The importance of intellectual talent to achievement in all professional domains is well established, but less is known about other individual differences that predict success. The authors tested the importance of 1 noncognitive trait: grit. Defined as perseverance and passion for long-term goals, grit accounted for an average of 4% of the variance in success outcomes, including educational attainment among 2 samples of adults (N=1,545 and N=690), grade point average among Ivy League undergraduates (N=138), retention in 2 classes of United States Military Academy, West Point, cadets (N=1,218 and N=1,308), and ranking in the National Spelling Bee (N=175). Grit did not relate positively to IQ but was highly correlated with Big Five Conscientiousness. Grit nonetheless demonstrated incremental predictive validity of success measures over and beyond IQ and conscientiousness. Collectively, these findings suggest that the achievement of difficult goals entails not only talent but also the sustained and focused application of talent over time.

https://psycnet.apa.org/journals/psp/92/6/1087.pdf

Grit: Perseverance and Passion for Long-Term Goals

The detection of psychiatric illness by questionnaire

Principles and Practice of Structural Equation Modeling (2nd ed.)

In his Preface the author' says that he started out to review all the more important theories upon the topics ordinarily discussed under human motivation but soon found himself more and more limited to the presentation of his own point of view. This very well characterizes the book. It is a very personal product. It is an outline with some defense of the author's own thinking about instincts and appetites and sentiments and how they function in human behavior. And as the author draws so heavily upon James and McDougall, especially the latter, the book may well be looked upon as a sort of sequel to their efforts. There is a thought-provoking distinction presented between instinct and appetite. An instinct is said to be aroused always by something in the external situation; and, correspondingly, an appetite is said to be aroused by sensations from within the body itself. This places, of course, a heavy emphasis upon the cognitive factor in all instinctive behaviors; and the author prefers to use the cognitive factor, especially the knowledge of that end-experience which will satisfy, as a means of differentiating one instinct from another. In this there is a recognized difference from McDougall who placed more emphasis for differentiation upon the emotional accompaniment. The list of instincts arrived at by this procedure is much like that of McDougall, although the author is forced by his criteria to present the possibility of food-seeking and sex and sleep operating both in the manner of an appetite and also as an instinct. The Shand-McDougall concept of sentiment is taken over and used in the explanation of moral motivation. There is the development within each personality of a sentiment for some moral principle. But this sentiment is not a very powerful motivating factor. It is reinforced by social pressures and by religion, which is treated as an effort of finite man to live in harmony with the infinite reality. Those whose psychological thinking is largely in terms of McDougall will doubtless find this volume a very satisfying expansion; but those who are at all inclined to support their psychological thinking by reference to experimental studies will not be so well pleased. The James-Lange theory, for example, is discussed without mention of the many experimental studies which it has provoked. Theoretical sources appear in general to be preferred to experimental investigations.

Human MotivationThe Mind in Action: A Study of Motives and Values. A. Campbell Garnett

The authors used theoretical models to organize the diverse unemployment literature, and meta-analytic techniques were used to examine the impact of unemployment on worker well-being across 104 empirical studies with 437 effect sizes. Unemployed individuals had lower psychological and physical well-being than did their employed counterparts. Unemployment duration and sample type (school leaver vs. mature unemployed) moderated the relationship between mental health and unemployment, but the current unemployment rate and the amount of unemployment benefits did not. Within unemployed samples, work-role centrality, coping resources (personal, social, financial, and time structure), cognitive appraisals, and coping strategies displayed stronger relationships with mental health than did human capital or demographic variables. The authors identify gaps in the literature and propose directions for future unemployment research.

Psychological and physical well-being during unemployment: a meta-analytic study.

Elaboration, a partir de trois etudes (N=427, 230, 450) d'une echelle de mesure de la motivation professionnelle composee de sept facteurs (49 item): ethique du travail, attrait du gain, dominance, perfectionnisme, competitivite, aspiration statutaire et maitrise. Fidelite et consistance interne sont appreciees

A multifactorial approach to achievement motivation: The development of a comprehensive measure.

The relationship between social identity, family and school context, problem-solving style, self-esteem, health behaviour, psychological distress, and victimisation, was explored in a quasi-experimental survey of 461 children aged between 11 and 15 years old. There was a high prevalence of victimisation (29%) in the group and 44% of those victimised scored above the clinical cut-off on the GHQ. Victims exhibited higher levels of psychological distress, lower self-esteem, more unhealthy behaviours, less support from parents and teachers, poorer problem-solving styles, and lower perceived social identity. Girls had a higher prevalence of victimisation than boys. The best predictors of victimisation were sex, family situation, social identity and problem-solving style. Some implications for interventions are discussed.

Bullying and victimisation in school children: The role of social identity, problem-solving style, and family and school context

Problem-solving style has emerged in the literature as an important variable in the development and maintenance of affective disorders. Furthermore, the literature would suggest that it is related to other variables such as attributional style, achievement motivation and control in the mediation of the stress process. Research has been hampered and somewhat clouded by lack of clarity regarding the nature of the construct. It would appear to be a multidimensional construct, yet a suitable multifactorial measure is not available. The current paper reports on two studies (N = 408 and N = 611 respectively) which produced a 24-item six-factor measure. The factors were labelled helplessness, problem-solving control, creative problem-solving style, problem-solving confidence, avoidance style and approach style. The studies produced evidence that the utility of problem-solving style as an explanatory variable is enhanced when it is treated as a multidimensional construct. The factors appear to be differentially predictive of different affective states and clinical disorders. The data also support the 24-item measure as a useful, reliable and valid measure of problem-solving style.

Problem‐solving style, stress and psychological illness: Development of a multifactorial measure

Summary. The social and familial background, intelligence and personality of children and adolescents have been shown to contribute to their status in society, their educational attainment and to social competence in general as adults (Rutter and Madge, 1976; Garmezy, 1987). This study considers how these factors are translated into behaviour through the mediation of achievement motivation. Using a multidimensional approach to achievement motivation (Cassidy and Lynn, 1989), the achievement factors that predicted educational attainment and socioeconomic status in a sample of 451 young adults were identified. Data for the sample of 199 males and 252 females were collected at two points over a seven-year period. Initial assessment occurred at age 16 and final assessment at age 23 approximately. It is suggested that a focus on the development of cognitive-behavioural styles of achievement motivation, problem-solving and attribution may provide a useful future direction for research on social competence. The implications of such a focus are discussed.

https://bpspsychub.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/j.2044-8279.1991.tb00956.x

Achievement motivation, educational attainment, cycles of disadvantage and social competence : some longitudinal data

Objectives: The aim of this study was to explore benefit finding in cancer carers taking account of timeline and care recipient, in relation to burden of care, perceived stress, optimism, resilience, self efficacy, perceived support and psychological distress. Methods: A cohort sequential survey was conducted with a group of 842 female cancer carers who were caring for a spouse, a parent or a child. A stress-coping model of benefit finding was proposed and tested. Results: Analysis supported the stress-coping model for global benefit finding and also the multidimensional model of benefit finding and identified important differences on outcome measures depending on care recipient and timeline. Conclusions: This study concludes that a focus on benefit finding interventions may be useful in the area, but that a developmental approach taking into account the relationship between carer and the carer recipient is required.

Tony Cassidy

Papers

A multifactorial approach to achievement motivation: The development of a comprehensive measure.

Bullying and victimisation in school children: The role of social identity, problem-solving style, and family and school context

Problem‐solving style, stress and psychological illness: Development of a multifactorial measure

Achievement motivation, educational attainment, cycles of disadvantage and social competence : some longitudinal data

Benefit finding through caring: the cancer caregiver experience.