Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Self-confidence'

The present thesis is composed by three chapters, each of them making contributions to three distinct topics in behavioral Economics. The chapters can thus be read independently from each other. The first chapter concerns an experimental analysis which aim is to examine the development of social preferences with respect to age and how they are related with lying behavior of children. The second chapter investigates the role of reciprocity in exacerbating inefficient and opportunistic behavior in hierarchical organizations, when conflict of interests between its members arises at different levels. Finally, the third chapter contains a theoretical model explaining the emergence of the gender gap in top job positions in line with recent evidence provided by experimental Economics. While both the first and the second chapter in this thesis present experimental evidence, the experimental methods differ across them. In particular, in the first chapter we report evidence from an artefactual field experiment while the second chapter presents a conventional framed laboratory experiment . By using experiments, we are able to control and to impose exogenous variation to the environment where people make decisions. The third chapter applies a theoretical approach, with the model based on recent experimental evidence on the research topic of interest. Experimental Economics represents a useful contributor to Economic theory, strengthening its predictions or providing new insights for future development (Falk and Heckman, 2009). In the first two chapters of the present thesis, experiments allow us to observe and investigate the development of lying behavior during childhood and the emergence of an opportunistic conduct in the job environment, observations which are difficult to detect with empirical data. Finally, in the third chapter we translate the recent experimental research on gender differences in a more formal and tractable manner, through a stylized model. The first chapter of the thesis experimentally examines how the interaction between lying aversion and social preferences affects children’s behavior when playing a modified version of the dictator game. In the last decade, many experimental studies in Economics have investigated the role of other regarding preferences in determining the behavior of individuals: these empirical findings have confirmed that individuals are not just interested in maximizing their own welfare but, with some limitations, they have a concern for the welfare of the others (Henrich et al., 2004, Fehr and Schmidt, 2006). Paralleling to this stream of investigation, the lying behavior of individuals has been objective of interest of many experimental studies (Gneezy, 2005; Mazar et al., 2008). However, it is still a matter of discussion whether these features are innate or if they evolve over time, and how different incentives and contexts affects their development. In order to answer these questions it is interesting to analyze the behavior of children when facing relevant economic decisions in a controlled environment. In particular, in a sample of 637 children, aged between 7 and 14, we find strong aversion to lying at all ages, and especially among females. We find that while children become more concerned about other’s welfare as aging, they are not prone to violate moral norms in order to implement their other-regarding preferences. On the contrary, lying is more likely to be determined by selfish and envy motives, at all ages. The second chapter investigates the emergence of a dark side of reciprocity in the working environment. Reciprocity has been shown to be a desirable feature in organizations, reducing the costs of aligning interests between the principal and the agent. Both laboratory and field experiments (see Fehr and Falk (2008) for an overview of recent results), have provided evidence that workers respond to generous wage levels by exerting above minimal effort, confirming the gift-exchange hypothesis first formulated by Akerlof (1982). In hierarchical organizations, however, conflict of interests between its members may emerge at multiple levels: in such a situation, reciprocity exacerbate, rather than alleviate, the negative effects of members’ misalignment of objectives. The second chapter of this thesis consists in a laboratory experiment which aim is to analyze the selection and effort distortions resulting from agents persecuting their personal interest by taking advantage of workers’ reciprocal concerns. The results show that sharing part of the three-level hierarchical organization’s profit with workers, rather than only with agents, impedes the latter to exploit their powerful position at the disadvantage of the organization. The third chapter is about the role of self-confidence in determining females’ underrepresentation in high skilled occupations. Relying on recent experimental evidence which explains the occupational gender gap as the result of different preferences and attitudes of men and women with respect to risk, ambition, self-confidence and willingness to compete (Gneezy et al., 2003; Niederle and Vesterlund, 2007; Datta Gupta et al., 2013), we derive a model to explain the emergence of gender segregation in the labor market as a result of females’ biased beliefs regarding their ranking position with respect to other (male) candidates, when abilities are equally distributed among them. In particular, in our model, women self-select into low-skilled occupations according to their (mis)perceptions about their opportunity to be successfully recruited when competing for better positions. The third chapter further illustrates the powerful impact of affirmative actions in restoring efficiency in the job matching equilibrium between firms and workers. Indeed, in line with recent experimental evidence (Balafoutas and Sutter, 2012; Niederle et al., 2013), we provide a theoretical foundation to sustain the importance of implementing calibrated gender quota in order to restore the efficiency of job matching between high skilled firms and candidates, by encouraging skilled women to enter competition for top job market positions and thus increasing the diversity of qualified applicants.
La presente tesi è composta da tre capitoli, ciascuno dei quali facenti riferimento a tre distinti ambiti di ricerca dell’Economia comportamentale. Ciascun capitolo può quindi essere letto in maniera indipendente rispetto agli altri. Il primo lavoro consiste in un’analisi sperimentale volta ad analizzare lo sviluppo di comportamenti disonesti condizionatamente all’emergere di preferenze sociali nei bambini, in diverse fasce d’età e per genere. Il secondo lavoro analizza il ruolo della reciprocità nell’esacerbare, invece che nell’alleviare, l’emergere di comportamenti opportunistici e inefficienti all’interno di organizzazioni di tipo gerarchico, nelle quali i conflitti di interessi si evidenziano su più livelli. Infine, il terzo capitolo consiste in un modello teorico che intende spiegare il presente divario tra uomini e donne nelle posizioni di management basando le proprie assunzioni sulle ultime evidenze sperimentali. Nonostante i primi due capitoli siano entrambi basati su dati sperimentali, il metodo applicato è differente. In particolare, mentre il primo capitolo consiste in un field experiment realizzato con i bambini all’interno delle scuole, il secondo capitolo si basa su un tradizionale esperimento in laboratorio. Attraverso l’economia sperimentale è possibile controllare l’ambiente in cui gli individui prendono le loro decisioni, imponendo delle variazioni esogene sulla variabile di interesse. Il terzo capitolo utilizza un approccio teorico, basando le proprie assunzioni sui recenti sviluppi offerti dall’Economia comportamentale e sperimentale. L’Economia sperimentale rappresenta un importante strumento della teoria economica, ne rafforza i risultati e permette di creare nuove basi per migliorarne il potere predittivo (Falk and Heckman, 2009). Nei primi due capitoli della tesi la realizzazione degli esperimenti ci permette di analizzare lo sviluppo di comportamenti disonesti rispetto all’età e l’emergere di comportamenti opportunistici nell’ambiente di lavoro, entrambi comportamenti difficili da osservare con l’utilizzo di altri metodi di ricerca differenti dall’esperimento. Infine, nell’ultimo capitolo, le recenti evidenze offerte dall’Economia sperimentale relativamente alle differenti attitudini di uomini e donne sono formalizzate in un modello teorico al fine di spiegare il divario occupazionale tra i due sessi. Il primo capitolo della tesi ha come obiettivo l’analisi dello sviluppo della disonestà nei bambini, condizionatamente allo sviluppo delle loro preferenze sociali. Tale analisi é realizzata tramite un esperimento basato su una versione modificata del Dictator Game. Negli ultimi decenni, molti lavori sperimentali si sono concentrati sull’analisi del ruolo delle preferenze sociali nell’influenzare le decisioni degli individui: i risultati dimostrano che gli agenti economici non sono interessati esclusivamente alla massimizzazione del loro interesse personale ma, seppure con alcune limitazioni, tengono in considerazione anche gli effetti che le loro decisioni avranno sul benessere di altri indivdui (Henrich et al., 2004, Fehr and Schmidt, 2006). Parallelamente a questa area di ricerca, l’economia sperimentale si è concentrata sulle condizioni e i contesti che determinano comportamenti disonesti negli individui (Gneezy, 2005; Mazar et al., 2008). Eppure, ancora non è chiaro se tali evidenze siano il risultato del processo di socializzazione degli individui o siano caratteristiche innate. Per tale motivo è interessante esaminare in un ambiente controllato come diversi incentivi e contesti influenzino l’evoluzione di tali comportamenti nei bambini, in situazioni economicamente rilevanti. In particolare, nell’esperimento realizzato con un campione di 637 bambini, tra i 7 e i 14 anni, abbiamo rilevato una forte avversione a mentire a tutte le età, specialmente tra le bambine. Nonostante al crescere dell’età i bambini siano più propensi a valutare l’effetto delle loro scelte sul payoff altrui, essi non sono più propensi a mentire per apportare benefici monetari ad altri loro pari. Al contrario, la disonestà è maggiore tra i bambini che esprimono preferenze di tipo egoista, indipendentemente dall’età. Il secondo capitolo analizza l’emergere di un “lato oscuro” della reciprocità nell’ambiente di lavoro. La reciprocità è solitamente considerata come una caratteristica desiderabile all’interno delle organizzazioni, in quanto riduce il costo di riallineare gli interessi divergenti tra il principale e l’agente. Esperimenti recenti, sia realizzati in laboratorio che nel mondo reale, hanno dimostrato che i lavoratori reciprocano il loro datore di lavoro lavorando più di quanto ci si aspetterebbe quando viene loro offerto uno stipendio al di sopra del minimo accettabile, confermando l’ipotesi del gift-exchange formulata inizialmente da Akerlof (1982). Tuttavia, nel secondo capitolo dimostriamo come nelle organizzazioni gerarchiche gli interessi dei membri che le compongono possano divergere su più livelli: in tale situazione la reciprocità esaspera, invece di alleviare, le inefficienze risultanti da tali conflitti di intesse. Il secondo capitolo di questa tesi analizza, attraverso un esperimento in laboratorio, le distorsioni sia sulla selezione dei lavoratori che sulla loro produttività come conseguenza del comportamento opportunista degli agenti i quali, sfruttando la reciprocità dei lavoratori, perseguono i propri interessi personali a danno dell’organizzazione in cui sono assunti. I risultati dell’esperimento dimostrano inoltre che condividere una piccola parte dei profitti dell’organizzazione anche con i lavoratori impedisce agli agenti di sfruttare la loro posizione di potere in modo illegittimo. Il terzo capitolo è relativo al ruolo della fiducia in se stessi nel determinare il limitato numero di donne in posizioni lavorative di alto livello. Recenti risultati sperimentali mostrano come la sotto-rappresentanza delle donne nel management delle organizzazioni possa dipendere dalle loro diverse attitudini e preferenze rispetto al rischio, all’ambizione, alla fiducia in se stessi e alla volontà di competizione rispetto agli uomini (Gneezy et al., 2003; Niederle and Vesterlund, 2007; Datta Gupta et al., 2013). Il terzo capitolo della tesi presenta quindi un modello teorico che spiega l’emergere della segregazione occupazionale come il risultato delle percezioni erronee delle donne relativamente alla loro (inferiore) abilità rispetto agli uomini, quando invece le abilità sono equamente distribuite tra i due sessi. Il particolare, il modello dimostra come le donne si auto-selezionino in lavori mediocri come conseguenza alla loro (errata) convinzione di non essere all’altezza della selezione quando sono in competizione con gli uomini per posizioni di più alto livello. Al fine di restaurare l’efficienza dell’incontro tra domanda e offerta nel mondo del lavoro, il modello dimostra quindi l’importanza di implementare delle quote che garantiscano l’accesso delle donne nelle suddette posizioni lavorative. Infatti, in linea con quanto recentemente dimostrato in ambito sperimentale (Balafoutas and Sutter, 2012; Niederle et al., 2013), il terzo capitolo spiega come tali politiche possano positivamente influenzare il mercato del lavoro, aumentando la diversità dei candidati ma senza intaccarne l’efficienza.

