Children's numerical competence in kindergarten is highly predictive of their acquisition of mathematics in Grade 1 and Grade 2, suggesting that experiences at home before schooling are important in understanding how numeracy develops. In this study, the mathematical skills of 146 children in Kindergarten, Grade 1, and Grade 2 were correlated with the frequency with which parents reported informal activities that have quantitative components such as board and card games, shopping, or cooking. Effect sizes were consistent with research relating home literacy experiences to children's vocabulary. The present research supports claims about the importance of home experiences in children's acquisition of mathematics.

A model of the relations among cognitive precursors, early numeracy skill, and mathematical outcomes was tested for 182 children from 4.5 to 7.5 years of age. The model integrates research from neuroimaging, clinical populations, and normal development in children and adults. It includes 3 precursor pathways: quantitative, linguistic, and spatial attention. These pathways (a) contributed independently to early numeracy skills during preschool and kindergarten and (b) related differentially to performance on a variety of mathematical outcomes 2 years later. The success of the model in accounting for performance highlights the need to understand the fundamental underlying skills that contribute to diverse forms of mathematical competence.

We examined the effect of the perceived classroom environment on math self-efficacy and the effect of math self-efficacy on standardized math test performance. Upper elementary school students (n = 1163) provided self-reports of their perceived math selfefficacy and the degree to which their math classroom environment was masteryoriented, challenging, and caring. Individual student scores on the California Standards Test for Mathematics were also collected. A series of two-level models revealed that students who perceived their classroom environments as more caring, challenging, and mastery-oriented had significantly higher levels of math efficacy, and higher levels of math efficacy positively predicted math performance. Analysis of the indirect effects of classroom variables on math performance indicated a small significant mediating effect of self-efficacy. Implications for research on self-efficacy and the perceived classroom environment are discussed.Math Self-efficacy 3 Does Math Self-efficacy Mediate the Effect of the Perceived Classroom Environment on Standardized Math Test Performance?In the current high-stakes testing environment, any attribute of a student that positively influences achievement is of interest. The degree to which a student believes that he/she is capable of performing specific tasks, referred to as self-efficacy, is particularly relevant given that self-efficacy has been argued to have powerful effects on achievement behavior (Bandura, 1986). Those with higher self-efficacy are proposed to have higher aspirations, stronger commitments to their goals, and recover more quickly from setbacks than those lower in self-efficacy. Beliefs in one's efficacy can vary across academic subjects (e.g. reading vs. writing) and self-efficacy for mathematics has received close attention. Students with higher math self-efficacy persist longer on difficult math problems and are more accurate in math computations than those lower in math self-efficacy (Collins, 1982; Hoffman & Schraw, 2009). Math self-efficacy is also a stronger predictor of math performance than either math anxiety or previous math experience ( Pajares & Miller, 1994; Pajares & Miller, 1995, respectively) and influences math performance as strongly as overall mental ability (Pajares & Kranzler, 1995).The demonstrated importance of self-efficacy in academic achievement has provoked widespread interest in specific factors that affect a student's self-efficacy beliefs. Bandura's (1997) social-cognitive theory proposed that self-efficacy is most strongly affected by one's previous performance and research largely supports this (Chen & Zimmerman, 2007). His theory also suggests that self-efficacy is affected by observing others (e.g. watching peers succeed at a task), verbal persuasion (e.g. encouragement from parents and teachers), and interpretation of physiological states (e.g. Math Self-efficacy 4 lack of anxiety may be a signal that one possesses skills). Although several studies indicate that manipulating features of learning...

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The use of words is one of the most direct means of expressing thoughts and feelings. However, past studies have had limited success in correlating word use with personality. The purpose of the present study was to identify categories of word use relevant to personality using a broad range of personality data. Using data from 181 participants, the present study correlated word use within a 1-hr life history interview with self-judgments of personality, judgments of personality provided by close acquaintances (who were not exposed to the language sample), and behavioral ratings based on direct observation from a context entirely separate from that from which the language sample was derived. Several categories of word use yielded a large number of correlates with self-and acquaintance personality ratings and behavior. It is suggested that word use is related to personality to a larger degree than previously observed and deserves increased attention as a source of data in personality assessment.

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Past research shows that self-focused attention is robustly positively related to depression, and women are more likely than men to self-focus in response to depressed mood (e.g., R. Ingram, 1990; S. Nolen-Hoeksema, 1987). The goal of the current study was to further delineate gender differences in the correlates of self-focus as measured through the frequency of spontaneous use of self-referencing words. The frequency of such word use during a life history interview was correlated with self-reports, observations by clinically trained interviewers, and personality judgments by acquaintances. Results indicated that the relationship between self-reference and observations of depressive symptoms was stronger for women than men, and the relationship between self-reference and narcissistic authority and entitlement was stronger for men than for women. Acquaintance ratings supported these correlates. These findings illuminate the importance of using multiple measures and paying attention to gender differences in research on self-focus.

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