The cognitions of high and low math anxious undergraduates were investigated to test some basic assumptions of cognitive theory. Students were asked to think aloud while solving mathematical problems taken from the Scholastic Aptitude Test; cognitions generated from this procedure were examined for sex and anxiety-related differences and were used in a regression equation to predict performance. Anxiety-related differences were not found for either performance or 11 categories of cognitions. No sex differences were found in performance or for a linear combination of cognitions. However, a few differences were found in univariate analyses on individual cognition categories. Regression analyses indicated that self-facilitating and self-inhibiting cognitions accounted for significant variation only on a set of problems (nonthink-aloud) on which the cognitions were not generated. Results were discussed with respect to importance of subjecting basic assumptions of cognitive theory and assessment to early empirical verification.

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Expectations of success have been extensively examined in the literature, particularly in regard to sex differences. However, these sex differences have not been uniformly agreed on. In addition, race differences in expectations have received scant attention. This study examined race, sex, and grade differences in expectations and achievement on three tasks in third-, sixth-, and ninth-grade boys and girls. No significant sex differences were found, but blacks and whites did differ in expectancies and achievement, particularly on two of the tasks. The expectations of blacks rose with grade level, regardless of concomitant achievements; but expectations of whites did not. Implications are discussed.

This study focused on locus of control among black and white, third-and sixthgrade male and female leaders. White leaders were more internally controlled than were black leaders and attributed good outcomes to personal attributes more often than black leaders. White female leaders were also more willing to accept responsibility for bad outcomes than black female leaders. Self-concept data and sex role orientation data were not helpful in interpreting the findings but did serve to suggest several avenues for future research in the area of locus of control.

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