The role of disbalance between “natural school” and informational overloading in genesis of stress reactions

Data obtained during 15 years supervision over teenagers indicate the influence of the socialeconomic deformations of the former Soviet society. We use the term natural school to denote the whole ontogenesis of human beings including the first 3- to 5-year period of a child's life when children perceive a surrounding microcosm, their bodies and abilities, and acquire a basic fund of native language skills and habits. Natural school balances a person's mental and physical activities and through the trials and mistakes provides every person with a sphere of friends, important for coping with stress by sharing sorrows and joys. The twentieth century brought informational overloading, the triad, consisting of: (1) enormous mass of information; (2) deficit of time for using it; and (3) high motivation of activity. These conditions restrict the physical activity (hypodynamy) and contact with children of the same age (social deprivation). The influence over a person's development takes place mainly in ones youth, when one seeks his/her place in society. Subsequent stress situations cause the following psychopathological reactions: anxiety, anxiety and frustration, vegeto-dystonic reactions and somatic discomfort, panic attacks, neurosis. Later, disorders of autonomic regulations and somatic discomfort leads to psychosomatic diseases. Preventive measures, like skills minimizing hypodynamy and tools to improve soul's confession seem to be a way of minimizing disbalance and decreasing psychosomatic disorders.     

What's in a cue? The role of cue orientation in object displacement tasks

The current study looked at two theoretical proposals explaining toddlers’ abilities to use cue information for recovering a hidden object that had rolled down a ramp behind an occluded screen. These two approaches, the theory of object directed attention and a landmark-based account, make different predictions regarding the efficacy of an obliquely aligned cue to object position. Accordingly, the search by forty 24-month olds, forty-two 30-month olds, and forty-one 36-month olds for a hidden toy that was cued using either a short versus a long cue, or a vertically aligned versus an obliquely aligned cue, were compared. Analyses of search accuracy revealed that children were more successful when faced with short as opposed to long cues, and when using vertical as opposed to oblique cues. These findings support a landmark-based approach, as opposed to an object-directed attention account, and are discussed with reference to their implications for spatial orientation more generally.     

The role of motives in exercise participation†

The aim was to better understand the role of motives in exercise participation. It was hypothesised that motives influence exercise participation by influencing behavioural regulation, and that motives are themselves influenced by personality traits. Data were from a cross-sectional questionnaire survey of 252 office workers, mean age 40 years. Analysis was by structural equation modelling. According to the final model, appearance/weight motive increased external regulation, thereby reducing participation, and also increased introjected regulation. Health/fitness motive increased identified regulation, thereby increasing participation. Social engagement motive increased intrinsic regulation. Neuroticism increased appearance/weight motive, openness increased health/fitness motive, and conscientiousness, without affecting motives, reduced external and introjected regulation. It is inferred that exercise promotion programmes, without denigrating appearance/weight motive, should encourage other motives more conducive to autonomous motivation.     

The role of part—whole information in reasoning about relative size

Models of comparative judgment have assumed that relative magnitude is computed from knowledge about absolute magnitude rather than retrieved directly. In Experiment 1, participants verified the relative size of part-whole pairs (e.g., tree-leaf) and unrelated controls (e.g., tree-penny). The symbolic distance effect was much smaller for part-whole pairs than for unrelated controls. In two subsequent experiments, participants determined either which of two objects was closer in size to a third object or which of two pairs had a greater difference in the size of its constituents. In contrast to the paired comparison task in Experiment 1, judgments of part-whole items were more sensitive to the influence of symbolic distance than were unrelated controls. The fact that the part-whole relation attenuates the effects of symbolic distance in a paired comparison task but not in tasks that require an explicit comparison of size differences suggests that the part-whole relation provides a source of information about relative magnitude that does not depend on knowledge about absolute magnitude.     

Is gerontology a branch of astrology? The role of advanced age in scientific explanation

Although gerontologists have been troubled by meta-scientific problems such as the proper definition of their discipline, the nature of time and age, and the lack of a nonarbitrary distinction between the old and the not old [e.g., Baltes & Goulet (1970) In Life-span developmental psychology (pp. 4–23). New York: Academic Press; Birren (1959) In Handbook of aging and theindividual (pp. 3–42). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press; McKee (1982) Philosophical foundations of gerontology. New York: Human Sciences Press; Reese & Overton (1970) In Life-span developmental psychology (pp. 116–149). New York: Academic Press; Wohlwill (1970) Psychological Review, 77, 49–647], philosophers of science have paid little attention to the meta-scientific problems of gerontology. In this paper some philosophical problems in gerontology are examined through an analysis of the nature of scientific explanation. An argument is presented that claims that gerontology avoids many of the meta-scientific problems associated with time and advanced chronological age because these terms will tend to be obviated or “screened off” in scientific explanations in gerontology.     

