Applied Psychology
Year:2012 | Volume:6 | Issue:3 (23)|Papers Count:14

Aim: The aim of this study was comparison of brain behavioral activation/inhibition systems and locus of control in girls and boys university student.Method: of this study was cause and effect, statistical society were all of Ahwaz Payamenour University students (15 thousand people). Sample contains of 300 participants (75 boys & 75 girls with external locus of control and 75 boys & 75 girls with internal locus of control) were selected stratified random sampling. Research instruments were Gray Wilson personality questionnaire (2000) and Rutter locus of control scale (1966).Results: Showed that the brain behavioral activation/inhibition systems of four groups were significantly different. Activity of BAS in external locus of control was the most and in boys was higher than girls. Activity of BIS in internal locus of control was the most and in girls was higher than boys. Activity of FFS in external locus of control have shown highest mean, and boys were higher in Fight but girls were higher in flight. Conclusion: On Gray’s theory, there are relationship between behavioral activation system and positive affect and behavioral inhibition system and negative affect which active by effect of internal and external stimulus. Differences of this systems available ways to impress the cause and prevent of brain activities on different kind of psychopathologies.

Aim: Aim of present study was to determine implicit motor sequence learning in dyslexic children and to compare it with normal children.Methods: Research design was ex-post factor and study population included dyslexic children of learning disabilities rehabilitation centers of Tabriz city, with total size of 740 students, in 2009, March to May. Among them, 20 students with diagnosis of dyslexia were chosen from two centers (Baghcheban and SoleymanKhater) non-randomly and were matched with non-dyslexic control group with regard to chronological age, sex, social- economical class and IQ. The study instruments were dyslexia symptoms checklist (Michaeili and Farahani, 2006), revised Wechsler IQ Scale for Children (WISC-III, 2006), Pouretemad Reading Test (2002) and Serial Reaction Time Task (Nejati, 2006).Results: results showed that there aren’t significant differences between dyslexic and non-dyslexic children in the speed effect (reaction time) and accuracy effect (accuracy) of implicit motor sequence learning, But blocks mean comparison showed significant differences between two groups in both reaction time and accuracy, and dyslexics had overall poor performance than Non-dyslexics in both indexes of implicit motor sequence learning.Conclusion: Though dyslexic children have deficits in motor ability and skills, but implicit motor sequence learning is intact. Intact implicit learning probably has some implications in reading instruction of dyslexic children.

Aim: Purpose of this study was to determine mediation role motivated beliefs between metacognitive learning environments and academic achievement.Method: Research method was ex post facto and the study population was all first grade students in high schools in Shiraz. Participants were 510 students (251 boys, 259 girls) were selected by random cluster sampling. They completed metacognitive learning environment questionnaire Tomas (2003) & motivated strategies for learning questionnaire (Pintrich and DeGroot, 1991). For evaluation the academic achievement were used in academic average. To examine reliability of measures, Coronbech alpha coefficient and to determine validity, factor analysis method and coefficient correlation between the dimensions and the total score were used. Data were analyzed by simultaneous multiple regression using Baron and Kenny method.Results: Results showed that multiple regression analysis indicated that dimensions of metacognitive learning environment can predict academic achievement. Additionally, interaction within the classroom, the teacher encouragement and emotional support as a feature of the metacognitive learning environments, influenced in motivational beliefs.Conclusion: Therefore, motivational beliefs play a mediating role between metacognitive characteristics of the learning environment and academic achievement so can be strengthened by motivational beliefs to increase academic achievement.

