Perceived control (Rothbaum, Weisz, & Snyder, 1982) and achievement goals (Dweck & Leggett, 1988) are two widely studied motivational constructs that influence students’ emotions and achievement. The central focus of this dissertation was to explore the associations between achievement goals and perceived control in three studies. Each study used a separate cohort of first-year college students taken from the Motivation and Academic Achievement (MAACH) Project (1992-2005, N = 10,053). Study 1 (n = 752) was descriptive and tested the associations between goals, control, and attributions. The results demonstrated that primary control was very clearly defined by the controllability dimension of attributions; however, the other variables were less clear. The purpose of Study 2 (n = 360) was to test for reciprocal relationships between goals and control by using a two-wave four-variable cross-lag panel model. The best predictor of each Time 2 variable was its corresponding Time 1 counterpart. Additionally, the results showed that Time 1 mastery goals positively predicted Time 2 primary and secondary control, but no other relationships emerged. Study 3 (n = 251) extended the relationships between goals and control to predict students’ emotions and achievement. The direct and indirect effects implied by the following longitudinal model were tested: goals → control → emotions → achievement (Pekrun, 2006). Mastery goals positively predicted primary and secondary control, whereas performance goals positively predicted primary control only. Primary control was the main mediator between goals and negative emotions. Additionally, primary control had a positive direct effect on achievement, and thus mediated the effects of both mastery and performance goals on this outcome. Secondary control had a negative direct effect on achievement and consequently acted as a negative mediator between mastery goals and achievement. For mastery goals, anger, anxiety, and boredom functioned as positive mediators with achievement. These emotions also positively mediated the effects of primary control on achievement. Results of the three studies are discussed in terms of contributions to the separate literatures on achievement goals and perceived control and in terms of implications for students in new and challenging achievement settings.

Perceived control (Rothbaum, Weisz, & Snyder, 1982) and achievement goals (Dweck & Leggett, 1988) are two widely studied motivational constructs that influence students’ emotions and achievement. The central focus of this dissertation was to explore the associations between achievement goals and perceived control in three studies. Each study used a separate cohort of first-year college students taken from the Motivation and Academic Achievement (MAACH) Project (1992-2005, N = 10,053). Study 1 (n = 752) was descriptive and tested the associations between goals, control, and attributions. The results demonstrated that primary control was very clearly defined by the controllability dimension of attributions; however, the other variables were less clear. The purpose of Study 2 (n = 360) was to test for reciprocal relationships between goals and control by using a two-wave four-variable cross-lag panel model. The best predictor of each Time 2 variable was its corresponding Time 1 counterpart. Additionally, the results showed that Time 1 mastery goals positively predicted Time 2 primary and secondary control, but no other relationships emerged. Study 3 (n = 251) extended the relationships between goals and control to predict students’ emotions and achievement. The direct and indirect effects implied by the following longitudinal model were tested: goals → control → emotions → achievement (Pekrun, 2006). Mastery goals positively predicted primary and secondary control, whereas performance goals positively predicted primary control only. Primary control was the main mediator between goals and negative emotions. Additionally, primary control had a positive direct effect on achievement, and thus mediated the effects of both mastery and performance goals on this outcome. Secondary control had a negative direct effect on achievement and consequently acted as a negative mediator between mastery goals and achievement. For mastery goals, anger, anxiety, and boredom functioned as positive mediators with achievement. These emotions also positively mediated the effects of primary control on achievement. Results of the three studies are discussed in terms of contributions to the separate literatures on achievement goals and perceived control and in terms of implications for students in new and challenging achievement settings.

Perceived control (PC), the degree to which individuals believe they have direct influence over events in their life, is often found to be associated with emotional well-being. Moreover, for over three decades, research has demonstrated that PC fosters health in advanced age. The mediational role of health in the PC and emotion relationship was investigated. Community-dwelling older adults (n = 232) were examined via secondary data analysis from the Aging in Manitoba (AIM) project and the Successful Aging Study (SAS). Separate mediational models were assessed for two different health mediators, self-rated health and health-related restrictions, and for positive and negative emotions. PC was found to benefit both physical and emotional well-being. The evidence of mediation was most compelling in the prediction of negative emotions and health-related restrictions. Findings have implications for treatment interventions in hopes to foster PC which in turn, should promote health and enhance later life emotional well-being.

This research explores the link between pupils’ perceived control and their level of attendance in school. Whilst there is research into the link between perceived control and disaffection in pupils it has not been possible to identify any research which links school non-attendance to perceived control. Research into pupils’ reasons for non-attendance identified a range of different factors, many of which the author felt could be attributed to perceived control. Forty-one participants took part in the study. Participants were male and female year nine pupils at two secondary schools in the north west of England. Participants were grouped according to their levels of attendance as high (98%+) attenders, mid-range attenders (90-94%) and low (below 80%) levels of attendance. Participants’ levels of perceived control were measured using the Multi-dimensional Measure of Children’s Perceptions of Control (MMCPC) (Connell 1985). This research also explored the pupils’ experiences of school using appreciative inquiry. Responses on the MMCPC were analysed using a one way ANOVA and descriptive statistics. No significant differences were found between scores for each of the attendance groups and the reasons for this are discussed. Thematic analysis of focus groups with an appreciative inquiry structure identified key themes raised by pupils in regard to positive experiences in school. The findings for both parts of the research are discussed and suggestions for the implications for future research and the practice of teachers and educational psychologists supporting attendance in school are made.

