The relation between parenting style and adolescent substance use (tobacco, alcohol, hashish, and amphetamines) was examined concurrently (at age 14) for licit drug use and longitudinally (from age 14 to 17) for both licit and illicit drug use in a sample of 347 youth from compulsory schools in Reykjavik, Iceland. After controlling for adolescent perceptions of parental and peer use, own previous use, and gender, results indicated that adolescents who characterized their parents as authoritative were more protected against substance use than adolescents who perceived their parents as neglectful, both concurrently and longitudinally. Compared with adolescents who characterized their parents as authoritative and neglectful, those from authoritarian and indulgent families each showed a different pattern of substance use both with regard to the type of substance and over time in a longer term perspective.

Do US findings on applicants' self-presentational behavior generalize to other countries?We argue that applicants in some countries are less motivated to present themselves favorably than applicants in others because countries vary in their unemployment rate (leading to differences in competition between job applicants) and their endorsement of modesty values, influencing their beliefs regarding self-presentation. Using the randomized response technique, we obtained prevalence data on applicants' self-presentational behavior from Iceland and Switzerland and compared them with previously published US results. The prevalence rates of self-presentational behavior were fairly comparable in Iceland and Switzerland but significantly lower than in the United States. These results caution against using the same hiring strategy for all applicants from different cultures.

The present study examined the role of positive goal-performance discrepancies (GPDs), self-efficacy beliefs, and dispositional goal orientation on goal revision processes following performance feedback in a sample of 129 Icelandic job applicants. The results indicated that goal revision was primarily a function of the positive GPD encountered by individuals. However, this relationship was moderated by self-efficacy, performance goal orientation, and learning goal orientation. Implications of these findings and directions for future research are discussed.Many contemporary theories of human motivation view personal goals or performance standards as one of the primary regulators of behavior. Theoretical models such as control theory (Campion & Lord, 1982), social cognitive theory (SCT) (Bandura, 1986), feedback intervention theory (Kluger & DeNisi, 1996), and goal-setting theory (Locke & Latham, 1990) all argue that the self-regulation of behavior centers on these goals. Although there are several stylistic and conceptual differences among these models, all share the common proposition that individuals set goals for specific behaviors and monitor the discrepancies that occur between these goals and actual behavioral output. These observed discrepancies (termed goal-performance discrepanciesFGPDs) are thought to create a motivational impetus for action such that when individuals perceive a GPD, they are motivated to make adjustments to their goals, their behavior,

The current study used item response theory to provide a detailed examination of the psychometric properties of scores from two goal orientation instruments popular in the work motivation literature: Button, Mathieu, and Zajac (1996) and VandeWalle (1997). In general, the results of these analyses indicated that all scales except Button et al.'s (1996) Learning Goal Orientation (LGO) scale suffered from low levels of measurement precision. The Performance Goal Orientation scales contained a number of items that were of limited informational value. Button et al.'s (1996) LGO scale performed adequately but only for those with low to moderately high standings on the construct. Implications of these results and recommendations for future research on the goal orientation construct are presented.

Several empirical studies have suggested that achievement goal researchers should put a greater emphasis on identifying factors that may moderate the effects of achievement goals on motivation and related outcomes. In line with this recommendation, the current study sought to examine how one task characteristics (task complexity) may moderate the impact of achievement goals on the motivational outcomes of task enjoyment, mental focus, and exerted effort. Consistent with both the theoretical foundations of achievement goals and the existing research literature, we hypothesized that achievement goals would interact with task complexity in their effects on motivation such that the positive effects of mastery goals would be stronger for complex tasks, the positive effects of performance‐approach goals would be stronger for simple tasks, and the negative effects of performance‐avoidance goals would be weaker for simple tasks. Data collected from 347 undergraduate students assigned to simple or complex task conditions when performing a puzzle‐based task supported these hypotheses. Under complex task conditions, the positive effects of mastery goals were amplified, whereas simple task conditions enhanced the positive effects of performance‐approach goals and minimized the negative impact of performance‐avoidance goals. Future directions for research on achievement goals are discussed, along with potential practical implications of the results of this study.