{"title":"Emotional intelligence and reading comprehension: Examining mediating roles of word reading, vocabulary, and working memory","authors":"Liyan Yu , Xiuhong Tong","doi":"10.1016/j.lindif.2024.102574","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lindif.2024.102574","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examined the potential pathways connecting emotional intelligence to reading comprehension of narrative and non-narrative texts, and the influence of family socioeconomic status (SES) on these pathways. We tracked 689 Chinese third-grade students (341 female; Mage = 9.23 years, SD = 0.66) from wave 1 (grade three) to wave 3 (grade five). Results revealed that after controlling for gender, reading comprehension, and non-verbal intelligence at wave 1, word reading and vocabulary knowledge at wave 2 were significant mediators linking emotional intelligence at wave 1 to reading comprehension of both narrative and non-narrative texts at wave 3. In contrast, working memory at wave 2 served as a mediator only between emotional intelligence at wave 1 and reading comprehension of non-narrative texts at wave 3. Additionally, family SES moderated the pathways linking emotional intelligence to reading comprehension. These findings provide a comprehensive understanding of mechanisms linking emotional intelligence to reading comprehension.</div></div><div><h3>Educational relevance and implications statement</h3><div>Using both narrative and non-narrative texts, our study found that for Chinese primary school students, word reading (<em>β</em> = 0.04, 95 % CI [0.03, 0.07] for narrative texts; <em>β</em> = 0.04, 95 % CI [0.02, 0.06] for non-narrative texts) and vocabulary knowledge at age 10 (<em>β</em> = 0.03, 95 % CI [0.01, 0.05] for narrative texts; <em>β</em> = 0.02, 95 % CI [0.10, 0.04] for non-narrative texts) significantly mediate the relationship between emotional intelligence at age 9 and reading comprehension at age 11. These results highlight the importance of combining word reading, vocabulary knowledge, and emotional intelligence during intervention to improve children's reading comprehension. We also found that working memory at age 10 significantly mediates the relationship between emotional intelligence at age 9 and reading comprehension at age 11 for non-narrative (<em>β</em> = 0.01, 95 % CI [0.01, 0.03]), but not narrative, texts (<em>β</em> = 0.01, 95 % CI [−0.004, 0.02]). These findings underscore the importance of considering text genre when examining the development of reading comprehension, designing reading instruction, and establishing reading interventions. Additionally, emotional intelligence at age 9 is more strongly associated with word reading, vocabulary knowledge, and working memory at age 10 for children from low socioeconomic status (SES) families compared to those from high-SES families, highlighting the need for more attention to the emotional intelligence development in children from low-SES backgrounds.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48336,"journal":{"name":"Learning and Individual Differences","volume":"116 ","pages":"Article 102574"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142444754","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nga Do, Tao Jin , Reed Priest , Liza N. Meredith, Richard N. Landers
{"title":"A longitudinal quasi-experiment of leaderboard effectiveness on learner behaviors and course performance","authors":"Nga Do, Tao Jin , Reed Priest , Liza N. Meredith, Richard N. Landers","doi":"10.1016/j.lindif.2024.102572","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lindif.2024.102572","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Leaderboards are increasingly viewed as a useful gamification technique to improve learning, partly due to their ease of implementation into common learning management systems. However, past research has revealed mixed results in terms of their effectiveness. This inconsistency may be attributable to a lack of attention to research design, conflation of multiple design factors, or overreliance on correlational studies. In the present study, a longitudinal quasi-experimental design incorporating random assignment of groups to leaderboard conditions was used to examine the effect of leaderboards on optional practice behaviors and course performance in a college course. Although practice behaviors were linked to course performance, the leaderboard did not meaningfully affect those practice behaviors and also negatively affected course performance through other mediators. These results highlight the critical role of rigorous theory-based design of gamified systems and also demonstrate the need for rigorous research designs to understand actual impacts.</div></div><div><h3>Educational relevance and implications statement</h3><div>Our research explored the impact of using leaderboards, a common gamification strategy, in an educational setting to see if they would motivate students to engage in optional practice activities, with the aim of improving their course performance. Surprisingly, we found that leaderboards did not encourage additional practice and, unexpectedly, led to lower exam scores. This suggests that leaderboards, while intended to boost motivation and learning through competition, might have the opposite effect by potentially undermining students' motivation or altering their perception of the course's value. These findings underscore the complexity of integrating gamification into education and highlight the necessity for careful design and testing of such strategies to ensure they align with educational goals. Our study is crucial for educators and instructional designers as it provides evidence that not all gamification techniques work as intended and stresses the importance of understanding the underlying psychological impacts on students.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48336,"journal":{"name":"Learning and Individual Differences","volume":"116 ","pages":"Article 102572"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142438129","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Stanley Cheng , Rebecca Bull , Emma C. Burns , David Muñez
