Children’s scientific curiosity: In search of an operational definition of an elusive concept

Although curiosity is an undeniably important aspect of children’s cognitive development, a universally accepted operational definition of children’s curiosity does not exist. Almost all of the research on measuring curiosity has focused on adults, and has used predominately questionnaire-type measures that are not appropriate for young children. In this review we (a) synthesize the range of definitions and measures of children’s curiosity and (b) propose a new operational definition and measurement procedure for assessing and advancing scientific curiosity in young children. In the first part of the paper, we summarize Loewenstein’s (1994) review of theoretical perspectives on adult curiosity, and critically evaluate a wide range of efforts to create and implement operational measures of curiosity, focusing mainly on behavioral measures of curiosity in children. In the second part, we return to Loewenstein’s theory and present an argument for adopting his “information-gap” theory of curiosity as a framework for reviewing various procedures that have been suggested for measuring children’s exploratory curiosity. Finally, we describe a new paradigm for measuring exploratory curiosity in preschool children, defining curiosity as the threshold of desired uncertainty in the environment that leads to exploratory behavior. We present data demonstrating the reliability and validity of this measure, discuss initial results on developmental differences in young children’s curiosity, and conclude with a general summary and suggestions for future research.     

Using inattentional blindness as an operational definition of unattended: The case of surface completion

Studying inattentional processing is made difficult by the fact that measuring it often results in observers attending to the stimuli in question. Here it is suggested that inattentional blindness—the lack of awareness of stimuli that appear in unattended regions of the visual field—be used as an operational definition of unattended. Separate online measures, taken while the stimuli are still present, can then be used to probe specific aspects of processing. Applying this method to the perceptual completion of partial surfaces, an online measure of modal and amodal completion was developed, and then used within an experiment in which inattentional blindness to the surfaces was assessed. The results indicated that surface completion can be engaged by unattended stimuli. More generally, the study illustrates the usefulness of this approach for probing what processing does and does not occur for stimuli that appear in unattended regions of the visual field.     

The family on television: Evaluation of gender roles in situation comedy

This study investigated whether television domestic comedies’ depictions of gender roles within the family have changed in the past 40 years. Ten domestic comedies were selected based on their popularity and the inclusion of siblings. These series were divided into two groups—pre and post 1984, given the time span covered by the series and the series’ setting. College students screened three representative episodes and made subsequent judgments on the portrayals of similarity, equality, and dominance, family satisfaction and family stability in the spousal, sibling, and familial relationships. Results indicated the depictions of gender roles fluctuated throughout the period, with peaks in satisfaction and stability ratings in the 1950s and mid-1980s. More recent domestic comedies contained less positive depictions, specifically displaying more dominance and less satisfaction and stability. Subjects reported families that were more distressed were less desirable and less like their own.     

Impact of depression on response to comedy: a dynamic facial coding analysis

Individuals suffering from depression show diminished facial responses to positive stimuli. Recent cognitive research suggests that depressed individuals may appraise emotional stimuli differently than do nondepressed persons. Prior studies do not indicate whether depressed individuals respond differently when they encounter positive stimuli that are difficult to avoid. The authors investigated dynamic responses of individuals varying in both history of major depressive disorder (MDD) and current depressive symptomatology (N = 116) to robust positive stimuli. The Facial Action Coding System (Ekman & Friesen, 1978) was used to measure affect-related responses to a comedy clip. Participants reporting current depressive symptomatology were more likely to evince affect-related shifts in expression following the clip than were those without current symptomatology. This effect of current symptomatology emerged even when the contrast focused only on individuals with a history of MDD. Specifically, persons with current depressive symptomatology were more likely than those without current symptomatology to control their initial smiles with negative affect-related expressions. These findings suggest that integration of emotion science and social cognition may yield important advances for understanding depression.     

