Secondary school student’s strategic activity and chosen dimensions of their cognitive style In relation to school achievementsThe relations between chosen dimensions of the cognitive style (field dependence/independence and reflection/impulsivity) and strategic activity (strategic control of learning and depth of processing) on the one hand, and school achievements of junior and senior high school pupils, on the other, were investigated in two researches. One hundred eighty subjects took part in the first study. The research was conducted in groups. The subjects filled in Witkin’s “Embedded figures test”, R. Cantwell’s “Strategic Flexibility Questionnaire” in the Polish adaptation of E. Czerniawska and the questionnaire “Learning from textbook texts”. Data concerning school achievements were also gathered. It appeared that older pupils used more often deep processing strategies, no developmental differences were found as strategic control of learning was concerned. Deep processing strategies were a positive predictor of school achievements, irresolute control – a negative one. Older subjects were more field independent. In junior high school field independence was correlated with the strategic activity and school achievements. One hundred ninety nine subjects took part in the second study. The research was also conducted in groups. The subjects filled in A. Matczak’s questionnaire “R-I”, R. Cantwell’s “Strategic Flexibility Questionnaire” in the Polish adaptation of E. Czerniawska and the questionnaire “Learning from textbook texts”. Data concerning school achievements were also gathered. The obtained results showed that strategic flexibility was correlated with deep processing and higher school achievements, whereas strategic flexibility with surface processing strategies. Reflection was linked with higher school achievements and strategic inflexibility. The discussion is focused on the role of cognitive style in the formation of the characteristics of the strategic activity in secondary school pupils and on the influence of the cognitive style and strategic activity on school achievements.
The „Big Five” personality factors in relation to strategic activity and school achievements in students from junior and senior high schoolThe main aim of the research was to determine the relationships between strategic activity and school achievements, on the one hand, and personality factors on the other, in the population of students from junior and senior high school. The paper begins with a characteristic of basic dimensions of the strategic activity: depth of processing and strategic flexibility, and of their role for school achievements. Basic data concerning the Costa’s and McCrae’s Five Factors Personality Model are also presented, as well as research results concerning relationships between personality factors and school achievements. In own research the following questionnaires were used: NEO-FFI, “Strategic Flexibility Questionnaire” and “Learning from Textbook Texts”. Data about school achievements were also collected. It appeared that two personality factors – Openness and Conscientiousness – had showed a positive correlation with adaptive strategic control, and a negative one with irresolute strategic control. Irresolute strategic control was positively correlated with Emotional Stability (Neurotism), deep processing with Openness and Agreeableness, whereas surface processing with Openness and Conscientiousness. School achievements were related with personality factors: Openness and Conscientiousness correlated significantly with GPA. Deep processing and adaptive strategic control favored school achievements. Students from junior high school declared a more frequent usage of surface strategies, as compared with students from senior high school.
The effect of music on teenagers’ perceived timeThe purpose of the experiment was to examine the effect of atmospheric music on time estimations in a group of teenagers. One hundred and fifty students of a Warsaw secondary school took part in the experiment. It turned out that the number of tunes presented to students influenced their time perception. The estimated duration of a given interval was longer when many as opposed to a few songs were played. Moreover, the tempo of background music modified the effect of number of songs on time perception. When fast songs were played number of tunes influenced time estimations more as opposed to the situation when slow music was presented. Other variables had little or no effect on the respondents’ time perception: gender, perceived tempo of music, liking/disliking of songs and the level of disturbance in performing a cognitive task. In the experiment students made retrospective duration judgment. They answered the temporal questions verbally
The aim of the research was to examine how different versions of the same musical composition affect the recall of earlier memorised verbal material. One hundred sixty one high school students were divided into four groups. In three of the groups the recall phase was preceded by an instrumental, Polish and English version of the same musical composition respectively. The fourth group was the control group, where recall was preceded by silence. In the first phase of the experiment the subjects memorized a list of words in English. In the second phase they either listened to music or remained in silence. In the third phase the subjects were recalling remembered words. At the end all the subjects filled in a questionnaire, concerning among other the evaluation of the experimental procedure and their learning style preferences (with or without music). The obtained results showed significant differences in recall between the instrumental and English, English and Polish and also instrumental and control groups respectively. It has been found that vocal music in English version decreased the amount of the recalled material while the instrumental music increased it. The interpretation of the results was based on the Mozart Effect (improvements of cognitive task results due to the effect of music) and retroactive inhibition (the worsening of the results due to the interpolated variable).
The aim of the study was to examine whether there exists a relationship between temperamental traits and selected characteristics of autobiographical memories. 71 persons twice recalled and rated their holiday memories: in October and three months later. In addition, the participants filled in the Formal Characteristics of Behavior – Temperament Inventory, Revised Version. The results revealed that participants with high emotional reactivity recall few events and their recollections are mostly negative and non-specific. Participants with high activity recall many different events and their recollections contain strong emotions. Participants with high perseveration recall negative events first. The exploration of the relation between temperament and autobiographical memories may help discover mechanisms that contribute to the construction of given narrative schemas through which they may influence individual development.
Was Proust right? Odors as memory cuesIn scientific publications concerning olfactory memory the notion of the “Proust Effect” is often used, meaning that odors have a positive influence on retrieval of memories. In the first part of the paper the context effect is presented, as well as data from studies where odors were used as retrieval memory cues. In the second part the results of the author’s research is presented. The main aim of the project was to verify whether odors can serve as efficient memory cues. Two kinds of odors were used – pleasant and unpleasant, to check if the efficiency of odor cues depends on the evoked emotions. The groups were also differentiated by the context in which learning and retrieval took place: same or different. The obtained results were analyzed twice, as “objective” and “subjective”. In the first set of analyses results the formal grouping of subjects was taken into account, in the second grouping was based on the subjective appraisal of odors and odor context (pleasant/unpleasant; same/different). It appeared that subjects learning and retrieving in the same odor conditions (assessed subjectively as unpleasant) reproduced more words than subjects who thought that the conditions of learning and retrieval were different. In the discussion the concept of context dependent memory is called upon and the influence of activation on learning is presented.
The paper explores situational and dispositional underpinnings of cooperative behavior. According to psychological research, cooperation is strongly related to affective states (Forgas, 1998) and personality dimensions (Volk, Thöni, & Ruigrok, 2011). In an experimental study we examined the conditions under which people cooperate with each other. The dispositional traits of co-workers (personality), the contribution to a collaborative effort, and a situational factor – ambient odor condition were taken into consideration. A one-way ANOVA revealed that compared to a malodorous condition, both the pleasant odor condition and the natural odor condition showed higher rates of cooperation. Further analysis indicated that only malodors influenced affective states which in turn determined social decisions. Although we found effects for the participants’ agreeableness and the coworker’s contribution to a joint work, they appeared to play a less critical role than affective states induced by the experimental odor conditions tested here.
The paper explores situational and dispositional underpinnings of cooperative behavior. According to psychological research, cooperation is strongly related to affective states (Forgas, 1998) and personality dimensions (Volk, Thöni, & Ruigrok, 2011). In an experimental study we examined the conditions under which people cooperate with each other. The dispositional traits of co-workers (personality), the contribution to a collaborative effort, and a situational factor – ambient odor condition were taken into consideration. A one-way ANOVA revealed that compared to a malodorous condition, both the pleasant odor condition and the natural odor condition showed higher rates of cooperation. Further analysis indicated that only malodors influenced affective states which in turn determined social decisions. Although we found effects for the participants’ agreeableness and the coworker’s contribution to a joint work, they appeared to play a less critical role than affective states induced by the experimental odor conditions tested here.
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