{"title":"The highs and lows of mathematical ability: Shared and distinct longitudinal predictors of mathematical ability grouping","authors":"Stanley Cheng , Rebecca Bull , Emma C. Burns , David Muñez","doi":"10.1016/j.lindif.2024.102570","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lindif.2024.102570","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The current study examines how kindergarten domain-general and domain-specific factors, mathematical skills at primary 1 (P1), and socioeconomic status (SES) predict high versus low (top and bottom 13th percentile) mathematical ability at primary 6 (P6). Four-hundred-and-seven P6 students had previously completed the measures. Logistic path analyses showed that SES, P1 mathematics, and fluid intelligence showed direct significant effects on P6 high achievement group membership. Visuospatial working memory, SES, reading, and P1 mathematics showed direct effects on P6 low group membership. Number sense, fine motor skills, and reading demonstrated indirect effects on both group memberships through P1 mathematics. No significant effect was found for executive functioning or verbal working memory. Findings suggest that there is a qualitative difference in mathematical ability across the performance spectrum. Assessment and instruction should be differentiated to account for predictors that are specific to either end of the ability spectrum.</div></div><div><h3>Educational relevance and implications of the research</h3><div>Mathematical ability plays a critical role in future academic success and quality of life, and also provides the foundational knowledge for engagement in STEM school subjects and careers. While we know there are some early cognitive and environmental factors that predict future mathematical outcomes, little is known about whether they predict both mathematical high and low achievers differently. This study is one of very few that uses a large-scale longitudinal design to track how early factors predict students' mathematical performance across the two ends of the achievement continuum over eight years. The findings add to the existing literature that cognitive factors predict mathematical competencies differently across developmental time, and that there are some common and unique predictors of performance at the two ends of the achievement continuum. The outcomes of the study inform educators that fine motor skills, basic reading skills, and number sense are likely to be important fundamental skills for early mathematical development, which may have a carry-effect on both mathematical success and failure in late primary school. Visuospatial working memory and basic reading skills are likely to be particularly important to prevent students from falling behind, whereas logical reasoning skills appear to be particularly important for mathematically talented students.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48336,"journal":{"name":"Learning and Individual Differences","volume":"116 ","pages":"Article 102570"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142438200","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Jaeyun Han , Pilvi Peura , Calah J. Ford , Amanda R. Butz , Ellen L. Usher
{"title":"Opportunities and obstacles: Using profile analysis to examine sources of reading self-efficacy in early adolescence","authors":"Jaeyun Han , Pilvi Peura , Calah J. Ford , Amanda R. Butz , Ellen L. Usher","doi":"10.1016/j.lindif.2024.102573","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lindif.2024.102573","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>When investigating the sources of self-efficacy, researchers have historically focused on learners' perceptions of positive (e.g., direct & vicarious successes, encouragement & praise) and negative (e.g., stress, anxiety) experiences. These approaches may not capture other types of efficacy-relevant experiences. The purpose of this study was to investigate how early adolescent readers perceive and integrate diverse types of efficacy-relevant information. Students (<em>N</em> = 1804) responded to items related to four hypothesized sources of self-efficacy that reflected opportunities and obstacles in reading. Latent profile analysis indicated four profiles related to students' efficacy-relevant reading experiences. These profiles were examined in relation to students' gender, socioeconomic status, grade level, and race/ethnicity. Students exposed to mostly positive sources of information showed higher levels of reading self-efficacy and reading achievement than those reporting more exposure to negative sources of information. Results highlight the importance of providing opportunities and minimizing obstacles to support adolescents' reading self-efficacy.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48336,"journal":{"name":"Learning and Individual Differences","volume":"116 ","pages":"Article 102573"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142433907","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Lukas Wesenberg , Franziska Schmidt , Saskia Schwintek , Sebastian Jansen , Felix Krieglstein , Sascha Schneider , Günter Daniel Rey
