Implicit theories (also referred to self-theories) represent a cognitive conceptualization about a matter, generally raised as a belief. It is marked as the primary aspect of cognitive processing among living beings affecting their overall behavior towards others’. In the present study, it is attempted to consider a Pakistani perspective on this phenomenon of self-theories and also to validate the implicit theories Scale. It is a measure of people’s beliefs about things to be fixed or changeable. A quantitative approach of correlational methodology was employed. Participants of the study were 355 Pakistani young adults with an age range of 20–30 years (M = 23.08, SD = 1.99). There were 175 males and 180 females (as they reported their gender) from Islamabad. Confirmatory factor analysis was computed to assess the dimensionality of the scale. An adequate model fit indices were found as Root Mean Square Error of Approximation = .04, Comparative Fit Index = .99, Tucker-Lewis Index = .98, Goodness of Fit Index = .97, and Incremental Fit Index = .99, confirming a bidimensional implicit theories measure. The reliability coefficients of Entity Theory and Incremental Theory subscales were assessed through internal consistency and test-retest methods which are found to be in an acceptable range. Demographic specifications are also addressed to reflect upon the indigenous importance of this concept. This will be an additive feature in the literature to consider the cultural specification enabling individuals to align their mindsets in the desired direction of growth and achievement.

This essay explores the features in virtue of which games are valuable or worthwhile to play. The difficulty view of games holds that the goodness of games lies in their difficulty: by making activities more complex or making them require greater effort, they structure easier activities into more difficult, therefore more worthwhile, activities. I argue that a further source of the value of games is that they provide players with an experience of freedom, which they provide both as paradigmatically unnecessary activities and by offering opportunities for relatively unconstrained choice inside the ‘lusory’ world that players inhabit.

Achievements are among the things that make a life good. Assessing the plausibility of this intuitive claim requires an account of the nature of achievements. One necessary condition for achievement appears to be that the achieving agent acted competently, i.e. was not just lucky. I begin by critically assessing existing accounts of anti-luck conditions for achievements in both the ethics and epistemology literature. My own proposal is that a goal is reached competently (and thus an achievement), only if the actions of the would-be-achiever make success likely, and that this is the reason why she acts that way.

We engage with the nature and the value of achievement through a critical examination of an argument according to which biomedical “enhancement” of our capacities is impermissible because enhancing ourselves in this way would threaten our achievements. We call this the argument against enhancement from achievement. We assess three versions of it, each admitting to a strong or a weak reading. We argue that strong readings fail, and that weak readings, while in some cases successful in showing that enhancement interferes with the nature or value of achievement, fail to establish that enhancement poses an unusual threat to achievement.

This study explored factors that influence academic achievement and hence, future career prospects. The relationships between the factors, academic trait boredom, approach to learning and academic achievement were examined using data collected from university students at a small English university and from their student records. The initial statistical analysis revealed significant effects of gender on learning approach and two of the three academic trait boredom subscales. Female students proved to be less prone to academic trait boredom than their male counterparts. A model was then developed that showed how a student’s choice of learning approach was influenced by academic trait boredom and impinged on academic achievement. This modelling also confirmed that students who are more prone to academic trait boredom are also more likely to adopt a surface approach to learning rather than a deep or strategic one. The results of this investigation have implications for students, lecturers, course designers and learning support staff both here in this one location as well as elsewhere across the higher education sector.

Youth's academic and emotional functioning are closely related, yet little is known about the timing and direction of relationships involving internalizing problems, which are characterized by over control of emotions, anxiety, and depression as well as multiple aspects of academic achievement. This study addresses these gaps using data from the Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development (N = 1,048) to examine the processes by which problems in one domain of functioning lead to problems in another, known as a “cascade effect.” Results of longitudinal structural equation modeling indicate (a) a direct and indirect negative cascade effect from girls’ internalizing problems to their school achievement in high school, (b) a positive contemporaneous association of 9th grade boys’ internalizing problems with their cognitive achievement; and (c) ways in which demographic characteristics and adolescent social and maturational processes account for variation in functioning yet do not alter the processes by which the emotional and academic functioning interact. Results are discussed with regard to identifiying adolescents’ internalizing problems, gender differences in the effects of internalizing problems on academic functioning, timing of evidence-based interventions, and implications for mental health promotion among girls.

How does being a knower and possessing knowledge contribute to living well? Some have assumed that the eudaimonic value of knowledge is exhausted by its role as either a means or a final end. On this basis, it has been concluded that knowledge is not always valuable since its value will depend upon the ends that one has. I propose to expand our exploration by considering how knowledge might be valuable in virtue of being constitutive of certain eudaimonic goods. Using achievement as an example of an eudaimonic good, I argue, by way of considering its relations to credit and luck, that knowledge is necessary for achievement.

