Affective dimension in cognitive maps of Barcelona and São Paulo

This paper analyses the relationship between city and affection as revealed through an investigation into the feelings and emotions of a sample of inhabitants of Barcelona and São Paulo towards their cities. A study of affection in the context of a city has its origin in the assumption that it is possible to develop an ethical‐affective rationality in the creation of spaces of both public and private interest, a dimension that can serve to optimize the action of the inhabitants of a city. The theoretical/methodological approach adopted was essentially interdisciplinary, with a basis in social psychology, as can be seen in the data‐gathering instrument. In order to assess the city's affective dimension, individual interviews were carried out and a questionnaire was applied to individuals in groups. In the latter subjects were asked to make a drawing representing their city and to answer some questions regarding this pictorial representation. The sample consisted of 200 subjects, half of whom were from Barcelona and half from São Paulo. Most were in the age range 18–35, undergraduate or graduate students, with females and residents of the metropolitan areas of the two cities studied being in the majority. The qualitative data were classified according to their meaning and content, using the categories that had been established in the pilot study, namely contrasts, insecurity, pleasantness, and belonging. A statistical analysis was then performed on the resulting categories. After being categorized, catalogued, and qualified by metaphors, the responses gave the following images: city of contrast, city of attraction, city of destruction, city of surprises, city of movement, and pleasant city. These images show feelings and emotions about Barcelona and São Paulo that act as representations. This presents the need to revise the affective dimension in the meaning structure of cognitive maps as proposed by Lynch. As a result, the new category of affective maps is therefore proposed, as being the category that expresses affective meanings and serves as an indication of the level of esteem for the city, two aspects that act as reference points for the involvement and participation of a city's inhabitants.     

The processing of two-digit numbers in bilinguals

We explored possible between-language influences when bilinguals processed two-digit numbers. Spanish/English bilinguals and German/English bilinguals performed a number comparison task with Arabic digits and verbal numbers in their first language (L1) and second language (L2) while the unit-decade compatibility was manipulated. The two bilingual groups showed regular compatibility effect with Arabic digits. In L1, Spanish/English bilinguals showed reverse compatibility effect, while German/English bilinguals showed regular compatibility effect. However, both groups of bilinguals presented reverse compatibility effect in English (L2), which suggested that the bilinguals' L1 did not determine the processing of number words in their L2. The results indicated that bilinguals processed two-digit number words selectively in their L1 and L2 and that they did not transcode L2 numbers into Arabic format.     

Review of Samuel D. Rocha’s the Syllabus as Curriculum: A Reconceptualist Approach

Studies in Philosophy and Education - The Syllabus as Curriculum: A Reconceptualist Approach by Samuel D. Rocha. The review examines the central tenets of Rocha’s book, namely that the...     

The commitment of young soccer players

The main purpose of this study was to test the Sport Commitment Model in young soccer players. Participants' ( N = 437) age ranged from 14 to 16 years. Based on the sport commitment model proposed by Scanlan and colleagues, 6 scales and 28-items constitute the Sport Commitment Questionnaire (SCQ). Results of this study provide some support for the reliability and validity of the SCQ, using a sample of young soccer players. Reliability analysis provided acceptable internal consistency for four scales: Sport Commitment, Sport Enjoyment, Involvement Alternatives and Social Constraints. Sport Enjoyment (Beta= .56, p <.001) and Involvement Alternatives (Beta= -.40, p <.001) were the strongest sport commitment predictors. Further studies with a broader age range, different genders, and other sports or competitive levels are required to continue analyzing the sport commitment model.     

Correction to: Religiosity and Health-Related Quality of Life: A Cross-Sectional Study on Filipino Christian Hemodialysis Patients

Journal of Religion and Health - The authors regret that the following error occurred in the original publication of the article. The corrected text has been presented with this erratum. In the...     

Emotional Intelligence Profiles in College Students and Their Fathers’ and Mothers’ Parenting Practices

The present study has two objectives: first, to analyze whether the dimensions that make up emotional intelligence (attention, clarity, and repair) give rise to different profiles of university students, and secondly, to determine whether these different profiles are differentially associated with the parenting practices that students report with regard to their fathers and mothers. Results obtained indicate the existence of different profiles of college students. The profile that corresponds to adequate emotional skills presents a lower score in attention, but higher scores in clarity, and especially in mood repair. The other two profiles are inadequate, in the first case because a higher score in emotional attention is accompanied by low scores in mood repair, and in the second case because low scores are presented in all three dimensions. Likewise, we verified the existence of significant differences in the educational practices of parents, the adequate profile is characterized by greater use of parenting dimensions considered to be positive, and at the same time, lower scores on dimensions considered to be negative. One of the dysfunctional profiles is associated with higher scores in positive practices, and is also associated with higher scores in practices considered to produce a negative effect. The second dysfunctional profile is associated with higher scores on the dimensions considered to be negative and lower scores on positive dimensions.     

Psychological Treatments for Mental Disorders in Children and Adolescents: A Review of the Evidence of Leading International Organizations

In recent decades, the evidence on psychological treatments for children and adolescents has increased considerably. Several organizations have proposed different criteria to evaluate the evidence of psychological treatment in this age group. The aim of this study was to analyze evidence-based treatments drawn from RCTs, reviews, meta-analyses, guides and lists provided by four leading international organizations. The institutions reviewed were the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology (Division 53) of the American Psychological Association, Cochrane Collaboration and the Australian Psychological Society in relation to mental disorders in children and adolescents. A total of 137 treatments were analyzed for 17 mental disorders and compared to determine the level of agreement among the organizations. The results indicate that, in most cases, there is little agreement among organizations and that there are several discrepancies within certain disorders. These results require reflection on the meaning attributed to evidence-based treatments with regard to psychological treatments in children and adolescents. The possible reasons for these differences could be explained by a combination of different issues: the procedures or committees may be biased, different studies were reviewed, different criteria are used by the organizations or the reviews of existing evidence were conducted in different time periods.     

Would Mozambican Women Really “Tolerate” Their Husbands’ Extramarital Sexual Relationships as Socially Recommended?

In the Mozambican socio-cultural context, men’s extramarital sexual relationships are generally deemed acceptable, and women are “recommended” to forgive their husbands’ sexual infidelity. Thus, the purpose of this study was to assess to what extent Mozambican women would forgive their husbands in case of an extramarital sexual relationship. The material consisted of 24 vignettes—each of which contained the story of a husband who was having an extramarital sexual relationship—a question, and an 11-point response scale. Overall, 225 women indicated their willingness to forgive their husbands in case of sexual infidelity, as a function of three factors: the emotional intensity involved in the extramarital sexual relationship, the regret expressed by the husband, and the commitment involved in the relationship/marriage between the husband and his wife. ANOVA results showed that the willingness to forgive depends on the nature of the extramarital relationship and the attitude of the “cheater”: (a) in the case where the extramarital relationship was of a purely sexual type, without involving deep emotions, and when the husband expressed profound regret, the willingness to forgive was high; (b) in the opposite situation, i.e., when the extramarital relationship involved a high level of emotions, and the husband expressed no regret, the forgiveness was low. Older participants had relatively high rates of forgiveness compared to younger ones. These findings corroborate earlier studies showing that, for females, emotional infidelity was much more distressful than purely sexual infidelity, and corroborate studies showing that Mozambicans tend to forgive offenders when they express regret.