Emotion comprehension between 3 and 11 years: Developmental periods and hierarchical organization

In the last 20 years, it has been established that children's understanding of emotion changes with age. A review of the extensive literature reveals at least nine distinct components of emotion understanding that have been studied (from the simple attribution of emotions on the basis of facial cues to the emotions involved in moral judgments). Despite this large corpus of findings, there has been little research in which children's understanding of all these various components has been simultaneously assessed. The goal of the current research was to examine the development of these nine components and their interrelationship. For this purpose, 100 children of 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11 years were tested on all nine components. The results show that: (1) children display a clear improvement with age on each component; (2) three developmental phases may be identified, each characterized by the emergence of three of the nine components; (3) correlational relations exist among components within a given phase; and (4) hierarchical relations exist among components from successive phases. The results are discussed in terms of their theoretical and practical implications.     

The Multidimensional Media Influence Scale: Confirmatory factor structure and relationship with body dissatisfaction among African American and Anglo American children

The Multidimensional Media Influence Scale (MMIS; Cusumano & Thompson, 2001). Media influence and body image in 8–11-year-old boys and girls: A preliminary report on the multidimensional media influence scale. International Journal of Eating Disorders, 29, 37–44) is a child-appropriate, 3-factor scale designed to assess perceived media influence on body image. It has been used in studies exploring the relationship between the entire scale as well as its subscales (awareness, internalization, and pressure) and variables related to body image. However, the 3-factor structure of the scale has never been confirmed via confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), nor has the scale been evaluated with a racially diverse sample of children. This paper reports the results of CFAs establishing the multidimensionality of the scale and the unidimensionality of its subscales among a sample of 661 girls and boys aged 7–12 years, primarily African American and Anglo American. The pressure factor of the MMIS predicted the idealization of a thinner current (child) and future (adult) body both cross-sectionally and one year later for girls and for Anglo American children.     

Learning styles and academic outcome: The validity and utility of Vermunt's Inventory of Learning Styles in a British higher education setting

Background: Vermunt's (1994) Inventory of Learning Styles (ILS) integrates four components of learning: processing strategies, regulation strategies, mental models of learning and learning orientations. Using explanatory factor analysis, Vermunt (1998) identified four different learning styles, meaning‐directed, reproduction‐directed, application‐directed and undirected, which displayed characteristic patterns of factor loadings across the four components of learning. Aims: The aims of the current study were to test the generalisability of Vermunt's integrated model of learning with a sample of students from a British university and to establish whether different learning styles were associated with different academic outcomes. Sample: A total of 273 students from a British university took part. Methods: Confirmatory factor analysis was used to test Vermunt's four‐factor model of learning styles and compare it with alternative models. Interrelationships between components of the ILS were examined in more detail using regression analyses. The relationship between learning style and academic outcome was also examined. Results: Fit indices indicated that Vermunt's four‐factor model of learning styles provided the best fit for the current sample. Path estimates associated with meaning‐directed and reproduction‐directed learning styles loaded across components as described by Vermunt but application‐directed and undirected learning styles loaded mainly on conceptions and orientations components. Undirected learning style had a low negative association with academic performance, while the meaning‐directed learning style had a low positive association with academic performance. Conclusions: Although the ILS did identify Vermunt's four learning styles, different learning environments influence the precise characteristics of each learning style.     

EFFECTS OF A VIDEOTAPE FEEDBACK PACKAGE ON THE PEER INTERACTIONS OF CHILDREN WITH SERIOUS BEHAVIORAL AND EMOTIONAL CHALLENGES

Peer interactions are among the greatest challenges experienced by children who have severe emotional and behavioral problems. This study evaluated an intervention package designed to increase the ratio of these children's desirable to undesirable interactions. The package included three principal components: (a) observation of videotapes following regularly scheduled peer activity sessions; (b) self-evaluation of the children's peer interactions observed on the videotapes; and (c) delayed feedback and reinforcement for desirable peer interactions. Five students from two elementary schools participated. Multiple baseline designs and one reversal were used to evaluate the effects of the intervention package. The results showed that the intervention produced lower levels of undesirable peer interactions and higher ratios of desirable to undesirable interactions for all participants. The results are discussed in regard to their conceptual and applied implications and in terms of specific directions for future research.     

