What you see is what you want to get: Perceived abilities outperform objective test performance in predicting mate appeal in speed dating

Are intelligent, creative, and emotionally competent people more desirable? Evolution-based theories and cross-cultural studies on the ideal partner suggest that they are, with some differences between the sexes and between short-term (ST) and long-term (LT) relationships. However, research that went beyond hypothetical partners and that used psychometric ability tests instead of relying on subjective ability perceptions is sparse. We aimed to assess whether people’s verbal, numerical, and spatial intelligence, creativity, and intra- and interpersonal emotional competence could predict their ST and LT mate appeal. 87 women and 88 men completed psychometric ability measures and participated in heterosexual speed dating. There, they met up to 14 members of the opposite sex and reported their interest in having an ST and LT relationship with each partner as well as their subjective perceptions of the partner’s abilities. External raters assessed the participants’ physical attractiveness. While perceived abilities could broadly predict mate appeal, only one measured ability – women’s creativity – showed a significant association to mate appeal. Notably, effects of perceived and measured abilities were substantially reduced after controlling for physical attractiveness. These results suggest that the investigated abilities – and particularly intelligence – play a lesser role in initial attraction than proposed in the past.

University students’ perceptions of their abilities relate to their entrepreneurial intent

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine to what extent Finnish university students endorse entrepreneurial intent and the ways in which they position themselves in relation to entrepreneurship according to their self-perceived abilities or “ability self”. Design/methodology/approach The study was conducted by means of an e-survey, and the participants comprised the sample of students (n =1,819) from two Finnish universities, representing diverse fields of study. Findings It was found that a great majority of the students showed a relatively low intent to become an entrepreneur. The perception of abilities, such as innovativeness and ambitiousness-competitiveness, was positively related with entrepreneurial intent, whereas the perception of academic abilities and “conventional” employee skills indicated inverse associations. Social implications The findings suggest that in terms of self-perceived abilities, entrepreneurship in an academic context is perceived as a rather restricted category to which only a few specific individuals have access. Accordingly, there is a certain tension between the tenets of entrepreneurship and corresponding abilities, and the ethos of universities and related high-valued abilities such as theoreticality and criticality. Originality/value Although employability and entrepreneur intent have been widely studied, little is known about students’ identification with entrepreneurship according to their ability perceptions. The present study contributes to the existing body of knowledge on university students’ “internal employability” that involves students’ self-assurance and views of work-related relevance with regard to supposed abilities.

Team and Individual Interactions With Reciprocity in Individual Knowledge Sharing

The study investigated the effects of expected reciprocity on knowledge sharing, as moderated by team and individual variables. Data (n = 84) were collected in an experimental study from undergraduate business student participants. The effects of expected reciprocity on knowledge sharing depend on the levels of individual competence, positive team attitudes, functional diversity, and demographic diversity. Implications include that the effectiveness of reciprocity in knowledge sharing depends on several factors relating to the team and individual. Encouraging reciprocity may have positive effects, but these can be overridden by poor team attitudes, low ability perceptions, and team diversity. Future research suggestions are offered.

Double Standards or Social Identity? The Role of Gender and Ethnicity in Ability Perceptions in the Classroom

This study aims at disentangling the effects of status generalization and social identity processes on ability perceptions among early adolescents. Double standards theory predicts that people use different standards for making inferences about others’ abilities based on social status. Social identity processes, however, imply that people evaluate in-group members more positively than out-group members. We analyze cross-sectional dyadic peer nomination data from 21 primary school classes in Hungary ( N = 392, [Formula: see text] = 13 years) with exponential random graph models. Next to ethnic self-identification, we use dyadic ethnic perceptions as a novel way of measuring ethnicity in the analysis. Our findings are mostly in line with social identity theory: Students are more likely to nominate in-group peers as clever compared with classmates from the out-group, in terms of both gender and ethnicity. Nonetheless, ethnic and gender biases in ability perceptions differ in some important ways.

(Un)Hidden Figures: A Synthesis of Research Examining the Intersectional Experiences of Black Women and Girls in STEM Education

In this chapter, we argue that intersectionality is a theoretical and methodological framework by which education researchers can critically examine why and how students in STEM fields who are members of intersecting marginalized groups have distinctive experiences related to their social identities, other psychological processes, and educational outcomes. Taken separately, the bodies of education research focused on the experiences of Black students and female students in STEM fields often render Black women and girls “hidden figures” in that they have not sufficiently addressed their simultaneous racialized and gendered experiences in educational contexts. Additionally, we find that the current discourse on intersectionality is limited in that it does not attend to key psychological processes associated with identity and the intersectional experience in STEM education. We take a theoretical and methodological approach to examining intersectionality in STEM education and provide a new interpretation of the literature on Black women and girls in this social context. A synthesis of ( N = 60) research studies revealed that (1) identity; (2) STEM interest, confidence, and persistence; (3) achievement, ability perceptions, and attributions; and (4) socializers and support systems are key themes within the experiences of Black women and girls in STEM education. Our analysis also highlights the ways that researchers have employed intersectionality to make the experiences of Black women and girls in STEM education more visible, or “unhidden.” We discuss these findings from a psychological perspective and provide insights to guide future research and practice directions in STEM education.

Minding the Gap: Mentor and Pre-service Teachers’ Ability Perceptions of Content Area Literacy Instruction

This mixed method study compared how student teachers rated their ability in implementing components of content area literacy compared to their clinical educators’ perceptions of the student teachers’ actual performance. The researchers collaborated with K-12 clinical educators to develop a scaled survey to rate level of skill in four components of content literacy instruction. 112 clinical educators (CEs) and 183 student teachers (STs) representing five teacher licensure programs completed the survey. A two-way multivariate analysis of variance measured the effect of Role (CE and ST) and Teacher Licensure Program on ability perception. Results indicated that Role and Program each significantly affected ratings of the four content literacy component skills measured, but the effect of Role did not significantly differ based on Program. Participants’ written explanations of their ability ratings revealed how their mental models of content literacy accounted for differences in ability perception by Role. Implications are provided for enhancing pre-service teachers’ perceptual and qualitative awareness of the practices that underlie highly effective content-area literacy instruction.

Effect of educational agent and its form characteristics on problem solving ability perception of students in online task based learning media

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of an educational agent, used in online task based learning media, and its form characteristics on problem solving ability perceptions of students. 2x2 factorial design is used in this study. The first study factor is the role of the educational agent and the second factor is form characteristics of the educational agent. The educational agent plays two different roles (teacher and friend). Form factor is whether the educational agent is supported by speech bubble or not. The dependent variable of this study is problem solving ability perception. The working group of the study consists of 47 students, taking ‘Multimedia Design and Creation’ classes in the spring term of 20102011 academic year in the department of Computer Education and Instructional Technologies of Ankara Universtiy. In terms of two variables, students were assigned to four different experiment groups at random. All of the experimental studies were maintained online. Measurements regarding dependent variables were carried out online. Problem Solving Inventory (PSI) is used to measure problem solving ability perceptions. Pre-test problem solving ability perception points were controlled in order to determine the effect of experimental operations on groups and post-test points were then compared. It is determined that applied method has an important effect on problem solving ability perception of students and that the educational agent in the role of teacher is more effective than the role of friend in the development of problem solving ability perception.Keywords: programming teaching, problem solving ability, educational agent.