Attributional style predicts causes of negative life events on the Attributional Style Questionnaire

The causes cited by 218 participants for the hypothetical positive and negative life events on the Attributional Style Questionnaire (ASQ) and the dimensional ratings of the causes were examined to determine the match between the dimensional and categorical definitions of attributional style. Optimists (n = 105) and pessimists (n = 113) used different types of causes to explain the negative ASQ events, but not the positive events. However, optimists' and pessimists' causal explanations shared a number of features. The findings suggest that attributional styles depend, in part, on the event being explained and demonstrate that the ASQ events elicit specific types of causes.     

Gesture paves the way for language development

In development, children often use gesture to communicate before they use words. The question is whether these gestures merely precede language development or are fundamentally tied to it. We examined 10 children making the transition from single words to two-word combinations and found that gesture had a tight relation to the children's lexical and syntactic development. First, a great many of the lexical items that each child produced initially in gesture later moved to that child's verbal lexicon. Second, children who were first to produce gesture-plus-word combinations conveying two elements in a proposition (point at bird and say "nap") were also first to produce two-word combinations ("bird nap"). Changes in gesture thus not only predate but also predict changes in language, suggesting that early gesture may be paving the way for future developments in language.     

Strength-Based Assessment of Rural African American Early Adolescents: Characteristics of Students in High and Low Groups on the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale

Early adolescents strengths were examined in relation to factors that are associated with developmental risk or resilience in two rural low-income southern communities. The sample was comprised 279 students (101 boys, 178 girls), all of whom were African American and reflected the public school attendance of this community. Parent reports on the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale (BERS) were used to assess strengths. BERS scores were examined in relation to academic, behavioral, and social characteristics of participants. For girls, total strength scores on the BERS were positively associated with indices of high competence and negatively associated with problematic characteristics. For boys, high and low total strength scores differentiated between youth who did and did not have risks associated with externalizing behavior problems. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for assessment and prevention.     

Co-constructing a cross-cultural course: resisting and replicating colonizing practices

This article examines the cross-cultural complexities of teaching and learning processes at different levels in a family therapy training program delivered in a different country. It presents two interlinked narratives of an advanced family therapy training program delivered in Slovenia by a U.K-based family therapy training institute. The context in which the training was negotiated and planned is discussed, highlighting issues at the macrosystemic level. Dilemmas that arose in relation to differing beliefs about teaching and learning are elaborated. We examine power relationships, ways that we positioned ourselves and each other, and how we tried and sometimes failed to take these into account. We question how the issue of spoken language and its meanings creates its own constraints and power structures, and how we respond to the impossibilities of translation. We argue that it is through the examination of uncomfortable processes that we develop self-reflexivity and work toward more equitable relationships.     

Bicultural identity integration (BII): components and psychosocial antecedents

The present study examines the underresearched topic of bicultural identity; specifically, we: (1) unpack the construct of Bicultural Identity Integration (BII), or the degree to which a bicultural individual perceives his/her two cultural identities as "compatible" versus "oppositional," and (2) identify the personality (Big Five) and acculturation (acculturation stress, acculturation attitudes, bicultural competence) predictors of BII. Differences in BII, acculturation stress, and bicultural competence were measured with new instruments developed for the purposes of the study. Using a sample of Chinese American biculturals, we found that variations in BII do not define a uniform phenomenon, as commonly implied in the literature, but instead encompass two separate independent constructs: perceptions of distance (vs. overlap) and perceptions of conflict (vs. harmony) between one's two cultural identities or orientations. Results also indicated that cultural conflict and cultural distance have distinct personality, acculturation, and sociodemographic antecedents.     