How Preschoolers' Social–Emotional Learning Predicts Their Early School Success: Developing Theory‐Promoting,Competency‐Based Assessments

Starting on positive trajectories at school entry is important for children's later academic success. Using partial least squares, we sought to specify interrelations among all theory‐based components of social–emotional learning (SEL), and their ability to predict later classroom adjustment and academic readiness in a modelling context. Consequently, self‐regulation, emotion knowledge, social problem solving, and social–emotional behaviour were assessed via direct assessment and observation for 101 preschoolers; teachers provided information on classroom adjustment through kindergarten and academic readiness in kindergarten. Our final outer (measurement) model showed robust latent variables for SEL components. Regarding the inner (structural) model, latent variables showed expected predictive relations among SEL components, and with later classroom adjustment and academic readiness: preschoolers' executive control predicted aspects of their social cognition (i.e., emotion knowledge and social problem solving) and emotionally negative/aggressive behaviour, and emotion knowledge predicted their emotionally regulated/prosocial behaviour. Further, most SEL components directly and/or indirectly predicted teachers' evaluations of later classroom adjustment and kindergarten academic readiness. Our findings extend our understanding of SEL during preschool, suggesting that early assessment and monitoring is possible using these instruments, and potentially aiding the development of programmes to maximize children's SEL in the service of early school success. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Early Years of Robert Shaw's Craniofacial Growth Project

The early years of Robert Shaw's long series of studies of the perception of growth are summarized. This body of work, when compared to an ideal set of ecological studies of event perception, misses some components. However, it is among the most successful bodies of ecological research, one involving an unusually wide variety of disciplines in addition to psychology. The scope and success of the project reflect the breadth and depth of Shaw's intellectual interests.     

The role of developmental features,environmental crises,and personal resources (self-control and social support) in adolescents' aggressive behavior

Aggression among adolescents is a social problem that has sharply escalated in recent years, instigating research into related factors. This article outlines the characteristics of adolescents' aggressive behavior in line with Buss and Perry's (1992) theory linking it to the tendency to develop hostile thoughts and angry emotions. Aggressive behavior may be described as a possible outcome of normal development on the one hand, and as a result of exposure to crisis and trauma on the other. Thus, developmental characteristics highlight the role of age and sex in adolescents' aggressive behavior. In addition, possible external crises and distress (e.g., war, divorce) may contribute to adolescents' aggression. This article also identifies two possible resources that may contribute to a reduction in aggressive behavior under normal and crisis conditions: social support as an environmental resource, and self-control as a personal resource. We conclude with suggestions for reducing aggression through a unified intervention setting that integrates developmental features, environmental and family components, as well as personal components.     

ABCs of the Interview: The Role of Affective,Behavioral, and Cognitive Responses by Applicants in the Employment Interview

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of a job applicant's verbal statements on interviewer ratings of an applicant's interpersonal characteristics. Applicant verbal statements were coded as containing affective, behavioral, and cognitive components. Verbal statements were analyzed using regression analysis and findings indicated that behavioral and cognitive speech components significantly impacted interviewer ratings of an applicant's self-confidence. In turn, interpersonal characteristics of enthusiasm, self-confidence and effectiveness had a significant influence on an interviewer's rating of an applicant's overall quality and the ultimate hiring decision.     

Children's Decisions About Substance Use: An Application and Extension of the Theory of Reasoned Action1

This research examines the applicability of Fishbein and Ajzen's (1975) theory of reasoned action (TRA) to intentions to use cigarettes and alcohol among 5th- and 6th-grade students. It also addresses the question of unidimensionality of outcome beliefs and referent norms. Results suggest that the TRA model describes children's decision making well, although the ability of income and race to add to prediction, net of the effects of attitude and perceived norm, are contrary to the theory's prediction. In addition, we find support for multidimensional components of both attitude and norm for both behaviors.     

Being Chinese or being Scottish: National identification and intergroup attitudes of British born Chinese children

This study explored the age differences in national identification, and intergroup attitudes among British born Chinese (BBC) living in Scotland. Participants comprised 70 children in three age groups (8, 11 and 14 years). The study included three tasks: task 1 investigated children's national self-categorization; task 2 examined children's national self-identification; task 3 explored children's perception of the positive and negative traits of Chinese and Scottish people across the age groups (using card-sorting tasks). The results indicated that BBC children identified their national identity as Scottish, however, it varied with age and national contexts. Most BBC children identified themselves as both Chinese and Scottish but they attributed significantly more positive traits to Chinese than to Scottish people and showed significantly more liking for Chinese people than Scottish. The study concludes that BBC children experience a dual identity in which different components are integrated.     

