Does Postpartum Depression Affect Parental Embodied Mentalizing in Mothers With 4-Months old Infants?

Parental Embodied Mentalizing (PEM) regards parents’ nonverbal capacity to understand the infant’s bodily manifested mental states and adjust his or her own movements accordingly. Little is known about how mothers suffering from postpartum depression (PPD) mentalize the infant on an embodied level. The aims of the present study were to investigate whether mothers meeting criteria for a PPD diagnosis differ from non-clinical mothers in regard to their PEM capacities and whether the severity of depressive symptoms was associated with PEM in mothers meeting criteria for a PPD diagnosis compared to non-clinical mothers.10-minute long lab-based face-to-face interactions were coded with the PEM coding scheme at 4-months postpartum in mother-infant dyads with mothers meeting criteria for a PPD diagnosis (n = 29) and non-clinical mothers (n = 51).Results showed that mothers with and without a PPD diagnosis differ in their capacity to mentalize on an embodied level, but only when controlling for scores on the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). However, more depressive symptoms as measured with the EPDS was not in itself associated with lower PEM in either group. This finding may indicate the presence of a threshold effect, i.e. that maternal PEM may be affected only when a certain degree of severity and duration in depressive symptoms is beyond a certain threshold. The importance of the findings in regard to the assessment of depression as well as more clinical perspectives are discussed.     

Non-verbal and verbal parental mentalization as predictors of infant attachment security: Contributions of parental embodied mentalizing and mind-mindedness and the mediating role of maternal sensitivity

Interest in studying the relative contributions of verbal (e.g., maternal mind-mindedness [MM]) and non-verbal dimensions (i.e., parental embodied mentalizing [PEM]) of parental mentalization to child socio-emotional development is relatively recent. To date, only one study has addressed this issue in relation to child attachment security, suggesting a complementary and unique contribution of each one. The purpose of the present study was to further examine the specific contribution of PEM to infant attachment security by considering MM. In addition, this study aimed to explore the mediating role of maternal sensitivity linking PEM, MM to infant attachment security within 110 mother-infant dyads at moderate psychosocial risk. The two dimensions of parental mentalization (PEM and MM) were assessed on the basis of observations made during a videorecorded sequence of mother-child interactions in a context of free play with and without toys when the infants were 8 months old. The Maternal Behavior Q-Sort was used to measure the mothers’ sensitivity in a natural setting based on observations of daily mother-child interactions, also when the infants were about 8 months old. Attachment security was measured using The Strange Situation Procedure at infant age 16 months. The results showed positive correlations between maternal sensitivity and both verbal and non-verbal measures of parental mentalization. The mediation analyses first revealed that PEM had a significant indirect effect on attachment security, with sensitivity being identified as a mediator in this association. No indirect effect linking MM and attachment security via sensitivity was observed. These results highlight the contribution of PEM to maternal sensitivity and show maternal sensitivity to be a factor that partly explains the influence of PEM on attachment security in children.     

The body as laboratory: Prediction-error minimization,embodiment, and representation

In his (2014) paper, Jakob Hohwy outlines a theory of the brain as an organ for prediction-error minimization (PEM), which he claims has the potential to profoundly alter our understanding of mind and cognition. One manner in which our understanding of the mind is altered, according to PEM, stems from the neurocentric conception of the mind that falls out of the framework, which portrays the mind as “inferentially-secluded” from its environment. This in turn leads Hohwy to reject certain theses of embodied cognition. Focusing on this aspect of Hohwy’s argument, we first outline the key components of the PEM framework such as the “evidentiary boundary,” before looking at why this leads Hohwy to reject certain theses of embodied cognition. We will argue that although Hohwy may be correct to reject specific theses of embodied cognition, others are in fact implied by the PEM framework and may contribute to its development. We present the metaphor of the “body as a laboratory” in order to highlight what we believe is a more significant role for the body than Hohwy suggests. In detailing these claims, we will expose some of the challenges that PEM raises for providing an account of representation.     

The distinctiveness of hardiness, positive emotionality, and negative emotionality in National Guard soldiers

Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to investigate the distinctiveness of hardiness (using the Short Hardiness Scale; Bartone, 1995) from the broader personality traits of negative emotionality and positive emotionality (NEM and PEM; assessed with items from the MMPI-2 PSY-5 scales); in a sample of 981 Army National Guard soldiers. Exploratory factor analyses demonstrated that hardiness items loaded on a separate factor from PEM and NEM items, and confirmatory factor analysis suggested that hardiness is not simply a sub-facet of either PEM or NEM. However, subsequent regression analyses found that hardiness did not predict symptoms of PTSD or depression beyond the effects of PEM and NEM among combat exposed soldiers.     

