Factors that Account for Children's Variability in Social Skills: Temperament and Emotional Intelligence
Author:
Christine Rissanen
Year of Dissertation:
2010
Program:
Educational Psychology
The study of social skills in children has been a popular field of research for many decades. The popularity of this construct may be due, in part, to the importance of social skills. Investigators recognize social skills as an essential set of abilities that correlate with overall personal adjustment in both children and in adults (Agostin & Bain, 1997; Copeland, 2006; Dodge, Murphy, & Buschsbaum, 1984; Green, Forehand, Beck, & Vosk, 1980; Vinnick & Erickson, 1994). Some children learn to skillfully master social skills, whereas for others, their skills in interacting effectively with others are insufficient to achieve success in the social world.
THE INFLUENCE OF CROSS-LINGUISTIC INPUT AND L2 PROFICIENCY ON L2 READING COMPREHENSION AMONG SPANISH-SPEAKING ADULTS LEARNING ENGLISH AS A SECOND LANGUAGE
Year of Dissertation:
2010
Program:
Educational Psychology
The present study investigated the effects of cross-linguistic input and second language proficiency on second language reading comprehension among Spanish-speaking adults enrolled in English as a Second Language (ESL) classes at a community college in New York City. The main research question was whether language-minority adults would comprehend printed text better if they read it in Spanish (L1) followed by English (L2) than if they read the text twice only in English. An experimental study using a 2 (lower L2 proficiency vs. higher L2 proficiency) x 2 (think-aloud vs. no think-aloud) x 2 (Spanish/English vs. English/English) crossed factorial design was conducted. Eighty students were randomly assigned to the Spanish/English or English/English reading conditions within each L2 proficiency level and think-aloud conditions. Reading comprehension was assessed via a verbal recall task, eight open-ended questions, and a 43-item cloze task. The results revealed that students with lower L2 proficiency benefitted substantially from reading the text in both languages as evident by their performance on the recall and Q&A reading comprehension tasks. In contrast, L1 input did not provide an added advantage over reading the text twice in English for students with higher L2 proficiency. A reactive effect to the think-aloud procedure was found for students with lower L2 proficiency on the Q&A and cloze tasks. On the Q&A task, among those who completed the think-aloud procedure, students who read the text in both languages outperformed students who read the text only in English. On the cloze task, students who did not perform the think-aloud procedure outperformed students who did the think-aloud. In addition, it was found that the reading comprehension assessment methods had a differential effect on students' ability to demonstrate the degree to which they comprehended the text. Results showed that performance was lowest on the recall task across all groups. Other findings and implications are discussed.
The Effects of Cardiovascular Exercise on College Students' Learning, Recall, and Comprehension
Year of Dissertation:
2010
Program:
Educational Psychology
Research on physical activity and cognition is based on the existing theoretical and empirical evidence which indicates that engaging in cardiovascular exercise improves cognitive capabilities, by increasing neural functioning which improves learning (cognitive development). The question this research sought to answer was to determine whether or not (a) increased amounts of exercise improves cognitive recall and comprehension and (b) there is a difference in cognitive recall and comprehension abilities when engaging in exercise occurs before a learning activity as compared to after a learning activity.
Comparing and Combining Accommodation and Remediation Interventions to Improve the Written Language Performance of Children with Asperger's Syndrome
Year of Dissertation:
2010
Program:
Educational Psychology
This study examined the relative effectiveness of two writing accommodations (word processing and speech recognition technology) as compared with handwriting alone on improving the writing fluency of four boys with Asperger's Syndrome (AS). This study also examined whether the pairing of the most effective writing accommodation with a widely used and empirically supported writing intervention (SRSD; Self-Regulated Strategy Development) would further improve fluency as well as accuracy and story quality. A multiple phase alternating treatments design with a final treatment phase was used to first compare the two accommodations with handwriting (first phase) and then the most effective accommodation with SRSD (second phase). Four variables were used to assess writing skills, two measuring fluency (total words written and number of words in a complete sentence), one measuring accuracy (percentage of correct word sequences), and one measuring story quality and completeness (number of story parts). It was hypothesized that the use of the speech recognition accommodation would result in the most fluently written stories but that the addition of the SRSD intervention would further improve fluency but also improve writing accuracy and story quality. In addition, these gains would generalize to the participants' creative writing assignments.