Interrupting speculation: The thinking of Heidegger and Greek tragedy

Despite his extended readings of parts of the Antigone of Sophocles, Heidegger nowhere explicitly sets about giving us a theory of tragedy or a detailed analysis of the essence of tragedy. The following paper seeks to piece together Heidegger's understanding of tragedy and tragic experience by looking to themes in his thinking – particularly his analyses of early Greek thinking – and connecting them both to his scattered references to tragedy and actual examples from Greek tragedy. What we find is that, for Heidegger, tragedy is an interruption of speculation, a refusal to philosophize, a way of showing how things are that resonates with the goal of Heidegger's own thinking.     

The 1996 Mount Everest tragedy: contemplation on group process and group dynamics

In May 1996, one of the most tragic Mt. Everest climbing seasons was about to unfold, and five climbers would perish in the "Death Zone" miles above the earth's surface. This article considers the events from a group dynamic and group process perspective in an attempt to understand what might have been happening to the group members. We summarize the events through the writings of two chroniclers. We then discuss creating the group, leadership, diversity and subgrouping, scapegoating, and multiple interpretations through an interpersonalist/psychodynamic framework.     

Shakespeare's Sonnets: A Case of and for Single–Case Historiometry

ABSTRACT The two oldest forms of psychohistory, as generically defined, are psychobiography (Idiographic, qualitative, and single-case) and historiometry (nomothetic, quantitative, and multiple-case) In practice this distinction gets blurred, both because psychobiography is often nomothetic (e g, psychoanalytic) and because historiometry may work with N = 1 After outlining the assets of single-case historiometry, a specific case is given in an analysis of the 154 sonnets of William Shakespeare These sonnets were first reliably differentiated on aesthetic success according to an archival popularity measure, and then this relative ment was predicted using content analytical measures suggested by research on artistic creativity The superior sonnets (a) treat specific themes, (b) display considerable thematic richness in the number of issues discussed, (c) exhibit greater linguistic complexity as gauged by such objective measures as the type-token ratio and adjective-verb quotient, and (d) feature more primary process imagery (using Martindale's Regressive Imagery Dictionary) After discussing how these results can enlarge our general understanding of artistic creativity as well as our specific appreciation of Shakespeare's creativity, the potential application of single-case historiometry to intrinsically psychobiographical problems is examined     

The effects of facial control and facial mimicry on subjective reactions to comedy routines

The impact of facial control on subjective reactions to dubbed (created with inserts of smiling people) and undubbed comedy routines was examined. The presence of dubs increased EMG activity over thezygomaticus major andorbicularis oculi muscle regions for spontaneous-condition subjects, but not for inhibit-condition subjects. Analyses also showed that spontaneous-condition subjects exhibited increased smiling at dub points, a finding that is consistent with the notion that subjects mimicked the inserted facial displays. Self-report findings revealed that spontaneous-condition subjects reported significantly greater amusement to the dubbed compared with the undubbed routines, whereas inhibit-condition subjects' self-reports of amusement did not differentiate dub conditions. Furthermore, spontaneous-condition subjects reported significantly more amusement to the dubbed routines than did inhibit-condition subjects. Despite strong facial control effects on facial EMG activity, no main effect of facial condition on self-reported amusement was found, and therefore, the data provide no support for a general version of facial feedback theory. The data are consistent with the view that mimetic responses enhanced subjective reactions, and they are compatible with the Leventhal and Tomkins versions of facial feedback theory.The research was supported by NSF Grant No. BNS-8507600 and the Lincoln Filene Endowment to Dartmouth College. The authors wish to acknowledge helpful comments provided by Ursula Hess, Timothy L. Hubbard, Arvid Kappas, and two anonymous reviewers.     

Test of the definition of learning disability based on the difference between IQ and achievement

A learning disability is commonly defined as a discrepancy between IQ and achievement. This has been criticized for identifying too many children as having a learning disability who have high IQs and average academic achievement. Such overidentification as actually occurred was assessed in 473 referred children (8-16 years, M= 10, SD=2) with normal intelligence. Learning disability was defined as a significant discrepancy (p<.05) between predicted and obtained achievement in reading, mathematics, or written expression on the Wechsler Individual Achievement Test. Predicted achievement was based on the child's WISC-III Full Scale IQ. Overidentification was considered to occur when a child scored at or above age level in reading, mathematics, and writing but still had a significant discrepancy between predicted and obtained achievement by virtue of a high IQ. Learning disability was diagnosed in 312 (66%) of the children. There was no overidentification because all children had one or more WIAT scores below the normative level for their age, i.e., < 100. Further, only 7% of the children were identified with a learning disability based on a WIAT score in the 90s. These children had a mean IQ of 123 and were rated by their teachers and parents as having learning problems.     