The importance of parental verbal and embodied mentalizing in shaping parental experiences of stress and coparenting

Parental mentalizing—recognizing that children are separate psychological entities, who have their own thoughts, wishes, and intentions that motivate their behaviors—is traditionally considered a verbal, linguistic capacity. This paper aimed to examine the relation between parental verbal mentalizing (parental reflective function; PRF) and its nonverbal form—parental embodied mentalizing (PEM)—and how both constructs contribute to parents’ subjective experience of parenting, namely parental stress and coparental alliance. 68 mothers and their three-months-old babies were observed to assess PEM, interviewed to code PRF, and completed self-reports of coparental alliance and parental stress. PEM was found to be positively correlated with PRF. Mediation analyses revealed that higher PEM, but not PRF, was associated with lower parental stress, mediated by positive reports of coparental alliance. The findings support adopting a multifaceted approach when studying parental mentalizing, both in terms of assessing parental mentalizing beyond its verbal expressions to include also embodied aspects, as well as investigating its impact beyond infant development to include the familial context within it operates. Conceptual, empirical and clinical implications are discussed.     

The Self‐Evidencing Brain

An exciting theory in neuroscience is that the brain is an organ for prediction error minimization (PEM). This theory is rapidly gaining influence and is set to dominate the science of mind and brain in the years to come. PEM has extreme explanatory ambition, and profound philosophical implications. Here, I assume the theory, briefly explain it, and then I argue that PEM implies that the brain is essentially self‐evidencing. This means it is imperative to identify an evidentiary boundary between the brain and its environment. This boundary defines the mind‐world relation, opens the door to skepticism, and makes the mind transpire as more inferentially secluded and neurocentrically skull‐bound than many would nowadays think. Therefore, PEM somewhat deflates contemporary hypotheses that cognition is extended, embodied and enactive; however, it can nevertheless accommodate the kinds of cases that fuel these hypotheses.     

A developmental perspective on personality in emerging adulthood: childhood antecedents and concurrent adaptation

Personality and competence were examined in a community sample of 205 children ages 8-12 who were followed up 10 years later in emerging adulthood (ages 17-23). Adult Positive Emotionality (PEM), Negative Emotionality (NEM), and Constraint (CON) were presaged by childhood personality. PEM was associated with current success in social and romantic relationships. Low CON was associated with childhood and current antisocial conduct. NEM was broadly linked to childhood and current maladaptation, consistent with the possibility that failure in major developmental tasks increases NEM. Findings highlight the pervasive linkage of NEM to maladaptation and suggest that adult personality may develop from processes embedded in childhood adaptation as well as childhood personality.     

A scale to assess the restrictiveness of educational settings

The placement of students into educational settings is perhaps one of the most debated issues in special education, particularly for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). A primary consideration in this decision is the restrictiveness of the setting, yet no scale to assess restrictiveness of educational settings exists. We undertook two surveys that asked respondents to rate the restrictiveness of 18 educational placements. The first survey was sent to a national panel of experts, the second survey was sent to supervisors of programs for students with EBD. The results of the surveys led to the development of theScale to Assess Restrictiveness of Educational Settings. This scale is designed to provide a measure of restrictiveness of educational settings that can provide data to evaluate student progress and program outcomes.     

Investigating Drinking via the Social Investment Hypothesis: Committed Relationship Status Moderates the Association between Educational Investment and Excessive Alcohol Consumption among College Students

A sample of 18- to 23-year-old college students (N = 183) with a heterogeneous prevalence of alcohol dependence (AD) was used to examine the relationship between normative investment and alcohol consumption. Consistent with the social investment hypothesis, AD students reported lower educational investment and less participation in committed relationships than non-AD students. The sample-wide relationship between educational investment and alcohol use was moderated by relationship status, such that students in relationships who reported high educational investment were likely to drink more than single students who reported high educational investment. This interactive effect held when controlling for sex, IQ, and a measure of self-control. The results suggest normative investment is a candidate risk factor for excessive alcohol consumption for both highly "under-committed" and "over-committed" students.     