{"title":"The effects of counterattitudinal seductive details on learning","authors":"Lukas Wesenberg , Franziska Schmidt , Saskia Schwintek , Sebastian Jansen , Felix Krieglstein , Sascha Schneider , Günter Daniel Rey","doi":"10.1016/j.lindif.2024.102567","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lindif.2024.102567","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Learning materials are often enriched with interesting facts that are only superficially related to the learning topic to increase student motivation. However, research suggests that such seductive details rather impair learning. Seductive details can convey a positive or negative valence, for example, when explaining advantages or disadvantages of nuclear energy. It was assumed that such seductive details are especially detrimental to learning when learners hold contrary attitudes, as cognitive conflict and dissonance could be triggered. In an experimental study, 123 university students read a text about the functioning of nuclear power plants, either without, with positive, or with negative seductive details. Results showed: the more positive learners' attitudes, the more detrimental was the inclusion of negative seductive details to learning. The inclusion of positive seductive details was detrimental regardless of learners' attitudes. Furthermore, measures of task-irrelevant thinking and extraneous cognitive load mediated detrimental effects of seductive details on learning performance.</div></div><div><h3>Educational relevance and implications statement</h3><div>This study showed that explaining disadvantages of nuclear power plants in addition to explaining their functioning, is especially detrimental to recalling the functioning when learners are proponents of nuclear energy. The results suggest to avoid the inclusion of valenced side notes related to polarizing topics in learning environments that set a thematically different learning goal. Considering individual attitudes towards learning topics can be important when designing instructional media.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48336,"journal":{"name":"Learning and Individual Differences","volume":"116 ","pages":"Article 102567"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142426935","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Sophie von der Mülbe, Raven Rinas, Markus Dresel, Kristina Stockinger
{"title":"Applying a three-component approach to motivational regulation: Relations of frequency, situation-specific fit and application quality of motivational regulation strategies with students' well-being","authors":"Sophie von der Mülbe, Raven Rinas, Markus Dresel, Kristina Stockinger","doi":"10.1016/j.lindif.2024.102561","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lindif.2024.102561","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>While motivational regulation has been shown to predict study motivation and success, its relations with student well-being have received little attention. The few studies available indicate an interplay between motivational and emotional processes within self-regulated learning and the importance of motivational regulation for outcomes beyond achievement. Prior research has mostly focused on frequency of strategy use, but recent findings advocate for conceptually broader approaches to self-regulation. We adopted a three-component approach to motivational regulation differentiating between frequency of strategy use, situation-specific fit, and application quality, and examined their relations with perceived regulatory effectiveness as a proximal and well-being as a distal correlate in two studies with university students (<em>N</em><sub><em>1</em></sub> = 234; <em>N</em><sub><em>2</em></sub> = 890, representatively stratified quota sample). All three components contributed additively and, in part, interactively to effectiveness and well-being. Effectiveness was also related to greater well-being. The findings have implications for motivational regulation theories and well-being interventions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48336,"journal":{"name":"Learning and Individual Differences","volume":"116 ","pages":"Article 102561"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142426934","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Precursors of 21st century skills are malleable in early childhood but may have little impact on lifetime success","authors":"Katarzyna Bobrowicz","doi":"10.1016/j.lindif.2024.102569","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lindif.2024.102569","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The umbrella-term of “21st century skills” emerged in the early 2000s and gained traction in the following years, fueled by an increasing interest of education stakeholders in the individual readiness for dynamic, digital, and collaborative educational and professional contexts. These skills begin to develop in early childhood and comprise, among others, problem solving, metacognition, self-regulation, creativity, and collaboration. Despite the increasing interest in 21st century skills, relevant research, to date, focused on school-age children, adolescents, and adults, rather than preschoolers. To inspire a greater focus on early education, this editorial opens a collection of articles on the relevant early abilities, termed “precursors of 21st century skills”. The editorial sets the stage for the collection by delving into the origin and the definition of the term, thereafter offering a novel theoretical framework, strengthening the conceptual structure behind 21st century skills based on their function: navigating the information landscape, or the mind, or the social landscape.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48336,"journal":{"name":"Learning and Individual Differences","volume":"116 ","pages":"Article 102569"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2024-10-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142659908","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Katherine Muenks , Shengjie Lin , Luke D. Rutten , Cameron A. Hecht , Veronica X. Yan
