scholarly journals The role of self-construal in EFL vocabulary learning

Author(s):  
Mitsuko Tanaka

AbstractVocabulary learning is often assigned as out-of-class learning, which learners need to autonomously initiate and be motivated to sustain. Under such learning modes, though independent learners may need less motivational scaffolding, learners who prefer a more interactive study environment may need to be provided with assistance to boost their motivation. Focusing on such personal determinants, this study examines the role of self-construal in vocabulary learning by employing self-determination theory. The participants were 155 engineering students from a Japanese technical college. Path and mediation analyses were performed based on vocabulary test scores and questionnaire responses. Results revealed that independent self-construal had a significant impact on more self-determined types of both motivation (i.e., intrinsic motivation and identified regulation) and amotivation, but interdependent self-construal was statistically irrelevant to them, in the context of vocabulary learning. Furthermore, perceived autonomy and competence mediated the relationship between independent self-construal and motivation. These findings indicate that vocabulary learning motivation is shaped and regulated by self-construal and may be enhanced through support of the mediators.

2020 ◽  
pp. 088626052098390
Author(s):  
Jiahui Qu ◽  
Li Lei ◽  
Xingchao Wang ◽  
Xiaochun Xie ◽  
Pengcheng Wang

Previous studies have found some risk factors of cyberbullying. However, little is known about how mother phubbing may influence adolescent cyberbullying, and the mediating and moderating mechanisms underlying this relationship. “Phubbing,” which is a portmanteau of “phone” and “subbing,” refers to snubbing other people and focus on smartphones in social interactions. This study examined whether mother phubbing, which refers to being phubbed by one’s mother, would be positively related to adolescent cyberbullying, whether perceived mother acceptance would mediate the relationship between mother phubbing and adolescent cyberbullying, and whether emotional stability would moderate the pathways between mother phubbing and adolescent cyberbullying. The sample consisted of 4,213 Chinese senior high school students (mean age 16.41 years, SD = 0.77, 53% were female). Participants completed measurements regarding mother phubbing, cyberbullying, perceived mother acceptance, and emotional stability. The results indicated that mother phubbing was positively related to cyberbullying, which was mediated by perceived mother acceptance. Further, moderated mediation analyses showed that emotional stability moderated the direct path between mother phubbing and cyberbullying and the indirect path between mother phubbing and perceived mother acceptance. This study highlighted the harmful impact of mother phubbing on adolescents by showing a positive association between mother phubbing and adolescent cyberbullying, as well as the underlying mechanisms between mother phubbing and adolescent cyberbullying.


2021 ◽  
pp. 135910532110092
Author(s):  
Dylan G Serpas ◽  
Laura Zettel-Watson ◽  
Barbara J Cherry

This study investigated the mediating role of depressive symptoms among 147 middle-aged and older adults with FM in the relationship between pain intensity and 4 objective measures of physical performance: Fullerton Advanced Balance scale (FAB), 6-Minute Walk Test (6MWT), 30-Second Chair Stand (30SCS), and 8-Foot Up and Go Test (8FUPGT). Asymptotic mediation analyses revealed that depressive symptoms fully mediated the relationship between pain intensity and FAB (95% CI [−0.40, −0.10]) and 8FUPGT (CI [0.02, 0.11]) and partially mediated the relationship to 6MWT (CI [−9.15, −2.20]) and 30SCS (CI [−0.29, −0.06]). Findings support the evaluation of co-morbid depression in FM.


2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (spécial) ◽  
pp. 5-37
Author(s):  
Marie Chédru

Based on self-determination theory, this research presents the development of a scale to assess motivation for engineering studies in a Francophone context. Three phases of data collection were conducted (N = 462, 545 and 864) for a total of 1871 engineering students (59.2% female). Results from both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses support a seven-factor structure for the scale: 1) intrinsic motivation, extrinsic motivations characterised by 2) identified regulation – altruism, 3) introjected regulation – ego, 4) introjected regulation – conscience, 5) external regulation – security, 6) external regulation – social prestige and, finally, 7) amotivation. The dimensions of altruism and security are specific to engineering studies. The scale meets generally accepted criteria for reliability and verifies different types of validity evidence.