In the field of complaining behaviour, self-confidence has long been recognized as an influential factor. However, in previous studies of complaining behaviour the construct of 'self-confidence' has not been distinguished according to general and specific conceptualizations, thus the present research efforts recognizes the refinement of self-confidence as important in order to comprehensively evaluate its effect on complaining behaviour. Thus, until now it has not been established whether: (i) this influence is attributed to general or specific self-confidence; (ii) the dis/agreement (in/congruence) involving general and specific modes of self-confidence has an effect on complaining behaviour; (iii) there is an interaction between general and specific self-confidence; and (iv) both types of self-confidence are of equal managerial relevance. This study represents the first attempt to address these gaps in the literature by delineating self-confidence as general and specific conceptualizations and examining their (individual and combined) effects on behavioural intention(s) to complain. Furthermore, an evolutionary/novel perspective has been adapted to provide an alternative explanation of the nature of general and specific self-confidence as well as their relationship.

Students at a private high school in New Jersey exhibited low academic self-confidence as compared to other indicators on the ACT Engage exam. The purpose of this qualitative case study was to gain an understanding of academic self-confidence, academic performance, and learning within a sample of students. This research explored students' and teachers' perceptions of self-confidence and their impact on academic performance. The research was guided by Weiner's attribution and Bandura's self-efficacy theories. The research questions focused on 3 areas: students' and teachers' perceptions of academic self-confidence as factors impacting students' academic performance; and the perceived relationship between academic self-confidence, academic performance, and learning. Data were collected from a sample of 10 sophomore students and 10 teachers of sophomore students through 2 separate focus groups using a semistructured focus group guide. Using Clarke and Braun's framework for thematic analysis, the data were analyzed. Results revealed 2 student themes: (a) developing confidence and (b) set for success, and 3 themes from the teacher focus group: (a) student academic performance, (b) creating a positive space, and (c) student confidence. Professional development was designed for local application, including strategies to enhance students' academic self-confidence to lead to enhanced academic performance. Implications for social change includes increased student success as they transition to college.

The thesis critically reviews the relationships between anxiety and sports perfonnance, self-confidence and sports perfonnance, and self-efficacy with progress towards life goals. Limitations to previous research are highlighted and alternative theoretical explanations are offered. In subsequent empirical chapters these alternative explanations are tested. The first chapter provides a critical overview of the research area. Limitations are highlighted, and alternative theoretical explanations are presented. Chapter 2 explores the anxiety-performance relationship and provides two empirical studies that suggest that previous findings on the cusp-catastrophe model of anxiety and performance may have been due to a complex interaction between cognitive anxiety and effort required rather than between cognitive anxiety and physiological arousal. Results from both studies provide evidence to support a cognitive explanation for the effects of anxiety upon perfon-nance. Chapter 3 explores the relationship between self-confidence and perfon-nance and addresses the issue that previous research has only considered actual self-confidence (e. g. confidence levels measured within an hour of performance) and has generally ignored the nature of "self' e. g., the "ideal", "ought" and "feared" self-confidence levels that may be used by performers as reference points. Results revealed that discrepancies from these 'selves' significantly predicated 11 % performance variance over and above "actual" measures of self-confidence. Chapter 4 explores limitations in previous research into the effects of self-efficacy on goal progress; namely that this research has tended to focus only upon approach goals. However, research suggests that both goal importance and goal polarity (i. e. approach and avoidance goals) may moderate the effects of self-efficacy on goal progress. Results revealed (amongst other findings) that self-efficacy was significantly correlated with progress on important avoidance life goals but not with progress on important approach goals. The final chapter provides a general discussion of the thesis findings, suggestions for future research and applied implications.