The origins of hope in adolescence: A test of a social–cognitive model

We investigated the origins of individual differences in hope in adolescents based on a social–cognitive model. Specifically, we examined a mediating role for self-esteem and optimism in the relation between social support and hope. One thousand six hundred fifty four adolescents (781 boys and 873 girls) from Mainland China completed the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), the revised Life Orientation Test (LOT-R) and the Children's Hope Scale (CHS). Social support was associated positively with self-esteem, optimism and hope, and hope was associated positively with self-esteem and optimism. Structural equation modeling analyses revealed that self-esteem and optimism partially mediated the relation between social support and hope, accounting for 62.7% of the effect of social support on hope. The significance and limitations of the results are discussed.     

Why do leaders engage in destructive behaviours? The role of leaders’ working environment and stress

Complementing previous research on antecedents of destructive leadership, we examined the role of work stressors in the emergence of active and passive destructive leadership behaviours. Building on conservation of resources theory, we examined direct and indirect relations between leaders’ perceptions of workload, role ambiguity and intragroup conflict on ratings of their own destructive leadership, as well as mediating paths through perceived stress. We used a two-wave survey design consisting of a random sample of 1311 managers. Structural equation modelling revealed that work stressors were only related to passive forms of destructive leadership, whereas personality was related to both active and passive forms of destructive leadership. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Is there a role of depressive symptoms in the fear-avoidance model? A structural equation approach

The fear-avoidance (FA) model has gained widespread acceptance as a conceptual framework for investigating psychological factors such as FA beliefs and avoidance behavior, which contribute to chronic back pain and reduced functioning. Depressive symptoms are supposed to be related to FA beliefs and to foster avoidance behavior. This study aims to investigate the multivariate assumptions of the FA model with a focus on the role of depressive symptoms. A total of N = 360 patients with chronic nonspecific low back pain at admission of inpatient orthopedic rehabilitation participated in the survey. Measures included a numeric pain rating scale, Fear-Avoidance Beliefs Questionnaire, Pain Anxiety Symptoms Scale, Hannover Functional Ability Questionnaire and Patient Health Questionnaire. Using structural equation modeling (SEM), we construed a basic FA model and subsequently extended it by adding symptoms of depression as a covariate. The results of SEM indicated a good model fit for a basic FA model (χ²(263) = 431.069, p < .001, RMSEA = .042, CFI = .964, WRMR = .986). They confirmed the hypothesized relations and supported single mediations of the relationship between pain and functioning by FA beliefs and avoidance behavior. A second model including symptoms of depression as additional covariate (χ²(511) = 722.761, p < .001, RMSEA = .034, CFI = .956, WRMR = .949) showed a high impact of depressive symptoms on all FA model variables leading to a decrease of the FA mediations. The findings provide empirical support for the multivariate FA model and underline the importance of considering depressive symptoms in a multiple-target approach to understand the mechanisms of chronic pain.     

The role of muscle tension in “repression”

Using an active partial avoidance conditioning paradigm, muscle tension was conditioned to a verbal conditional stimulus (CS), and recall of words semantically unrelated and related to the CS was tested under conditions of three levels of induced muscle tension with 20 subjects (Ss). Results showed the expected decrease in latency of response with moderate tension for all stimuli during the pretreatment period and for the unrelated words during the posttreatment period and a significant increase in latency of response for the related words during the posttreatment period. It is suggested that if the level of muscle tension associated with the conditional response (CR) is induced in Ss, then recall of CS-related material will be inhibited or “repressed.”     

Health-related behavioural change—a test of a new model

Abstract

Numerous studies have demonstrated that planned health education and health promotion interventions are not particularly successful in bringing about behavioural change. It is suggested that the reasons for this are the fallacious theoretical assumptions underlying many intervention strategies and the failure to place sufficient emphasis on the context in which health-related behaviours occur. Studies of self-initiated behavioural change suggest that the antecedents of change are often events or processes which bring a previously routinised and unremarked behaviour into new focus.

This paper describes a preliminary test of a new model of behavioural change in which a group of lay people were recruited to act as paid interviewers on a food survey in their own area. The survey was particularly concerned with the consumption of high fibre foods. he and post-test measures of the interviewers' own food habits as compared with those of a control group indicated modest support for the proposed model. Implications of this study for health education and promotion are discussed.     

The role of ability in creative ‘incubation’

While many people report interruptions from problem-solving to be beneficial for the creative process (‘incubation’), experimental demonstration of the phenomenon has been difficult. Factors that might lead to incubation effects are discussed and implemented in a study in which 80 university students solved word-association problems under continous work or interrupted conditions. The interruptions involved work on other problems, other problems plus periods of conversation or other problems plus work on an unrelated mental rotation task. The results showed the incubation phenomenon in one condition and, most importantly, the ability level of the Ss for the task involved determined whether incubation would occur. High-ability Ss benefited from the interruptioninvolving the rotations task, while low-ability Ss did not show any incubation effects. Comparisons to previous studies and suggestions for future research are made throughout.     