From 1342-1343 in which the Department of Psychology established in the Faculty of Literature and Human Sciences in the University of Tehran, the laboratory was founded. Some of these instruments were prepared from France, some from Germany, and the others from the United States. These instruments have not been updated or are totally destroyed. The present research conducted to do a comparative and correlational study with regard to the functions of some of those old instruments which were working well with the functions of new software named Vienna Test System. Today, the new systems such as FMIR, MIR, & PET and a variety of scans, are in use and new investigations are carried out even in the area of child psychology in the context of culture and social environment inspired from the neuro-sciences. These are resulted to considerable achievements in social psychology and social cognitive neurosciences. The design of this research is of correlational type in which 100 students of experimental psychology course were studied under a controlled condition. Each of the students was randomly located in all the six old and new tests. The analysis of descriptive, inferential, and Pearson Correlation Coefficient statistics, indicated that there is not any positive significant relationship between the two types of instruments, i.e. the old and the new ones. The correlation coefficients was 0.07 for reaction time; 0.04 for memory dram; and 0.05 for attention assessing instrument.

Aim: The present study aimed to assess the structural validity of Aiken’s science attitude scale.Method: Research method was kind of correlation studies with analysis of correlation and covariance matrix and population included all students in third grade guidance school in 2009-2010 in Tehran (134829 girls, 141458 boys). Sample consists of 700 student (350 boy students and 350 girl students) was selected by multi-stage sampling. The data were collected through Aiken’s science attitude scale (1979) and the reliability of the scale was calculated by Alpha Coronbech coefficient as 0.887. The structural validity of the scale was investigated by exploratory factor analysis, conformity factor analysis and multi-group analysis.Results: By exploratory factor analysis three factors (enjoy science learning, fear of science learning, value and importance of science learning) were derived from the Aiken’s science attitude scale. The result of conformity factor analysis suggests good fitness of presented model with data and therefore represent the structural validity of scale is desirable. Results of multi-group analysis suggests the standardized parameter values for observed variables of the factor of “enjoy science learning” , values of the factor correlation and reliability of scale for girl students are significantly more than boy students.Conclusions: The evidence related to structural validity of the Aiken’s Science Attitude Scale, confirmed the goodness of psychometric properties of this scale and offered using this suitable scale to assess students’ attitude toward science.

Aim: Aim of this study was to examine relationship between general self-efficacy and metacognition believes with coping strategies in male substance abusers.Methods: The study design was correlation-descriptive and the statistical community consisted of all men substance abusers (N= 4,493) visited the self- introducing detoxified centers in the city of Kermanin 1390-1389. 354 patients were selected using cluster randomly sampling procedure and complete the Schwartz & Jerusalem generalized self-efficacy (1979), Wells & Matthews metacognition (1994-1995) and Billings & Moos coping responses (1981) questionnaires. Pearson correlation coefficient and path analysis method were used for data analysis.Results: The results showed that there is positive and significant correlation between generalized self-efficacy, metacognition and its dimensions with problem-focused coping, and negative and significant correlation with emotion-focused coping. Result of path analysis revealed that Study model has a relatively good fitness and path coefficients are significant.Conclusion: Since low general self-efficacy and disturbed metacognition properly predict the choice of coping strategies in male substance abusers, training of self-efficacy strategies and metacognition associated to choice of coping strategies in male substance abusers can prevent relapse in this people in stressful conditions.

Aim: The purpose of this study was testing cross-gender generability of the model of structural relationships between personality traits, coping styles, perceived academic stress and reactions to stressors with scales of subjective well-being.Methods: In the correlational study, from total of 5000 students, from regions of 5 and 12 of Tehran, 400 students (160 males and 240 females), who were selected by multistage random sampling method, completed the Big Five Inventory BFI, John, Donahue & Kentle (1991), the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations-Short Form, Cohan, Jang &Stien (2006), Student-Life Stress Inventory, Gadzella & Baloglu (2001), and Scales of Subjective Well-being of Keyes, Shmotkin & Ryff (2002).Results: The results of the moderating effects of sex groups by multiple regression models showed that relationship between personality traits, coping styles, perceived academic stress and reactions to stressors with subjective well-being was similar for the two sex samples.Conclusion: In sum, these results show that functional properties of the multiple psychological constructs for predicting emotional and cognitive components of subjective well-being were similar for the two sex samples. Therefore, to enhance subjective well-being among male and female university students, similarity in content of intervention programs is suggested.