Ever since the advent of the intelligence test we have thought of exceptional achievement in terms of cognitive attributes. We have words and phrases like "genius," "above average intelligence," "average" and "mentally deficient" to describe different levels of cognitive ability. In the United States widespread use of intelligence tests followed the success of the in World War I, and for the next half-century Army Alpha and Beta Tests intelligence tests were the major measures used to predict school and vocational achievement. Learning was primarily studied in laboratories, and the behaviorist theories that were dominant largely dealt with changes in overt behavior. As a result there was relatively little influence of learning research on concepts involving cognition and intelligence. The transition from behaviorism to cognitive psychology that began in the 1940's and 50's came into full flower in the 1970's and 80's, and great progress was made in understanding learning, memory, and thinking. In the decades following World War I there had been many debates about the possible influence of environmental conditions on intelligence, but the cognitive abilities measured by intelligence tests were generally believed to be determined by heredity. The intelligence tests of cognitive abilities correlated substantially with academic performance; so their use in determining which students needed special help in school or which students were capable of university work was widely accepted. As cognitive psychology became dominant, it became apparent that although heredity was important, intelligence consisted of learnable abilities.

1 The Culture and Context of Learning.- The Role of Learning Context and Motivation in the Education of Exceptional Students.- Psychological Mediators of Learning Vulnerabilities.- Organization and Overview of the Book.- Attribution Theory, Beliefs and Values: Current Status and Research.- Goal Orientation Theory: New Ideas and Recent Research.- Context of Learning and Classroom Instruction.- Conclusion.- References.- I. Attribution Theory/Beliefs and Values: Current Status and Research.- 2 Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Theories of Motivation from an Attribution Perspective.- 3 Inferences about Responsibility and Values: Implication for Academic Motivation.- 4 The Social Functions of Attributional Face Saving Tactics.- 5 Declining Optimism in Ethnic Minority Students: The Role of Attributions and Self-Esteem.- 6 Chinese Students' and Teachers' Inferences of Effort and Ability.- II. Goal Orientation Theory: New Ideas and Recent Research.- 7 Cultural Diversity, Student Motivation and Achievement.- 8 Goal Orientation and Self-Regulated Learning in the College Classroom: A Cross-Cultural Comparison.- 9 Contextual Influences on Motivation and Performance: An Examination of Achievement Goal Structures.- 10 Cross-Cultural Response to Failure: Considering Outcome Attributions with Different Goals.- 11 The Influence of Culture and Context on Students' Motivational Orientation and Performance.- 12 Goals and Motivation of Chinese Students - Testing the Adaptive Learning Model.- III. Context of Learning and Classroom Instruction.- 13 Classroom Context Effects on Young Children's Motivation.- 14 Teaching Across Cultures.- 15 Significance of Cultural and Motivation Variables on Students' Attitudes Towards Group Work.- 16 Research on Classroom Instruction and Its Effects- Shortcomings, Dead Ends, and Future Perspectives.- Author Index.