Prior research has established that individual differences in self-esteem moderate reactions to self-relevant events. Although all people generally favour positive outcomes to negative outcomes, low self-esteem (LSE) people exhibit more affective extremity in response to artificially-contrived events than high self-esteem (HSE) people. That is, LSE people exhibit more positive affective reactions to positive outcomes and more negative affective reactions to negative outcomes than HSE people. Two competing theoretical models have been proposed to account for the self-esteem differences in mood extremity in the laboratory setting—the defensive-styles hypothesis and the life-events composition hypothesis. Evidence from two studies, the Mood-Diary Study and the Role-Playing Study, provide support for the first hypothesis by demonstrating that (a) esteem-related differences in the cognitive interpretations and causal attributions for positive and negative self-relevant events exist for naturally-occurring events as well as laboratory-contrived feedback, (b) LSE subjects claimed that these events had a greater impact on their mood and that they considered them to be more personally important than did HSE subjects, and finally, (c) LSE subjects were more variable in their moods across time than their HSE counterparts. Although esteem-related differences in mood variability were predicted for both differences in the extremity and frequency of mood changes, the differences were obtained only on the frequency of change measure. Although the evidence for the defensive-styles model was substantial, there was also some evidence for the life-events composition model, which essentially postulates that the lives of HSE and LSE which essentially postulates that the lives of HSE and LSE individuals differed markedly. Finally, an exploratory investigation of the relationship between self-esteem, self-complexity, and mood indicated that the two individual difference variables were positively correlated and that both were related to the frequency of change in mood but not mood extremity.
Arts, Faculty of
Psychology, Department of
Graduate

The significance of the project was to answer the call of California schools in their plight to stop attrition and retain teachers. This project alone or in conjunction with other programs offered by schools/school districts gives them another tool to reach their goal of 100% teacher retention. It is the belief of this project that the problems with retention could be diminished if not eliminated, by giving beginning teachers a handbook.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--Illinois State University, 1990.
Title from title page screen, viewed November 16, 2005. Dissertation Committee: Clayton F. Thomas (chair), Edward R. Hines, Vivian R. Jackson, Douglas H. Lamb, Kenneth H. Strand. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 114-124) and abstract. Also available in print.

The present study aimed to analyse the factor structure of the Melbourne Decision Making Questionnaire (DMQ-II), and to examine the relationships between the factors identified and Self-confidence, in order to conceptualize the decision-making process in adolescents under the Conflict Model of Decision Making. Participants were 992 Mexican high-school students, aged between 15 and 19 years. The three factors were identified as decision-making patterns in adolescents: a) Vigilance, b) Hipervigilance/Procrastination and c) Buck-passing. The Self-confidence showed a positive effect on Vigilance, and a negative effect on theother two patterns. Results are discussed considering the literature on decision making in adolescence.
El presente estudio se propuso analizar la estructura factorial del Cuestionario Melbourne sobre Toma de Decisiones, y estudiar las relaciones entre los factores identificados y la Autoconfianza, con la finalidad de conceptualizar la toma de decisiones de los adolescentes en elmarco del Modelo de Conflicto de Decisión. Los participantes fueron 992 estudiantes mexicanos de bachillerato con edades entre 15 y 19 años. Se identificaron tres factores interpretados como patrones de toma de decisiones en adolescentes: a) Vigilancia, b) Procrastinación/Hipervigilancia y c) Transferencia. La Autoconfianza resultó tener un efecto positivo sobre Vigilancia, y un efecto negativo sobre los otros dos patrones. Se discuten estos y otros resultados considerando la literatura sobre toma de decisiones en la adolescencia.

Objective: To compare community pharmacists' self-perceived communication confidence in prescription drug abuse and addiction (PDAA)-related scenarios to their self-confidence in other scenarios. Methods: An 18-item survey instrument adapted from the Self-Perceived Communication Competence instrument was administered to 2000 licensed Tennessee community pharmacists. Items elicited communication confidence across common community pharmacy scenarios. Analysis of communication self-confidence scores across context, receiver, audience, and demographic variables was conducted. Results: Mean self-confidence ratings ranged from 54.2 to 92.6 (0-100 scale). Self-perceived communication confidence varied across context, receiver, audience, personal and practice setting characteristics. Scenarios that involved PDAA communication with patients were scored significantly lower than non-PDAA patient scenarios (mean = 84.2 vs. 90.4, p Conclusion: Community pharmacists are less confident in their ability to communicate with patients about PDAA as compared to non-PDAA scenarios. Practice Implications: Engaging patients and prescribers in PDAA conversations is a critical component of preventing and treating PDAA. Research is warranted to further explore measures of situational communication self-confidence and interventions to optimize self-confidence beliefs across PDAA scenarios.

The thesis aims to address a perceived gap in the training and development of music performers, namely the lack of a practical strategies framework for developing performance confidence, especially self-efficacy (situational selfconfidence) in music performance. To this end, a Training Program with Training Manual was designed to assist musicians in the management of practice and performance, using a framework of six integrative mental and physical strategies taken from Sport Performance and applied to Music Performance. Five musicians trialed the Training Program for five weeks. Five individual case studies were constructed to explore and interpret the musicians' practice and performance experiences before and after using the Training Program / Manual. Analyses of in-depth interviews and a follow-up questionnaire revealed that the Training Program had produced positive changes in mental and physical behaviour, along with increased concentration ability and coping skills in stressful situations, resulting in a sense of control in performance. A cross-case analysis revealed that the shared issues of significance for the musicians were Concentration, Stress and Lifestyle Practices, and Sense of Control in practice and performance. This qualitative study demonstrates that a training program addressing the lifestyle context of music performance is beneficial for practice and the lead-up to performance. Confidence in playing ability develops, when practice and performance are perceived to be effectively self-managed and practice becomes a positive experience. The findings of this study suggest the need for a holistic approach to music performance, based on awareness of the mind-body connections involved in performance.