2014 ◽  
Vol 30 (11) ◽  
pp. 2309-2319 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luciane Albuquerque Sá de Souza ◽  
Ana Raquel Rosas Torres ◽  
Genário Alves Barbosa ◽  
Tiago Jessé Souza de Lima ◽  
Luana Elayne Cunha de Souza

The objective of this study is to investigate the role of self-efficacy beliefs as a mediator of the relationship between the subjective well-being and general health of military cadets (police and firefighters). For this study, 228 cadets participated, the majority being Military Police officer candidates (65%), male (79%), between 17 and 34 years of age (99%), and unmarried (74%). They responded to questionnaires on general health (GHQ-12), perceived general self-efficacy, to the multiple scales that cover subjective well-being, and demographic questions. Initial regression analyses indicate the predictive power of subject well-being regarding general health. Subsequently, the mediation analyses provide satisfactory evidence for the role of perceived self-efficacy as a mediator of the relationship between the subjective well-being variables and the overall health of military cadets. The implications of these results for the professional training of the cadets are discussed.


2020 ◽  
Vol 51 (6) ◽  
pp. 442-455
Author(s):  
Peng Wang ◽  
Zhengxue Luo ◽  
Zhen Wang

Built upon conservation of resource theory and self-determination theory, this study explores boundary conditions under which family-supportive supervisors (FSSs) influence employee-perceived leader–member exchange (LMX) and work–family enrichment (WFE). Findings from this research reveal that FSSs positively relate to employee perceptions of LMX and WFE. Employees’ collectivistic self-construals moderate the effect of FSSs on LMX but not on WFE. Implications and future research directions are discussed.


Climate ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (10) ◽  
pp. 146
Author(s):  
Lindsay P. Galway ◽  
Thomas Beery ◽  
Chris Buse ◽  
Maya K. Gislason

Despite widespread calls to action from the scientific community and beyond, a concerning climate action gap exists. This paper aims to enhance our understanding of the role of connectedness to nature in promoting individual-level climate action in a unique setting where climate research and action are lacking: Canada’s Provincial North. To begin to understand possible pathways, we also examined whether climate worry and talking about climate change with family and friends mediate the relationship between connectedness to nature and climate action. We used data collected via postal surveys in two Provincial North communities, Thunder Bay (Ontario), and Prince George (British Columbia) (n = 628). Results show that connectedness to nature has a direct positive association with individual-level climate action, controlling for gender and education. Results of parallel mediation analyses further show that connectedness to nature is indirectly associated with individual-level climate action, mediated by both climate worry and talking about climate change with family and friends. Finally, results suggest that climate worry and talking about climate change with family and friends serially mediate the relationship between connectedness to nature and with individual-level climate action. These findings are relevant for climate change engagement and action, especially across Canada’s Provincial North, but also in similar settings characterized by marginalization, heightened vulnerability to climate change, urban islands within vast rural and remote landscapes, and economies and social identities tied to resource extraction. Drawing on these findings, we argue that cultivating stronger connections with nature in the places where people live, learn, work, and play is an important and currently underutilized leverage point for promoting individual-level climate action. This study therefore adds to the current and increasingly relevant calls for (re-)connecting with nature that have been made by others across a range of disciplinary and sectoral divides.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin F. McManus ◽  
Sergio W. Carvalho ◽  
Valerie Trifts

Purpose This study aims to explore the role of brand personality traits in explaining how different levels of brand favorability evoke affect from and forge connections to consumers. Design/methodology/approach The authors used a quantitative approach consisting of within-subjects (Study 1) and between-subjects (Study 2) experimental designs. Mediation analyses were tested using OLS regression with the MEMORE and PROCESS macros. Findings Findings suggest increases in brand excitement and sincerity to be related to differences in positive affect evoked by favorable and unfavorable brands; decreases in brand sincerity to be related to differences in negative affect between favorable and unfavorable brands (Study 1); brand competence and excitement to be related to the relationship between brand favorability and self-brand connection; and brand competence and excitement to best distinguish favorable brands from unfavorable brands (Study 2). Originality/value These results support the importance of brand personality traits that are considered to be universally positive and provide managers with an initial roadmap for which brand personality traits should be prioritized when communicating with consumers.


