The Development of Spatial Skills Through Interventions Involving Block Building Activities

This study investigated the use of block-building interventions to develop spatial-reasoning skills in kindergartners. Two intervention conditions and a control condition were included to determine, first, whether the block building activities themselves benefited children's spatial skills, and secondly, whether a story context further improved learning. Spatial measures included: spatial visualization, mental rotation, and block building. Results showed: for block building, interventions within a story context improved performance compared to the other two conditions. For spatial visualization, both types of block-building interventions improved performance compared to the control condition. Findings suggest: (1) storytelling provides an effective context for teaching spatial content, (2) teaching block building develops wider spatial skills, and (3) 3-dimensional mental rotation tasks show a male advantage in kindergartners.     

Measurement Skills in Low-Income Elementary School Students: Exploring the Nature of Gender Differences

In this research, we examined overall performance and gender differences in measurement skills in elementary-school students from low-income families. In Study 1, accuracy and error patterns were analyzed in a large sample of fourth-graders; in Study 2 error patterns and strategy usage were examined with a smaller sample of fourth-graders. Study 1 showed no main effect of gender on students’ performance. Instead, as predicted, the direction of gender difference varied as a function of problem type: boys outperformed girls on spatial/conceptual measurement, whereas girls outperformed boys on formula-based measurement, as well as on a test of computation skills. Study 2 revealed both similarities and differences in the way boys and girls approached measurement problems. Girls appeared to have specific difficulty with spatial/conceptual problems where objects and measurement units were not pictorially presented. When recording their solutions, girls generally wrote down calculations while boys made drawings. Overall, the students performed poorly in measurement; strategy analysis allowed for examination of common weaknesses, indicating possible ways of improving performance of underserved groups.     

From “disciplined subjectivity” to “taming wild thoughts”: Bion's elaboration of the analysing instrument

Abstract

Freud encouraged the analyst to use his unconscious “as an instrument of the analysis,” but did not elaborate on how this should be done. This recommendation opened the door to a consideration of unconscious communication between the analyst and patient as an intersubjective exchange. Both Wilfred Bion and Erik Erikson emphasised the importance of the analyst's intuition, and the author compares and contrasts these two approaches. Erikson advocated a more cautious attitude regarding the analyst's subjectivity, while Bion promoted a broader application of the analyst's various private reactions to the analysand. A brief vignette from the analysis of a five-year-old boy is offered to illustrate the importance of the analyst's reveries, the mutual process of containment and transformation between analyst and patient, and the co-creation of an analytic narrative.     

Attributes and Behaviors of Salespeople Preferred by Buyers: High Socializing vs. Low Socializing Industrial Buyers

A random sample of purchasing agents was surveyed and split into two groups based on their socializing behavior. These two groups differ as to the importance of various salesperson attributes and behaviors. It was also found that “high” socializers tend to engage in after-hour meetings and discuss non-business related topics more so than “low” socializers. In addition, “high” socializers tend to be younger, provide more time for sales meetings, have less tenure, and are more likely to be found in smaller purchasing departments compared to “low” socializers. Other findings and implications are discussed and areas for further research are suggested.     

Psychological adjustment to gynaecological cancer: Patients’ illness representations,coping strategies and mood disturbance

This study examined associations between illness representation dimensions specified by the self-regulation model, coping and mood in recently diagnosed gynaecological cancer patients. Participants were 61 patients recruited from a specialist outpatient gynaecology clinic. Patients completed a survey measuring their cognitive illness representations (IPQ-R), coping strategies (COPE) and mood (POMS-SF). Consistent with research into other illnesses, the study found theoretically congruent cross-sectional associations between illness representations and mood disturbance. Support was found for a possible path whereby higher denial and avoidant coping might mediate the relationships between cyclical timeline and illness coherence representations and more negative mood. There were no mediational relationships for other coping strategies. Mediation of the relationship between illness representations and mood by avoidant coping has important theoretical and practical implications. These are discussed, as are direct relationships between illness representations and mood.     

Correlates of satisfaction with body function and body appearance in middle- and older aged adults: The activity counseling trial (ACT)

Abstract

This study examined the dimensional structure and correlates of body satisfaction among middle-aged and older adult men (n = 471) and women (n = 383) who were participants in the Activity Counseling Trial. Correlates were grouped as (1) fitness parameters, (2) demographic characteristics, and (3) components of subjective well-being. Factor analyses demonstrated that body function and body appearance were independent components of satisfaction in this population. Body composition and cardiorespiratory fitness were directly related to satisfaction with body appearance; however, satisfaction with body function was most strongly related in expected directions to measures of subjective well-being. Age was positively related to both measures of body satisfaction, whereas data on race revealed that blacks were more satisfied with their body appearance and function than whites. The observed relationships for body satisfaction suggest that older adults may value body function more than body appearance. Furthermore, the associations of race and age with body satisfaction have important implications for intervention research.     

The Impact of Target Base Rate on Training and Transfer of Learning in Airline Luggage Screening: An Examination of Three Base Rate Scenarios

We examined the extent to which transfer of training is impacted by target probability and physical similarity of training and transfer stimuli. Participants performed a luggage screening task where they trained on three base rates of weapon presence as follows: 100%, 50% and 20%; at transfer, participants detected the same weapons (Study 1) or novel weapons (Studies 2 and 3) at a base rate of 20%. In Study 3, we modified training such that all participants observed the same absolute number of weapons (n = 100) across base rate conditions. In Study 1, different base rates did not significantly impact transfer. In Study 2, 100% base rates helped hit rates at transfer but increased false alarms via liberal shifts in decision criteria and slowed detection times. Study 3 revealed no effect of base rates on transfer hit rates; however, training on 100% base rates still led to liberal responding and inflated false alarms. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Family of Origin Coaching for Clinicians in a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service

The role of the therapist as a person rather than only as a technician has become increasingly important in family therapy since the post-modern turn. Despite this there is a paucity of research exploring supervision models that focus on self-reflection, as opposed to clinical competence. This study documents the experience of a Family of Origin Coaching group, conducted with six clinicians and one supervisor working in a child and adolescent mental health service. A participatory action framework was used, with data analysed using grounded theory. A variety of benefits were reported, including personal development, an enhanced empathy towards clients and an ability to better cope with stressful team dynamics. Family of Origin coaching has the potential to yield benefits for clinicians as a compliment to traditional supervision. Issues of confidentiality and safety need to be addressed carefully, especially during times of organisational change or stress.     

Leadership and Perceiver Cognition: Examining the Role of Self-Identity in Implicit Leadership Theories

We investigated whether priming individuals' self-identities to be interdependent or independent influences their ratings of leadership prototypicality. Specifically, we predicted that participants receiving an interdependent prime would rate items associated with transformational leadership as being more prototypical of effective leadership than would participants receiving no prime. We also predicted that participants receiving an independent prime would rate transactional leadership items as being more prototypical of effective leadership. Undergraduate psychology students were randomly assigned to one of three conditions (interdependent prime, independent prime, and control). Results support the idea that self-identity can be primed to influence ratings of leadership prototypicality. We discuss implications and suggest directions for future research.     

An examination of individual differences in the relation of subjective goal difficulty to performance in a goal‐setting model

A laboratory study investigated individual differences in the role of subjective goal difficulty as a mediating variable in a goal‐setting framework. A moderate or difficult anagram goal was assigned to participants based on individual task ability level. For individuals receiving a difficult goal 3 mediating relations and 1 moderator were found. For individuals receiving only moderately difficult goals, only 1 mediating relation was supported. Results are discussed with respect to goal‐setting theory.