Strengths use and deficit improvement: The relationship with engagement and fit with study course amongst first-year students

This study sought to test a model of students’ proactive behaviour to use their strengths and improve their deficits and how this relates with their self-reported perceptions of their fit with a study course and engagement. Participants were 692 first-year students from a higher education institution in South Africa (females=60.3%; blacks=71.3%; mean age=19.71; SD=1.93). They completed measures of strengths use, deficit improvement, perceptions of fit with a study course and engagement. Structural equation modelling was utilised to examine the relationship between students’ strengths use and deficit improvement, perceptions of fit with a study course and student engagement. In addition, the bootstrapping method was used to identify possible mediating effects of fit with a study course. The results indicated that only deficit improvement showed a significant relationship with engagement. Perceptions of fit with a study course mediated the relationship between students’ strengths use and deficit improvement.     

Macaques can predict social outcomes from facial expressions

There is widespread acceptance that facial expressions are useful in social interactions, but empirical demonstration of their adaptive function has remained elusive. Here, we investigated whether macaques can use the facial expressions of others to predict the future outcomes of social interaction. Crested macaques (Macaca nigra) were shown an approach between two unknown individuals on a touchscreen and were required to choose between one of two potential social outcomes. The facial expressions of the actors were manipulated in the last frame of the video. One subject reached the experimental stage and accurately predicted different social outcomes depending on which facial expressions the actors displayed. The bared-teeth display (homologue of the human smile) was most strongly associated with predicted friendly outcomes. Contrary to our predictions, screams and threat faces were not associated more with conflict outcomes. Overall, therefore, the presence of any facial expression (compared to neutral) caused the subject to choose friendly outcomes more than negative outcomes. Facial expression in general, therefore, indicated a reduced likelihood of social conflict. The findings dispute traditional theories that view expressions only as indicators of present emotion and instead suggest that expressions form part of complex social interactions where individuals think beyond the present.     

Reflective journaling: fostering dispositional development in preservice teachers

This study investigated the self-identified dispositions of 183 preservice teachers enrolled in a required philosophy of education course. The researchers coded their reflective journaling for the two essential NCATE (National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education) dispositions of fairness and the belief that all students can learn, as well as for other recurring, self-identified dispositions. These preservice teachers self-identified fairness much more frequently than the belief that all students can learn. The results point to additional recurring dispositional themes for consideration: critical thinking, caring, openness, moral education, and individual freedom. Further examination of the data revealed great variation in the preservice teachers’ interpretation of fairness, categorized as fairness through (1) inclusion of all socioeconomic classes and abilities; (2) culturally responsive teaching; (3) differentiation of instruction; and (4) fostering a safe learning environment.     

Advice seeking and loaning of money related to relapse in recovery homes

Recovery homes help individuals who have completed substance use treatment programs re‐integrate back into the community. However, it is unclear what factors determine who will succeed in these settings and how these factors may be reinforced or undermined by the social interactions and social networks between residents living in the Oxford House recovery homes. In an effort to better understand these factors, the current study evaluated (a) the extent to which the density of social networks (i.e., friendship, willingness to loan money, and advice‐seeking relationships) is associated with social capital (i.e., sense of community, quality of life, hopefulness, self‐efficacy), and (b) whether the density of social networks predicts relapse over time. Among the findings, willingness to loan money was positively associated with all four individual‐level social capital variables, suggesting that availability of instrumental resources may be important to ongoing recovery. To test whether these house‐level social network factors then support recovery, a survival analysis was conducted, finding associations between relapse risk and the network densities over a 28‐month span. In particular, more dense advice‐seeking networks were associated with higher rates of relapse, suggesting that the advice‐seeking might represent a sign of organisational house problems, with many residents unsure of issues related to their recovery. In contrast, more dense loaning networks were associated with less relapse, so willingness to lend money could be measuring a willingness to help those in need. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Imaginary Companions in Childhood: What Can Prospective Longitudinal Research Tell Us About Their Fate by Adolescence?

Do adolescents remember imaginary companions (ICs) from early childhood? Researchers interviewed 46 adolescent participants in a prospective longitudinal study about their ICs from early childhood (age 5½). The existence of one or more ICs was documented in early childhood for 48% of children (G. Trionfi & E. Reese, 2009). At age 16, most adolescents had forgotten their early childhood ICs: Only 5 of the 23 participants who had early childhood ICs recalled those ICs later. Eight participants who had forgotten their early childhood ICs recalled a later IC, and four participants who did not have an IC at age 5 ½ reported one by age 16. Ten of the 23 participants who had early childhood ICs claimed never to have had an IC. Girls were more likely to recall their early childhood ICs. Retrospective reports of ICs in adolescence or later life may be unreliable for investigating differences between those with and without imaginary companions. Those with ICs may not be a homogenous group, with some creating ICs throughout childhood and some desisting from this behavior in early childhood. Findings indicate that both the remembering and forgetting of ICs has potential to illuminate cognitive and creative processes surrounding both memory and imagination.     

