Profiles of maladaptive school motivation among high-ability adolescents: A person-centered exploration of the motivational Pathways to Underachievement model

Cognitive characteristics of children with high mathematics achievement before they start formal schooling

This 5-year longitudinal study examined whether high mathematics achievers in primary school had cognitive advantages before entering formal education. High mathematics achievement was defined as performing above Pc 90 in Grades 1 and 3. The predominantly White sample (Mage in preschool: 64 months) included 31 high achievers (12 girls) and 114 average achievers (63 girls). We measured children's early numerical abilities, complex mathematical abilities, and general cognitive abilities in preschool (2017). High mathematics achievers had advantages on most tasks in preschool (ds > 0.62). Number order, numeral recognition, and proportional reasoning were unique predictors of belonging to the high-achieving group in primary school. This study shows that the cognitive advantages of high mathematics achievement are already observed in preschool.

High Cognitive Ability and Mental Health: Findings from a Large Community Sample of Adolescents

Whereas it has sometimes been asserted that the intellectually gifted would be more prone to develop mental health problems, empirical studies generally do not seem to support such claims. However, much of the available research has relied on preselected samples, introducing risks for sample selection bias. This study scrutinized the relationship between intellectual giftedness (defined as high cognitive ability) and mental health in a large, non-selective sample of early adolescents (n = 3409; 49.6% boys; M_age = 12.5 years). Using a standardized intelligence test (CoVaT-CHC) to identify participants with a high cognitive ability (IQ ≥ 120; n = 403), we compared self- and parent-reported levels of emotional problems, conduct problems, hyperactivity/inattention, and self-reported worry and global self-esteem between high and average ability adolescents. Findings indicated that adolescents with a high cognitive ability were not at increased risk of psychological maladjustment; if any, differences were in favor of the high ability group. However, adolescents who had been formally identified as gifted (i.e., who had received a gifted label) did report worse adjustment for a number of outcomes.

The relationship between basic psychological need satisfaction and intrinsic motivation: The role of individual differences and special educational needs

A within-person perspective with several measurement points per individual allows to analyse relations between variables within individuals. Such an approach is still scarce in research from a self-determination theory perspective. Therefore, this study measured basic psychological need satisfaction and intrinsic motivation in real-time and at several lessons with the experience sampling method. In this way, the relationship between need satisfaction and intrinsic motivation was investigated from both a group level and within-person perspective. The sample consisted of 146 students in pre-vocational secondary education, who completed 4128 diary questionnaires. At the group level, positive relationships between satisfaction of the needs and motivation were found. However, individual differences in the strength and direction of these relationships exist. This marks the importance of taking a within-person perspective, and studying both concepts at several lessons and individually. Students’ special educational needs play a role in the strength of the relationship: compared to typically developing students, satisfaction of autonomy is less important, while satisfaction of competence and relatedness with the teacher are more important for the intrinsic motivation of students with special educational needs. However, students’ special educational needs do not explain all differences between individual students. Future research may investigate other student characteristics to explore where individual differences in the importance of the basic psychological needs come from.