The purpose of the investigation was to determine the effect of self-modeling on self-efficacy and performance of balance beam routines. Subjects (n=ll) were intermediate level gymnasts rated at the 5, 6, and 7 skill levels with ages ranging from 8 to 13 years. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of two groups, a self-modeling or a control group. For the self-modeling group, self-modeling videotapes were made of each subject performing her balance beam routine. During a six week period, the self-modeling group subjects viewed the videotape of themselves prior to practice three times a week for six consecutive weeks. All subjects completed two different self-efficacy inventories and a balance beam skills test at four intervals: a pretest, a 2-week test, a 4 week-test, and a posttest. During the six weeks, each group participated in their normal instructional program at the gymnastics academy.The results of this study indicated no significant differences in ratings of self-efficacy or balance beam performance, as based on judge's ratings between the self-modeling group and the control group. However, a significant correlation was found between predicted performance scores and actual performance scores for the self-modeling group (r=.92). This correlation was not significant for the control group (r=.02). Even though a significant effect of self-modeling on self-efficacy and performance scores was not found, this significant correlation indicates that self-modeling may enhance a subject's ability to realistically assess her/his performance. Thus, self-modeling may benefit the learner by developing an accurate conception of one's performance which would enhance the ability to understand and utilize instructional feedback to improve performance.
School of Physical Education

Communities and athletes see coaches generally as leaders, mentors, and role models in sport. Recent research in the field of coaching revealed that coaches must have the ability to encourage, challenge, and understand the athlete (Bloom, 2002b). Further research indicates that females are known to be psychologically and physically different than males (Fasting & Pfister, 2000); therefore, most females need to be coached differently than men during practice and competition. The notion of self-confidence is an essential element in Vealey's (1986) Sport Confidence Model, in which it is defined as: "the belief or degree of certainty individuals possess about their abilities to be successful in sport" (p. 222). The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand female varsity athlete's perception of how coaches influence their self-confidence. The study used twelve participants (N = 12) among Canadian Interuniversity Sport teams: basketball (3), soccer (3), hockey (2), rugby (2), and volleyball (2). Semi-structured interviews were conducted regarding athletes perception of (a) athlete's perception of self-confidence, (b) different coaching qualities that may positively or negatively influence athletes self-confidence, and (c) athletes perception of an 'ideal' coach that positively influences their self-confidence. The results displayed a combined definition of all 12 athlete's perception of self-confidence, which is "one who believes in herself, has inner strength (while not worrying about others beliefs), and stays positive throughout their sport and life." Secondly the results found four main qualities that athletes perceive essential for a coach to positively influence their self-confidence. Finally, the results revealed 12 predominant coaching characteristics that athletes perceive essential for positively influence their self-confidence. An 'ideal coach' would display these characteristics.

Recent educational policy in Scotland advocates that education for citizenship and the promotion of self confidence should permeate the curriculum and the ethos of a school. These educational interventions are understood to be about inculcating cultural values. This study uses critical ethnography to explore how a group of teenage pupils in a Scottish comprehensive engage with and express cultural values and the nature of the values expressed. The study explores the ways this diverse group of young people creatively construct identities, how they ascribe and seek social value, and the ways they enact, embody and resist social classification. Utilising Bourdieu's concepts of habitus, capital and field the study illustrates that young people's constructions of self and others reveal culturally embedded social and moral codes. Although the discourse and practice of these contemporary young people show changing conceptions of identity in relation to class, gender, sexuality and race, they also illustrate entrenched social inequality. They further highlight that subjectivities are ascribed by these categories and establishing identity is not merely a "matter of individual decisions" (Beck & Beck-Gersheim 1996:29). The ways in which young people enact, embody and assign social classification indicates the enduring link between subject and structure. Implicit in young people's descriptions of youth subcultures, for example, are social distinctions based on class, gender and ethnicity in addition to condemnatory conceptions of what it means to be working class. This study also finds, however, that these young people do not passively absorb dominant constructions of social value but creatively resist the social denigration of ascribed identities, to try to establish self worth inducing representations of their own. In this the young people are responsive to social field, the power structures and cultural practices embedded in different locations around a school and in diverse social worlds outside of school. The young people reveal multiple identities and the capacity to negotiate conflicting and contradictory moral codes across diverse social fields. Contra Bourdieu, and in keeping with aspects of Willis's (1977, 2004) argument, the young people displayed agency which revealed insight into structural classification. These young people valued the opportunity to talk and to have their perspectives valued. Their insights support Freire's (1972, 2005) argument that the popular culture of students is a useful starting point for an educational practice which encourages dialogue, critical thinking and engagement with wider social issues.

Traditionally, debates about digital exclusion have been concerned with a lack of access to the internet by certain groups. Currently, the debate is shifting towards quality of use. Yet, it remains unclear which processes underlie differences in digital inclusion. By combining macro, micro and meso theoretical perspectives, this thesis examines the influence of resources, context, confidence and social identity through the application of three different research elements: nine preparatory interviews; a survey with 730 students; and an experiment with 200 students from fifteen schools in the Greater London Area. The focus was on teenagers from different gender, ethnicity, physical ability and sexuality groups. The findings show that gender and context are important explanatory factors of internet use. At school, meso (social-identity) factors contributed to explaining internet use; at home, micro (psychological) and macro (resource) factors were more important. This suggests that schools offer equalising environments in which differences in digital inclusion based on socio-economics are evened out. The findings also suggest that personalised and anonymous use at school makes teenagers less vulnerable to peer-pressure. By contrast, anonymity increases undesirable uses at home especially for boys. The experiment shows that addressing teenagers in a neutral (anonymous) way might steer internet behaviour and the perception of skills in a nonstereotypical direction. Finally, the level of digital inclusion at the group level determined the effect of socioeconomic status on internet use. Internet use of (White and Asian boys') groups with high internet status was mainly influenced by macro and micro factors. Group processes and social identification also influenced those (girls, African Caribbean, and disabled) of low internet status. The processes behind internet use were found to be more consistent for digitally advantaged groups than for disadvantaged groups. The thesis concludes that theory regarding digital inclusion should be diversified to address different types of exclusion.

This thesis focuses on an aspect of the professional work of the author: that of the training of local trade union representatives by trade unions to ensure they are competent, capable and confident in the delivery of their role in local workplaces. It considers the four levels of evaluation of training outlined by Kirkpatrick (1994) and proposes the use of confidence scales as a means of demonstrating levels of evaluation in this field of training. Trade unions are reliant on the many members that volunteer to be local (unpaid) representatives in their own work places. To ensure the union provides an adequate service to its fee paying membership it needs to support and train its volunteers so they become competent, capable and confident in their roles. This research considers the effects on those volunteers who have attended training courses provided by the union trainers. It draws on the research on confidence levels and examines practice from a range of trade unions across European countries. Three types of training course are the focus for the study; as the thesis will look at whether or not the confidence levels of trade union representatives differ depending on the type and delivery method of the course they attend and whether or not this will have an impact on their post-course behaviour in the workplace. A research tool (questionnaire) was developed to measure the responses of participants attending courses and the results compared using Chi-square statistical tests to consider any results that were of statistical significance. The study concludes that statistically significant higher confidence levels are reported on the 2+2+2 mode of delivery of the six day training course in comparison to either the traditional 5 day or the mixed method modes of delivery. It recommends the use of confidence measures as a useful concept in the evaluation of training courses for union representatives as a way of improving value for money and return on investment for unions and a better developed trade union representative for the future.

Master of Science
Department of Family Studies and Human Services
Jared A. Durtschi
Many individuals in their teens and twenties believe achieving financial self-sufficiency is an important part of becoming an adult (Arnett, 2000); yet the research on this topic is very limited. The level of general responsibility a young adult obtains is related to their general level of self-confidence (e.g., Shim, Serido, Bosch & Tang, 2013). However, the relationship between financial responsibility and self-confidence is currently unknown. Additionally, the relationship between self-confidence and annual income among young adults is largely unknown. This is the first study to advance current knowledge with a large (N = 474) and longitudinal dataset of emerging adults. The goal of this study is to test the underlying process that may explain variation of annual income among emerging adults from the Transition to Adulthood Supplement, a subset of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID). The study used a structural equation model (SEM) to test three waves of data across four years. Results from the SEM analysis demonstrated that higher levels of financial responsibility were associated with higher levels of self-confidence two years later. Additionally, the findings showed that higher levels of self-confidence were associated with higher levels of annual income after an additional two years. The results suggest the importance of building financial responsibility and self-confidence in emerging young adults.

