Psychology

Cases of examination cheating have been reported in Masaba South District and its environs over the years. This study purposed to establish the reasons why students cheat in secondary school examinations in Masaba South District of Kisii County. The study sought to determine whether competition, poor preparation, poor invigilation, inadequate facilities, ineffective teaching and anxiety had any influence on student cheating in secondary school examinations. The study too investigated the methods used by students to cheat in school examinations and how the vice could be curbed. The research adopted an explanatory approach of descriptive survey research design. The sample size consisted of 449 students, and head teachers from 6 purposively selected schools of Masaba South District. The Head teachers’ and students’ questionnaires were used to collect data in the study. The items in the questionnaires were tested for content validity and reliability by means of a pilot study in one of the schools that was not included in the sample. The data was analyzed using statistical package for Social Sciences (SPSS). The results of the study revealed that the major factors influencing examination cheating include: examination anxiety, lack of facilities, stiff competition, poor preparations, and inadequate invigilation of the examinations. The study recommended that there is need for thorough guidance and counselling and adequate preparation of students for examinations.

There has been an ongoing debate about the importance of the English language. Employers are lamenting that new graduates these days lack communicative proficiency in English. The purpose of this study is to determine the factors which contribute to English proficiency in Chinese students in Johor Bahru. Investigating the factors that contribute to English proficiency might partially explain the occurrence of underachievement in the learning English. The study was conducted with a self-reported questionnaire as an instrument. Data was collected from a sample of 119 students from Southern College, a Chinese community run college based in Johor Bahru. Data was analyzed using the SPSS version 11.5. Descriptive statistics showed that respondents have interest in the language but lack confidence and motivation in using English. The independent variables which were hypothesized factors were correlated with the dependent variables. Findings showed that although parents and close significant others do have influence on the respondents’ attitude and perception towards the English language, their English proficiency grades were not influenced by them. In conclusion, socializing factors such as family members and significant others are not significant contributors to English proficiency in Chinese students in Johor Bahru but they do contribute to the positive attitude and perception towards English that many of the respondents have.

Present study was carried out to develop and validate an instrument for measuring different factors affecting upon students’ success at higher educational level. Focus group discussions and extensive literature review was done in order to generate an item pool for the instrument. Initially 75 items were generated under ten dimensions namely: motivation, intellectual abilities, personality brought up, institutional environment, socio- economic background, family participation, peer group, influence of siblings, awareness about future goals and awareness about current trends in the subject. After qualitative item analysis, the items were reduced to 60 as 15 were found to be repetitive in nature. These 60 item statements were administered to 100 graduating students of public universities in Islamabad region. The data thus obtained was subjected to factor analysis. As a result ten subscales containing 45 items in total were constructed with Eigen value above 2.83. Split half reliability for both halves was expressed at .78 and .89. Psychometric properties demonstrate that SSHL is a valid and reliable instrument to be used in research studies related to students’ academic success at higher level.

Extracurricular activity is a complementary of the requirement and interest in the student academic development. Extracurricular learning styles can be implemented in the form of informal where it can provide effective learning experiences to the students. In extracurricular development, every activity has its own goals and interests that can influence the students to participate in the particular activities. Nowadays, students are more likely to engage or spending their time with unbeneficial activities or isolate themselves in the virtual world. Several studies have been conducted and found that there are factors influence or prevent the students from participating in the extracurricular activities they intended to. These factors have been categorical into three main constraints; structural constraints, intrapersonal constraints, and interpersonal constraints. These main constraints referred to many factors that can influence student participation in extracurricular activities.

Facebook use are much in vogue these days. Taking into concern the exponential growth in membership on this social networking site, this study was therefore planned. The purpose of this research was to find out the relationship between facebook usage and its influence on peer relationships. A random sample for the same was collected from the tricity area i.e. Chandigarh, Panchkula and Mohali. A group of 60 subjects in the age group of 19-21years were administered a questionnaire on facebook usage. Correlation and descriptive analysis ( mean, S.D and t-ratio) were applied. Results revealed non significant relationship between SNS usage and interpersonal relationships with friends.

The philosophy of existentialism is a philosophy which draws attention to how human beings can insulate their distinct being in the world through the reality of individual being and the freedom of choice under the stance that existence precedes essence. The idea ‘existence precedes essence’ means that human nature is determined by the course of life rather than life by nature. However, pragmatic, progressive and reconstructive societal tides negate the individual being and freedom of choice. An attempt to recover individual being and freedom necessitates the need for education and lifelong learning. This study focused on existentialism as the cause of lifelong learning. The theory of determinism which holds that all events are instigated by other prevalent causes was therefore used to explain that lifelong learning is the outcome arising from the fact that human beings are susceptible to alienation and estrangement, and they use education to situate themselves. In this treatise, coherent abstractions revealed that the distinctiveness of human beings is contracted by existentialism, while teaching and learning is used to assist human beings to come to terms with issues of existence over essence, being and nothingness, anxiety and authenticity, absurdity and irrationality, freedom and independence, situatedness, alienation and estrangement. The implication is that these existential negations substantiate why human beings strive as individuals to transmute their essence or nature through lifelong learning.

