This study aimed to identify student-level variables that influence academic outcomes, and to det... more This study aimed to identify student-level variables that influence academic outcomes, and to determine the extent of their influence. In Study 1, final year secondary students (N = 654) completed a questionnaire gathering demographic information and measuring possible influencing variables. A number of these variables predicted academic achievement, including demographic, attitudinal, personality, study strategy and intelligence variables. Mathematical intelligence was the strongest predictor of achievement for all three achievement variables used, and was followed by school decile. Openness to experience and critical reasoning intelligence were the next strongest predictors of two achievement variables (proportion of Merit and Excellence credits attained and Level 3 attainment), while the third achievement variable (credits attained) was next best predicted by participant sex and verbal intelligence. Self-regulation skills were more beneficial when used by high intelligence partic...
The current study uses data from the reality television show Survivor to determine whether contes... more The current study uses data from the reality television show Survivor to determine whether contestants discriminate against other contestants on the basis of sex. In Survivor, contestants initially compete in teams, and are strategically incentivised to eliminate weaker contestants to boost the performance of their team. Later in the season, teams are merged and the contestants compete individually. Stronger players then become a threat, and so strategic incentives encourage contestants to eliminate stronger players. Voting patterns allowed inferences to be made about taste-based and information-based theories of discrimination. Taste-based discrimination predicted that targeted groups would receive high mean votes both before teams are merged and post-merge. Likewise, a preference for in-group members would result in voters voting for members of the opposite sex both pre- and post-merge. Neither sex showed a tendency to vote consistently for contestants of the opposite sex. Information-based discrimination predicted high mean votes pre-merge and low mean-votes post-merge, and both sexes showed voting behaviour consistent with information-based discrimination against female contestants.
This study aimed to identify student-level variables that influence academic outcomes, and to det... more This study aimed to identify student-level variables that influence academic outcomes, and to determine the extent of their influence. In Study 1, final year secondary students (N = 654) completed a questionnaire gathering demographic information and measuring possible influencing variables. A number of these variables predicted academic achievement, including demographic, attitudinal, personality, study strategy and intelligence variables. Mathematical intelligence was the strongest predictor of achievement for all three achievement variables used, and was followed by school decile. Openness to experience and critical reasoning intelligence were the next strongest predictors of two achievement variables (proportion of Merit and Excellence credits attained and Level 3 attainment), while the third achievement variable (credits attained) was next best predicted by participant sex and verbal intelligence. Self-regulation skills were more beneficial when used by high intelligence partic...
The current study uses data from the reality television show Survivor to determine whether contes... more The current study uses data from the reality television show Survivor to determine whether contestants discriminate against other contestants on the basis of sex. In Survivor, contestants initially compete in teams, and are strategically incentivised to eliminate weaker contestants to boost the performance of their team. Later in the season, teams are merged and the contestants compete individually. Stronger players then become a threat, and so strategic incentives encourage contestants to eliminate stronger players. Voting patterns allowed inferences to be made about taste-based and information-based theories of discrimination. Taste-based discrimination predicted that targeted groups would receive high mean votes both before teams are merged and post-merge. Likewise, a preference for in-group members would result in voters voting for members of the opposite sex both pre- and post-merge. Neither sex showed a tendency to vote consistently for contestants of the opposite sex. Information-based discrimination predicted high mean votes pre-merge and low mean-votes post-merge, and both sexes showed voting behaviour consistent with information-based discrimination against female contestants.
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