Through the eyes of a child: preschoolers’ identification of emotional expressions from the child affective facial expression (CAFE) set

Researchers have been interested in the perception of human emotional expressions for decades. Importantly, most empirical work in this domain has relied on controlled stimulus sets of adults posing for various emotional expressions. Recently, the Child Affective Facial Expression (CAFE) set was introduced to the scientific community, featuring a large validated set of photographs of preschool aged children posing for seven different emotional expressions. Although the CAFE set was extensively validated using adult participants, the set was designed for use with children. It is therefore necessary to verify that adult validation applies to child performance. In the current study, we examined 3- to 4-year-olds’ identification of a subset of children’s faces in the CAFE set, and compared it to adult ratings cited in previous research. Our results demonstrate an exceptionally strong relationship between adult ratings of the CAFE photos and children’s ratings, suggesting that the adult validation of the set can be applied to preschool-aged participants. The results are discussed in terms of methodological implications for the use of the CAFE set with children, and theoretical implications for using the set to study the development of emotion perception in early childhood.     

Targeting self-regulation and academic functioning among preschoolers with behavior problems: Are there incremental benefits to including cognitive training as part of a classroom curriculum?

The purpose of this study was to examine the additional benefit of an adaptive Cogmed working memory training (CWMT) to a social-emotional/self-regulation classroom curriculum for preschoolers with externalizing behavior problems (EBP). Participants for this study included 49 children (71% boys, M_age = 4.52) with at-risk or clinically elevated levels of EBP. Children participated in an 8-week summer treatment program for Pre-Kindergarteners (STP-PreK), where they were randomly assigned to either adaptive CWMT (n = 24), or nonadaptive CWMT (n = 25). Multiple repeated measures analyses were conducted to examine the impact of adaptive versus nonadaptive CWMT on pre and posttreatment parent-/teacher-reported behavioral functioning, parent-/teacher reported and child task performance of executive functioning, and standardized academic achievement measures. Repeated measures analyses found that children in both groups improved on all measures (d’s = .23-.86). However, there were no significant time X condition effects for parent or teacher-reported behavior, reported or observed executive functioning, or standardized academic measures. These findings suggest that CWMT does not appear to provide any incremental benefits to children’s executive functioning, behavior, or academics when implemented within a comprehensive behavioral modification intervention.     

‘Theory of mind’ development of Pakistani children: Do preschoolers acquire an understanding of desire,pretence and belief in a universal sequence?

Research on “theory of mind” (TOM) suggests that a grasp of the mind develops universally and sequentially, but both these claims require testing in different cultural groups. Study 1, involving 72 preschoolers, showed the expected developmental transition on false belief tasks; 3 year olds were below statistical chance, while 4 year olds were at chance, representing a lag behind Western children. The same pattern of at chance (pretence, desire and belief) and below chance performance (false belief) was replicated in study 2 with 77 preschoolers (3–5 years) and corroborated the lag identified for some Asian countries. This deficient and varied timing of TOM performance is consistent with theories (social constructivist) supporting the role of social factors in TOM development. Moreover, significant inter-task correlations corroborate the need to broaden the research focus beyond false belief tasks.     

Parents’ influence on the development of their children’s ethnic intergroup attitudes: a longitudinal analysis from middle childhood to early adolescence

This study investigated to what extent parents’ intergroup attitudes influence the development of their children’s ethnic intergroup attitudes (i.e., ingroup bias), and which socialization factors moderate this influence. We report on a four-year longitudinal study of 213 children (M_age = 7.94) and their parents conducted in Eastern Germany. Findings showed significant interindividual differences in children’s developmental trajectories, which could, in part, be explained by child gender, socio-economic status and parental attitudes. The influence of parents’ intergroup attitudes was moderated by parenting style and parental similarity in attitudes both of which, our findings suggest, can make the transmission of parental attitudes more likely.     

