Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Hong Kong, 1980. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 57-61). Also available in print.

M. Ed. (Educational Psychology) / The last few decades have brought a significant increase in the amount of research on the subject of motivation, notably in the field of psychology. In connection with education too, motivation in general and more specifically learning and achievement motivation are of the greatest importance. One reason for this is the fact that there are indications that the problems of under-achievement, early school leaving and the disquieting loss of manpower which is the result, may be ascribed to inadequate learning and achievement motivation. This study forms part of the project "Learning Motivation", an inter-disciplinary project undertaken with the aid of the HSRC and involving various researchers. It attemps to come to grips with the phenomenon of achievement motivation from a pedagogical point of view, and is aimed in particular at designing reliable and valid tests for the assessment of achievement motivation, and at establishing how tendencies in achievement motivation manifest themselves at the secondary school level because in this phase particularly gnostic demands are made on the pupil and achievement motivation therefore plays a vital role. Various theories on motivation and achievement motivation were studied, as well as a number of existing tests. In accordance with the results of these studies, a semi-projective test, the "Leistungsmotiv Gitter" (LM-GITTER),which was designed in West Germany and is used in the assessment of general achievement motivation in the senior primary phase, was adapted in an attempt to assess scholastic achievement motivation among pupils in std. 6, 8 and 10. A second test, the Achievement Motivation Questionnaire, was also designed. It consists mainly of 41 items related to achievement, all of which are concerned with the characteristics of the achievement motivated person, as described...

M.Ed. et Phil. / Poor academic performance and high drop out rates are of particular concern in South African higher education in general, and also at the institution where this investigation was conducted. The challenges facing South African higher education include a highly diverse student population, with many under-prepared students, who find coping with the academic and social demands of higher education a difficult task to accomplish. From an institutional perspective, it is important to be able to identify students who are at greater risk of not achieving academic success, since these students will often not seek help themselves. An institutional reaction to the situation described above should include a comprehensive predictive model, aimed at accurately identifying at-risk students as early as possible. This will enable the institution to provide them with early targeted assistance. One part of such a model should focus on the initial transitions students make upon their arrival at higher education institutions. The pre-entry attributes with which a student arrives at the institution have been found to be good predictors of student success and retention during the initial phases of their transition into higher education. The purpose of this study was therefore to investigate the predictive value of a variety of pre-entry attributes in terms of predicting the academic success and retention behaviour of students entering the university for the first time. The pre-entry attributes that proved to be good predictors were used to create student profiles that would allow the institution and the different faculties to identify potential at-risk students at an early stage.

A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree PhD Psychology in the Department of Psychology, at the University of Zululand, South Africa, 2011. / The present study investigated the impact of motivation on academic success by using the impostor phenomenon to understand the experiences of a selected group in a Black Higher Education institution. The researcher used a questionnaire, interviewed and observed research participants. Questionnaires were sent out in the first week of term to ascertain maximum number of participants as well as receive demographical information. The Impostor Phenomenon questionnaire [IP; 6]: which is a 20- item scale developed by Clarence (1985), was used to assess impostor feelings, that is, feelings of not being deserving of one’s success with an associated fear of being found out as a “fake” . The interview was used to obtain narrative information that would have been difficult to gather through the questionnaire. Recordings from the interviews and observations during interviews were captured, forming data for the final analysis. The study revealed that a positive student –teacher relationship enhanced positive self- concepts in students. This support from teachers was found to engender goal motivations despite situational conditions. I have argued in this study that the social, gender based disparities expressed as culture in South African society, impact negatively on the maintenance of intrinsic motivation. The study also supports the impression that psycho-social development of students needs to be integrated into student’s academic lives for a holistic understanding and possibly enhance their academic performance. Findings in this study were found to correspond with other studies of resiliency, especially among traditional African women.

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The purpose of this study was to determine the importance of personality as a predictor of academic success for MBA students using a sample of 94 first year MBA students. The test battery consisted of a Mathematical proficiency test, a Computer proficiency test, a Case Study and a personality questionnaire, the Occupational Personality Questionnaire 32n. The criteria measured were an overall performance score as well as four first year first semester subjects. With the aid of correlations and regression calculations, it was determined that the proficiency tests explained the greatest proportion of the variance of success in overall performance as well as in each of the subjects. It was, however, also determined that personality added value to the selection process. Consequently, it was concluded that, in support of the hypothesis posed, certain aspects of personality make an important contribution to academic performance, particularly when it can be theoretically linked to behaviour. / M. Admin (Industrial Psychology)

The sexual content of media aimed at pre- and early adolescents (including magazines, movies, TV shows, and websites) has increased dramatically in recent years. Psychologists have expressed concern that exposure to such material leads to “internalized sexualization.” A recent APA Task Force (2007) called on researchers to study sexualization among pre- and early adolescent girls to understand its effect on development. In this master’s thesis, I developed the first known measure of internalized sexualization. The scale was demonstrated to be internally reliable and valid. The scale was also used to examine the relation between internalized sexualization and academic achievement. A strong negative relation was found between the two constructs; girls with higher levels of internalized sexualization have poorer academic achievement than girls with lower levels of internalized sexualization. The implications of the findings are discussed and future directions for research are suggested. / text

The relationship between positive and negative perfectionism, and academic achievement, motivation and well-being in tertiary students was investigated. It was hypothesized that higher levels of positive perfectionism would be associated with higher academic achievement, higher achievement motivation, lower levels of depression, anxiety and stress, the use of more adaptive coping strategies, and positive personality variables, compared with negative perfectionists. Additionally, it was hypothesized that higher levels of negative perfectionism would be associated with lower levels of academic achievement, lower achievement motivation, higher levels of depression, anxiety and stress, the use of more maladaptive coping strategies, and negative personality variables. 99 first year tertiary students participated, 71 from the University of Canterbury, and 28 from the Christchurch College of Education. The Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS) was used to measure positive, negative and total levels of perfectionism. The short-form of the Ray Achievement Orientation Scale (Ray AO) was used to measure the level of achievement motivation. The NEO Personality Inventory (NEO PI) was used to measure the "Big Five" personality variables (extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism and openness to experience). The Positive and Negative Affect Scale (PANAS) was used to measure levels of positive and negative affect. The Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS) was used to measure levels of depression, anxiety and stress. The COPE was used to measure the use of functional and dysfunctional coping strategies. Demographic and academic information were obtained from student's academic files. The results indicated that, generally, the hypotheses were correct. Positive perfectionism showed associations with higher academic achievement, higher achievement motivation, positive personality factors, and more use of functional forms of coping, while negative perfectionism showed associations with negative affect, depression, anxiety, stress, negative personality factors, and more use of dysfunctional coping strategies. It is therefore concluded that positive perfectionism can have a positive association with academic achievement, achievement motivation and general well-being, while negative perfectionism can have a negative association with these factors. Many individuals are concerned with meeting high standards for performance. Consequently, the concept of perfectionism has been studied increasingly in the last few decades. The concept has evolved to now being formally defined, theoretically integrated and empirically measured (Flett & Hewitt, 2002a; Flett & Hewitt, 2002b; Rheaume, Freeston, Dugas, Letarte & Ladouceur, 1995).

There is no abstract available for this dissertation.

The purpose of the present study is to investigate personality traits or trait clusters that will identify academic high and low achievers and differentiate the two.