A context-independent situational judgment test to measure prosocial implicit trait policy

Two studies developed and validated a context-independent situational judgment test (SJT) of prosocial implicit trait policy (ITP). The first study developed a SJT based on critical incidents about the prosocial behavior of physicians, lawyers, community service volunteers, and human factors engineers. In a sample of 396 undergraduates, scores obtained from this SJT were internally consistent and correlated significantly with other trait constructs related to prosocial ITP. In the second study with 134 undergraduates, the SJT was significantly correlated with relevant trait constructs and prosocial performance in role-plays simulating scenarios in which others needed help. These results show that a generic SJT developed from items that describe situations and actions specific to several occupations can predict behavior in situations unlike any that appear in its items.     

Are Shunt Revisions Associated with IQ in Congenital Hydrocephalus? A Meta -Analysis

Although it is generally acknowledged that shunt revisions are associated with reductions in cognitive functions in individuals with congenital hydrocephalus, the literature yields mixed results and is inconclusive. The current study used meta-analytic methods to empirically synthesize studies addressing the association of shunt revisions and IQ in individuals with congenital hydrocephalus. Six studies and three in-house datasets yielded 11 independent samples for meta-analysis. Groups representing lower and higher numbers of shunt revisions were coded to generate effect sizes for differences in IQ scores. Mean effect size across studies was statistically significant, but small (Hedges’ g = 0.25, p < 0.001, 95 % CI [0.08, 0.43]) with more shunt revisions associated with lower IQ scores. Results show an association of lower IQ and more shunt revisions of about 3 IQ points, a small effect, but within the error of measurement associated with IQ tests. Although clinical significance of this effect is not clear, results suggest that repeated shunt revisions because of shunt failure is associated with a reduction in cognitive functions.     

Minimal Risk of Internalizing Problems in Typically-Developing Siblings of Children with High-Functioning Autism Spectrum Disorder

We examined anxiety and depression clinical symptom levels in 42 typically-developing (TD) siblings of children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder (HFASD), compared to 42 TD siblings of TD children, matched on age, ethnicity, and gender. Participants were between the ages of 6 and 16. Groups were compared using the parent-report and child self-report versions of the Behavior Assessment System for Children, Second Edition, anxiety and depression clinical scales. Within-group differences were examined for parent versus child ratings. Multivariate procedures did not support clinically elevated levels of internalizing problems in siblings of children with HFASD. Results from both sources were consistent with the overall finding. The findings do not support an increased need for targeted intervention, though clinical and school-based practitioners should attend to clinical warning signs if presented.     

The Role of Life Satisfaction in Predicting Student Engagement and Achievement

Much research has investigated how individual components of subjective well-being (e.g., life satisfaction, positive affect, negative affect) influence adolescent functioning. Little is known, however, about how the third component of subjective well-being (SWB), life satisfaction, contributes to positive adolescent outcomes when investigated simultaneously with positive and negative emotions. The current study extends Lewis et al.’s (J Psychoeduc Assess 27:397–408, 2009. doi:10.1177/0734282908330571) work by considering the incremental validity of life satisfaction (LS) relative to negative affect (NA) and positive affect (PA) as predictors of student engagement and achievement in a sample of middle school students. Results indicated LS provided incremental validity over affective states in predicting student engagement and some aspects of academic achievement. Gender also moderated these relationships. Practitioners are encouraged to include all components of SWB in assessments, especially when trying to understand students’ school functioning.     

Resisting self-compassion: Why are some people opposed to being kind to themselves?

Although self-compassion is associated with positive emotions, resilience, and well-being, some people resist recommendations to treat themselves with kindness and compassion. This study investigated how people’s personal values and evaluations of self-compassionate behaviors relate to their level of self-compassion. After completing measures of trait self-compassion and values, participants rated how they would view themselves after behaving in a self-compassionate and self-critical way. Overall, participants associated self-compassion with positive attributes that connote emotional well-being, yet only those who were low in trait self-compassion associated self-compassionate responding with negative attributes that involve low motivation, self-indulgence, low conscientiousness, and poor performance. Participants’ endorsement of basic values was not meaningfully related to their evaluations of self-compassionate vs. self-critical behaviors or to self-compassion scores. We propose that self-compassion might operate as an instrumental value insofar as those high vs. low in self-compassion differ in their beliefs about whether self-compassion affects performance-related outcomes positively or negatively.     

Relations among Social Anxiety,Eye Contact Avoidance,State Anxiety,and Perception of Interaction Performance during a Live Conversation

There is building evidence that highly socially anxious (HSA) individuals frequently avoid making eye contact, which may contribute to less meaningful social interactions and maintenance of social anxiety symptoms. However, research to date is lacking in ecological validity due to the usage of either static or pre-recorded facial stimuli or subjective coding of eye contact. The current study examined the relationships among trait social anxiety, eye contact avoidance, state anxiety, and participants’ self-perceptions of interaction performance during a live, four-minute conversation with a confederate via webcam, and while being covertly eye-tracked. Participants included undergraduate women who conversed with same-sex confederates. Results indicated that trait social anxiety was inversely related to eye contact duration and frequency averaged across the four minutes, and positively related to state social anxiety and negative self-ratings. In addition, greater anticipatory state anxiety was associated with reduced eye contact throughout the first minute of the conversation. Eye contact was not related to post-task state anxiety or self-perception of poor performance; although, trends emerged in which these relations may be positive for HSA individuals. The current findings provide enhanced support for the notion that eye contact avoidance is an important feature of social anxiety.     

Intervening with Multiplication Fact Difficulties: Examining the Utility of the Instructional Hierarchy to Target Interventions

Examining the use of conceptual frameworks such as the instructional hierarchy (IH) to drive academic interventions represents an important area of inquiry in order to understand why an intervention was effective. However, to date, the IH has only been examined retroactively to explain the effectiveness of math interventions and has not been used to drive intervention implementation based on students’ needs. Therefore, the current study used a multiple baseline single-case design to examine the utility of the IH to determine an appropriately targeted acquisition (incremental rehearsal) or proficiency (timed drill) intervention for difficulties with multiplication facts. Students first received the contraindicated intervention (i.e., non-targeted) and then their correctly targeted intervention. Results showed that all students demonstrated greater fluency growth during their targeted intervention and that students in need of an acquisition intervention also demonstrated greater multiplication fact retention and growth rate during their targeted intervention. The utility of the IH as a heuristic to correctly target interventions based on students’ baseline skill levels is discussed.

     

“I Can’t Operate,that Boy Is my Son!”: Gender Schemas and a Classic Riddle

Sex Roles - To study the power of lived experiences and conscious attitudes in helping individuals to overcome nonconscious gender schemas, U.S. university students (n?=?152) were...     

Disavowing White Identity: How Social Disgust can Change Social Identities

Recent work finds that the sense of solidarity some whites feel with their racial group is strongly associated with their political attitudes, particularly since the election of Barack Obama. Prior work has also noted that levels of this identity have been stable across time and data sources. We, however, document a notable decline in levels of white identity in both panel and cross-sectional national survey data immediately after the 2016 presidential election. Using a two-wave panel design, we examine the factors associated with this decline. We examine whether particular emotional reactions, especially disgust toward Donald Trump, pushed some whites away from their racial identity. We also consider the possibility that some whites may have felt that Trump's election reduced perceptions of racial or political threat, therefore lowering levels of white identity. We find the strongest support for the former hypothesis; the decline in white identity was driven mostly by whites expressing disgust toward Trump. Our results highlight the effect that the political environment can have on group identities and point in particular to the significant role that disgust may play in attenuating the strength of group solidarity.