Harnessing the power of ‘us’: A randomized wait-list controlled trial of the 5R shared leadership development program (5RS) in basketball teams

High-quality leadership has been established as a key factor driving a team's competitive advantage. Besides the role of the coach, recent research has emphasized the importance of leadership provided by athletes within a team (i.e., athlete leaders). To unlock the potential benefits of athlete leadership, the development of leaders is therefore essential. The 5R Shared Leadership Program (5R^S) aims to identify promising leaders within a team, on different athlete leadership roles, both on and off the field. After the appointment of the leaders, their identity leadership skills to build and strengthen a sense of ‘we’ and ‘us’ are further developed. The design of the present research consisted of a randomized wait-list controlled trial to test the effectiveness of a train-the-trainer approach to develop shared leadership within teams (i.e., 5R^S). We tracked 16 competitive basketball teams throughout a competitive season. While eight teams (four female and four male teams) received 5R^S during the first half of the season (i.e., experimental condition), the other eight teams received 5R^S during the second half of the season (i.e., wait-list control condition). Our findings highlight 5R^S's capacity to develop athlete leaders' ability to create a shared sense of ‘us’, build a stronger team identification, enhance the available social support in the team, help players to remain motivated and confident in their team's abilities, and nurture players' health. Moreover, 5R^S appeared to achieve this impact by using a train-the-trainer approach, regardless of whether the intervention was delivered during the first or second half of the season, and with generally consistent findings amongst male and female teams. The present study both advances the current field on in-group leadership development, and provides practitioners with guidance on how and when to apply 5R^S with the aim of improving team functioning and athletes' health.     

Understanding bike-sharing acceptability and expected usage patterns in the context of a small city novel to the concept: A story of ‘Greek Drama’

Developing initiatives that allow societies to embrace more sustainable travel behaviour patterns is a prerequisite for creating more livable urban futures. Bike-sharing, a measure designed to inspire modal shift from short car-trips, despite its recent exponential growth, is still understudied. This paper discusses a quantitative survey of 640 responses examining road users' attitudes towards bike-sharing and its possible introduction to Drama, a small Greek city resembling many others in terms of size, transport culture and socio-economic characteristics, which has never been exposed to a similar intervention. Most of the respondents recognised that bike-sharing is a mode with pro-environmental, cost-effective and health-improving qualities and the potential to promote a greener identity for the city. Evidence is provided that people would support a bike-sharing investment even in cases where the frequency of their current bicycle use and the regularity with which they intend to use an eventual scheme is low. Age, gender, the primary factor for modal choice, its perceived effectiveness in reducing traffic congestion and their usage expectations were all factors influencing the respondents’ acceptability of such an introduction. The lack of cycling infrastructure and road safety concerns were identified as possible usage barriers but the pro-social potential of bike-sharing combined with policy efforts to create a more pro-cycling culture could outweigh them. The present analysis suggests that bike-sharing can go beyond, what is typically regarded as its primary function, that of a last-mile solution for metropolitan areas, and be a publicly acceptable investment for smaller cities.     

Usability evaluation with screen reader users: a video presentation of the PCTA’s experimental setting and rules

In the study entitled “Web usability evaluation with screen reader users: Implementation of the Partial Concurrent Thinking Aloud technique” (Federici et al. 2010), we have proposed a modified protocol of usability evaluation technique for blind users, which integrates the features of the concurrent and the retrospective techniques. This new technique, called partial concurrent thinking aloud (PCTA), while respecting the properties of classic verbal protocols, overcomes the structural interference and the limits of concurrent and retrospective protocols when used with screen reader users. In order to facilitate understanding and acquisition of the PCTA’s technique for practitioners and researchers, we have video recorded three different verbal protocols by visualizing five experimental sections. In the first two videos, we have compared a concurrent with a retrospective’s verbal protocol of a sighted user, showing the difference of the verbalizations provided by the user in these two conditions. The third video shows the structural interference of the screen reader, during a blind user concurrent thinking aloud. In the last two videos, we show the difference of a blind user behaviour when PCTA or retrospective protocol is adopted. The videos clearly visualize the advantage of the PCTA use in respect of the two other protocols. In conclusion, the visualization of the PCTA technique confirms that this new verbal protocol promotes and guarantees a more user-driven usability assessment with disabled people, by better involving screen reader users, overcoming the structural interference and the limits of the concurrent and retrospective protocols.     

