Estudio del desarrollo de los aspectos morfológicos de la escritura

Resumen

Tras la revisión bibliográfica de las medidas utilizadas generalmente para evaluar la morfología de la escritura y su desarrollo, se realiza un estudio experimental de la evolución de los distintos aspectos morfológicos de la escritura a lo largo de varios cursos, has medidas utilizadas, tanto generales como especificas, se organizan en base a tres características morfológicas: la productividad, la complejidad y la precisión. Se evalúan muestras de escritura realizadas por 380 sujetos de 2.°, 4. °, 6.° y 8.° de EGB y 2.° de BUP. Se estudian las diferencias entre los grupos y la bondad de ajuste de los datos a un modelo lineal y a un modelo logarítmico. Por último se expone la utilidad de dicho estudio cara a la evaluación de la morfología y la construcción de los modelos y sistemas de evaluación de la escritura.     

Pointing gestures as a cognitive tool in young children: experimental evidence

This article explores the possible cognitive function associated with pointing gestures from a Vygotskian perspective. In Study 1, 39 children who were 2-4 years of age were observed in a solitary condition while solving a mnemonic task with or without an explicit memory demand. A discriminant analysis showed that children used noncommunicative pointing gestures only in the task with an explicit memory demand. In Study 2, 39 children who were 4-6 years of age completed an attentional task with and without the possibility of pointing. An analysis of variance showed that only those children who spontaneously pointed to solve the first task performed significantly worse in a second condition where pointing was impossible. These results suggest that besides its social interactive functions, pointing may also subserve private cognitive functions for children.     

Temperament and Behavioral Problems in Young Children: the Protective Role of Extraversion and Effortful Control

This study examines the relationships between temperament traits (negative affectivity, extraversion and effortful control) and children’s externalized and internalized behavioral problems. The sample was composed of 424 children from the ages of 3–6 years old (60% male). Use of a hierarchical regression analysis revealed direct and interactive effects. Specifically, reactive temperamental traits were found to predict behavioral problems in children: negative affect tended to increase externalizing problems, and extraversion tended to decrease internalizing problems. The regulative temperament trait (“effortful control”) negatively predicted both internalizing and externalizing problems. To explore moderating effects, post‐hoc analyses were conducted using the Johnson–Neyman technique with Hayes’s PROCESS. Our analyses revealed that high levels of negative affect (characterized in our study by a higher load of anger or frustration than of fear or sadness) makes a significant and strong contribution to internalizing problems when effortful control reaches its highest levels. Thus, our results endure the protective role of extraversion as preventing the emergence of internalizing problems, and the protective role of effortful control as preventing the emergence of both, internalizing and externalizing, problems. The results also alert to the potential risk of a combination between high levels of effortful control and high levels of negative affect. Overall findings are discussed with regard to previous and future research.     

A Unique Historical Case to Understand the Present Sustainable Development

Every innovation seeks to become a profitable business, with this considered to be the engine for economic prosperity. When an innovation is revolutionary, its long-term consequences can be revolutionary too. The Haber-Bosh process for ammonia synthesis is arguably the twentieth century’s most significant innovation, and its importance to global food production and its impact on the environment are not expected to diminish over the coming decades. The historical case of the ammonia synthesis process invented by Fritz Haber and the ensuing innovation provides an incomparable opportunity to illustrate the interactions across contemporary needs, prominent scientists, political concerns, moral dilemmas, ethics, governance and environmental implications at a time when the concept of sustainability was still in its infancy. Despite its high economic and environmental costs, no cleaner or more efficient sustainable alternative has so far been found, and so replacing this “old” innovation that still “feeds” a large part of the world’s population does not appear to be on the cards in the near future.     

