28th International Congress of Psychology August 8 ... - U-netSURF

conceptual-similarities are more difficult to break than perceptual-similarities.
2080.4 Characteristics and age changes in preschoolers’intrinsic reading motivation, Hui Zhou 1 ,
Salili Farideh 2 , 1 Sun Yat-Sen Univeristy, China; 2 The University of Hong Kong, HongKong,
China
Intrinsic reading motivations of 177 preschool children in Beijing were tested. Intrinsic
motivations were indicated by children’s intrinsically motivated reading behaviors and reasons for
reading. It was found that children displayed high level of intrinsically motivated reading
behaviors. Based on self-determination theory (SDT), their reasons for reading could be classified
into three types: external, identified and intrinsic reasons. The study showed that older children
had more identified and intrinsic reasons for reading than younger children. All participants had
high levels of intrinsic motivation with mid-age group having the highest level.
2080.5 Teachers’ and parents’ conception of children’s curiosity and exploration, Amy Chak,
Siu Ha Janice Kwan, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, China
Curiosity, described as a natural characteristic in young children, has received little attention in
child development and pedagogy. Manifested through exploration, it has been theorized as related
to motivation and quest for knowledge. Teachers' and parents' beliefs on and values of curiosity
and exploration are likely to influence their promotion or hinderance of such behavior. Preliminary
findings of a study examining their conception of children's curiosity and exploration will be
presented. Comparison on teachers' and parents' implicit conception of curiosity, their views on
the circumstances under which children's exploration would or would not be encouraged will be
discussed.
2080.6 The development of children’s trait conceptions, Meifang Wang 1 , Huichang Chen 2 ,
1 2
Shandong Normal University, China; Beijing Normal University, China
In the present study with a sample of 160 Chinese children aged from 4 to 12 years, we attempted
to explore the development of two dimensions of trait conceptions and its relations to responses to
failure. Confirmatory factor analyses suggested that each dimension represents different
understanding of the nature of traits. The conceptions of traits as constant across situations
reflected developmental differences and conceptions of traits as uncontrollable reflected individual
differences in preschool and elementary school years. Moreover, it was found that children's
conceptions of traits as constant and as uncontrollable had different effects on their responses to
failure.
2080.7 MRI predictors of cognitive decline in the normal elderly: 6-year results of the Austrian
stroke prevention study, Katja Elisabeth Petrovic, Reinhold Schmidt, Franz Fazekas, Helena
Schmidt, Karl-Franzens University Graz, Austria
In the Austrian Stroke Prevention Study 232 individuals free of neuropsychiatric disease were
randomly selected from our community register (ages 46 to 73 years), and underwent a structured
clinical interview, ECG, echocardiography, extensive laboratory work-up, brain MRI and
demanding neuropsychologic testing assessing memory, attention/ speed, conceptualization and
visuopractical skills. This test battery was repeated after 6 years. Cognitive decline occurred in
23.71% of subjects. Logistic regression analysis yielded cardiac disease, the interaction of brain
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