We examined whether undergraduates’ achievement goal orientations could be represented as profiles and whether profiles were linked to self-reported motivation, epistemic beliefs and academic achievement. Data collected during an undergraduate course were analyzed using a clustering technique. Using the 2 × 2 goal model (Elliot & McGregor, 2001), we identified five achievement goal profiles. Our findings suggest the interaction of goal orientations supports varying interpretations of students’ motivation and learning beliefs. Although no statistically significant differences in achievement were found across clusters, a High-Approach-Low-Avoidance cluster displayed an adaptive profile that was most positive towards learning and self but least anxious about exams. In contrast, a Performance-Avoidance-Dominant cluster demonstrated a maladaptive pattern of lowest self-efficacy and task value, and higher anxiety. Further, High-Approach-Low-Avoidance and Low-Performance-Avoidance clusters recognized that knowledge is not simple and authority could be questioned, compared to the other groups.

Objectives: Children and adolescents who were born very preterm (≤32 weeks’ gestation) are vulnerable to experiencing cognitive problems, including in executive function. However, it remains to be established whether cognitive deficits are evident in adulthood and whether these exert a significant effect on an individual’s real-lifeachievement. Methods: Using a cross-sectional design, we tested a range of neurocognitive abilities, with a focus on executive function, in a sample of 122 very preterm individuals and 89 term-born controls born between 1979 and 1984. Associations between executive function and a range of achievement measures, indicative of a successful transition to adulthood, were examined. Results: Very preterm adults performed worse compared to controls on measures of intellectual ability and executive function with moderate to large effect sizes. They also demonstrated significantly lower achievement levels in terms of years spent in education, employment status, and on a measure of functioning in work and social domains. Results of regression analysis indicated a stronger positive association between executive function and real-life achievement in the very preterm group compared to controls. Conclusions: Very preterm born adults demonstrate executive function impairments compared to full-term controls, and these are associated with lower achievement in several real-life domains. (JINS, 2017, 23, 381–389)

The Actiotope Model of Giftedness (AMG) focuses on person-environment interactions instead of on the personality traits associated with actions. Motivation is a combination of intrinsic and extrinsic forces that are fundamental to the production of actions. Therefore, the resources provided by the environment or person are important for the creation of motivation. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship between resources and motivation components, and to determine which were predictors of academic achievement among Turkish students (440 students, 206 from the 4th grade and 234 from the 7th grade). The Questionnaire of Educational and Learning Capital (QELC) was used to assess the resources described in the AMG, and the Scale of Intrinsic Versus Extrinsic Motivational Orientation in the Classroom (IVEMOCS) was used to assess the motivation components. Findings showed significant correlations between all resources and two motivation components: intrinsic and dependence on the teacher. Using stepwise regression analysis, in 4th-graders, infrastructural capital and extrinsic motivation were found to predict academic achievement; and in 7th-graders, intrinsic motivation, economic capital, extrinsic motivation and didactic capital were found to predict academic achievement.

The emotional intelligence construct is still the focus of substantial controversy. In this paper we contribute to the current debate regarding the factors that comprise the emotional intelligence construct. While some authors argue that emotional intelligence consists of a number of social and emotional competencies including self-motivation (Goleman 1995; 1998), others maintain emotional intelligence abilities are restricted to abilities that directly link emotions to cognition (Mayer & Salovey 1997). This latter view does not include motivation as a factor, but acknowledges it as a separate, related function. We conducted an empirical study to test these two different conceptualisations. One hundred and thirteen individuals completed measures of emotional intelligence and McClelland's (1987) three motivational needs. Structural equation analyses clearly supported Mayer and Salovey's (1997) conceptualisation that motivation is a factor related to emotional intelligence but is not a component part of the emotional intelligence construct. Implications are discussed.

The present study investigated the rate and pattern of neuropsychological recovery in heavy episodic drinking teens during the initial days to weeks of abstinence from alcohol. Adolescents (ages, 16–18 years) with histories of heavy episodic drinking (HED; N = 39) and socio-demographically similar control teens (CON; N = 26) were recruited from San Diego area schools. HED and CON were comparable on 5th grade standardized math and language arts test performance to ensure similar functioning before onset of substance use. Participants were administered three neuropsychological test batteries with 2-week intervals during a 4-week monitored abstinence period. HED teens performed worse overall than CON on tests of prospective memory (p = .005), cognitive switching (p = .039), inhibition task accuracy (p = .001), verbal memory (p's < .045), visuospatial construction (p's < .043), and language and achievement (p's < .008). The statistically significant group × time interaction for block design demonstrated normalization within the 4 weeks of abstinence for the HED (p = .009). This study identified cognitive performance deficits associated with heavy episodic drinking in adolescence during early abstinence and with sustained 4-week abstention. These findings suggest alcohol-related influences on several underlying brain systems that may predate the onset of alcohol abuse or dependence or take longer than 4 weeks to recover. (JINS, 2014, 20, 218–229)

Previous research has focused on specific forms of self-determined motivation or discrete class-related emotions, but few studies have simultaneously examined both constructs. The aim of this study on 472 undergraduates was twofold: to perform cluster analysis to identify homogeneous groups of motivation in the sample; and to determine the profile of each cluster for emotions and academic achievement. Cluster analysis configured four groups in terms of motivation: controlled, autonomous, both high, and both low. Each cluster revealed a distinct emotional profile, autonomous motivation being the most adaptable with high scores for academic achievement and pleasant emotions and low values for unpleasant emotions. The results are discussed in the light of their implications for academic adjustment.