{"title":"Exploring undergraduate students' challenge frameworks: A person-centered approach","authors":"Katherine Muenks , Shengjie Lin , Luke D. Rutten , Cameron A. Hecht , Veronica X. Yan","doi":"10.1016/j.lindif.2024.102562","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lindif.2024.102562","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Undergraduate STEM students can hold different combinations of positive and negative beliefs about academic challenge—including difficulty, failures, and mistakes. Across two studies (<em>N</em> = 464 and <em>N</em> = 424), we used person-centered analyses to explore patterns of responses in these beliefs. Students in the <em>challenge-as-enhancing</em> profile had adaptive beliefs about challenge; those in the <em>challenge-as-threatening</em> profile viewed challenge as threatening yet instrumental for learning; those in the <em>challenge-as-futile</em> profile viewed challenge as non-instrumental; and one group held <em>average</em> beliefs about challenge. The <em>challenge-as-enhancing</em> profile was associated with the most adaptive correlates. Students in the <em>challenge-as-threatening</em> profile were the most likely to self-handicap, whereas students in the <em>challenge-as-futile</em> profile were least likely to endorse mastery-approach goals and seek out challenge. Our findings highlight the importance of considering the complexity of students' beliefs about challenge and provide insights into how unique patterns of beliefs relate to students' academic outcomes.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48336,"journal":{"name":"Learning and Individual Differences","volume":"116 ","pages":"Article 102562"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2024-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142324206","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"What is intelligence, really? The futile search for a Holy Grail","authors":"Robert J. Sternberg","doi":"10.1016/j.lindif.2024.102568","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lindif.2024.102568","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Intelligence is usually viewed as a trait that exists, in some way, “inside” the individual. In this essay, a distinction is made between general cognitive ability, which is an individual trait (that is nevertheless modifiable), and intelligence as adaptation. Intelligence as adaptation is not a personal trait, but rather an interaction between a person, the tasks the person confronts, and the situations in which the tasks are confronted. In different societies, and at different times, what is adaptive may differ and the cognitive skills that are important to intelligence may differ as well.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48336,"journal":{"name":"Learning and Individual Differences","volume":"116 ","pages":"Article 102568"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2024-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142660018","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Nils Jaekel , Michael Schurig , Sandra Schwinning , Daria Ferencik-Lehmkuhl , Markus Ritter
{"title":"Investigating the effects of linguistic distance on German and English reading and mathematics among fifth-graders in Germany","authors":"Nils Jaekel , Michael Schurig , Sandra Schwinning , Daria Ferencik-Lehmkuhl , Markus Ritter","doi":"10.1016/j.lindif.2024.102556","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.lindif.2024.102556","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Multilingual classrooms are becoming more common around the globe following increased migration and mobility. Multilingual learners have to overcome potential language barriers across the curriculum as the majority language remains the point of reference for learners across subjects. Analytically, multilingualism is often mapped in terms of categories (L1/L2), but a linguistic distance can provide additional information for teaching practice. Little research has considered the impact of linguistic distances from students' L1s to the language of instruction and foreign languages, particularly in immigrant language contexts.</div><div>This study investigates how linguistic distances affect German L1 speakers and multilingual learners' (Lx) (<em>N</em> = 3,307) attainment of German reading, English reading, and Mathematics in grade 5. We used mixed-effects models to examine the role of linguistic distance while rigorously controlling for individual learner characteristics focused on language and students' socioeconomic status, including sex, multilingual status, born abroad, cultural capital, own room, own computer, and household income.</div><div>Results suggest that lexical linguistic distance is a significant factor in predicting German and English reading scores as well as Mathematics achievement. Pedagogical implications and considerations to bridge linguistic distances are discussed.</div></div><div><h3>Educational relevance statement</h3><div>Classrooms worldwide are increasingly diverse concerning languages and cultures represented in the student body. Educators and researchers alike still categorize students into two groups: native and non-native speakers. However, the latter group is highly diverse. Linguistic distance measurements enable us to investigate the association of language differences to the language of instruction and break apart the two groups. The more distant the family language is from the language of instruction, the more pronounced the disparities become. The results demonstrate that linguistic diversity is not addressed adequately, with implications for teacher training and professional development as well as curriculum development.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":48336,"journal":{"name":"Learning and Individual Differences","volume":"116 ","pages":"Article 102556"},"PeriodicalIF":3.8,"publicationDate":"2024-09-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142324112","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}