Parental socioeconomic status and child intellectual functioning in a Norwegian sample

Socioeconomic status (SES) in childhood has been linked to cognitive function and future academic and occupational success in studies from several countries. However, previous Nordic studies have shown inconsistent results regarding the strength of this link. We therefore investigated the association between SES and cognitive functioning in a sample of 255 Norwegian children, including 151 typically developing children and 104 children with a psychiatric diagnosis. The third edition of the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC‐III) to assess cognitive function was used. SES was defined from maternal and paternal education and family income of typically developing children and of a subsample of children with a psychiatric diagnosis. Multiple adjusted regression analyses were used to investigate the relation between SES and cognitive functioning. The analyses showed that SES explained a significant part of the variance of the full‐scale WISC‐III score and two WISC‐III indices (Verbal Comprehension and Freedom from Distractibility). Overall, the strength of the relations was weaker than expected from reports from other non‐Nordic countries. Parental education was the only significant individual predictor, suggesting that income was of minor importance as a predictor of cognitive functioning. Further studies should investigate how diverse political and socioeconomic contexts influence the relation between SES and cognitive functioning.     

When feeling attractive matters too much to women: A process underpinning the relation between psychological need satisfaction and unhealthy weight control behaviors

This study examined a process model linking psychological need satisfaction to unhealthy weight control behaviors. Female University students (N = 220; M age = 20.47; SD = 5.07) completed questionnaires measuring need satisfaction, appearance-contingent self-worth, weight-related appearance anxiety and unhealthy weight control behaviors. Structural equation modeling revealed that need satisfaction indirectly related to engagement in unhealthy weight control behaviors through appearance-contingent self-worth and weight-related appearance anxiety. The results indicate that appearance-contingent self-worth might help to explain how low levels of psychological need satisfaction are related to maladaptive weight-related outcomes in young women.     

Self-determination theory and diminished functioning: the role of interpersonal control and psychological need thwarting

Drawing from self-determination theory, three studies explored the social-environmental conditions that satisfy versus thwart psychological needs and, in turn, affect psychological functioning and well-being or ill-being. In cross-sectional Studies 1 and 2, structural equation modeling analyses supported latent factor models in which need satisfaction was predicted by athletes' perceptions of autonomy support, and need thwarting was better predicted by coach control. Athletes' perceptions of need satisfaction predicted positive outcomes associated with sport participation (vitality and positive affect), whereas need thwarting more consistently predicted maladaptive outcomes (disordered eating, burnout, depression, negative affect, and physical symptoms). In addition, athletes' perceptions of psychological need thwarting were significantly associated with perturbed physiological arousal (elevated levels of secretory immunoglobulin A) prior to training. The final study involved the completion of a diary and supported the relations observed in the cross-sectional studies at a daily level. These findings have important implications for the operationalization and measurement of interpersonal styles and psychological needs.     

Eye movement suppression interferes with construction of object-centered spatial reference frames in working memory

The brain’s frontal eye fields (FEF), responsible for eye movement control, are known to be involved in spatial working memory (WM).In a previous fMRI experiment (Wallentin, Roepstorff & Burgess, Neuropsychologia, 2008) it was found that FEF activation was primarily related to the formation of an object-centered, rather than egocentric, spatial reference frame. In this behavioral experiment we wanted to demonstrate a causal relationship between eye movement control and manipulation of spatial reference frames. Sixty-two participants recalled either spatial (“Was X in front of Y?”) or non-spatial (“Was X darker than Y?”) relations in a previously shown image containing two to four objects, each with an intrinsic orientation and unique luminance. During half of all recall trials a moving visual stimulus was presented, which participants had to ignore, thus suppressing eye movement. Response times were significantly slower for spatial relations with distraction while there was no effect on non-spatial relations. There was no effect on accuracy, i.e. WM maintenance. This is consistent with the hypothesis that in spatial representations the FEFs are involved in WM content manipulation, such as establishing an object-centered spatial frame of reference.     

Longitudinal concomitants of incorrect weight perception in female and male adolescents

The aim of the present study was to analyse the longitudinal concomitants of incorrect weight perception, depressive symptoms, social anxiety, self-esteem, and eating disorders in adolescents. A prospective follow-up study on 283 female and 312 male adolescents aged 15 comprising questionnaires directed at the whole study population and subsequent personal interviews with adolescents found to be screen-positive for eating disorders, at both baseline and three-year follow-up. Body mass index was combined with weight perception to classify adolescents with incorrect weight perception. Twenty-nine percent of females incorrectly perceived themselves as overweight and 14% of males incorrectly as underweight. Incorrect weight perception was in females related to depressive symptoms, social anxiety, eating disorders, and low self-esteem. Males with incorrect weight perception experienced more social anxiety at the follow-up than their counterparts with correct weight perception. Recognition of incorrect weight perception is important for prevention of depression, social anxiety, and eating disorders.     

Can individualists and cooperators play together? The effect of mixed social motives in negotiations

Despite noting the likelihood of dissimilar motives in many transactions, previous negotiation research has focused on negotiations whose participants were similarly motivated (to be cooperative or individualistic). In this paper, we answer recent calls to examine “mixed dyads” (i.e. negotiators with differing social motives) in addition to homogeneous dyads. Our results showed that cooperative - and mixed - dyads both experienced significantly more positive negotiation processes and outcomes than individualistic dyads. We discuss the important roles communication and reciprocity may have in helping individualists and cooperators to reach mutually beneficial agreements.     

BOLD response to motion verbs in left posterior middle temporal gyrus during story comprehension

A primary focus within neuroimaging research on language comprehension is on the distribution of semantic knowledge in the brain. Studies have shown that the left posterior middle temporal gyrus (LPMT), a region just anterior to area MT/V5, is important for the processing of complex action knowledge. It has also been found that motion verbs cause activation in LPMT. In this experiment we investigated whether this effect could be replicated in a setting resembling real life language comprehension, i.e. without any overt behavioral task during passive listening to a story. During fMRI participants listened to a recording of the story “The Ugly Duckling”. We incorporated a nuisance elimination regression approach for factoring out known nuisance variables both in terms of physiological noise, sound intensity, linguistic variables and emotional content. Compared to the remaining text, clauses containing motion verbs were accompanied by a robust activation of LPMT with no other significant effects, consistent with the hypothesis that this brain region is important for processing motion knowledge, even during naturalistic language comprehension conditions.