Body weight increase in expectant males and helpers of cotton-top tamarin (Saguinus oedipus): a symptom of the Couvade syndrome?

In the cooperative breeding system of cotton-top tamarin (TCB; Saguinus oedipus) males gain weight during the last months of pregnancy of their partners as a way to cope with energy costs of reproduction. This phenomenon was described only in humans as a symptom of . As after infants' birth, TCB male and female helpers lose weight, the same as fathers do, it might be expected that previously, they also gain weight. In 8 groups of TCB, we explored body weight changes of the three categories of individuals, in periods of six months, under three different reproductive conditions: control (no pregnancy and without offspring), pregnancy (pregnancy and without offspring), and raising (with offspring). We found that across pregnancy, TCBs increase their weight in the last trimester of that period while across breeding TCBs reduce their weight in the first trimester. Expectant males and also helpers could be preparing during pregnancy in relation to the weight losses they experience when raising their young.     

The effect of workplace byllying on insomnia: the role of psychological detachment and rumination

A recent number of studies have focused on the relations between psychosocial factors and sleep disturbances. Like other work-related stressors, workplace byllying is associated with several negative consequences. However, few studies have investigated the influence of workplace byllying on disturbed sleep. Insomnia is the most frequent sleep complaint. Several models have highlighted the importance of cognitive factors in the development and maintenance of insomnia. Cognitive styles such as psychological detachment and rumination may be relevant in this process. The aim of the present study is to examine the moderating role of psychological detachment and rumination on the relationship between workplace byllying and insomnia. To minimize the effect of common method variance, we tested our hypothesis using a research design in which we collected data at two points in time separated by 1 month. A total of 523 individuals responded to both phases, with 511 useable surveys. The results of the hierarchical multiple regression analysis provide evidence for the moderating role of psychological detachment and rumination in the workplace byllying process. Thus, these findings are in line with the cognitive models of insomnia.     

Now or Later? Attentional Processing and Intertemporal Choice

The tendency to discount future prospects in lieu of smaller immediate outcomes is known as temporal discounting. The current work used eye‐tracking methodology to examine attentional processing to different elements of choice during an intertemporal decision task. Our findings reveal that those who tend to prefer the immediate option demonstrate attentional biases that were predictive of choice. When losses were at stake, selective attention biases also predicted unique variance in self‐report measures of risk taking, impulsivity, and self‐control beyond what was accounted for by a discounting parameter (k), a typical method for summarizing intertemporal choice data. Overall, our findings suggest that eye‐tracking measures of selective attention may allow for a better theoretical understanding of the mechanisms and processes involved in intertemporal choice. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Treating boys with low school achievement and behavior problems: comparison of two kinds of intervention

Children with low school achievement frequently have behavior problems and interpersonal difficulties that pose a risk for psychosocial maladjustment. 39 boys were assessed and randomly assigned to one of two group treatment conditions: (a) interpersonal cognitive problem-solving for whom training was provided through oral and written language activities that met children's social and academic needs and (b) a language workshop, during which only academic difficulties were treated. Parents of children in both groups received group attention. Posttreatment assessments indicated that boys in both conditions showed significant improvements on school achievement and behavior problems, as they were measured by behavior scales reported by mothers and by an academic achievement test. Children in the problem-solving group improved significantly more than the other group on most measures. These results suggest that work with interpersonal cognitive problem-solving skills combined with reading and writing activities is a useful means to produce improvements in child behavior and school achievement.     

Does power magnify the expression of dispositions?

Conventional wisdom holds that power holders act more in line with their dispositions than do people who lack power. Drawing on principles of construct accessibility, we propose that this is the case only when no alternative constructs are activated. In three experiments, we assessed participants' chronic dispositions and subsequently manipulated participants' degree of power. Participants then either were or were not primed with alternative (i.e., inaccessible or counterdispositional) constructs. When no alternatives were activated, the responses of power holders--perceptions of other people (Experiment 1), preferences for charitable donations (Experiment 2), and strategies in an economic game (Experiment 3)--were more in line with their chronically accessible constructs than were the responses of low-power participants. However, when alternatives had been activated, power holders' responses were no longer more congruent with their dispositions than were the responses of low-power participants. We propose a single mechanism according to which power increases reliance on accessible constructs--that is, constructs that easily come to mind-regardless of whether these constructs are chronically or temporarily accessible.     

