Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) / Expectations are a key aspect of human success and behavior that predict outcomes in a variety of settings, including academics. Trait expectations (e.g., hope and optimism) and previous experiences appear relevant to the formation of specific expectations. Specific expectations predict outcomes, with positive expectations predicting better outcomes. In academics, positive specific expectations predict improved academic performance; however, there are aspects of this relationship that are unclear. This study sought to examine the formation of specific academic expectations and the relationship between these expectations and academic performance. The current study aimed to replicate previous research about the unique influences of academic expectations, expand this knowledge by examining possible mechanisms of the relationship between academic expectations and academic performance, and test how previous academic experience affected this relationship. Results of this study showed that previous GPA and optimism, but not hope, predicted academic expectations. Academic expectations predicted academic performance, but this relationship was not mediated by study time or stress. Finally, previous GPA moderated the relationship between academic expectations and academic performance, such that the positive association between academic expectations and academic performance was stronger for those with poorer prior performance.

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This essay will analyse Charles Dickens’s Great Expectations from a conversion narrative perspective. It will show that the journey of the protagonist Pip have resemblances to the journey of Dante in Dante Alighieri’s The Divine Comedy. The reason for this is that Great Expectations is an equally clear example of a conversion narrative as The Divine Comedy. Both Pip and Dante meet sinners along their way, but the focus is on how the protagonists deal with their own sins. Pip goes through a typical conversion, where he goes from an avaricious, prodigal and proud person, to a man who values working hard for a sufficient living and being with the ones he love.

Under a 'widening participation' agenda, universities are currently being encouraged by Government to admit students from under-represented groups and those with non-traditional qualifications. The University of Sunderland has been one of the most successful in attracting students from these groups. but has been less successful at retaining those students and helping them achieve. This research investigates the reasons for this lack of success. It tackles the issue in three phases: An initial investigation into student stress showed significant differences between Alevel entrants and non-traditional entrants to Sunderland Business School. Poor person-environment fit and unmet expectations were identified as important sources of stress. A subsequent investigation of student expectations again revealed significant differences between A-level and non-traditional entrants in areas relating to the academic experience, with A-level entrants showing lower levels of enjoyment of learning and poorer match with expectations, accompanied by a significant fall in the academic performance of the A-level entrants over the first two years at university. The research concludes that there is poor academic integration of Alevel students into a system that has been adapted over recent years to cater for the needs of non-traditional entrants. Other expectations were reported as widely unmet by all students, and these were further investigated using the concept of the psychological contract. The findings suggest that many students have an incongruent psychological contract that can result in their under-achievement at university. The research proposes a model of the student/university psychological contract that can be used as a framework for further research into this issue.

Forty Ss from introductory psychology classes participated in a study to determine whether or not the investigator's group Social Expectations Scale (SES) was a useful research instrument and to determine whether or not intelligence was a factor determining the fit of a particular cognitive model, the BSE, to the social expectations of Ss as measured by the SES.

This quantitative study used Astin's I-E-O theory to explore the relationship between a college freshman's high school background and academic self-efficacy. The Beginning College Survey of Student Engagement was used to measure academic self-efficacy across four types of high schools. Student gender and precollege experiences (dual-credit and communication assertiveness) were used as control. A total of 15,400 first-year students were included in this study. An ANOVA was used to examine the differences between groups, and ordinary least-square analysis was used to study the factors that affect academic self-efficacy. Results showed statistically significant difference in academic self-efficacy between public and private religious high school graduates. Specifically, graduates of public high schools had statistically higher academic self-efficacy than graduates of private religious high schools (p < .001). Additionally, females and participants of dual-credit courses also tended to have higher academic self-efficacy. Finally, analysis revealed that a first-year student's communication confidence is highly correlated to their academic self-efficacy. Results confirm in-coming first-year students perceive higher education engagement differently based on traits attributed to their precollege experiences. Results point to criteria colleges may be able to use in identifying freshmen at risk for low academic self-efficacy and, therefore, for problems in retention and degree completion.

Thesis advisor: Julie Paquette MacEvoy / Children’s relationships with friends during middle childhood play a vital role in shaping their interpersonal competencies as well as their general socioemotional adjustment across development (Bierman, 2004; Glick & Rose, 2011; Ladd, 2005). Children’s friendships provide a rich context in which young people begin to develop expectations for peers and first encounter experiences of disappointment in close, voluntary relationships with others (Wiseman, 1986). Previous research and theory are clear that key gender and developmental differences exist in how boys and girls conceptualize their relationships with same-gender friends (Hall, 2011; Maccoby, 1998; Rose & Rudolph, 2006; Thorne, 1993; Underwood, 2003) and how they respond when these friends commit violations of their core friendship expectations (MacEvoy & Asher, 2012). Little is known, however, about the contexts under which these gender and developmental differences occur. Therefore, the present study was designed to examine associations among children’s friendship expectations and their purported style of responding to transgressions of varying chronicity (e.g., in response to singular versus repeated violations of their friendship expectations). This study also explored associations among children’s style of responding to transgressions and their socioemotional wellbeing. A sample of 245 third-, fourth-, and fifth-grade children from two elementary schools in the greater Boston area was utilized in the analyses. Mean- level similarities as well as differences emerged in boys’ and girls’ responses toward friends who had committed transgressions of their friendship expectations. Regression analyses further showed that gender moderated the relationship between friendship expectations and children’s endorsement of revenge goals and aggressive strategies. Lastly, gender and grade-level were also found to moderate the relationship between children’s endorsement of revenge goals and aggressive strategies and their feelings of loneliness, but not friendship quality. Overall, findings highlight that boys and girls share many similarities in their responses to friendship expectations transgressions; however, they also embody distinct strengths and vulnerabilities in their styles of managing these violations. Clinical and developmental implications are discussed. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2015. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Counseling, Developmental and Educational Psychology.

Thesis advisor: Robert Murphy / We empirically examine the Biased Expectations Hypothesis, which states that recent price movements in certain sectors play special roles in the formation of in- dividuals inflation expectations. Specifically we analyze whether economists rationally bias their expectations and whether economists and consumers naively bias their ex- pectations with respect to recent inflation in the food and energy sectors. We develop theoretical models for both rationally formed and naively formed inflation expecta- tions. We find that economists do not bias their rationally formed expectations and that consumers and economists do not naively form inflation expectations. Our results do not support the Biased Expectations Hypothesis; rather, they reinforce the use of core measures of inflation in policy making. / Thesis (BA) — Boston College, 2013. / Submitted to: Boston College. College of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Economics Honors Program. / Discipline: Economics.