This study examined the effects of steady, graded, and no exercise on stress reduction, and the effects of self-confidence on stress reduction through exercise. Seventy-two male and female volunteers from the Portland area, ranging in age from 19-49 years, served as subjects. Subjects completed pre and post measures of the Tennessee Self-Concept Scale and the state portion of the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory. Subjects were divided into two experimental and one control group matched according to age and exercise history. The control group kept its exercise at a minimum for eight weeks. Exercise programs for the two experimental groups consisted of twelve minute work bouts on ergometers three times per week, for eight weeks. Work bouts were at a seventy percent maximum heart rate. Due to attrition and a random drop of subjects in the control group, thirty-one subjects remained. Analyses found a significant stress reduction for the steady exercise group (t = -2.81,p = .017), but not for the graded or no exercise group. Stress reduction was negatively correlated with self-confidence, though not significantly, and no significant differences were found between the self-confidence scores. A significant correlation was found between pre-stress scores and preself- conf idence scores (r = -.306,p = .04).

Breast cancer is the second leading cause of cancer death in women in the United States. Several factors have been identified that interfere with women's breast cancer screening practices, including lack of knowledge and confidence in the breast self-examination (BSE) technique, and lack of information provided by health care provider. One of the reasons nurses do not teach breast cancer detection could be the little emphasis given to breast cancer examination in nursing schools. The BSE is a measure of significant value in detecting cancer of the breast. However, less than half of the women in the United States are participating in breast cancer screening. The purpose of this quantitative study was to investigate the relationship between the freshman and senior nursing students' breast cancer knowledge (BCK) and breast self-examination technique confidence (BSE_TC). An online survey was administered to measure the students' BCK and their BSE_TC. The social cognitive theory guided this study. A sample 100 nursing students (54 senior and 46 freshman) were included for hypothesis testing. The study results indicate that senior nursing students had higher mean scores on the BCK and BSE_TC, as would be expected. However, senior nursing students' BCK_BSE_TC scores were also very low. This is a concern for the future of breast cancer detection. This study provides data showing breast cancer screening concepts are unclear to freshman students, and remain unclear with senior students. Nursing educational curricula in breast cancer screening should be revised to affect improvements in nurses' role in advising and educating patients.

The initial research questions for this practice-based doctoral research project was to ask, "Is it possible to develop a more confident, self-conscious creative voice able to articulate one's identity more clearly through the making of handmade artefacts?"; this thesis applies the methodologies of autoethnography and pedagogy to consider an answer. My original contribution to knowledge through this enquiry is the identification of the ways in which the exploration of identity through autoethnographic, creative and pedagogic methods encourages an expanded field of self-knowledge, self-confidence and sense of creative self.

A self-handicapping conceptualization of the function of the self-applied codependent label is presented. It was proposed that the self-appellation of the codependent label would function as a self-handicap when used by women who were not children of an alcoholic (COAs). It was also proposed that such a use of this label constituted a tendency to self-handicap and that these women would be more likely to employ self-handicapping strategies in situations involving interpersonal evaluations than: (1) controls who are not COAs or codependent; (2) COAs who describe themselves as codependent; or (3) COAs who do not endorse codependency. Additionally, in situations which involved interpersonal evaluations by males portrayed as either exploitive or nurturant, it was predicted that women who were COAs (with or without the codependent label) would likely to rate the exploitive male positively. The results did not support the self-handicapping hypothesis for women who labeled themselves codependent. The evidence suggests that COAs may self-handicap more than non-COAs. In addition, those women who endorsed the codependent label regardless of COA status did not distinguish between exploitive and nurturant males in liking, and non-codependent COAs liked the exploitive male least.

Thesis (Honors)--Ohio State University, 2006.
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The aim of this narrative research was to explore the relationship between lifestyle and self-confidence within adolescent football players. The research questions were formulated as follow; (1) What sources let adolescent football players build self-confidence? (2) What issues characterize adolescent football player’s lifestyles? (3) How do adolescent football players perceive an association between lifestyle and self-confidence in sport? The results showed eight different sources for building self-confidence, where earlier performances and social support were considered as the strongest. Ten different lifestyle factors were observed. Football, social support, performance intent and good health were common factors for all the participants. The study showed three types of perceived associations between self-confidence and lifestyle. First of all, there is an overlap between the lifestyle issues and sources of self-confidence. Second lifestyle issues influence the degree to which sources of self-confidence work for the participant to build self-confidence. Third lifestyle pattern provides a balance (or misbalance) which influences particular sources of self-confidence and in the end self-confidence itself. The author discuss how the result can be interpreted in perspective of every single participant and in common for all the participants.