An examination of the antecedents and moderator influences of climate strength

The authors tested 3 hypotheses regarding the antecedents and moderator influences of climate strength (CS; the degree of within-unit agreement of climate perceptions). The sample consisted of 197 work units. Social interaction among unit members showed positive, statistically significant correlations with CS in goals orientation and innovation climate. Work-unit leaders' informing behavior was positively correlated with CS in the 3 climate facets measured (i.e., support, goals orientation, and innovation). CS in innovation moderated the impact of work units' innovation climate on average satisfaction and commitment. CS in goals orientation moderated the influence of work units' goal orientation on average commitment. The moderator influences showed the expected direction: CS fostered the influence of work units' climate on the criterion variables.     

Effects of pretraining intrastriatal administration of p-chloroamphetamine on inhibitory avoidance

Pretraining systemic administration of p-chloroamphetamine (PCA) consistently produces retention deficits of inhibitory avoidance. This drug causes a widespread acute release of serotonin from cerebral neuronal terminals, but it is not known where in the brain PCA exerts its disruptive cognitive effects. The present experiment was aimed at determining whether the striatum is a site of action of this drug. PCA (5 microg) was infused, bilaterally, into the striatum of rats at 30, 15, or 5 min before training of inhibitory avoidance, and retention of the task was measured 24 h later. An inversely related time-dependent deficit was found. Together with the results from appropriate control groups, this result strongly suggest that systemic PCA produces its reported cognitive effects, at least in part, through its pharmacological action within the striatum.     

Difficulties,uncertainty, and opportunity: The experience of the COVID-19 pandemic by early to late adolescence in the Czech Republic

The pandemic created an unfamiliar situation for adolescents, especially within the school context. Drawing on the theory of cognitive appraisal, according to which people evaluate the benefit, harm, and threat of a certain event, this study explored Czech adolescents' experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted six focus groups with early (11–12 years), middle (14–15 years), and late (18–19 years) adolescents. Using thematic analysis, we identified three themes—pandemic as difficulties, uncertainty, and a (un)seized opportunity. While some younger participants initially perceived the pandemic as exciting, others struggled immediately with isolation, online learning, and disrupted daily activities. The feelings of distressing uncertainty, but also the appraisal of the pandemic as an opportunity to utilize free time differently, which in some cases faded over time, prevailed among late adolescents. This study captured the effects of the pandemic and its appraisals on adolescents' subjective well-being and the shift in the thinking of early and late adolescents.     

Norms on the gender perception of role nouns in Czech,English, French,German, Italian,Norwegian, and Slovak

We collected norms on the gender stereotypicality of an extensive list of role nouns in Czech, English, French, German, Italian, Norwegian, and Slovak, to be used as a basis for the selection of stimulus materials in future studies. We present a Web-based tool (available at https://www.unifr.ch/lcg/) that we developed to collect these norms and that we expect to be useful for other researchers, as well. In essence, we provide (a) gender stereotypicality norms across a number of languages and (b) a tool to facilitate cross-language as well as cross-cultural comparisons when researchers are interested in the investigation of the impact of stereotypicality on the processing of role nouns.     

To Know You is (Not) to Want You: Mediators Between Sociosexual Orientation and Romantic Commitment

Past studies have indicated that individuals with an unrestricted sociosexual orientation (SO; ‘unrestricted’ reflects comfort with sex outside the confines of a committed relationship) emphasize attractiveness and desirability when pursuing romantic partners. Additionally, SO is related to decreased commitment, and ultimately increased infidelity, in a current romantic relationship. Thus, the current study investigates potential mediators between sociosexual orientation (SO) and romantic commitment. Perceptions of a romantic partner’s characteristics such as physical attractiveness, various personality traits, and perceived similarities were examined as mediators. The findings indicate perceived social skills, intellect, and perceived similarities with the partner were all significant mediators between SO and commitment. Additionally, physical attractiveness was a marginally significant mediator. The final mediation model suggests that individuals with unrestricted SOs may have lower commit in their current relationships because participants with an unrestricted SO, compared to participants with a restricted SO, rated their partners as having fewer social skills, less intellect, and also fewer similarities between themselves and their partners.