Nine variations and a coda on the theme of an evolutionary definition of dysfunction.

Nine variations on the theme of J. C. Wakefield's (1999) evolutionary definition of dysfunction show that the concept is not, as he claims, purely causal. It depends also on a teleological element of meaning introduced, in Wakefield's formulation, through an equivocation on the sense in which natural selection explains biological forms. The corollary (presented here briefly as a coda to the theme and variations) is that Wakefield's definition is not, as he also claims, value free. However, contra S. O. Lilienfeld and L. Marino (1995), this does not place diagnostic judgments of dysfunction outside the scope of science.     

Substantive and operational issues of response bias across levels of analysis: an example of climate-satisfaction relationships

Two studies tested whether method variance is present at multiple levels of analysis and whether methodological procedures can minimize its impact. In Study 1, 8,052 employees from 71 hotels completed measures of climate, work environment characteristics, and satisfaction. A comparison of correlations at the individual level, cross-level, cross-level split, aggregate level, and aggregate-split level of analysis revealed that response bias was present across multiple levels. Results suggest that samples should be split in half when cross-level and aggregate correlations are computed to ameliorate response bias problems that arise from individual-level method variance. In Study 2, results indicated that the temporal spacing of measures of climate and satisfaction influenced response bias. Implications and recommendations for future research are discussed.     

American Muslims stand up and speak out: trajectories of humor in Muslim American stand-up comedy

Muslim American stand-up comedy is a unique response to post-9/11 negative social discrimination where socially critical comedians debate the stereotypes and realities of Muslim American life. Thus they continue an American minority tradition of engaging with American social life through public humor. The analysis draws from functionalist theories of the sociology of humor in order to discern the intended social messages of jokes that are meant to entertain and also educate. It shows how Muslim American comedy intends to influence opinions held not only about Muslims but also amongst Muslims. The paper suggests how competing forces related to being Muslim and American undercut the critical public humor of comedians who use these performances to argue what American Muslims should be saying and doing in order to advance their cause for social justice.     

Surviving the bombing of pan am flight 103: The loss of innocence and a dear friend in an international tragedy

Abstract

On December 21, 1988, a terrorist bomb blew Pan Am Flight 103 out of the sky over Lockerbie, Scotland, 54 minutes after it took off from London's Heathrow Airport. The explosion sent 259 passengers and crew members tumbling 6 miles to their deaths, killed 11 people on the ground, and created waves of shock and grief that continue to reverberate across the globe. My friend Miriam Wolfe, one of 35 students returning from a semester in London under the auspices of Syracuse University, was on that flight. Her death was the final, jarring event in a traumatic year that had brought me the accidental deaths of four other friends in an Easter plane crash and the breast cancer that would force my mother to endure a mastecotomy and painful years of chemotherapy and drug treatments. While it is tempting to canonize the victims of violent disaster, Miriam was different–and inarguably deserving of such hagiography. A tribute written for one of three memorial scholarships established in her honor calls her a rare and gifted young woman who lived life to the fullest; actively worked to change the world for the better; and gave a great deal of love, joy and wisdom to all who knew her!' Her death yanked me from the comfortable naivete of my youth and forced me to confront the pain and confusion of the adult world. It destroyed my faith in the inherent good of mankind but showed me how disaster can bring out the best in people. It gave me a nihilistic view of life but forced me to make the most of every moment I have. It made me appreciate the people around me but gave me little tolerance for anyone who wastes my time. And it instilled in me a knee-jerk animus toward religion and nearly all things Middle Eastern. Ultimately, though, Miriam's life and death taught me how to live and love and survive in ways I never thought necessary—or possible.