Dissertação (mestrado)—Universidade de Brasília, Instituto de Psicologia, Departamento de Psicologia Social e do Trabalho, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psicologia Social, do Trabalho e das Organizações, 2014.
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A fraude é uma prática comum em todo o mundo, sempre envolvendo um agente que usa meios escusos para enganar e obter benefícios à custa de outros. Em grande parte subnotificado devido ao constrangimento social, fraudes são difíceis de prevenir porque mudam rapidamente. No entanto, os processos de influência social por trás deste fenômeno mudam pouco. Pessoas são vítimas de golpes e fraudes contra o consumidor diariamente, no entanto, na maioria dos casos, a vítima poderia ter detectado a fraude se tivesse dado atenção para as inconsistências na mensagem do golpista. O que é que torna algumas pessoas capazes de detectar e evitar um golpe enquanto outros caem no mesmo? Dois modelos distintos de persuasão na psicologia social podem ser usados para entender esse fenômeno: o modelo de conhecimento da persuasão e o modelo de probabilidade da elaboração. O modelo de conhecimento da persuasão propõe que a persuasão é uma relação diádica entre um agente e um alvo da persuasão. Nessa relação o alvo depende de três tipos de conhecimento para resistir às tentativas de persuasão: o conhecimento do assunto, o conhecimento do agente e o conhecimento de persuasão. O modelo de probabilidade da elaboração propõe que a mudança de atitude ocorre através de duas rotas, com diferentes níveis de elaboração. A rota central de persuasão envolve alta elaboração e maior controle consciente, enquanto a rota periférica envolve baixa elaboração e menor controle consciente. Ambos fomentam esta dissertação, apresentada em dois manuscritos. O objetivo do primeiro manuscrito foi testar o valor preditivo de quatro grupos de variáveis em relação à vitimização a fraudes: perspectiva temporal, auto-confiança do consumidor, eventos de vida negativos e endividamento. Uma amostra de brasileiros respondeu a um questionário online sobre vitimização a fraude. Os resultados sugerem uma relação de vitimização a fraudes com a auto-confiança em consequencias pessoais da tomada de decisão do consumidor e auto-confiança em interações no mercado. No segundo manuscrito, dois experimentos testaram os efeitos do esgotamento do ego, do envolvimento com a questão, da necessidade de cognição e da valência de argumentos sobre a mudança de atitude. O Experimento 1 testou a hipótese de que, sob um alto esgotamento do ego, atitudes seriam semelhantes em ambas as condições de argumentos fortes e fracos, enquanto sob um alto esgotamento do ego, atitudes seriam significativamente maiores na condição de argumentos fortes. No Experimento 2, esperava-se que as atitudes dos participantes iriam seguir a direção da valência da mensagem persuasiva apresentada Os resultados apoiaram a hipótese de Experimento 2, mas não do Experimento 1. Usos e limitações do modelo de conhecimento da persuasão e do modelo de probabilidade da elaboração são discutidos. Pesquisas futuras poderão se beneficiar do uso de diferentes manipulações da probabilidade de elaboração e de testar o poder de persuasão das mensagens fraudulentas. Resultados podem ser relevantes para uma melhor compreensão de competências de auto-proteção que são úteis para os consumidores protegerem-se de fraudes. _______________________________________________________________________________________ ABSTRACT
Fraud is a common practice around the world that usually involves an agent, using shady means to cheat and to get benefits at the cost of others. Largely underreported because of social embarrassment, fraud prevention is difficult and evolves quickly. However, the social influence processes behind this phenomenon change little. People are frequently victims of consumer fraud and scams, but in most cases the victim could have detected the fraud if only checked for inconsistencies in the scammer’s message. What makes some people detect and avoid a scam while others fall prey to it? Two different models of persuasion from social psychology can be used to understand this phenomenon: the persuasion knowledge model and the elaboration likelihood model. The persuasion knowledge model proposes that persuasion is a dyadic relation between the agent and the target of persuasion. In this relation the target relies on three types of knowledge to resist persuasion attempts: topic knowledge, agent knowledge and persuasion knowledge. The elaboration likelihood model proposes that attitude change occurs through two routes, with different levels of elaboration. The central route of persuasion involves high elaboration and more effortful control, while the peripheral route involves low elaboration and less effortful control. They provide the basis for this dissertation, presented in the form of two manuscripts. The objective of the first manuscript was to test the value of four groups of predictor variables to fraud victimization: time perspective, consumer self-confidence, negative life events and indebtedness. A sample of Brazilians answered an online survey about fraud victimization. Results suggested a link between self-confidence in personal outcomes marketplace interactions and fraud victimization. In the second manuscript, two experiments tested the effects of ego depletion, issue involvement, need for cognition, and valence of arguments on attitude change. In Experiment 1, it was expected that under a high ego depletion condition, attitudes would be similar in both strong and weak arguments conditions, while under a low ego depletion condition, attitudes would be significantly higher in the strong argument condition. In Experiment 2, it was expected that participants’ attitudes would follow the direction of the valence of the persuasive message. Results supported the hypotheses of Experiment 2 but not of Experiment 1. Uses and limitations of the persuasion knowledge model and the elaboration likelihood model are discussed. Future research may benefit from using different manipulations based on the elaboration likelihood and from testing the persuasiveness of fraudulent messages. Findings may be relevant for better understanding self-protection skills in fraud attempts.

Depression has been shown to be costly to employed individuals and their employers. Despite this, employees are reluctant to seek help. This thesis aimed to develop a more interactive form of computerised intervention using a webinar. In line with the Medical Research Council’s (MRC) framework for developing and evaluating complex interventions, this thesis comprises of four studies. Firstly, a systematic literature review was conducted to identify the current evidence base of available RCTs on interventions for depression in the workplace. The review suggested that some effective interventions are available and interventions that combine more than one therapeutic approach were the most effective. There was also the emergence of promising interventions delivered through other means beyond the traditional face-to-face realms, such as the use of technology. Secondly, the feasibility and acceptability of the webinar intervention were explored qualitatively in three focus groups (N = 10), conducted in a small organisation. The results indicate that selfconfidence webinars could be feasible and acceptable if attention was paid to aspects within three levels; personal (e.g. content, time and duration, webinar features), interpersonal (e.g. stigma, levels of engagement) and organisational (e.g. endorsement from management, work demand). Thirdly, findings from the systematic literature review and focus groups were integrated with a self-confidence workshop programme by Brown and colleagues (Horrell et al., 2014) to inform the development of the intervention. The intervention was theoretically based on cognitivebehaviour therapy (CBT) and coping flexibility concepts. This was then adapted to a webinar platform, Adobe Connect, which integrates PowerPoint presentations, chat technology, comics and animation videos. Following the recruitment of two organisations, the intervention was evaluated in a small prepost feasibility study with 33 employees. The findings indicate evidence of feasibility for the intervention, and positive improvements in depression, presenteeism and other outcome measures were recorded. Additionally, the study also reported encouraging evidence regarding the acceptability of the webinar intervention among the employees.

Many first-year college/university students have low retention and success rates which affect their ability to remain in college and attain a career. Despite matriculation practices employed by institutions of higher learning to increase retention, a gap remains in the understanding of the causative factors of retention. The purpose of this study was to determine if academic self-confidence scores of students prior to entry and post- completion of an FYS are reliable predictors of students' ability to progress from the first year to the second year of college. Tinto's (1987) academic retention theory framed the study. A quantitative case study approach including a paired t-test for the dependent sample analysis, point-biserial correlation analysis, and a one-way analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was employed for this study. The findings are that students' self-reported academic confidence does improve postcompletion of the FYS and that these results are not gender specific. The statistical analysis of correlation between posttest self-confidence scores and re-enrollment for second year of college were not statistically significant. The findings of this study contribute to the body of knowledge in current literature on factors of retention, specifically students' self-reported academic confidence. When careful investigations are conducted to determine causative factors that can be used as predictors of student retention, those investigations directly impact positive social change and promote accountability for current matriculation practices employed by institutions of higher learning.

Background. To give birth can be a stressful experience and women cope with thisstress in many different ways and have different personal outcomes. Self-efficacy orconfidence in ability to cope with labour can be considered as an important factoraffecting pregnant women’s motivation of normal childbirth and their interpretation ofthe childbirth event.The aim. The purpose of this study was to test the Chinese short form of theinstrument Childbirth self-efficacy instrument (CBSEI) in Tanzania, that measurepregnant women’s self-confidence and coping abilities during childbirth.Method. The Chinese short form of the CBSEI was used to pilot test the pregnantwomen’s confidence of childbirth to see if the questions were understood in theTanzanian culture. Besides this instrument socio-demographic data was collectedtogether with two open questions asking about attitudes and experiences of childbirth.The instrument was translated into Kiswahili. A sample of 60 pregnant women whowere visiting antenatal clinic (ANC) regularly were asked to participate and with helpfrom midwifes at two ANC places the questionnaires were filled out.Result. The result shows that the validity and reliability of the two subscales OE-16and EE-16 were established. The internal consistency reliability of the two subscaleswere high, suggesting that each of the subscale mean score provides a good overviewof self- reported belief in coping ability for childbirth.The results further show that the instrument, CBSEI in this pilot study is not able toidentify women who need extra support during childbirth.Conclusion. The reliability and validity of information presented in this pilot studysupport the use of the Chinese short form of the CBSEI as a research instrument in theTanzania culture. Further studies are recommended to get a wider understandingabout women’s coping abilities in a culture like Tanzania.