Children's biobehavioral reactivity to challenge predicts DNA methylation in adolescence and emerging adulthood

A growing body of research has documented associations between adverse childhood environments and DNA methylation, highlighting epigenetic processes as potential mechanisms through which early external contexts influence health across the life course. The present study tested a complementary hypothesis: indicators of children's early internal, biological, and behavioral responses to stressful challenges may also be linked to stable patterns of DNA methylation later in life. Children's autonomic nervous system reactivity, temperament, and mental health symptoms were prospectively assessed from infancy through early childhood, and principal components analysis (PCA) was applied to derive composites of biological and behavioral reactivity. Buccal epithelial cells were collected from participants at 15 and 18 years of age. Findings revealed an association between early life biobehavioral inhibition/disinhibition and DNA methylation across many genes. Notably, reactive, inhibited children were found to have decreased DNA methylation of the DLX5 and IGF2 genes at both time points, as compared to non‐reactive, disinhibited children. Results of the present study are provisional but suggest that the gene's profile of DNA methylation may constitute a biomarker of normative or potentially pathological differences in reactivity. Overall, findings provide a foundation for future research to explore relations among epigenetic processes and differences in both individual‐level biobehavioral risk and qualities of the early, external childhood environment.     

Teachers’ creativity,playfulness, and style of interaction with children

Abstract:

This investigation examined the relationships among a teacher's creative thinking, playfulness, and degree of sensitivity in their interactions with preschool children during play. These variables were operationally defined as scores on measures of ideational fluency, playful disposition, and quality of self‐reported play interaction. The Multidimensional Stimulus Fluency Measure, the Adult Behavior Inventory, and the Play Interaction Scale were administered to 46 students and 37 teachers of three‐ and four‐year old children. The Play Interaction Scale, developed for this study, was based on environmental components identified in earlier research as facilitative of play. Subjects indicated the frequency with which they might respond in a structured, elaborative, or unstructured manner to 20 vignettes describing the play of children. Results indicated that the expected positive relationships among creativity, playfulness, and an elaborative teaching style were found only for the students. The predicted negative relationships between creativity and a structured interaction style were found only for the experienced teachers.     

The Genius Dilemma: Fortune 1000 CEO Personality and Firm Innovation

Innovation is important to organizations’ long‐lasting success, yet many organizations fail to successfully promote innovation. One factor likely to bear an important influence on whether an organization successfully innovates, but that has received relatively little research attention, is the personality of the CEO. The present research examines the link between the personality of the CEO and product and service innovation in the firm using a unique sample of Fortune 1000 CEO's. Results show that conscientiousness in the CEO negatively predicts the level of innovation in the firm. Moreover, this relationship is evident among CEO's who have filled the CEO role for at least 3 years, but not among CEO's who have filled the CEO role for less than 3 years.     

I,me, and mine—how products become consumers' extended selves

• Consumer research literature has recognized the consumers' use of products and brands as props to their self‐identity. While this literature has illuminated that products indeed serve to extend one's sense of self, the concept of ‘self’ itself is under‐identified. In this conceptual essay, we propose a set of components that make up one's sense of self. Then we identify processes through which possessions become associated with one's identity or self‐concept. We suggest the utility of using the proposed framework in practice for consumers' self‐concept profiles, and for linking brands to appropriate components of ‘self.’ Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

     

Expertise in soccer teams: A thematic inquiry into the role of Shared Mental Models within team chemistry

AimsThe purpose of the current study was to establish a conceptual framework of team chemistry components in sport with an emphasis on Shared Mental Models (SMM).MethodElite soccer coaches (n = 6) and players (n = 3) were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. An inductive thematic analysis was employed to analyze the data.ResultsFour themes related to team chemistry components were identified: (1) members' characteristics (i.e., demographic data, on-field characteristics, and member's ego), (2) coach–players interactions (i.e., professional interaction and emotional intelligence of coaches), (3) interactions among the players (i.e., professional understanding, efficacy beliefs, team cohesion, players' emotional intelligence, team roles, and goals), and (4) interactions with environmental factors (i.e., owners, management, fans, and media).ConclusionsThe cognitive components of the team chemistry model were clustered to establish a conceptual framework of SMM. Furthermore, the cognitive-affective-social-behavioral linkage of team chemistry and athletic performance is examined in light of the emerged model and conceptual framework. Implications and future directions are also discussed.     