The reliability of a model influences 14-month-olds’ imitation

Human infants have an enormous amount to learn from others to become full-fledged members of their culture. Thus, it is important that they learn from reliable, rather than unreliable, models. In two experiments, we investigated whether 14-month-olds (a) imitate instrumental actions and (b) adopt the individual preferences of a model differently depending on the model’s previous reliability. Infants were shown a series of videos in which a model acted on familiar objects either competently or incompetently. They then watched as the same model demonstrated a novel action on an object (imitation task) and preferentially chose one of two novel objects (preference task). Infants’ imitation of the novel action was influenced by the model’s previous reliability; they copied the action more often when the model had been reliable. However, their preference for one of the novel objects was not influenced by the model’s previous reliability. We conclude that already by 14 months of age, infants discriminate between reliable and unreliable models when learning novel actions.     

One role or two? The function of psychological separation in role conflict

Student athletes vary in how much they view their academic and athletic role identities as separate from and interfering with each other. The authors investigated the relation of these perceptions to psychological well-being in 200 intercollegiate athletes. Measures included role separation, interference, identity, and well-being. Correlations indicated that interference related negatively to well-being, whereas viewing the roles as distinct related positively to well-being. Regression analyses of demographic and role identity variables also showed a positive association between role separation and well-being, and a significant Separation x Interference interaction. Specifically, role interference was negatively related to well-being for those who viewed the two roles as distinct but unrelated for those who did not. The buffering effects of role separation are discussed.     

Time to get a new mountain? The role of function in children's conceptions of natural kinds

Prior research indicates that young children are promiscuously teleological, attributing purpose not only to artifacts, but also to living and non-living natural entities. This study further examines the role of function in children's reasoning about different object kinds by indirectly probing children's intuitions about what types of entities can be rendered functionless. Specifically, children were asked to decide whether entities that could no longer perform certain activities should be fixed/replaced (e.g. "Do you need to get a new one?"). Results reveal that young children broadly view both artificial and natural kinds that can no longer perform certain activities as needing to be fixed or replaced. These findings suggest that the teleo-functional bias not only influences children's explanatory preferences but also their category judgments.     

The “Working conditions and control questionnaire” (WOCCQ): Towards a structural model of subjective stress

This paper examined the structural model of subjective stress using the job control dimensions of the “Working conditions and control questionnaire” (WOCCQ), a psychosocial risk diagnosis widely used in French-speaking countries. Two research questions were investigated: (1) Do all the control facets influence subjective stress in the same way? and (2) Are certain control scales more important than others in the prediction of stress? The sample used includes 816 workers of a public employment agency. First, not all of the facets of job control influence stress in the same way. The control of resources dimension is important in indirectly influencing the stress process. Planning control is a partial mediator between control of resources and other dimensions of control. The model suggests considering future control as an exogenous variable. Finally, the direct effect of the four job control subscales on stress is identical in terms of R-square. These results are discussed not only with regards to the theoretical perspective of stress at work but also the stress intervention perspective.     

What is in a view? The role of featural information in the recognition of unfamiliar faces across viewpoint transformation

In recognising a face the visual system shows a remarkable ability in overcoming changes in viewpoint. However, the mechanisms involved in solving this complex computational problem, particularly in terms of information processing, have not been clearly defined. Considerable evidence indicates that face recognition involves both featural and configural processing. In this study we examined the contribution of featural information across viewpoint change. Participants were familiarised with unknown faces and were later tested for recognition in complete or part-face format, across changes in view. A striking effect of viewpoint resulting in a reduction in profile recognition compared with the three-quarter and frontal views was found. However, a complete-face over part-face advantage independent of transformation was demonstrated across all views. A hierarchy of feature salience was also demonstrated. Findings are discussed in terms of the problem of object constancy as it applies to faces.     

The role of “chirp” identification in duplex perception

Duplex perception occurs when the phonetically distinguishing transitions of a syllable are presented to one ear and the rest of the syllable (the “base”) is simultaneously presented to the other ear. Subjects report hearing both a nonspeech “chirp” and a speech syllable correctly cued by the transitions. In two experiments, we compared phonetic identification of intact syllables, duplex percepts, isolated transitions, and bases. In both experiments, subjects were able to identify the phonetic information encoded into isolated transitions in the absence of an appropriate syllabic context. Also, there was no significant difference in phonetic identification of isolated transitions and duplex percepts. Finally, in the second experiment, the category boundaries from identification of isolated transitions and duplex percepts were not significantly different from each other. However, both boundaries were statistically different from the category boundary for intact syllables. Taken together, these results suggest that listeners do not need to perceptually integrate F2 transitions or F2 and F3 transition pairs with the base in duplex perception. Rather, it appears that listeners identify the chirps as speech without reference to the base.     

The role of idealizations in the Aharonov–Bohm effect

Synthese - On standard accounts of scientific theorizing, the role of idealizations is to facilitate the analysis of some real world system by employing a simplified representation of the target...