The present investigation is divided into two main studies. The purpose of the first study was to assess individual differences in children's challenge preference using Dweck's categorization procedure, to assess the short-term stability of this classification process, and to examine its relationship to demographic and other motivational variables of interest. The purpose of the second study was to explore the relationship of challenge preference classification to maternal behaviors. Participants in the first study included 236 four to six year old children attending private day-care centers and public kindergarten in the Tallahassee area. A subsample of 72 children was selected for the second study. The children attempted challenging tasks individually and while interacting with their mothers. The presence of helplessness in younger children was confirmed along with a cognitive and affective profile similar to that shown by older children. A significant relationship between initial skill and challenge preference was also revealed. The short term stability of challenge preference was found to be low although it improved when a composite measure that included a behavioral choice and the reasoning behind that decision was used. Girls exhibited profiles more consistent with predictions, showing significant relations between their challenge preference status and two other motivational indexes. Finally, maternal requests for their child to persist at a challenging task differed by group, with those from the CS group encouraging their children not to give up significantly more often than CA mothers. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 57-04, Section: B, page: 2903. / Major Professor: Janet A. Kistner. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1996.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_77712 |
| Contributors | Castro, Rafael., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 180 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
Page generated in 0.0042 seconds