Neurocognitive outcomes in children with unilateral basal ganglia arterial ischemic stroke and secondary hemidystonia

Dystonia is a movement disorder that involves excessive, involuntary muscle contractions resulting in repetitive movements and/or abnormal posturing. One common cause of unilateral dystonia in childhood is ischemic stroke involving the basal ganglia and/or thalamus. Virtually nothing is known about neuropsychological outcomes in children who have dystonia following basal ganglia stroke. The present study explored whether or not children with secondary dystonia experience additional cognitive challenges when compared to children with similar patterns of brain injury, but no dystonia. We examined intellectual function, academics, and several aspects of executive function in children with unilateral basal ganglia stroke during childhood, comparing those with dystonia and those without. Although groups did not differ in terms of lesion size, we found significantly lower performance on measures of verbal and nonverbal reasoning, inhibitory control, and academic ability in children with secondary dystonia compared to those without. In contrast, there were no significant group differences on parent ratings of their child’s executive function in daily life. These findings suggest that maladaptive reorganization following basal ganglia stroke may contribute to the development of secondary dystonia and also to poor intellectual and academic outcomes in this group.     

Children's natural conversations following exposure to a rumor: Linkages to later false reports

Previous research has shown that children naturally propagate overheard false rumors and that the circulation of such information can induce children and their peers to wrongly recall actually experiencing rumored-but-nonexperienced events. The current study extends this work by recording 3- to 6-year-olds' naturally occurring conversations following exposure to an erroneous rumor. Results indicate that, compared with children who overhear rumors spread by adults, those who pick up rumors from peers during natural interactions engage in deeper and more inventive rumor mongering. Moreover, the degree and originality of rumor propagation was linked with various qualities of children's subsequent recollections at both 1-week and 4-week delayed interviews. Furthermore, compared with 3- and 4-year-olds, 5- and 6-year-olds naturally transmitted more novel and coherent embellishments of the rumor to their peers, and more of their false narrative reports during the interviews overlapped with their own and their peers' utterances transmitted soon after the rumor was planted.     

Using subtle reminders of love to foster healthy snack choices

Employing three experiments with US college students, we examined how subtle reminders of companionate and sexual love affect consumers' healthy snack choices. Two different symbols of companionate and sexual love were used as manipulations. Results from the studies suggest that exposure to subtle reminders of companionate love lead to a greater likelihood of making healthy eating choices than subtle reminders of sexual love. These choices are likely driven by the activation of distal and proximal temporal construals. Interestingly, subtle reminders of sexual love appear to mimic a choice setting with no manipulation. This research should enlighten marketers who are interested in fostering healthy consumption. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of mothers’ conversation style and receipt of misinformation on children's event reports

Can memory sharing conversations with mothers lead to errors in children's event memory when mothers are exposed to misinformation about what their children experienced and does this effect vary as a function of maternal memory-sharing style? Mothers were exposed to a false suggestion about a non-shared event and then discussed that event with their children. When later interviewed, those children whose mothers were provided this misinformation were likely to wrongly report experiencing activities consistent with the maternal suggestion and embellish their reports of these activities with elaborative detail. Moreover, children whose mothers spoke in a highly elaborative manner were more likely to recall occurrences in line with the maternal suggestion and provided more fictitious narrative detail describing non-occurring-but-suggested information than did children whose mothers used a less elaborative style. These findings suggest that when mothers hold false beliefs about a non-shared event, an elaborative maternal style is associated with an increase in children's false reports reflecting maternal beliefs.     

Sorting the Liars from the Truth Tellers: The Benefits of Asking Unanticipated Questions on Lie Detection

We examined the effect of asking unanticipated interview questions on lie detection. We set up a room in which truth tellers (N = 40) performed five tasks. Liars (N = 40) observed the activity room through a window and were asked to generate a story in which they claim to have performed five tasks. The interview schedule included four thematically related pairs of questions. The first question of each pairing was easy for interviewees to anticipate, as it reflected how events are typically recalled. However, the second included a perspective shift (temporal or spatial), which made the question harder to anticipate. We also measured cognitive load via performance on an object sorting secondary task that interviewees undertook during interview. Compared with truth tellers, liars' verbal responses showed a greater decline in details across three out of four question pairs. Liars also sorted significantly fewer objects per minute on the secondary task. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.