The effects of background illumination and stimulant medication on smooth pursuit eye movements of hyperactive children

Problems with visual information processing have been reported in children with the diagnosis of attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADD H), and deficits in oculomotor control have been posited as an important factor in this phenomenon. To assess aspects of oculomotor performance, smooth pursuit eye movements (PEMs) were recorded electrooculographically in 20 ADD H and 20 age-matched control children and computer-analyzed for discrete (velocity arrests) and global (root mean square error) disruptions. The effects of stimulant medication (methylphenidate), together with manipulations designed to influence behavioral (attention) and physiological (cerebellar) processes involved in PEM performance, were examined. The tracking patterns of nonmedicated ADD H children contained significantly more discrete aberrations on baseline conditions. Although no single experimental manipulation significantly improved tracking performance in ADD H children, combining all experimental conditions did normalize PEMs in these subjects. Slight improvements in PEM performance in association with medication correlated positively with does of madication of with medication-related improvments of behavior. In light of these data, arguments are presented in supported of (a) hyporousal as a contributing factor underlying oculomotor difficulties in ADD H children and (b) subcortical involbment in PEM dysfunction.This research was funded in part by grants from The Hospital for Sick Children Foundation and the Ontario Mental Health Foundation (RTP). The authors thank Susan Anthony, Dr. Pamela M. Cooper, Stella Cowley, Dr. Kathy Margittai, and Ralph Nevins for technical assistance, Martin Gillett for computer programming, Dr. Phil Firestone and the staff of the University of Ottawa Child Study Centre, and Dr. B. Lena of the Family and Child Unit, Ottawa General Hospital, for subject referral.     

The evaluation and programming of basic learning abilities

An attempt has been made to examine some of the problems and possibilities inherent in the psychoeducational evaluation and programming of learning disabilities. The quandary presented by the traditional psychometric role of the school psychologist was resolved with the proposal that he move into the field of educational task analysis and programming as a professional educational consultant. A definition of learning disabilities was suggested and the characteristics and needs of children with such dysfunctions were delinated. A system of Basic Learning Abiities and a rationale for its justification was presented. It is hoped that such a proposal may stimulate further discussion and possible change in the challenging field of psychoeducational evaluation and programming.     

Educational Psychology Theory and the Promotion of Dental Care for Children Aged Five to Six

The aim of this article is to illustrate the value of educational psychology theory in developing an age-appropriate programme to prevent tooth decay. A theory-based approach was adopted for the programme development, and a questionnaire was used to ascertain the knowledge gaps in 52 children aged five to six years in two preschools in an urban town. The results showed that most of the children had no awareness and only a moderate knowledge of proper dental care. Piaget's cognitive development theory was applied in the planning and implementation of the activities in the programme. The developed programme was presented to educational psychologists and dentists, and their feedback was used to refine the programme. The importance of educational psychology theory was illustrated in the development of an age-appropriate preventative programme as well as in using an accessible pedagogical approach. The value of multidisciplinary colloboration was also illustrated.     

教育因素对认知功能年老化过程的影响

应用言语－操作和人机对话两种方式共１２项作业,完成年龄和教育因素对认知功能影响的研究,被试共７３４人,４６－７５岁．结果表明：（１）年龄和教育因素对认知成绩的影响因作业而异,分别为年龄影响明显（图象自由回忆和无意义图形再认）、教育因素影响明显（卡片分类、图象分类和矩阵填图）、年龄和教育因素影响均明显（符号数字、词对联想学习、听觉和视觉数字广度）或均不明显（心算）．（２）四项非词语性作业速度明显受年龄和教育因素的双重影响．     

Children's knowledge acquisition through film: influence of programme characteristics

Several characteristics of educational programmes for children are discussed to influence learning of content. In the present study, positive effects of a preview and inserted summaries in educational films for learning are examined. A total of 127 6‐and 8‐year‐old participating children watched one of the four educational film versions: The original film (without preview and summaries), a version with a preview, with inserted summaries or with a verbal ‘preview’. One week later, children's recollection of facts was tested in a memory interview. Results show that previews and summaries in educational films can enhance learning, and that visual scene repetition appears to further boost knowledge acquisition. Formal and content characteristics of educational programmes are discussed in terms of the underlying mechanisms influencing children's cognitive processing and learning. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Developing a Framework for Assessing Responsible Conduct of Research Education Programs

