Predictors of Medical Students' Beliefs about Intelligence: Affective and Cognitive Factors, Parental Interest, and Home Economic Status

Ahn, Doehee; Lee, Youjoung; Baek, Kwang Jin; Chung, Sang In

Abstract

PURPOSE
To identify predictors of medical students' beliefs about intelligence among affective and cognitive factors, parental interest in children's education, and home economic status (HES). Of the 408 medical students who participated in this study, 398 completed and returned the questionnaires, yielding a total response rate of 97.5%. METHODS: Measures of students' beliefs about intelligence, intrinsic value, self-efficacy, test anxiety, cognitive strategies, self-regulation, parental interest in children's education, and HES were obtained. RESULTS: Spearman's correlations indicated that an entity theory of intelligence was negatively related to intrinsic value, self-efficacy, cognitive strategies, self-regulation, parental interest in children's education, and HES, and positively related to test anxiety. An incremental theory of intelligence was positively related to intrinsic value, self-efficacy, cognitive strategies, self-regulation, parental interest in children's education, and HES, and negatively related to test anxiety. Findings of independent t-tests showed that incremental theorists showed higher intrinsic value, self-efficacy, cognitive strategies, self-regulation, parental interest in children's education, and lower test anxiety than entity theorists. A binary logistic regression analysis showed that 72.9% of the medical students in the study were accurately classified as either incremental theorists or entity theorists with respect to intrinsic value, self-efficacy, test anxiety, and cognitive strategies. CONCLUSION: Medical educators need to be aware that medical students who have incremental beliefs about intelligence have higher intrinsic value, self-efficacy, cognitive strategies, and lower test anxiety than those who have fixed beliefs about intelligence. Perhaps a training program needs to be developed to enhance medical students' conceptions of intelligence based on the findings.