Psychometric properties of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index in Spanish child and adolescent population

This article analyses the dimensions of the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI; Davis, 1980). The sample comprised 721 Spanish participants between 9 and 16 years old. Diverse exploratory factor analyses were conducted as the basis for the final confirmatory factor analysis, through self-report. The results supported a structure with 5 first-order main factors (Intellectual empathy, Positive emotional empathy, Disorganized emotional empathy, Virtual empathy, and Impassiveness), where the two first factors are nested in a second-order dimension: "Considerate Social Style". The psychometric characteristics of the instrument were adequate. The proposed model is a new alternative to conceptualize the factor structure of empathy.     

Childhood sexual behavior as an indicator of sexual abuse: professionals' criteria and biases

Some sexual behaviors are related to child sexual abuse experiences, but none unequivocally. Therefore, professionals might use non-empirical-based criteria and be biased when detecting and reporting victims. To check this hypothesis, we presented 974 Spanish and Latin American professionals from different fields (Psychology, Education, Health, Social Services, Justice, and Police Force) with hypothetical situations of child sexual behavior (varying the sex, age and behavior) by using an experimental vignette method based on Factorial Survey. Participants were asked to indicate whether such behaviors are a sign of abuse and whether they would report them. We also measured demographic, academic, professional and attitude factors. According to the analysis, professionals' suspicion of abuse is more affected by personal factors, whereas their reporting intention depends more on situational factors. The main criterion adopted is the type of sexual behavior, with professionals being more likely to suspect and report in response to aggressive sexual behavior and precocious sexual knowledge. Professionals' attitudes to sexuality seem to generate biases, as those who are erotophobic are more likely to suspect abuse. None of the sexual behaviors was seen as evidence of abuse.     

Traits that define the different alcohol intensive consume type during the practice of "botellon"

There is a phenomenon contributing to the current pattern of alcohol consumption among youngsters in Spain known as "botellon". From research financed by the National Plan on Drugs (2004-2007), data of 6009 youngsters (14-25 years old) were collected from three Spanish cities. Only individuals who engage in intensive consumption of alcohol (n = 2807) have been included. The purpose of this work has been to identify the different types of consumers at risk through a cluster analysis and to establish a profile for each particular group. Four groups were differentiated by age, gender, alcohol consumption and years of consumption. It was observed that adolescent students and university students of the same sex consume similar quantities of alcohol, and justify their consumption alluding to personal factors, whereas university students refer to issues related to control of leisure. The consumption by males is the highest, and they are the most likely to seek drunkenness. They associate to a lesser degree their consumption with the possibility of developing an addictive process. In general, all youngsters consider that their consumption will have no negative consequences. These results indicate the need to come up with different alternatives, addressing the particularities of each group.     

The effects of age and emotional valence on recognition memory: An ex‐Gaussian components analysis

The aim of this work was to study the effects of valence and age on visual image recognition memory. The International Affective Picture System (IAPS) battery was used, and response time data were analyzed using analysis of variance, as well as an ex‐Gaussian fit method. Older participants were slower and more variable in their reaction times. Response times were longer for negative valence pictures, however this was statistically significant only for young participants. This suggests that negative emotional valence has a strong effect on recognition memory in young but not in old participants. The τ parameter, often related to attention in the literature, was smaller for young than old participants in an ex‐Gaussian fit. Differences on the τ parameter might suggest poorer attentional performance in old participants.     

Los modelos del proceso de la escritura

Resumen

El presente articulo trata de ofrecer una visión general de cuál es el estado en que se encuentran las teorías sobre el proceso de escritura. Para ello se expone, en primer lugar, cuál ha sido la evolución de los supuestos que subyacen a los modelos de escritura, modelos que pueden clasificarse en tres grandes grupos: los modelos de traducción, los modelos de etapas y los actuales modelos cognitivos. En segundo lugar, se señalan algunos factores que han contribuido a la aparición de estos últimos, así como algunos de sus objetivos y requisitos. A continuación se expone el modelo de Flower y Hayes (1979, 1980, 1981 a y b) como un ejemplo prototípico de esta orientación. Por último, se ofrecen una serie de conclusiones respecto a la evolución de los modelos, respecto a las características comunes generales que comparten los modelos cognitivos y respecto a las tendencias actuales en la construcción de dichas teorías.