Learning styles and readiness for self-directed learning were identified for 125 adult employees enrolled in self-paced training courses. The success of the self-paced instruction was measured by confidence to perform learned skills on the job. Confidence scores were compared across learning style types and self-directed learning readiness. It was concluded that self-paced training programs can be effective for a variety of learning style preferences. Additionally, adult employees who are highly self-directed will experience greater success in self-paced instruction than those less self-directed. The implication for businesses and academic institutions seeking to employ technology based, self-instructional programs is that a return on investment can be maximized by an examination of the target audience. Training programs which are self-paced may not generate the desired success which will translate into effective job performance for those adults who are not ready for self-directed learning.

Background: All the students in the University College of Södertörn in Sweden who are studying to become a teacher, are attending practice education. Purpose: The purpose of this qualitative study was to illuminate and analyze how the students experienced their practice education. My intent was to investigate if the students by their experiences have been affected in their own self-esteem. Method: This is a qualitative study that has been responded by 60 teacher students. The students attended in an internet- survey that included ten different questions. Result: The result of the interviews shows that the self-esteem has been affected, mostly in a positive way. Conclusion: The most common reason that affected the student self-esteem depended on how their supervisor has been treating them during their practice.

It seems as if there is a continued problem with mathematical performances nationally. The rate, at which FET (Further Education and Training) phase learner s discontinue Mathematics as a result of poor mathematical performances, is of great concern. This research study determined how academic self-confidence could have an influence on learners’ abilities to perform in Mathematics. The literature review confirmed that there could be a link between academic self-confidence and mathematical performance. Consequently, the researcher wanted to establish if the same could be found at a school where the emphasis is very much on mathematical achievement. The school is based in Northern Johannesburg (D10) in Gauteng, South Africa. By applying an explanatory mixed method approach (quantitative, followed by qualitative methods), the researcher identified a clear link between this school’s learners’ abilities to perform in Mathematics and their academic self-confidence. Amongst others, positive links were also identified between the learner s’ comprehension of Mathematics, their problem- solving skills as well as educator assistance, which in turn influence their academic self - confidence and consequently al so their performance s. A cycle of mathematical influences was identified that demonstrated that the influence i s not only working one way, but that a cycle forms; academic self-confidence influences the learner’s ability to perform in mathematics and mathematical performance s al so influence academic self - confidence, causing a continuous cycle of influence.
MEd (Learner Support), North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2013

The field of evolutionary psychology focuses on many human behaviors; mate selection and value being some of the issues under examination. Mate value is an important concept for explaining mating strategies. Self-perceived mate value is a component of mate value that explains how one views himself or herself as a potential mating partner. The utilization of theories including the triangular theory of love and social exchange aid in explaining the variables under review. The three variables under review include level of confidence in maintaining a relationship, level of commitment to the relationship, and length of time in the relationship, which impact one’s level of self-perceived mate value. This study used one demographic measurement and three questionnaires: Relationship Contingent Self-Esteem Scale, Commitment to Relationship Scale, and the Mate Value Inventory. Further, this research distributed surveys to 114 students at a 2-year technical college in central Wisconsin to test a model through multiple regression. Using multiple regression, this study found that two of the variables (level of confidence in maintaining a relationship, the level of commitment to the relationship) aided in explaining self-perceived mate value, while time spent in a commitment relationship was not statistically significant in relation to self-perceived mate value.

Mobility safety, especially fall prevention, plays a significant role in successful aging for older adults. Fall preventive programs aim to reduce risks for mortality from fall-related injuries among older adults. However, the covariation between personal perceptions of falls and factors and confidence of self-management in falls (CSMoF) is still under-studied despite its importance to fall prevention. Using the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) model, this dissertation aimed to investigate the relative contribution of CSMoF in relation to fall risk self-perceptions while controlling for demographics and self-reported health and functioning. Participants were 691 older adults recruited from Area Agency on Aging at Arlington, Texas. They completed measures of physical functioning, CSMoF, fall risk perceptions and fear of falls. Regression analyses indicated that fear of falls was the most predictive factor of CSMoF among older persons. Physical function measures of age, chronic illnesses of metabolism, sensory impairment, and health status were also significant predictors of the CSMoF. The interaction of perception of falls and fall experience attenuated CSMoF, with physical functioning limitations. Fear of falls served as a mediator through which demographic predictors influence CSMoF. The joint effects of perception of falls and fear of falls likely explain CSMoF among older adults more than physical functional indicators. Fall prevention programs for older adults should prioritize to address modifiable subjective factors of fall perceptions, fear of falls, and CSMoF across health and functioning statuses. Fear of falls should be the center of CSMoF enhancement.

Student participation and attainment in mathematics is an issue in education policies and practices for many countries. Some academics, teachers and policy makers claim that student attitudes in mathematics exercise a decisive causal influence on participation and attainment in mathematics. To ensure that education policies and practices are well-evidenced, it is important that assessments of these attitudes are sufficiently validated for such claims. The influential Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) includes assessments of student self-confidence in mathematics. This involves two sets of questionnaire items, with one set relating to self-efficacy and the other set relating to selfconcept. While the self-concept items refer to the mathematics domain as a whole, the self-efficacy items refer to individual mathematics tasks. Self-efficacy has been incorporated in models of self-regulated learning and, although one model indicates that self-efficacy may be significant for formative assessment, there is disagreement about relations between self-efficacy, participation and attainment. Although there have been several studies of mathematical self-efficacy, their assessments have generally lacked sufficient validations. The OECD validation of the PISA mathematical self-efficacy assessment itself lacks transparency and requires more evidence. The present study provides an independent validation of the assessment and uses mathematical self-concept as a point of comparison. The validation has a mixed methodology integrating evidence from the PISA 2003 data set and documentation for 41 countries with cognitive interviewing of students in England, Estonia, Hong Kong and the Netherlands. The validation identifies threats to validity that weaken extrapolation from the assessment to real-world situations, particularly in Hong Kong. These threats are traced to the formulation of the mathematics tasks in the self-efficacy items. The findings have implications for the interpretation and development of mathematical self-efficacy assessments as the basis for understanding relations with participation and attainment.

Although the number of nursing programs has increased in Florida, the number of hospital sites available for clinical experiences have not, resulting in limited clinical time for each nursing program. To address this shortage of clinical time, local colleges are increasing the use of simulations in the curriculum. Guided by andragogy, this sequential mixed methods study was conducted to explore differences in students' perceptions of satisfaction, self-confidence, and critical thinking between two groups of students with different amounts of clinical simulation. In an associate degree nursing program, 34 nursing students completed a single survey on student perceptions of satisfaction and self-confidence, 12 students completed a critical thinking test, 37 student reflection papers were reviewed, and 4 faculty members were interviewed. Independent t tests were used in analyzing quantitative data, and content analysis was used in the analysis of qualitative data. Statistical analysis and content analysis showed no difference between the groups of students for satisfaction, self-confidence, and critical thinking. However, results should be interpreted with caution because quantitative analyses were underpowered, increasing the risk of type II error. Overall, students had positive comments about simulations in regard to satisfaction, self-confidence, and critical thinking. The results of this study will allow nursing faculty in the local setting to make better decisions with regard to using additional simulation in their programs. The results may benefit nursing students and the patients they care for in their future nursing careers in providing quality healthcare.

