Browsing by Author "Watson, Sue Anne"
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- ItemAbility, effort and control : can attribution theory be valid in the New Zealand classroom? : a thesis submitted to the Education Department, Massey University in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Philosophy (Education)(Massey University, 1993) Watson, Sue AnneThe validity of basic assumptions of attribution theory, that ability is conceptualised as an internal, stable and uncontrollable cause of success and failure in achievement situations, and effort is an internal, unstable and controllable cause, was investigated in relation to New Zealand school students. Two groups of students, Form One (11 years) and Form Four (14 years) responded within the classroom on three occasions in different school subjects to questionnaires about their ability and effort in regard to the tasks they had just been engaged in. Their achievement, ability and effort levels were rated by their teachers. A subset of students was also interviewed. Both age groups perceive ability (intelligence) as unstable, capable of being increased by schoolwork, yet rated their ability the same in the three different subject areas. In both age groups most students rated their specific and general effort as stable within subject areas but as unstable over three subject areas. Their general effort ratings correlated significantly with the teachers' ratings for effort. So, students perceive their effort as unstable but their relative effort level was stable. The controllability dimension was measured by the number of cognitive strategies given to improve ability and to demonstrate effort. The "controllability of ability" variable was a significant contributor for achievement for Form One students and the "controllability of effort" to achievement for the older students. The lowest achievement group had significantly fewer metacognitive statements than the other two groups which suggests that for them effort is not controllable. The findings suggest that some key principles of attribution theory may not be appropriate for New Zealand school children because their conceptualisations of ability and effort do not fit the constructs of attribution theory.
- ItemAttachment representations and parenting : the assessment of cognitive complexity and emotional security with the adult attachment interview : a thesis presented in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education (Human Development) at Massey University(Massey University, 2009) Watson, Sue AnneThis study examines the relationship between parent characteristics assessed before the birth of their baby and their Adult Attachment Interview (AAI: George, Kaplan & Main, 1985) classification to investigate the role of cognitive development as a key indicator of attachment classification. Data from the Washington University Sentence Completion Test (Loevinger, 1976), Reflective Functioning Scale (Fonagy, Steele, M., Steele, H., Moran & Higgitt, 1991) and Conceptual/Integrative Complexity (Baker-Brown et al., 1992) are examined in relation to adult attachment classification of Secure/Autonomous and the construct of Coherence of Transcript. Other self-report instruments are used to add further information to the examination of constructs underpinning the coding of the AAI. It was found that autonomy requires a necessary level of cognitive development but cognitive development is not sufficient for coherence or attachment representation as secure. Distinguishing between autonomy and security needs in new parents may assist community practitioners provide better focussed support for the parents themselves and for their children.