Electronic Library of Scientific Literature - © Academic Electronic Press
Volume 44 / No. 1 / 2002
Daniela OSTATNÍKOVÁ1, Jolana LAZNIBATOVÁ2, Zdeněk PUTZ3, Anna MAŤAŠEJE1, Monika DOHNÁNYIOVÁ1, Karol PASTOR4
1 Institute of Physiology, School of Medicine,
Comenius University, Sasinkova 2, 811 08 Bratislava, Slovak Republic
2 Research Institute of Child Psychology and Pathopsychology,
Bratislava, Slovak Republic
3 Institute of Endocrinology, Ľubochňa, Slovak Republic
4 Department of Probability and Statistics, Faculty of
Mathematics and Physics, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovak Republic
Abstract: Geschwind and Galaburda (1987) hypothesized that testosterone influences foetal brain development leading to special intellectual skills. Testosterone may according to the proposed theory also affect the development of the motor and immune system. In the present paper salivary testosterone levels were related to intellectual giftedness in both sexes separately. Handedness and allergy occurrence were studied in intellectually gifted school-age children (N = 235) and compared with those of their peers from the general population (N = 144). Gifted children were found to be less right-handed than non-gifted controls. Gifted boys had a higher occurrence of allergy and lower levels of salivary testosterone in comparison with non-gifted boys. Gifted girls had higher levels of salivary testosterone than non-gifted girls.
Key words: intelligence, salivary testosterone, handedness, allergy
pp. 3-13
Maja ZUPANČIČ
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Arts, University of Ljubljana, Aškerčeva 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia, e-mail: maja.zupancic@ff.uni-lj.si
Abstract: The present study compared toddlers from Slovenia and Slavonia (a region in Croatia) playing alone with different types of toys: realistic, semi- and non-realistic. Video-recordings were analyzed and coded with regard to toy-related behavior and types of play. A discriminant analysis was applied to the data. The results obtained for two latent dimensions are discussed. The dimension "sophistication of play" distinguished toddlers' object-related types of behavior according to the degree of a toy's resemblance to a real object. Toddlers' play was considered more sophisticated when they played with realistic toys rather than with semi- or non-realistic ones, which presumably reflects the important role of perceptive and functional support from play objects in the early development of pretend play. The dimension "object orientation" differentiated between Slovenian and Slavonian toddlers' toy-play behavior. The Slovenians appeared to be relatively more object-oriented and independent than the Slavonians, regardless of the type of toy they played with. This suggests that toddlers in these two communities tend to engage in somewhat different modes of behavior during solitary play, which is consonant with previously-discovered differences in their interactive object play with adults.
Key words: object play, toddlers, toys, behavioral differences
pp. 15-28
Cirila PEKLAJ, Sonja PEČJAK
University of Ljubljana, Department of Psychology
Aškerčeva 2, 1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia
Abstract: The purpose of the present study was twofold: first, to construct instruments that would measure cognitive and affective-motivational processes of self-regulated learning according to the Hofer, Yu and Pintrich (1998) four component model, and second, to investigate the effects of all four aspects of self-regulated learning according to students' achievement and sex. 181 students from secondary schools (68 boys and 113 girls; 92 from grammar and 89 from professional schools) participated in the study. Two instruments were constructed for the purposes of the study. Their construct validity was assessed with factor analysis. Further statistical analyses revealed differences in SRL according to students' achievement and sex. According to students' achievement it was found that cognitive and metacognitive knowledge, achievement motivation and self-efficacy increase from low to high achieving students. Goal-directed evaluation and strategy use were highest in medium achieving students. Sex differences showed that girls know more about cognition related to self-regulation, they use more metacognitive strategies and also are more intrinsically motivated, they express more feelings and use more strategies for controlling effort in learning situations. Implications for further research and practice are discussed.
Key words: metacognition, self-regulated learning (SRL), students' gender, achievement
pp. 29-43
Erika KOVÁČOVÁ
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Pedagogy, Constantine the Philosopher University 1, A. Hlinka Avenue, 949 01 Nitra, Slovak Republic
Abstract: The study follows up the problem of a joint action of the bio-psycho-social factors on the onset and progress of the ischemic heart disease and its clinical cumulation in myocardial infarction (MI). Significant differences were observed in the measure of neuroticism, psychoticism, pathological uncertainty, normal uncertainty, causal uncertainty and the A-type behavior among post-MI subjects (N = 24), those with an enhanced risk of cardiac diseases (N = 26) and healthy controls (N = 25). The results imply that psychological risk factors, such as neuroticism, the A-type behavior, combined with biological and social risk factors, play a significant role in the onset and development of cardiovascular disorders. We have succeeded in supplementing the psychological content of the A-type behavioral characteristic with a personality dimension - normal certainty.
Key words: bio-psycho-social model, myocardial infarction, psychological risk factors, uncertainty-certainty, style of A-type behavior, causal uncertainty
pp. 45-55
Svjetlana KOLIĆ-VEHOVEC
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy, University of Rijeka, Trg I. Klobučarića 1, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia
Abstract: The effects of the self-monitoring and attribution training on accuracy and fluency of reading, as well as reading comprehension and reading attribution of second-grade poor readers were examined. The participants were divided into three experimental groups and one control group. One experimental group was encouraged to carry out self-monitoring and self-correction by token-economy. The second group was instructed to attribute reading success to effort and ability, and failure to lack of effort. The third experimental group was made to follow a combination of self-monitoring and attribution training, while the control group practiced reading without feedback. All students showed improvement in reading fluency and comprehension. Self-monitoring training, as well as attribution training and their combination improved reading accuracy. Changes toward more internal attribution were obtained only in the experimental groups with explicit attribution training being applied.
Key words: poor readers, self-monitoring training, attribution training
pp. 57-68
František BAUMGARTNER
Institute of Social Sciences, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Karpatská 5, 040 01 Košice, Slovak Republic
Abstract: Hardiness is a characteristic of personality, conceived as a relevant factor of successful accommodation in demanding, stressful situations. In our research we have examined the role of hardiness in the choice of strategies of coping. Hardiness was outlined in accordance with the interpretation of Kobasa et al. (1982). Strategies of coping were observed as certain concrete routines of behavior in stressful situations. These routines represented three main categories - avoidance, emotion-oriented and problem-oriented coping. Subjects were students of secondary schools. The results revealed that hardy people have the tendency to prefer active solutions of events and at the same time they reject routines representing avoidance.
Key words: stressful situations, coping strategies, hardiness
pp. 69-74
Karl PELTZER
Health Behavior Research Unit, University of the North, Private Bag X1106, Sovenga 0727, South Africa, e-mail: PeltzerK@unin.unorth.ac.za
Abstract: The study aimed at identifying how religiosity, religious coping and social support are related to common health behaviors in an African population. The sample included 624 students: 314 Grade 12, Secondary School students and 310 third year social science university students in South Africa. Results indicate a high degree of religiosity and prevalence of religious coping but a low prevalence of health behaviors. The overall health behavior was found to be associated with religiosity or spirituality, and social support was positively associated with religiosity and healthy behavior.
Key words: religiosity, health promoting behavior, native South African students
pp. 75-83
Electronic Library of Scientific Literature - © Academic Electronic Press