Människor tenderar att attribuera framgångar till sig själva och misslyckanden till externa källor, fenomenet kallas för Self-serving bias. Hur individer attribuerar kan enligt forskning påverkas av bland annat graden av självkontroll samt självkänsla. Enligt forskning kan intentioner eller beteendemål aktiveras automatiskt och omedvetet av en utlösande signal, så kallad priming, och därmed aktivt guida en persons självreglering. Denna studie har genom ett experiment, med 56 högskolestudenter, undersökt om priming av självkontroll och självförtroende kan påverka hur en individ attribuerar vid framgång och misslyckande. Resultatet visade ingen signifikant skillnad mellan priminggrupperna. Humör visade sig ha betydelse för hur deltagarna attribuerade. En ojämn gruppfördelning och en för bred variationsvidd på beroendemåttet diskuteras om det hade någon påverkan på resultatet.

Education is, at least, the endeavor to get people to do things they could not previously do, to understand things they did not previously understand, and perhaps, to become the people they did not expect to become. - Sockett, 1998, p. 195 In today’s fast-paced technology driven knowledge-based society, students in the Gulf and abroad, are expected to remain engaged while playing a more invested role in becoming independent, mature learners, no matter what their personal or educational challenges are. It is quite common for students to abandon their EFL studies due to a lack of motivation and/or confidence. There has been extensive research undertaken to better understand how motivation and confidence affect EFL/ESL learners, yet little attention has been paid to a more recent area of educational research in emotional intelligence (EI) and how self-coaching may also contribute to a tertiary EFL/ESL learners’ ability to succeed. It is not unreasonable to hypothesize that everyday occurrences encountered in their personal and academic life may very well, at times, have a detrimental effect on students’ confidence and motivation, and therefore impede their ability to reach set goals. This study explores the possible correlations between the three main constructs, confidence, motivation and EI while investigating female Emirati tertiary EFL students at Zayed University in the U.A.E. and their interest towards self-coaching to reach their academic and personal goals. This exploratory longitudinal interpretive study used a mixed-method approach to gather data generated from a survey (CMEII) constructed and piloted for this study and completed by 199 female Emirati tertiary EFL participants measuring motivation, confidence and EI. In addition, student journals, interviews and progress reports retrieved from CMEI workshops also informed the research questions pertaining to these aforementioned constructs. Results suggest that there is a correlation between confidence, motivation and EI. These results would indicate that when the level of motivation increases, so does the level of confidence in speaking English. Motivation to self-direct in English is positively correlated with problem solving, higher life-satisfaction and confidence levels. Surprisingly the higher the academic anxiety, the more students want to self-direct. Furthermore it was found that students participating in this study found self-coaching methods extremely helpful in supporting them in reaching both their personal and academic goals. The implications of this exploratory study into confidence, motivation and emotional intelligence has laid the foundation for future research in this area. By creating and piloting the first Confidence, Motivation and Emotional Intelligence survey instrument (CMEII) designed for the ESL/EFL learning environment, a primary obstacle has been traversed. The CMEII research instrument and results of this study will no doubt help bring light and understanding to how self-coaching and self-direction can support female EFL students in reaching their personal and academic goals in the U.A.E and abroad.

Abstract The aim of this essay is to explore how teachers and leisure educators can strengthen and increase students’ self-confidence in different ways in their line of work. I chose this inquest for personal reasons and also because it will be of great aid for me since this is what I intend my future profession to be. For this inquest I have chosen to do five qualitative interviews and two unstructured observations. The inquest was also based on relevant literature connected to its purpose. The results show that self-confidence is linked to something the individuals accomplish and that self-esteem is the way they see themselves, an inner feeling. Self-confidence is something that grows by achieved performances and developing your own knowledge while the self-esteem is strengthened by confirmation through other individuals and faith in one’s self. As the individual evolves so does the self-image he or she may have of themselves. Self-esteem and self-confidence will vary depending on the response the individual gets from others. Family and friends are the key factors that determine whether self-esteem and self-confidences goes up or down. The results also show that the teacher, schoolmates and the school environment have a great impact on self-confidence and self-esteem. The subjects I interviewed press on the importance of a safe environment consisting of good friends and peers who accept faults and imperfections in one and other. The students ought to be able to feel encouraged, supported and guided in order to evolve their self-confidence and self-esteem. The answers during the interviews show that public speaking was used to empower the students’ self-confidence and self-esteem and create a secure place for the students to grow.   Key words: ability, self-confidence, self-esteem, evolvement
Sammanfattning Syftet med denna uppsats är att undersöka hur lärare och fritidspedagoger kan arbeta för att stärka eller förstärka elevers självförtroende och självkänsla. Valet av undersökningen ligger i det personliga intresset samt att få en inblick i hur min framtida yrkesroll kan utvecklas. Metoden jag använt mig av för detta är fem stycken kvalitativa intervjuer samt två ostrukturerade observationer. Undersökningen har även belysts utifrån relevant litteratur kopplat till mitt syfte. Det resultat som framkommit visar att självförtroende är kopplat till något individen gör, medan självkänsla är individens syn på sig själv, en inre känsla. Självförtroendet växer genom överkomna prestationer och kunskapsutveckling, självkänslan stärks istället genom andras bekräftande och genom den egna tilltron på sig själv. Under tiden individen utvecklas förändras även självbilden, där både självförtroende och självkänsla skiftar upp och ner beroende på gensvar utifrån. Här är den inre kretsens, vänner och familj, uppfattning om individen den avgörande faktorn för i vilket håll självförtroende och självkänsla tar vägen. Resultatet visar även att läraren, klassen och skolmiljön är en viktig del i stärkandet av självförtroende och självkänsla. De intervjuade förespråkar en trygg klass eller grupp där eleverna ska känna sig säkra och veta att det är tillåtet att göra fel och att våga göra fel. Eleverna ska även få uppleva stöd, uppmuntring, peppning och handledning för att utveckla sitt självförtroende och sin självkänsla. De intervjuade använde sig av muntligt framträdande för att uppnå känslan av trygghet och på så vis stärka elevernas självförtroende och självkänsla. Nyckelord: förmåga, självförtroende, självkänsla, utveckling

Midwives are often the lead providers of maternity care for women. To provide the variety of care required by women, they need to be confident in their role and practice. To date, only limited evidence exists in relation to confidence as experienced by midwives. This thesis aims to explore the phenomena of confidence through the lived experience of midwives. In particular, this will encompass confidence in the context of the intrapartum care setting. The theoretical basis for the study was hermeneutic phenomenology, guided by the work of Heidegger and Gadamer. Midwives were recruited from three clinical settings to obtain a diversity of views and experiences. Rich data from diaries and in-depth interviews, from twelve participants, provided insight into the phenomena of confidence and the factors midwives encountered that affected their confidence. The phenomena of confidence consisted of a dynamic balance, between the cognitive and affective elements of knowledge, experience and emotion. This balance was fragile and easily lost, leading to a loss of confidence. Confidence was viewed as vital to midwifery practice by the participants of the study; however, maintaining their confidence was often likened to a battle. A number of cultural and contextual factors were identified as affecting confidence within the working environment, including trust, collegial relationships and organisational influences. Midwives also described various coping strategies they utilised to maintain their confidence in the workplace environment. This study provides unique insight into the phenomena of confidence for midwives working in intrapartum care, resulting in a number of recommendations. These highlight the importance of leadership, education and support for midwives in the clinical environment in enabling them to develop and maintain confidence in practice.