Matching Items (3)
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- All Subjects: Capacity
- Genre: Doctoral Dissertation
- Creators: McClure, Samuel
- Creators: Glassmeyer, Kristi
Description
Working memory capacity and fluid intelligence are important predictors of performance in educational settings. Thus, understanding the processes underlying the relation between working memory capacity and fluid intelligence is important. Three large scale individual differences experiments were conducted to determine the mechanisms underlying the relation between working memory capacity and fluid intelligence. Experiments 1 and 2 were designed to assess whether individual differences in strategic behavior contribute to the variance shared between working memory capacity and fluid intelligence. In Experiment 3, competing theories for describing the underlying processes (cognitive vs. strategy) were evaluated in a comprehensive examination of potential underlying mechanisms. These data help inform existing theories about the mechanisms underlying the relation between WMC and gF. However, these data also indicate that the current theoretical model of the shared variance between WMC and gF would need to be revised to account for the data in Experiment 3. Possible sources of misfit are considered in the discussion along with a consideration of the theoretical implications of observing those relations in the Experiment 3 data.
ContributorsWingert, Kimberly Marie (Author) / Brewer, Gene A. (Thesis advisor) / McNamara, Danielle (Thesis advisor) / McClure, Samuel (Committee member) / Redick, Thomas (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
Self-control has been shown to be an important influence behind a variety of risk and protective behaviors, such as substance abuse. Although prior research points to the existence of multiple dimensions of self-control, this concept is not consistently defined and frequently only studied as a conglomerate in clinical research. The current study sought to examine how two experimental manipulations of subcomponents of self-control (motivation and self-efficacy) affect real-world consumptive behavior after accounting for executive function. Additionally, the validity and reliability of a brief state survey measure of perceived self-control capacity, internal motivation, and external motivation was tested. The goal was to examine how basic scientific principles involved in self-control translate into clinically relevant behaviors, which may inform understanding of momentary lapses in self-control behavior, potentially leading to novel prevention and intervention efforts. 94 college students completed a 1-2 hour laboratory protocol during which they completed survey and laboratory-based tasks of self-control and related behaviors, executive function, and ad libitum alcohol consumption. Results showed that the self-efficacy manipulation successfully increased perceived self-control capacity, although this did not lead to a significant reduction in consumption. The motivation manipulation neither increased motivation nor reduced consumption in this sample. However, the brief state survey measure of self-control subcomponents demonstrated strong test-retest reliability and distinction from trait self-control, demonstrating its viability for use in future research. By elucidating the relationships between specific mechanisms of self-control, laboratory-based tasks and manipulations, and real-world consumptive behaviors, prevention and intervention efforts for problems such as alcohol abuse may be tailored to the needs of the individual and made more impactful and cost-effective.
ContributorsPapova, Anna (Author) / Corbin, William R. (Thesis advisor) / Brewer, Gene (Committee member) / Karoly, Paul (Committee member) / McClure, Samuel (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2020
Description
Efforts to improve student learning in K-12 education in the US are not new; however, educational research has traditionally focused on individual components of schools (e.g., teacher professional development, leadership, social relationships, programs, curricula) targeting teachers to improve student learning. While these innovations provide hope for change, they are limited in their focus and application to other school settings in that school contexts are unique to the individuals making them up and the collaborative missions and goals they pursue. To foster capacity for teachers to implement instructional reforms (i.e., how teachers teach), research must be focused on a holistic interpretation of the school as an organization. This study developed and validated a survey to examine elementary teachers’ science and mathematics instructional practice use as well as their perceptions of instructional reform capacity within their school environment from an ecological organization perspective. Over 300 elementary teachers from a large urban district participated in the survey over the course of four weeks. Findings indicated elementary teachers utilized teacher-centered instructional practices more frequently than reform-oriented (i.e., student-centered) instructional practices. However, teachers reported more frequent use of instructional practices in their mathematics lessons compared to science lessons. Furthermore, data was used to investigate the underlying dimensions of instructional reform capacity and examine the relationship between those dimensions and instructional practice use both within and between subjects (i.e., science and mathematics). Results revealed dimensions underlying instructional reform capacity as well as correlations with instructional practice use are not the same for elementary science and mathematics. Dimensions of professional learning, structure, and policy were more strongly correlated with reform-oriented (i.e., student-centered) instructional practices. Implications from these findings suggest the necessity of a more holistic perspective of instructional reform capacity to better support instructional reforms across subject areas in schools, on both the local level and within research.
ContributorsGlassmeyer, Kristi (Author) / Judson, Eugene (Thesis advisor) / Hayes, Kathryn (Committee member) / Kim, Jeongeun (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022