected in published norms. Results also demonstrated a significant difference in test performance as a function of educational grade. The findings confirmed the need for using norms and approaches which are appropriate to a given population when interpreting and addressing neuropsychological test performance.

Effects of mediated learning experience on Raven's matrices scores of African and non-African university students in South Africa

Rushton and Skuy [Intelligence 28 (2000) 1.] found that White university psychology students in South Africa averaged between one and two standard deviations higher than African students on Ravens Standard Progressive Matrices. This new study was carried out to determine whether Feuersteins Mediated Learning Experience would improve the scores of the African students. The sample comprised 70 African and 28 non-African first year psychology students. Subjects were given the Ravens on two occasions and, in-between, randomly constituted experimental groups were exposed to mediated learning experience. Both the African and non-African groups improved over the baseline on the Ravens compared to the control groups, with significantly greater improvement for the African group.

The Relationship between Lecture Attendance and Academic Performance in an Undergraduate Psychology Class

This article reports on a preliminary investigation into the impact of non-attendance at lectures on the performance of students in a second-year psychology class. Results suggest that the frequency of lecture attendance is significantly, but moderately, related to better academic performance and that ‘always’ attending lectures is the best indicator of academic performance. These results are discussed in relation to understanding lecture non-attendance and improving academic performance.

Jensen Effects among African, Indian, and White Engineering Students in South Africa on Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices.

Low test scores are routinely observed in sub-Saharan African populations. In this paper, we explore the topic further by examining Rushton and Skuy’s [Intelligence 28 (2000) 251] hypothesis that a bimodal distribution exists in the African population with a high-scoring group virtually indistinguishable from Whites, and a low-scoring group performing significantly below both Whites and the higher-scoring African group. To test this hypothesis, we sought out a potentially higherscoring African population than has previously been studied. We administered untimed Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM) to 342 17- to 23-year-olds in the Faculties of Engineering and the Built Environment at the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg (198 Africans, 86 Whites, 58 Indians; 71 women, 271 men). Out of the 60 total problems, the African students solved an average of 50, the Indian students, 53, and the White students, 56 (P<.001). On the 1993 US norms, Africans were at the 41st percentile, Indians at the 55th, and Whites at the 75th, with IQ equivalents of 97, 102, and 110, respectively. The African–Indian–White differences were most pronounced on those items with the highest item-total correlations, indicating a difference in g, or the general factor of intelligence. Hence, they were ‘‘Jensen Effects.’’ Indeed, the g loadings showed a small degree of cross-cultural generality; for example, item-total correlations calculated on the Indian students predicted the magnitude of the White–African differences. When the 60 items were aggregated into 10 ‘‘subtests,’’ the magnitude of the Jensen Effect was similar to that from previous studies based on

Suicide ideation in adolescent South Africans : the role of gender and coping strategies

With an increasing number of studies showing a rise in adolescent suicidal behaviour and a wealth of literature concerning adolescent coping strategies, this study examined both these issues within a South African context. The interplay between social, political, and economic factors in South Africa, with its history of apartheid, must impact upon the lives of adolescents living in this country and play a role in stress, depression, and feelings of hopelessness, helplessness, and possible suicidal ideation. The objectives of the study were to determine the coping strategies exhibited by a South African sample of adolescents, the relationship between these coping strategies and suicidal ideation, and to investigate whether gender had any influence on this relationship. This study therefore aimed to get a better understanding of the relationship between the variables: suicidal ideation, coping strategy, and gender. Such research is important in learning to understand how adolescents cope, in order for caregivers and professionals in the field to be able to identify potential suicide ideators through their behaviours and coping strategies. A sample of 161 adolescents in grade eleven completed a demographic questionnaire, the Positive and Negative Suicidal Ideation Scale (PANSI), and The Coping Across Situations Questionnaire (CASQ). The findings indicated the majority of the sample (51 %) had a positive outlook on life, feeling optimistic about the future most or a good part of the time. Further results showed that males and females followed the same pattern of coping by scoring highest on the functional coping strategies and lowest on the dysfunctional one. There was a significant difference between males and females on each coping strategy, with females scoring higher than males in each case. Correlation studies indicated a positive significant relationship between active coping (functional coping strategy) and positive suicidal ideation scores (positive outlook on life) and between withdrawal (dysfunctional coping strategy) and negative suicidal ideation scores (negative outlook on life). Results for each gender differed, with the female sub-sample revealing significant correlations between functional coping strategies and positive suicidal ideation scores, while the only significant correlation found within the male sub-sample was between the dysfunctional coping strategy and negative suicidal ideation scores.

A pilot investigation of high-frequency audiometry in obscure auditory dysfunction (OAD) patients

The diagnosis of obscure auditory dysfunction (OAD) has been an elusive one, based primarily upon reports of poor speech perception in noise by the patient. Basic audiometric testing reveals hearing within normal threshold limits and it is thought that there may, in part be some subtle psychoacoustic and/or central auditory deficits causing this phenomenon. The use of high-frequency audiometry (HFA) as a test of subclinical cochlear damage has been well documented, especially to monitor the early effects of noise exposure and ototoxic drugs. However, it has not been used in the diagnosis of OAD patients. This study examines the use of HFA as an aid to the understanding of OAD pathophysiology. HFA was conducted on nine OAD subjects, each matched to two controls. Results indicate an elevated threshold amongst all frequencies (10-20 kHz) in OAD patients with significant differences occurring at 10, 14, 16 and 20 kHz. It could be postulated that OAD in fact, is the product of an ultra-high-frequency hearing impairment and its psychoacoustic sequelae. Furthermore, HFA may be a useful inclusion in a diagnostic test battery for OAD status. However, the degree to which it can be used may be limited due to the large intersubject variability in HFA thresholds in the normal population. It is suggested that further investigations into the ultra-high-frequency hearing abilities of OAD patients should be completed in the future.

Three Dimensional Spatial Perception and Academic Performance in Engineering Graphics: A Longitudinal Investigation

In this paper we examine the longitudinal relationship between three dimensional spatial perception and pass rates in engineering graphics, a course requiring ability to use visualisation in engineering drawing and design. Our studies have focused on the development and evaluation of high imagery course materials for engineering students, providing evidence of gains in three dimensional spatial perception in response to this type of instruction. These findings are consistent over a twenty year period, and suggest that abilities to use perception and mental imagery are not fixed or culturally exclusive abilities, but respond to instruction and mediation.

Temperament and the Cognitive Modifiability of Academically Superior Black Adolescents in South Africa.

TEMPERAMENT is characterised as the relatively stable dimension of human functioning, while intelligence is increasingly seen as a dynamic process. This study investigated the relationship between temperament and cognitive modifiability in an academically successful but disadvantaged South African population. For 92 adolescents in the Soweto Gifted Child Programme, the relationship was determined between their ratings on the Teacher Temperament Questionnaire and their performance on the Learning Potential Assessment Device and other measures of cognitive ability and learning. The Task Orientation and Personal‐Social Flexibility temperament dimensions were directly related to learning, academic performance and cognitive change. A more complex relationship was suggested for the Reactivity dimension, in that more intense and reactive subjects tended to perform better in unstimulating situations, while under more facilitative learning conditions, a higher performance level tended to be associated with a lower...