Parents' Perceptions of School Psychologists' Use of Social Power and Interpersonal Influence in School Consultation for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders
Year of Dissertation:
2012
Program:
Educational Psychology
This study explored parents' attitudes towards school psychologists' use of social power and interpersonal influence in the school consultation process for children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Previous research has examined school psychologists' perceptions, as well as teachers' perceptions, of social power and interpersonal influence in school consultation, but to date, parents' perceptions in this regard have been given limited attention in the literature. Study questions addressed (a) which social power techniques parents perceived as most effective when used by school psychologists to elicit their compliance, (b) how parents' perceptions of these techniques compared to school psychologists and teachers, whom were both studied previously, (c) whether a soft-harsh, two-factor solution among these power techniques existed among parents, and (d) whether parents' ratings on the soft power techniques predicted ratings of consultant effectiveness and ratings of satisfaction with children's consultation outcome.
Do pictures impair sight word learning in beginning readers?
Year of Dissertation:
2010
Program:
Educational Psychology
In two experiments, the impact of pictures on learning to read words was examined in kindergartners, first graders, and second graders (N=72). The written words were either simplified spellings (e.g., DLR for dollar) or conventional spellings. The words were learned either with or without pictures of their meaning. In the first experiment, forty kindergarten and first grade students were assigned to groups and were taught to read 10 words. One group was taught to read simplified spellings of the words, half accompanied by pictures, and half without pictures present. The other group was taught the 10 words in their conventional spellings, also with pictures either present or absent. It was hypothesized that kindergartners, presumed to be in the partial alphabetic phase of reading would learn to read simplified spellings of words by sight equally well either with or without pictures, whereas they would learn to read conventional spellings better without pictures present. It was hypothesized that first graders, presumed to be full alphabetic readers, would not be distracted by the pictures in either the simplified or conventional spelling conditions because they would process the conventional spellings automatically. Results indicated that both kindergarteners and first graders were distracted by the presence of pictures when learning sight words, both in the simplified and conventional spelling conditions. Experiment 2 utilized the same design with full alphabetic students in the second grade. In addition, half of the students' attention was directed at the spellings of the words. Results provided mixed support for the hypothesis that the second graders would not be distracted by the pictures in learning to read the words. Pictures did not distract sight word memory when students' attention was directed at letter-sound correspondences in the words during learning. However, second graders were distracted by the presence of pictures when they had learned conventional spellings of words without attending to letter-sound relations in words during word learning.
Analyzing ecological momentary data using growth mixture modeling
Year of Dissertation:
2009
Program:
Educational Psychology
Real-time data capture, also known as ecological momentary assessment (EMA), is a unique data collection technique, which records moment-to-moment changes in human behavior as they occur in real time and in naturalistic settings. EMA is typically collected by electronic devices that prompt study participants to report behaviors (e.g., smoking) in real time, thereby minimizing problems associated with retrospective recall and reactivity. EMA has been heralded as a promising research tool in education, psychology, and behavioral medicine. It provides the needed data to examine patterns of behaviors as well as their temporal characteristics.
The Effects of Parenting Style and Psychological Control on Relational Aggression in African American Girls
Year of Dissertation:
2012
Program:
Educational Psychology
Advisor:
Georgiana Shick Tryon
This dissertation explored the relationship of parenting styles and psychological control on relational aggression in African American girls. Specifically, it examined African American girls' perpetration and victimization of relational aggression and the influence of their mother's parenting style on their behavior. This study also investigated if parenting style is predictive of relational aggression and relational victimization.
The Relationship of Self-Concept and Academic Engagement to Each Other and to School Outcomes of Students with Disabilities
Year of Dissertation:
2010
Program:
Educational Psychology
THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK
Curriculum-Based Measurement Performance Indicators: A Tool for Undergraduate Calculus Students to Inform and Direct their Learning Behavior
Year of Dissertation:
2010
Program:
Educational Psychology
The present study investigated the extent to which providing students with individualized performance feedback informed and directed their learning behavior. Individualized performance feedback was delivered to students using curriculum-based measurement progress indicators, either as a visual representation of ongoing performance in the form of a progress graph or as a progress graph supplemented with a qualitative analysis of topic mastery.