Serge Larivée

Influence of Self-Efficacy on Self-Regulation and Performance among Junior and Senior High-School Age Students:

The aim of the present study was to examine the influence of self-efficacy on actual self-regulation during a verbal concept formation task of students, already known to be of average or above average cognitive ability, at two grade levels. Following the assessment of self-efficacy, students were observed while they attempted to solve four problems of varying difficulty. The major findings were that irrespective of differences in school grade and in cognitive ability, self-efficacy exerted significant influence on various aspects of self-regulation, such as monitoring of working time, task persistence, and rejection of correct hypotheses, as well as on performance. These results provided support for the construct validity of self-efficacy as different from cognitive competence.

Situational consistency in behavioral patterns of aggressive boys: methodological considerations on observational measures

The issue of situational consistency is of great interest for early intervention with aggressive boys, but efforts to show behavior stability across settings have been unsuccessful to date, due principally to methodological problems. It is argued here that a more appropriate matching of response form, interaction partner, and situations should increase the situation consistency of observed behavior. The results support this proposition in that, more crosssetting behavior consistency was found in the pairing of situations where aggressive boys (age 6–7 years) were interacting with an adult female (mother/child versus baby-sitter/child) than in the pairing of situations where the boys were interacting with an adult male (mother/child versus father/child) or with the teacher in a nondyadic situation (classroom). The implications of using an extreme group are also discussed.

A Quest for the Holy Grail in the New Millennium: In Search of a Unified Theory of Cognitive Development

Our reply emphasizes the benefits of cooperation between researchers in developing a comprehensive model of cognitive development that considers the constraints of human brain structures and the interplay of general laws of development and individual differences in developmental pathways within the context of social and cultural environments.

Stratégies cognitives et processus d'autorégulation chez des familles en situation de résolution de problèmes logiques

The family is a fundamental learning environment for many basic skills such as the ability to solve everyday domestic problems. A lack of competence in this type of problem solving would expose the individual to more frustration and possibly create the conditions for greater aggression. Forty-two low SES families, each including an aggressive boy, were invited to the laboratory for a problem-solving session on two occasions, at an interval of two years. Subjects were asked to find four preset combinations of colours by systematic permutations of four colours using a computer. Three types of cognitive performance were examined: resolution strategies, autoregulation strategies and the success rate in finding the solution. Results showed that most of the families were consistent in their use of anon-systematic strategy. Although some improvement in planning is observed during the second testing, no other improvement in autoregulation strategies was observed. In general, families had a better rate of success in finding the solution in the second session. The low cognitive level of these families and its stability are discussed.

Les côtés ténébreux de Mère Teresa

The impact of Mother Teresa’s work has no religious or geographical boundaries. In the four parts of this text, we try to understand this phenomenon. We first present the method used to collect the available information and then discuss a few biographical considerations to clarify her mission and the media’s contribution to her popularity. The third part identifies four stumbling blocks on her way to canonization: her rather dogmatic religious views, her way of caring for the sick, her political choices, and her suspicious management of funds that she received. Fourth, we discuss some elements of her life related to beatification, including her “night of faith,” the exorcism to which she was subjected as well as the validity of the miracle attributed to her. In conclusion, we question why the criticism of which she has been the target has been ignored by the Vatican.

Six years in the cognitive and metacognitive life of 71 families

Abstract Seventy-one families from a low socio-economic background, each with a son at risk of developing psychosocial problems at the onset of the study, were observed three times over a six-year period while solving a combinatorial task presented on a microcomputer. The permutations task was used to gather information with regard to cognitive functioning and cognitive self-regulation of the families, which were observed as a develop mental unit. Cognitive functioning was assessed according to three variables: cognitive strategies, performance, and completion of the task. Six self-regulatory activities were assessed: task definition, planning, supervision, evaluation, parental support, and sharing of responsibilities. Although inefficient strategies were mainly used across the six years, the cognitive level of functioning improved over the years. Cognitive self-regulatory activities most often used across time were supervision and parental support. Differences were observed in the three time periods for ...

Brief Report: Impact of Challenging Behavior on Parenting Stress in Mothers and Fathers of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.

Challenging behaviors are a known predictor of high parenting stress in families of children with autism spectrum disorders. However, few studies have evaluated the effect of reducing challenging behaviors on parenting stress. The purpose of our study was to (a) examine the impact of reducing the frequency and severity of challenging behaviors on parenting stress and (b) compare the effects of family-centered support and parent education on changes in parenting stress. Both high severity of autistic symptoms and of challenging behaviors were predictors of parenting stress. Furthermore, receiving family-centered support were associated with larger reductions in parenting stress. Overall, our results suggest that reducing challenging behaviors with family-centered support may be preferable to produce collateral reductions in parenting stress.

V.I.P.-Camps : programme de formation en intervention psychoéducative offert aux moniteurs de camps d’été

Résumé Cet article présente pour la première fois V.I.P.-Camps, un programme de formation en intervention psychoéducative offert aux moniteurs de camps d’été. Le guide d’évaluation est structuré selon la séquence en quatre temps proposée par Kirkpatrick et Kirkpatrick (2005a, 2005b). L’évaluation du programme a été effectuée auprès de 248 animateurs en loisirs de la région de Montréal. Dans un premier temps, la mesure de la réaction des participants à l’aide d’un questionnaire maison a permis de conclure que V.I.P.-Camps propose un contenu pertinent, concret et qu’il suscite l’intérêt de la majorité du public cible. Dans un deuxième temps, les connaissances en intervention transmises par le programme ont été mesurées à deux reprises. Les résultats montrent que, de façon générale, les connaissances n’ont pas été intégrées au cours de l’été. Des analyses de régression ont permis de conclure que plus les moniteurs ont de l’expérience en animation, plus leur cote est faible à la deuxième mesure. Dans un troisième temps, les analyses de contenu d’entrevues réalisées avec les coordonnateurs de loisirs renseignent sur leur perception du changement dans les pratiques des animateurs.

Le Père Noël, Piaget, Dieu et Darwin

Le but de cet article est de comprendre pourquoi, alors que les enfants attribuent les mêmes pouvoirs au Père Noël et à Dieu, la perte de croyance au premier n’entraîne pas la perte de croyance au second. Pour ce faire, nous effectuerons quatre analyses. La première concerne la relation entre la croyance au Père Noël et le développement cognitif. Dans la seconde partie, nous montrons que les enfants attribuent effectivement les mêmes pouvoirs au Père Noël et à Dieu. La troisième partie met en évidence que les dogmes religieux sont peu compatibles avec le développement cognitif des enfants. Enfin, trois arguments de nature évolutionniste devraient permettre d’éclairer le phénomène de la persistance des croyances religieuses. The aim of this article is to understand why, in spite of children attributing the same powers to Santa Claus and God, a loss of belief in the former does not lead to a loss of belief in the latter. To this end, we will perform four analyses. The first examines the relationship between a belief in Santa Claus and cognitive development. In the second part, we will show that children indeed attribute the same powers to Santa Claus and God. The third part demonstrates that religious dogmas are not very compatible with children’s cognitive development. Finally, three evolutionary arguments will shed light on the phenomenon of the persistence of religious beliefs.