People with different personality traits show different coping styles and different degrees of vulnerability to the experience of traumatic events. Pregnancy is one of the events that may cause stress and depression in some women and put mother and child’s health at risk. In this study the relationship between pregnant women’s big five personality factors, coping styles and depression has been studied. The population of the study consists of all pregnant women who referred to a specialized center of Obstetrics and Gynecology in Shahid Beheshti Hospital in Iran in the first quarter of 2009. 130 questionnaires (Revised NEO Personality inventory, Multidimensional Coping Inventory (MCI) and depression questionnaires) with multi-stage random cluster sampling were distributed among subjects, 80 of which were completed and analyzed using SPSS16 statistical software. Regression and MANOVA statistical methods were used to analyze the data. The results show that Neuroticism has a significant negative relationship with task-oriented coping style and a significant positive relationship with emotion-oriented coping style and depression. Extraversion has a significant positive relationship with task-oriented coping style. Also, Agreeableness has a significant positive relationship with task-oriented coping style and a significant negative relationship with avoidance-oriented coping style and depression. Conscientiousness has a significant positive relationship with task-oriented coping style. Furthermore, task-oriented coping style has a significant negative relationship with depression and emotion-oriented coping style has a significant positive relationship with depression. Applying pregnant women’s personal characteristics enables us to predict their styles of coping with stress and depression. Therefore, stress management meetings and training and treatment courses for mothers are of great importance.

The present study investigated the relationship between Unknown emotional, interpersonal problems, in high school students' knowledge Sarpolezahab district, is at 2012-2013 years. Research method was descriptive, correlational, population of this study, all high school students Sarpolezahab district boys and girls in the age group 14-19 years, a total of 5435 people. using simple random sampling, a statistical sample of 360 students (180 girls and 180 boys) were selected by Morgan. instrument used in this study, the scale of emotional Unknown Toronto (FTAS-20), and the scale of interpersonal problems (IIP-60), has been used. methods of data collection, data analysis, the index and methods of descriptive statistics, including frequency, percentage, mean, standard deviation, and inferential statistics including the Pearson correlation coefficient, t the independent variable in the regression to predict criterion has been used in research. The results showed that the students have difficulty describing feelings, interpersonal problems, positive correlation is, and the difficulty in identifying feelings, and externally oriented thinking with interpersonal problems related to students there. Results of regression analysis, showed Unknown components can be emotional components of interpersonal problems (responsibility, confidence, decisiveness), penetrate the nose. Based on the present results, we can conclude that the Unknown emotional, and personal problems between students, the relationship is positive and significant.

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the psychometric questionnaire of Beck et al. (1990) personality beliefs. This tool is a 65-item self-report questionnaire to assess beliefs related to personality disorders. In the study of psychometric properties of this instrument the mean internal scale reliabilities (Cronbach's alpha) for both clinical and non-clinical populations (n=630) was 0.791 and for the clinical population (N=115) was 0.790. The mean test-retest reliability (two-week) of this instrument was 0.795. There was a good convergent validity between these tools and short form of the Coolidge Axis II Inventory. In addition, the results of structural validity showed that this tool has a suitable structural validity. This tool has good reliability and validity for both clinical and non-clinical samples.

Sexual violence is a global problem and also a public health concern (Beidel and Turner, 2007; Gutman, Herman-Giddens and McKinney, 1993), it takes different forms, this includes rape, sexual abuse, harassment or any form of sexual exploitation, child tricking and pornography (United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), 2012). Kenya is faced with a problem of girls’ abuse because of cultural beliefs that supports the act of sexual intercourse with girls as a cure for HIV, this, however leads to unwanted pregnancy, serious mental health, gynaecological complications, high risk of HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases. Children experience sexual abuse in their homes, schools, institution, workplace and within their community. Sexual violence towards children is an illegal violation of children's human right. Cases of child sexual abuse have continued to increase for many year which brings a serious focus on establishing the true scope of the problems and a genuine concern for policymakers, and professionals (Finkelhor 1986; Hall and Lloyd, 1993). Considering the legal rights a child has, it is important that any form of abuse should have serious penalties, although, there are laws towards child protection in Kenya, they are not effective. At the same time, ethical principles have supported every human being on how they are being treated in the society which now draws the attention of the government in Kenya and international organisation to support and protect children that were abused. Therefore, this report will major on the sexual abuse experienced by young girls, although young boys are also faced with sexual abuse, but on rare cases. It is written to address the prevalence which results from the cultural beliefs in Kenya; the ethical and legal issues relating to this child sexual abuse will be examined, protocol and recommendation to avoid future occurrence will also be discussed.