Piloting ‘Clever Kids’: A randomized-controlled trial assessing feasibility,efficacy, and acceptability of a socioemotional well-being programme for children with dyslexia

Children with dyslexia are at elevated risk of internalizing (emotional) and externalizing (behavioural) problems. Clever Kids is a nine-week socioemotional well-being programme developed specifically for upper primary school children with dyslexia. In a small randomized-controlled trial, we tested the feasibility, efficacy, and acceptability of the Clever Kids programme. ‘Forty children (M_age = 10.45 years, 65% male) with clinically diagnosed dyslexia too part in the study. Children were randomized to either attend Clever Kids (n = 20) or to a wait-list control condition (n = 20). Coping skills, self-esteem, resilience, emotion regulation, and internalizing and externalizing symptoms were measured at pre-programme, post-programme, and at three-month follow-up. Recruitment and retention rates indicate high feasibility for further evaluation of the programme. There was a significant interaction between intervention condition and time for non-productive coping [F(2, 76) = 4.29, p = 0.017, f² = 0.11]. Children who attended Clever Kids significantly reduced their use of non-productive coping strategies, and this was maintained at three-month follow-up assessment. For all other outcomes, the interactions between intervention condition and time were non-significant. The programme appears acceptable to children with dyslexia and their families, but may be improved by further reducing the number of activities involving reading and writing. Clever Kids improved the coping skills of children with dyslexia; however, a larger trial is needed to replicate this finding and investigate whether programme attendance is associated with additional improvements in children’s socioemotional well-being.     

‘Get me out of this dream!’: making a therapeutic alliance and working in the transference with a psychotic adolescent boy

This paper discusses the challenges of struggling to build and maintain a therapeutic alliance with a psychotic adolescent boy who did not share an allied perception of reality with his therapist, and who insisted that his therapist did not exist. The paper poses the question of whether, under such circumstances, it is ever appropriate or tolerable to make transference interpretations. Drawing on detailed clinical material, the author attempts to make sense of how it was possible to make some contact with his patient, given these technical difficulties.     

Feasibility of a Community Intervention for the Prevention of Suicide and Alcohol Abuse with Yup’ik Alaska Native Youth: The Elluam Tungiinun and Yupiucimta Asvairtuumallerkaa Studies

The Elluam Tungiinun and Yupiucimta Asvairtuumallerkaa studies evaluated the feasibility of a community intervention to prevent suicide and alcohol abuse among rural Yup’ik Alaska Native youth in two remote communities. The intervention originated in an Indigenous model of protection, and its development used a community based participatory research process. Feasibility assessment aimed to assess the extent to which (1) the intervention could be implemented in rural Alaska Native communities, and (2) the intervention was capable of producing measurable effects. Scales maximally sensitive to change were derived from earlier measurement work, and the study contrasted implementation process and outcomes across the two communities. In one community, medium dose response effects (d = .30–.50), with dose defined as number of intervention activities attended, were observed in the growth of intermediate protective factors and ultimate variables. In the other community, medium dose effects were observed for one intermediate protective factor variable, and small dose effects were observed in ultimate variables. Differences across communities in resources supporting intervention explain these contrasting outcomes. Results suggest implementation in these rural Alaska settings is feasible when sufficient resources are available to sustain high levels of local commitment. In such cases, measureable effects are sufficient to warrant a prevention trial.     

The ‘Matchbox School’ (1927–1932): Anna Freud and the idea of a ‘psychoanalytically informed education’∗

Of all the applications of psychoanalysis to various fields, perhaps none has been as important – or as fraught – as the application of psychoanalytic insights to education. This paper re-constructs some of the early debates around psychoanalysis and pedagogy that Anna Freud engaged with during the 1920s in Vienna, when the whole question of what education should be became a central issue for politicians, pedagogues and psychoanalysts alike. The paper focuses on the period leading up to the creation of the so-called ‘Matchbox School’, operating under Anna Freud's guidance between 1927 and 1932, and describes the influence of pioneers such as Seigfried Bernfeld and August Aichhorn. Compared to her more well-known work at the Hampstead War Nurseries during the Second World War, Anna Freud's involvement with this earlier educational experiment is relatively neglected. Yet one can argue that this short-lived project not only laid the foundation for much of Anna Freud's later work; it also had some far-reaching consequences, both for psychoanalysis and for the practice of progressive education.     

