Search research articles

ABOUT JoVE

Overview Leadership Blog JoVE Help Center

AUTHORS

Publishing Process Editorial Board Scope & Policies Peer Review FAQ Submit

LIBRARIANS

Testimonials Subscriptions Access Resources Library Advisory Board FAQ

RESEARCH

JoVE Journal Methods Collections JoVE Encyclopedia of Experiments Archive

EDUCATION

JoVE Core JoVE Business JoVE Science Education JoVE Lab Manual Faculty Resource Center Faculty Site

Terms & Conditions of Use

Search research articles

Related Experiment Videos

Academic achievement, situational stress, and problem-solving flexibility.

B C Rollins, C Calder

The Journal of Genetic Psychology

|March 1, 1975

Summary

Academic stress impacts problem-solving flexibility differently based on achievement levels. Success boosts flexibility for underachievers, while failure enhances it for overachievers, suggesting a link to personal adequacy.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by

Same author

The real-time intra-operative evaluation of sentinel lymph nodes in breast cancer patients using One Step Nucleic Acid Amplification (OSNA) and implications for clinical decision-making.

European journal of surgical oncology : the journal of the European Society of Surgical Oncology and the British Association of Surgical Oncology·2014

Same author

Targeted Busulfan therapy with a steady-state concentration of 600-700 ng/mL in patients with sickle cell disease receiving HLA-identical sibling bone marrow transplant.

Bone marrow transplantation·2013

Same author

Incidence and risk factors for hypogammaglobulinemia in pediatric patients following allo-SCT.

Bone marrow transplantation·2013

Same author

The effect of obesity on outcome of unrelated cord blood transplant in children with malignant diseases.

Bone marrow transplantation·2010

Same author

H1N1 infection mimicking the clinical presentation of gastrointestinal GVHD in a patient following allo-SCT.

Bone marrow transplantation·2010

Same author

Unrelated umbilical cord blood transplantation in children with immune deficiency: results of a multicenter study.

Bone marrow transplantation·2009

Area of Science:

Psychology
Cognitive Psychology
Educational Psychology

Background:

Situational stress is known to affect cognitive functions.
Previous research shows mixed results on stress's impact on problem-solving flexibility.
Understanding these effects is crucial for educational and psychological interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the effects of induced stress on problem-solving flexibility in adolescent boys.
To examine how academic achievement levels (overachieving vs. underachieving) moderate the relationship between stress and flexibility.
To propose a theoretical framework explaining the varied responses to stress.

Main Methods:

Randomly assigned tenth-grade boys (n=22) and their parents to either a success or failure treatment condition.
Administered a problem-solving task to assess flexibility under induced stress.
Analyzed results based on academic achievement levels (overachievers vs. underachievers).

Main Results:

Underachievers in the success treatment demonstrated the highest problem-solving flexibility.
Overachievers in the failure treatment exhibited the greatest flexibility.
Findings suggest a differential impact of stress based on prior academic performance and perceived adequacy.

Conclusions:

A curvilinear relationship between stress and problem-solving flexibility is proposed, aligning with Hebb's cue-arousal postulate.
Individual differences in feelings of personal adequacy may determine whether situational stress enhances or hinders problem-solving flexibility.
The study implies tailored stress management strategies may be beneficial for different student populations.

Related Experiment Videos