Education in the responsible conduct of research (RCR) in the United States has evolved over the past decade from targeting trainees to including educational efforts aimed at faculty and staff. In addition RCR education has become more focused as federal agencies have moved to recommend specific content and to mandate education in certain areas. RCR education has therefore become a research-compliance issue necessitating the development of policies and the commitment of resources to develop or expand systems for educating faculty and staff and for assuring compliance. These changes implied the need to develop a program evaluation model that could be applied to institutional RCR education programs, which were expected to differ from traditional academic credit-bearing courses targeting trainees. Information gleaned from the examination of corporate compliance models was analyzed in order to create a program evaluation module that could be used to document and assess educational programs focused on teaching RCR. A programmed series of questions for each of the nine RCR content areas identified by the United States Office of Research Integrity was created based on a performance-monitoring evaluation model. The questions focus on educational goals, resources provided to support the educational efforts, educational content, content delivery, educational outcomes, compliance requirements and feedback. Answers collected in response to the questions could be used to both document and continually improve the quality of RCR educational programs through on-going formative assessment and feedback.     

Developmental Psychology Research Based on Educational Practice in China

As a developmental psychologist who has conducted studies in educational practice for about thirty years. A series of developmental psychology studies rooted in Chinese culture were performed, and the findings led us to focus on students’ potential in growth, developmental fullness and educational ecosystem. This article mainly talked about three aspects: the viewpoints about the nature of psychological development formed in the context of school; promoting students’ development by continually constructing cultural ecosystem; the characteristics of researches by taking the perspective of cultural ecology and discoveries about deficiency in basic abilities. All of these were based on educational objectives and conducted in educational practice, so they were integrative and dynamic transformation. In educational intervention, aesthetic potential was also found. The relation between aesthetic potential and full development was put forward.     

Relationship of psychoeducational diagnosis to educational placement

This study was designed to investigate the relationship between diagnostic classifications and educational placement recommendations utilized by educational psychologists in the evaluation of psychoeducational reports completed on a select group of boys referred to a Child Psychiatric Outpatient Department. In the present study, 45 reports were evaluated for clinical consensus in five input areas: Developmental History, School History, Cognitive Functioning, Sensorimotor-Perceptual Functioning, and Academic Achievement. In addition, one of four educational recommendations was identified for each subject: No Educational Placement Intervention Necessary, Special Tutoring or Remediation, Special Class Placement, and Special School Placement. There was interrater agreement at a greater than chance level (p≤.01) for three of the input areas, and agreement at a greater than chance level (p≤.05) for one of the input areas. Using the maximum rating given by the evaluators on each variable, subjects were classified into six discrete clusters based on their clinical characteristics. A chi square test determined that there was no significant association (p >.05) between cluster membership and specific educational placement recommendations. However, more global relationships between degree of clinical impairment and the need for some educational placement were found.     

A method for evaluating the effectiveness of educational software

A method for executing a detailed evaluation of educational software is described. Several issues are discussed, including the use of an experimental setting versus a field study, and the design of assessment instruments suited to evaluation of educational software. The instruments include a test of remedial skills, a 103-item test of conceptual understanding, and a system for recording students’ use of the software. The method was used to evaluate ConStatS, a program for teaching conceptual understanding of probability and statistics. Preliminary results of the evaluation are presented.     

Participatory Cues and Program Familiarity Predict Young Children's Learning From Educational Television

The capacity model is designed to predict young children's learning from educational television. It posits that select program features and individual child characteristics can support this learning either by increasing total working memory allocated to the program or altering the allocation of working memory. In this study, the influence of one such program feature (participatory cues) and one such child characteristic (program familiarity) on educational content comprehension was investigated. A total of 187 American preschool-aged children (M = 4.35 years) were randomly assigned to view one of two versions of Dora the Explorer—one version contained participatory cues (i.e., cues that encourage children to respond to queries during the program) while in the other these cues were omitted. All children completed a program familiarity assessment prior to viewing and completed an educational content assessment post-viewing. There was no significant main effect for participatory cues, although, as expected, program familiarity was positively associated with educational content comprehension. In line with expectations, program familiarity was found to moderate the relationship between participatory cues and educational comprehension—the combination of high program familiarity and the presence of participatory cues led to the greatest educational content comprehension. Implications are discussed.     

Diligence and Academic Performance

The research literature in education is devoting increasing attention to the role of student effort in academic performance. This study posits a construct, diligence, which expresses or reflects an individual's effort toward achieving physical, mental, social, and spiritual ideals. A Diligence Inventory (DI) was developed using factor analysis and construct validation procedures. Although no statistical relation was found between diligence and ability, the two variables combined to predict 37% of the variance in the academic performance of 237 high-school students. Implications for educational practice include a greater need to affirm the efforts of youth in their quest for balanced educational development.