Horse (Equus caballus) whinnies: a source of social information

Many animal species that rely mainly on calls to communicate produce individual acoustic structures, but we wondered whether individuals of species better known as visual communicants, with small vocal repertoires, would also exhibit individual distinctiveness in calls. Moreover, theoretical advances concerning the evolution of social intelligence are usually based on primate species data, but relatively little is known about the social cognitive capacities of non-primate mammals. However, some non-primate species demonstrate auditory recognition of social categories and possess mental representation of their social network. Horses (Equus caballus) form stable social networks and although they display a large range of visual signals, they also use long-distance whinny calls to maintain contact. Here, we investigated the potential existence of individual acoustic signatures in whinny calls and the ability of horses to discriminate by ear individuals varying in their degree of familiarity. Our analysis of the acoustic structure of whinnies of 30 adult domestic horses (ten stallions, ten geldings, ten mares) revealed that some of the frequency and temporal parameters carried reliable information about the caller’s sex, body size and identity. However, no correlations with age were found. Playback experiments evaluated the behavioural significance of this variability. Twelve horses heard either control white noise or whinnies emitted by group members, familiar neighbours or unfamiliar horses. While control sounds did not induce any particular response, horses discriminated the social category of the callers and reacted with a sound-specific behaviour (vigilance and attraction varied with familiarity). Our results support the existence of social knowledge in horses and suggest a process of vocal coding/decoding of information.     

Inter- and intra-group variability in perceptions of behavior among Asian Americans and European Americans

Between-group and within-group differences in perceptions of behavior were examined among 74 Asian Americans and 111 European Americans. Participants rated videotaped interactions of Asian American mothers and daughters. Asian Americans, and a more homogeneous sample of Chinese Americans, perceived less maternal control and more reciprocity than did European Americans. Intra-cultural variations in perceptions were also evident, as within-group analyses revealed differences in perceptions based on the generational status of Asian Americans and the degree of multicultural experience of European Americans. Overall, findings suggest that perceptions of behavior are shaped as much by within-group differences in familiarity and experience with the target culture as by between-group differences in ethnicity. Implications for theories of child socialization, multicultural counseling, and observational research are discussed.     

Applicant Reactions in Saudi Arabia: Organizational attractiveness and core‐self evaluation

This paper reports findings from a survey into applicant reactions of working adults in Saudi Arabia. A sample of 193 participants from four job functions was obtained, with measures of organizational attractiveness, core‐self evaluation, and applicant reactions to four popular selection methods in the country – interviews, résumés, work sample tests, and references – being included. Findings indicate a notably similar pattern of preference reactions to previous studies in other (Western) countries, affirming arguments for so‐called reaction generalizability. Work sample tests were rated the most favorably followed by interviews, résumés, and references. For specific procedural dimensions, résumés were perceived as the most favorable, followed by work sample tests, interviews, and references. Several significant differences were found across job functions, mostly for interviews and résumés. Significant effects were found between reactions and organizational attractiveness, and between reactions and core‐self evaluation, including some interaction effects. Implications for future research and for practice in employee selection are considered in the conclusion.     

Prospective teachers' conceptions of assessment: a cross-cultural comparison

This paper examines the responses of two sample of prospective teachers (New Zealand, n = 324; and Spain, n = 672) to the Teachers' Conceptions of Assessment inventory (English and Spanish respectively). The inventory captures four major intentions for assessment (i.e., improvement, irrelevance, school and student accountability). The conceptions of prospective teachers about the nature and purpose of assessment are relevant, given that (a) much educational assessment is carried out in classrooms; and (b) prospective teachers enter the teacher education programs with significant prior school experience of assessment as pupils. Results of confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the original model was inadmissible and that the best-fitting revised model was only configurally invariant between the two samples. It would appear that lack of teaching experience results in different responses for prospective teachers to those of practicing teachers. Moreover, differences in societal and cultural priorities for assessment use most likely explain the lack of invariance between samples.