Experiencing Adverse Social Relationships: the Development and Validation of a Self-Report Scale that Measures Individuals’ Histories of Social Punishment (HoSP)

Although the relationship between childhood trauma and psychological maladjustment is well established, the link between punishing social interactions and psychopathology has yet to be explored. This may be due, in part, to the lack of appropriate measurement tools. This investigation aimed to develop and validate an instrument to measure histories of social punishment defined as adverse, day-to-day interactions with significant others. Study 1 examined the factor structure and test-retest reliability of the scale. Study 2 confirmed the factor structure solution and tested its convergent and discriminant validity. Study 3 explored the relationship between social punishment and obsessive-compulsive disorder and depression, as well as the role of gender. Overall, the scale had very good to excellent psychometric properties. Significant correlations were found between ratings of social punishment and certain pathological behaviors. Further, our findings demonstrated that males tended to report more adverse social experiences than females and as a consequence more symptoms of psychopathology. These findings extend and support the link between adverse experiences and the development of various psychopathological conditions.     

(Neuro)Psychological Interventions for Non-Motor Symptoms in the Treatment of Patients with Parkinson’s Disease: a Systematic Umbrella Review

Neuropsychology Review - Conducted in a multidisciplinary and multimodal setting, the main objectives of neuropsychological treatment are to improve cognition, alleviate affective disorders, and to...     

A Problem with Societal Desirability as a Component of Responsible Research and Innovation: the “If we don’t somebody else will” Argument

The implementation of Responsible Research and Innovation (RRI) is not without its challenges, and one of these is raised when societal desirability is included amongst the RRI principles. We will argue that societal desirability is problematic even though it appears to fit well with the overall ideal. This discord occurs partly because the idea of societal desirability is inherently ambiguous, but more importantly because its scope is unclear. This paper asks: is societal desirability in the spirit of RRI? On von Schomberg’s account, it seems clear that it is, but societal desirability can easily clash with what is ethically permissible; for example, when what is desirable in a particular society is bad for the global community. If that society chose not to do what was desirable for it, the world would be better off than if they did it. Yet our concern here is with a more complex situation, where there is a clash with ethical acceptability, but where the world would not be better off if the society chose not do what was societally desirable for itself. This is the situation where it is argued that someone else will do it if we do not. The first section of the paper gives an outline of what we take technology to be, and the second is a discussion of which criteria should be the basis for choosing research and innovation projects. This will draw on the account of technology outlined in the first section. This will be followed by an examination of a common argument, “If we don’t do it, others will”. This argument is important because it appears to justify acting in morally dubious ways. Finally, it will be argued that societal desirability gives support to the “If we don’t…” argument and that this raises some difficulties for RRI.     

The Prophet’s Letter to al-ʿAlāʾ b. Al-Ḥaḍramī: An Assessment of Its Authenticity in Light of the Covenants and the Correspondence with the People of Yemen

The letter to al-?Alā? b. al-?a?ramī embodies a number of parallels to the covenants and to the Prophet Mu?ammad's correspondence with the people of Yemen. This study examines the different versions of the letter that have come down to us from the Musnad of al-?ārith b. Abī Usāma and from a recension from al-?abarānī's Al-mu?jam al-kabīr to reconstruct a critical edition. Having translated the critical edition and analysed its contents, the study then concludes that the letter is in all likelihood authentic and that it is, generally speaking, textually accurate. The implication of this is that the letter and the covenants represent mutual attestations of one another and that the religion of Islam was well-established, having attained a great level of maturity in the Prophet's lifetime.