Students’ Personality Relates to Experienced Variability in State Academic Self-Concept

Scientific Conference (2020, November 11)

Attaining a positive academic self-concept (ASC) is linked to many desirable educational outcomes. Research on which student attributes relate to the formation of ASC is therefore considered to be central ... [more ▼]

Attaining a positive academic self-concept (ASC) is linked to many desirable educational outcomes. Research on which student attributes relate to the formation of ASC is therefore considered to be central. Past research on the association between personality traits and ASC has taken an interindividual perspective, while the intraindividual perspective has been disregarded. The present research explored the relation between students’ Big Five traits and intraindividual variability in state general-school ASC in everyday school life for the first time using intensive longitudinal data. We drew on N=294 German ninth and tenth graders who completed a three-week e-diary and a previously presented 60-item Big Five questionnaire (BFI-2; Danner et al., 2016; Soto & John, 2017) assessing Open-Mindedness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Negative Emotionality as well as their respective subfacets (i.e., resulting in 15 subfacets). To assess state ASC, students completed three items after every single lesson across four different subjects (resulting in Mlessons = 21.12). We ran six mixed-effects location scale models: one specified with all five Big Five domains, and five (one for each Big Five domain) with the subfacets as predictors of intraindividual variability in state ASC. We found that Open-Mindedness, Conscientiousness, Extraversion, and Negative Emotionality as well as at least one subfacet of each Big Five trait were significant predictors of levels of state ASC independently of students’ gender and reasoning ability, and the narrower subfacets Organization (Conscientiousness) and Depression (Negative Emotionality) predicted variability in state ASC independently of students’ gender and reasoning ability. These findings thus provide first evidence that students’ ASC undergoes short-term fluctuations from school lesson to school lesson and that this intraindividual variability can be partly explained by students’ personality. Our results thus contribute to a more complete map of the formation of ASC and the role of personality therein. [less ▲]

Does Conscientiousness Matter for Academic Success? Considering Different Facets of Conscientiousness and Different Educational Outcomes

Poster (2020, April)

Conscientiousness is the strongest BIG-5 predictor of academic success. Both conscientiousness and academic success are broad concepts, consisting of multiple lower level facets. Conscientiousness facets ... [more ▼]

Conscientiousness is the strongest BIG-5 predictor of academic success. Both conscientiousness and academic success are broad concepts, consisting of multiple lower level facets. Conscientiousness facets might display differential relations to different indicators of academic success. To investigate these relations, conscientiousness facets need to be measured in an economic and valid way. We conducted two studies, validating a short conscientiousness scale measuring seven facets of conscientiousness (Industriousness, Task Planning, Perfectionism, Procrastination Refrainment, Tidiness, Control, Cautiousness), and testing the relations of these facets with GPA, test scores, school satisfaction, and engagement. The results supported the validity of the scale. Industriousness, Perfectionism, and Cautiousness revealed the highest relations to academic outcomes. GPA and test scores showed differential associations with the different conscientiousness facets. [less ▲]

Are the Machines Taking Over?: Benefits and Challenges of Using Algorithms in (Short) Scale Construction

in European Journal of Psychological Assessment (2020)

Actually Getting Some Satisfaction on the Job: Need–Supply Fit of Fundamental Motives at Work

in Frontiers in Psychology (2020), 11

Measuring Anxiety in Older Adults: Development, Diagnostic Accuracy, and Preliminary Validation of a Short-Form of the German Geriatric Anxiety Scale (GAS-G-SF)

in Journal of Personality Assessment (2020), 102(2), 196-204

Anxiety symptoms and anxiety disorders are highly prevalent among older adults, and are associ- ated with considerable distress, functional impairment, and burden. Also, there is growing need for brief ... [more ▼]

Anxiety symptoms and anxiety disorders are highly prevalent among older adults, and are associ- ated with considerable distress, functional impairment, and burden. Also, there is growing need for brief instruments to measure anxiety symptoms in primary care and geriatric medical settings. Therefore, the current study focuses on the development and psychometric evaluation of a short- form of the Geriatric Anxiety Scale (GAS-G), a well-established anxiety instrument for use with older adults. Study 1 draws on the original data from the GAS-G validation study (N1⁄4242) to develop the short-form (GAS-G-SF) and determines whether the results replicate with the short- form. Study 2 extends the validation of the GAS-G-SF to a clinical sample (N1⁄4156; 62 patients with heart disease, 94 patients with Parkinson’s disease). Overall, the GAS-G-SF showed promising psychometric properties in terms of internal consistency and validity. Also, the GAS-G-SF showed good discriminatory power based on receiver operating characteristic curve analysis in both stud- ies. These results support the utility of the GAS-G-SF as a brief assessment measure for anxiety. [less ▲]

Introducing new open science practices at EJPA. European Journal of Psychological Assessment

in European Journal of Psychological Assessment (2020), 36

The coronavirus (COVID‐19) fatality risk perception of US adult residents in March and April 2020

in British Journal of Health Psychology (2020)

The study compares empirical results on the coronavirus SARS‐CoV‐2 (causing COVID‐19) fatality risk perception of US adult residents stratified for age, gender, and race in mid‐March 2020 (N1 = 1,182) and ... [more ▼]

The study compares empirical results on the coronavirus SARS‐CoV‐2 (causing COVID‐19) fatality risk perception of US adult residents stratified for age, gender, and race in mid‐March 2020 (N1 = 1,182) and mid‐April 2020 (N2 = 953). While the fatality risk perception has increased from March 2020 to April 2020, our findings suggest that many US adult residents severely underestimated their absolute and relative fatality risk (i.e., differentiated for subgroups defined by pre‐existing medical conditions and age) at both time points compared to current epidemiological figures. These results are worrying because risk perception, as our study indicates, relates to actual or intended health‐protective behaviour that can reduce SARS‐CoV‐2 transmission rates. [less ▲]

Editorial: Advancements in Technology-Based Assessment: Emerging Item Formats, Test Designs, and Data Sources

in Frontiers in Psychology (2020)

The moderating effect of prior knowledge on the relationship between intelligence and complex problem solving. Testing the Elshout-Raaheim Hypothesis

in Intelligence (2020), 83

The assessment of collaborative problem solving in PISA 2015: An investigation of the validity of the PISA 2015 CPS tasks

in Computers and Education (2020)