Long‐term partners' relationship satisfaction and their perceptions of each other's attachment insecurities

In this research, we examined actors' and partners' perceptions of each other's attachment insecurities and the associations of these perceptions with relationship satisfaction. A sample of 148 heterosexual couples completed measures of self and partner attachment insecurities and relationship satisfaction. Results indicate that partners agree in their perceptions of their own and each other's attachment insecurities (anxiety and avoidance). Based on the actor–partner interdependence model (APIM), we also found that both actors' scores on avoidance and their perceptions of their partner's degree of avoidanc are associated with lower relationship satisfaction. Finally, we found that the way an actor perceives his or her partner's avoidance plays a mediational role in the association between partner's self‐reported avoidance and actor's relationship satisfaction.     

The development of the first symbolic uses in Mexican children from the pragmatics of object / Desarrollo de los primeros usos simbólicos en niños mexicanos desde la pragmática del objeto

This paper longitudinally studies the emergence and evolution of the first symbolic uses of objects in Mexican children. We observed eight children in triadic interaction with one of their parents and 10 objects in a semi-structured situation at nine, 12, 15 and 18 months old. The children began to use objects symbolically at 12 months, and the duration and frequency increased with age. The highest percentage of the total frequency of symbolic uses, of the four levels identified, was level 1. The frequency of level 4, where two or more symbolic actions occur one after the other, giving rise to ‘symbolic narratives’, increased according to age. These data confirm that knowledge of the rules of canonical uses of objects are the meanings which first symbols base themselves on and that children use the symbolic uses that they are aware of to create ‘symbolic narratives’.     

The relation between emotional intelligence and subjective well-being: A meta-analytic investigation

This meta-analysis includes studies concerning the relationships between emotional intelligence (EI) and subjective well-being (SWB). A total of 25 studies with 77 effect sizes and a combined sample of 8520 participants were found. The results provided evidence of a positive significant relationship between EI and SWB (? = 0.32). This relationship was found to be higher in studies using self-report mixed EI instruments (? = 0.38), than with in studies using self-report ability EI instruments (? = 0.32) and performance-based ability EI instruments (? = 0.22). When examining EI measures, there was a larger association between EI and the cognitive component of SWB (? = 0.35) than with the affective component (? = 0.29). There is a need for further research with other evaluation methods to achieve a better understanding of the relationship between EI and SWB.     

Independent and additive repetition priming of motion direction and color in visual search

Priming of visual search for Gabor patch stimuli, varying in color and local drift direction, was investigated. The task relevance of each feature varied between the different experimental conditions compared. When the target defining dimension was color, a large effect of color repetition was seen as well as a smaller effect of the repetition of motion direction. The opposite priming pattern was seen when motion direction defined the target—the effect of motion direction repetition was this time larger than for color repetition. Finally, when neither was task relevant, and the target defining dimension was the spatial frequency of the Gabor patch, priming was seen for repetition of both color and motion direction, but the effects were smaller than in the previous two conditions. These results show that features do not necessarily have to be task relevant for priming to occur. There is little interaction between priming following repetition of color and motion, these two features show independent and additive priming effects, most likely reflecting that the two features are processed at separate processing sites in the nervous system, consistent with previous findings from neuropsychology & neurophysiology. The implications of the findings for theoretical accounts of priming in visual search are discussed.

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Priming of luminance-defined motion direction in visual search

Features that we have recently attended to strongly influence how we allocate visual attention across a subsequently viewed visual scene. Here, we investigate the characteristics of any such repetition effects during visual search for Gabor patch targets drifting in the odd direction relative to a set of distractors. The results indicate that repetition of motion direction has a strong effect upon subsequent allocation of attention. This was the case for judgments of a target’s presence or absence, of a target’s location, and of the color of a target drifting in the odd direction. Furthermore, distractor repetition on its own can facilitate search performance on subsequent trials, indicating that the benefits of repetition of motion direction are not confined to repetition of target features. We also show that motion direction need not be the target-defining dimension throughout a trial block for motion priming to occur, but that priming can build up with only one presentation of a given target direction, even within blocks of trials where the target may, unpredictably, be defined by a different feature (color, in this case), showing that dimensional-weighting accounts cannot, on their own, account for motion direction priming patterns. Finally, we show by randomizing the set size between trials that priming of motion direction can decrease search rates in visual search.     

The relationship between intercultural abilities and cultural identity styles: A longitudinal cross-lagged analysis

Hybrid and alternating identity styles are dynamic strategies that members of immigrant and ethnic minority groups use to maintain multiple cultural identities. Although research shows that the two strategies predict different outcomes for cultural identity development and psychological well-being, less is known about their antecedents. The present study investigated the temporal relationship between intercultural abilities (i.e. intercultural effectiveness) and the activation of hybrid and alternating identity styles in a community sample of Filipino and Indian New Zealanders. Cross-lagged analysis indicated that intercultural abilities positively predicted the hybrid identity style and negatively predicted the alternating identity style. Cultural identity styles were not predictive of intercultural abilities over time. Multigroup analysis indicated equivalence of regression paths across ethnic groups. Findings suggest that intercultural abilities function as an antecedent of cultural identity styles.     

Diagrammatic carriers and the acceptance of Newton’s optical theory

Synthese - A permissivist framework is developed to include images in the reconstruction of the evidential base and of the theoretical content. The paper uses Newton’s optical theory as a...     

Social perception of the Spanish law for young offenders

The implementation of the law 5/2000 for the regulation of Criminal Responsibility for Minors has led to a change in interventions in cases of juvenile offenders. This law promotes the educational and rehabilitative aims of the measures imposed. However, the focus of the media on the most serious cases has generated considerable alarm in society in general. The aim of this study is to determine the social perception of Law 5/2000. For this purpose, a sample of 936 people from the Autonomous Region of the Canary Islands was surveyed. The main results indicate that there is a significant lack of knowledge about the law and that people tend to think that the measures taken are not as effective as studies carried out in connection with this subject have shown. Nevertheless, the people surveyed are more in favour of educational measures than of measures that penalize. These results are discussed in connection with the importance that community factors have in dealing with juvenile delinquency, and in particular, in the power of social pressure to modify legislation, and of the community to assume responsibility for the reinsertion of juvenile offenders.