Varieties of Religious and Pornographic Experience: Latent Growth in Adolescents’ Religiosity and Pornography Use

The relationship between adolescent religiosity and pornography use has been longitudinally tested only in the United States. Given the social relevance of hypothesized mechanisms underlying the association, this study offers a three-wave longitudinal assessment of parallel latent growth in the two constructs carried out in a Southern European country. Using responses of 1,041 Croatian adolescents from the capital city (M_age = 16.14 years, SD = .45; 64.6% of female students) and latent growth curve modeling approach, we explored links between individual trajectories of change in religiosity and pornography use over a period of 24 months. In the observed period, religiosity decreased and pornography use increased among both male and female adolescents, but their dynamics were independent of each other—pointing to other (unmeasured) processes responsible for both adolescents’ sexualization and secularization. Important to note, the findings also pointed to an important role of age at first exposure to pornography for its frequency of use in middle to late adolescence.     

How contact shapes implicit and explicit preferences: attitudes toward Roma children in inclusive and non‐inclusive environment

In two studies, the authors examined the effects of intergroup contact in inclusive and non‐inclusive environments on children's explicit and implicit prejudices. In both studies, supervised contact with Roma peers, instructed by inclusive program, led to a more positive explicit evaluation of Roma and less social distance, while it had no significant impact on implicit attitudes. In contrast, implicit attitudes were related to mere exposure to Roma (Study 2). Intergroup anxiety and self‐disclosure mediated the effect of inclusiveness level on explicit, but not on implicit attitudes. The results indicate that two types of attitudes might be formed via different routes, and that mere exposure and supervised contact influence them differently. This information could help tailor future prejudice reduction programs.     

Relations between different types of children's aggressive behavior and sociometric status among peers of the same and opposite gender

Croatian elementary school children in grades 4 to 6 (N= 151) reported on direct and indirect aggressive behaviors of their classmates. Acceptance and rejection by classmates were also assessed, employing the sociometric nomination technique. Correlational analyses revealed that both forms of aggression were related to peer rejection, but unrelated to peer acceptance. Girls' aggression was more strongly related to peer rejection than boys' aggression, independent of the type of aggression. Aggressive children of both genders tended to be more rejected by their same-gender classmates than by classmates of the opposite gender. Results were discussed in terms of children's attitudes towards aggression, and gender stereotyped perception of appropriateness of aggressive behavior. A need to examine developmental changes and cultural differences in relationships between aggression and peer status was emphasized.     

Dynamics of perceptual grouping: Similarities in the organization of visual and auditory groups

In vision, the Gestalt principles of perceptual organization are generally well understood and remain a subject of detailed analysis. However, the possibility for a unified theory of grouping across visual and auditory modalities remains largely unexplored. Here we present examples of auditory and visual Gestalt grouping, which share important organizational properties. In particular, similarities are revealed between grouping processes in apparent motion, auditory streaming, and static 2-D displays. Given the substantial difference in the context, within which the phenomena in question occur (auditory vs. visual, static vs. dynamic), these similarities suggest that the dynamics of perceptual organization could be associated with a common (possibly central) mechanism. If the relevance of supramodal invariants of grouping is granted, the question arises as to whether they can be studied empirically. We propose that a “force-field” theory, based on a differential-geometric interpretation of perceptual space, could provide a suitable starting point for a systematic exploration of the subjective properties of certain classes of auditory and visual grouping phenomena.     

Denotation of contextual modal type theory (CMTT): Syntax and meta-programming

The modal logic S4 can be used via a Curry–Howard style correspondence to obtain a λ-calculus. Modal (boxed) types are intuitively interpreted as ‘closed syntax of the calculus’. This λ-calculus is called modal type theory—this is the basic case of a more general contextual modal type theory, or CMTT.CMTT has never been given a denotational semantics in which modal types are given denotation as closed syntax. We show how this can indeed be done, with a twist. We also use the denotation to prove some properties of the system.     

Definition,Foundation and Meaning of Illness: Locating Georg Groddeck in the History of Medicine

The paper reviews and discusses Groddeck's conception of illness. I first argue that Groddeck was a late Romanticist as much as he was a "wild" psychoanalyst. Then I use Groddeck's scattered formulations regarding definition, foundation, and meaning of illness in order to articulate them in the form of more explicit scientific statements. Finally, I suggest that Groddeck's theory of illness is fundamentally different from current medical conceptions, which, nevertheless, does not make our dialogue with him either less useful or indeed less necessary. It is through an investigation of Groddeck's therapeutic attitude and the spirit of his work that psychoanalysis and medicine can build foundations of bold, innovative, and healing future.     

The longitudinal relations between parenting and toddlers' attention problems and aggressive behaviors

The aim of the present study was to examine the normative developmental trajectories of toddlers’ externalizing behaviors and several maternal and paternal parenting dimensions. Latent growth models were used to determine intraindividual changes and interindividual differences in these changes. One hundred and eight boys were followed from 17 months of age to 35 months of age. A significant linear decrease in attention problems and a significant linear increase in aggressive behaviors were found. Additionally, multivariate models were tested that related the developmental trajectories of externalizing behaviors to the trajectories of the parenting dimensions. The results showed meaningful contemporary relations and relations between over-time trajectories of parenting dimensions and children's externalizing behaviors.     

Academic Cheating in Mathematics Classes: A Motivational Perspective

We investigated the frequency of secondary school students’ self-reported cheating in mathematics and relationships between cheating and motivational beliefs, as well as neutralizing attitudes. Two types of cheating were examined: active cheating, which is aimed to increase a person’s own success, and second-party cheating, aimed to help other students achieve success. Students use second-party cheating very often and more than active cheating. Motivational beliefs are significantly related to active cheating but uncorrelated with second-party cheating. Thus, although active and second-party cheating are both classified as dishonest acts, they do not have the same motivational mechanisms in their background.