Family Resilience: Israeli Mothers' Perspectives

This qualitative study reveals the components underlying the concept "family resilience" based on the perception of Israeli women in families who underwent a crisis in the past year. The study is based on the analysis of 15 semi-structured interviews using grounded theory methods. Five main components were identified as family resilience was perceived in terms of (a) interpersonal relations; (b) the ability to share painful feelings, (c) flexibility among family members; (d) connectedness; and (e) family's values. These components have practical implications for professionals working with families that are encountering stressful life situations.     

DIONYSIAN THOUGHT IN SIXTEENTH‐CENTURY SPANISH MYSTICAL THEOLOGY

This essay reviews the nature and scope of Dionysius’ influence on the Hispano‐Christian mystics, especially John of the Cross and Theresa of Ávila. As background, it first surveys the broader reception of Dionysius in sixteenth‐century Spain, especially among the ascetico‐mystical precursors and contemporaries of both Carmelite saints. This will allow us to reconnoiter with some historical precision how and to what extent Dionysian themes were interpreted and woven into signature components of their mystical theology: John's taxonomy of dark nights and Theresa's views on the suspension of the faculties as a preamble to unio mystica.     

Children's Comprehension of Critical and Complimentary Forms of Verbal Irony

The existing research on children's comprehension of verbal irony has focused exclusively on children's understanding of ironic criticisms. Two experiments examined 5- and 6-year-old children's ability to detect the nonliteral nature and intended meaning of both ironic criticism and ironic praise as depicted in short, videotaped stories. Considered together, the results from these experiments permit several conclusions: First, the data confirm earlier research suggesting that children's detection of nonliteral utterances and their interpretation of the speaker's pragmatic intent are separable components of early irony comprehension. Second, children's ability to detect ironic statements is asymmetrical across critical and complimentary forms of irony. Finally, although children more readily detect ironic criticisms, explicit echoic cues play an important role in facilitating uniquely their detection of ironic compliments. We discuss these results in the context of social pragmatic theories of early communicative development (e.g., Bruner, 1983; Tomasello, 1992, 1995) and with reference to a recent allusional-pretense model of irony comprehension proposed for mature speakers (Kumon-Nakamura, Glucksberg, & Brown, 1995).     

The Association Between the Attitude of Food‐Waste‐Aversion and BMI: An Exploration in India and the United States

This research proposes the existence of a hitherto undocumented attitude related to food wastage: the attitude of food‐waste‐aversion. We develop a 6‐item scale including affective, cognitive, and conative components to measure this attitude and empirically investigate its properties in two countries using novel datasets. We test for food‐waste‐aversion scale's convergent validity by demonstrating that it is correlated in the expected direction with five theoretically related constructs—frugality, social responsibility, spendthriftness, self‐control, and materialism (Studies 1a and 1b)—and with BMI (Studies 2 and 3). We provide more indirect evidence of the scale's convergent validity by documenting that the link between food‐waste‐aversion and BMI is attenuated among those who practice refrigerating leftovers (Study 3). We also document that the food‐waste‐aversion scale is distinct from general waste aversion and external meal‐cessation rules, thus providing evidence of discriminant validity (Studies 1a, 1b, and 1c). Taken together, these results provide construct validity for the novel construct of food‐waste‐aversion. We discuss the theoretical and substantive contributions of our findings.     

Validating a New Measure of Self-Complexity

The construct of self-complexity has been recognized as important for understanding psychological adjustment. However, research in this area has been impeded by measurement problems. In particular, the most commonly used measure, Linville's (1985, 1987) H statistic, cannot assess this construct appropriately. In this article, we present a new measure designed to tap two components of self-complexity separately: the number of self-aspects and the average distinction among them. We conducted a validation study with 131 Chinese college students. The results indicate that (a) this new measure is not confounded with conscious social desirability bias, (b) it has incremental validity beyond existing measures, and (c) the two components as assessed by this new measure are relatively independent and have different psychological functions. We discuss the implications of these findings for future studies of self-complexity and clinical practice.