2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (18) ◽  
pp. 7728
Author(s):  
Lukasz Andrzej Derdowski ◽  
Åsa Helen Grahn ◽  
Håvard Hansen ◽  
Heidi Skeiseid

Acquiring a better understanding of what drives pro-environmental and sustainable behaviour is important for both researchers and practitioners alike. The purpose of this paper is to explore the moderating role of locus of control and self-construal on the relationship between pro-environmental beliefs and pro-environmental consumer behaviour. We explicitly model the endorsement of the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) as a predictor of three specific types of environmental behaviour—travel, purchasing and day to day activities. The results show a positive and significant association between the endorsement of NEP and a person’s pro-environmental traveling behaviour, purchasing behaviour and day to day activities. Moreover, we find that the effects are moderated by a person’s locus of control, specifically, it remains positive and significant only for people with an internal locus of control. However, we found no moderating effect of a person’s self-construal on the association between NEP and pro-environmental behaviour. The findings are important in the continuing work to understand what is limiting consumers to behave according to their beliefs. Practical and theoretical implications of the results as well as suggestions for future research are presented.


Author(s):  
Kiran Sakkar Sudha ◽  
M. Ghazi Shahnawaz

AbstractNarcissism is imbued with emotional dynamism and there is a strong need to assess the linkages with outcomes by analyzing their fusion. The present study examined the relationship between grandiose narcissism and performance through analyzing the mediating role of subjective wellbeing (positive affect, negative affect and life satisfaction). The wholesome assessment of performance was done by considering task performance, team-work and cognitive motivational effectiveness among 293 senior-level Indian employees of a big public sector organization. Data were analyzed by using SPSS 22 and Smart PLS 2.0. The correlation results showed that grandiose narcissism was negatively related to performance, life satisfaction and positively related to negative affect. The indirect pathways (through mediation analyses) revealed that negative affect and life satisfaction mediated the relationship between grandiose narcissism and performance. The study effectively contributes to the narcissism and performance literature by presenting clearer pathways of grandiose narcissism (through self-regulated emotions and subjective wellbeing). Practical implications were also highlighted beside the theoretical concerns.


2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 477-491 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mayoor Mohan ◽  
Fernando R. Jiménez ◽  
Brian P. Brown ◽  
Caley Cantrell

Purpose This paper aims to explore the relationship between brand functionality and consumer-based brand equity. Design/methodology/approach A mixed-methods approach was adopted including a qualitative study and multiple survey-based studies. Mediation and moderated-mediation paths were tested using PROCESS and three-stage least squares simultaneous estimation models. Findings Study 1 finds that consumers perceive highly functional brands can enhance their self-competence to perform a task. This phenomenon is labelled brand skill and defined as the extent to which consumers perceive their own performance as emanating from their use of a particular brand. Study 2 finds that brand skill mediates the relationship between brand functionality, brand connection and consumer-based brand equity, while a post hoc study showed that these relationships are robust among private meaning brands. Study 3 demonstrates that these mediated relationships are moderated by the type of dominant benefit the brand provides (i.e. hedonic-versus utilitarian-dominant benefits). Research limitations/implications Based on self-determination theory, brand skill is posited as the link between brand functionality, brand connection and consumer-based brand equity. Practical implications Brand managers are urged to not overlook the role of brand functionality in favor of other non-functional brand dimensions. Brand functionality enhances consumers’ perceived self-competence and fosters brand connection, especially for brands that offer superior utilitarian benefits. Originality/value This is the first study that empirically examines the process by which brand functionality leads to consumer-based brand equity and the role brand skill plays in making that connection.


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