This dissertation thesis examines the divergence of perceived inflation, measured by the EU Consumer Surveys, and officially measured inflation after the introduction of cash euro in several eurozone countries. Two groups of countries are tested in the thesis -- countries accepting the euro in 2002 and countries providing the changeover in later years. The main goal of the thesis is to test cross-country differences between officially measured and perceived inflation with respect to economic, social and cultural specifics of the countries in the eurozone, while main focus is given to examining the differences between the above-mentioned two groups of countries. The results obtained could help to derive policy conclusions for the other EU countries which have not yet accepted the common currency.

A growing trend in the psychological literature has consistently found a strong association between stress, burnout, and depression, especially in populations who are exposed to a high amount of occupational stress. And, while the relationship between stress and burnout has been distinct and strong, the same cannot be said for burnout and depression. Historically, burnout and depression have shared such a strong conceptual relationship that the literature disagreed as to whether they were truly separate mechanisms. However, while the two constructs do present behavioral similarities the underlying mechanisms which direct their presentation are subtly different. Depression is defined as a diagnosable mood disorder, which is implicated from a number of biopsychosocial factors regardless of occupation characteristics, while burnout is defined as an occupational syndrome which presents in response to prolonged exposure stress within one’s vocation specifically. Understanding the relationship between stress, burnout, and depression is relevant for all professionals, but may be especially important to study in sectors interacting with vulnerable populations known to be at risk for burnout. The Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health (IECMH) workforce includes professionals who engage and serve children and families, many of whom have experienced trauma and/or have high psychosocial risk. This workforce may be particularly vulnerable to burnout in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, mental health symptoms (including depression) and stress rates have increased for many since the start of the pandemic. The current study aimed to explore perceived stress, burnout, and depression in a population of IECMH professionals, and to test whether depression symptoms act as a risk factor in the context of stress and burnout. The sample consists of 141 clinicians who work in the IECMH field (e.g., child welfare, home visiting, childcare), and who completed self-report measures of current stress, current burnout, and current depression in the summer of 2020. Bivariate correlation indicated significant and large relationships between both perceived stress and burnout (r = .70, p < .001), and depression and burnout (r = .59, p < .001). Given the high collinearity between our predictor (stress) and proposed moderator (depression, r = .80, p < .001), testing for the moderating effect of depression on the link between stress and burnout was unjustified. These results led us to wonder if other factors might better serve as protective factors in the context of stress and burnout and thus we examined the moderating effect of self-compassion on buffering against the relationship between stress and burnout. To explore the possibility of self-compassion weakening this relationship between perceived stress and burnout, simple moderation analyses were conducted in SPSS using Hayes’ PROCESS 4.0 Macro. The overall model results were significant (F(3, 99) = 65.08, R2 = .66, p < .001) and the interaction term was also significant (R2 change = .04, p = .001). Specifically, the relationship between stress (x) and burnout (y) remained significant across all levels of self-compassion, but the strength of the relationship between x and y was strongest when self-compassion was low and weakest when self-compassion was high.

No description available.

Empirical object recognition research indicates that objects are represented and perceived as hierarchical part-whole arrangements that vary according to bottom-up and top-down biases. An ongoing debate within object recognition research concerns whether local or global image properties are more fundamental for the perception of objects. Similarly, there is also disagreement about whether the visual system is guided by holistic or analytical processes. Neuroimaging findings have revealed functional distinctions between low and higher-level visual processes across lateral occipital-temporal cortex (LOC), primary visual cortices (V1/V2) and ventral occipital-temporal cortex. Recent studies suggest activations in these object recognition areas and others, such as the fusiform face area (FFA) and extra-striate body area (EBA), are collinear with activations associated with the perception scenes and buildings. Together, this information warrants the focus of the proposed study: to investigate the neural correlates of object recognition and perceived size. During the experiment subjects tracked a fixation stimulus while simultaneously being presented with images of shape contours and faces. Contours and face stimuli subtended small, medium and large visual angles in order to evaluate variance in neural activation across perceived size. In the present study visual areas were hypothesized to modulate as a function of visual angle, meaning that the part-whole relationships of objects vary with their perceived size. / Master of Science

Yes / In this study, we investigate the mediating effect of institutional networking on the relationship between perceived corruption and the growth of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). We also examine the moderating impact of financial slack on the relationship between perceived corruption and institutional networking. We test our moderated mediation model using data from 212 SMEs operating in Ghana. The findings from the study show that perceived corruption is positively related to institutional networking and this relationship is amplified when levels of financial slack are greater. The findings also show that institutional networking positively mediates the relationship between perceived corruption and SME growth. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Despite the vast array of research evidence supporting supervision as a necessary component of the professional identity development of counselors, many counselors in training do not receive adequate supervision (Cashwell & Dooley, 2001). The school counseling profession has continued to struggle with the development of a widely recognized and consistent professional identity (Herlihy, Gray, & McCollum, 2002). Although there are many supervision models provided in the counseling literature (Bernard & Goodyear, 2008), there are not any consistently agreed-upon supervision models specific to the training of school counselors. The purpose of this research was to evaluate school counselors’ perceptions of their preparedness, professional identity, and perceived supervisor effectiveness related to specialization-specific supervision (SSS). School counselors from ASCA’s southern region were asked to respond to the Specialization-Specific Supervision Questionnaire (SSSQ). The findings of this study demonstrated that school counselors who received specialization-specific supervision felt better prepared to begin an entry-level school counseling position, had a stronger sense of their professional identity, and expressed feeling more positive regarding their perceptions of supervisor effectiveness than school counselors who did not receive specialization-specific supervision. These results support the conclusions of previous research, which indicated that supervision serves the following purposes: varies from discipline to discipline (Campbell, 2000); is a vital component of school counselor training (Bernard & Goodyear, 2008); is a conduit for professional identity development (Dollarhide & Miller, 2006); and is a contributing factor to the overall supervisory experience (Lazovsky & Shimon, 2005).