The Impact of a Precision Teaching Intervention on the Reading Fluency of Typically Developing Children

This research investigated the efficacy of precision teaching (PT) on the reading fluency of typically developing children, aged 7–8 years. Seven participants were assigned to a PT intervention group and received 6 weeks of fluency training using Say All Fast a Minute Every Day Shuffled (SAFMEDS) fluency cards (Phase 1) and a Dolch story (Phase 2). Outcomes were measured using multiple baseline design (MBD) data, Standard Celeration Charts, and pre‐intervention–post‐intervention fluency scores. The MBD data show increased correct responding for PT participants from baseline to the end of each intervention phase. These improvements were maintained at a 3‐week post‐intervention follow‐up. The MBD clearly demonstrated a replication of intervention effects across participants. The study supports prior research in this area showing that PT can lead to large and socially relevant gains in children's reading fluency. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sandplay therapy with couples within the framework of analytical psychology

Sandplay therapy with couples is discussed within an analytical framework. Guidelines are proposed as a means of developing this relatively new area within sandplay therapy, and as a platform to open a wider discussion to bring together sandplay therapy and couple therapy. Examples of sand trays created during couple therapy are also presented to illustrate the transformations during the therapeutic process.     

Mother and father socially desirable responding in nine countries: Two kinds of agreement and relations to parenting self‐reports

We assessed 2 forms of agreement between mothers' and fathers' socially desirable responding in China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand and the United States (N = 1110 families). Mothers and fathers in all 9 countries reported socially desirable responding in the upper half of the distribution, and countries varied minimally (but China was higher than the cross‐country grand mean and Sweden lower). Mothers and fathers did not differ in reported levels of socially desirable responding, and mothers' and fathers' socially desirable responding were largely uncorrelated. With one exception, mothers' and fathers' socially desirable responding were similarly correlated with self‐perceptions of parenting, and correlations varied somewhat across countries. These findings are set in a discussion of socially desirable responding, cultural psychology and family systems.     

The heavy weight of death: how anti‐fat bias is affected by weight‐based group membership and existential threat

Anti‐fat bias is marked by a devaluation of overweight people compared with non‐overweight persons. Even though belonging to the same group, research on social identity theory (SIT) indicates that overweight people also devaluate overweight others. Merging insights from research on anti‐fat bias, SIT, and terror management theory, our study (n = 101) provides new insights on motivational aspects of anti‐fat bias by investigating the effects of existential threat on the evaluation of non‐overweight and overweight people. Results revealed that participants in the existential threat condition displayed in‐group bias: Participants perceiving themselves as non‐overweight showed more pronounced anti‐fat bias compared with participants in the non‐death threat condition. In contrast, participants perceiving themselves as overweight demonstrated less anti‐fat bias than controls.     

Relations Between Adolescent Ratings of Rothbart's Temperament Questionnaire and the HEXACO Personality Inventory

Conventionally, individual differences have been assessed using temperament measures for infants and children, and personality measures for adults. We chose to explore both temperament and personality to see whether a convergence exists specifically during adolescence. A sample of 225 adolescents completed Rothbart's Early Adolescent Temperament Questionnaire–Revised (EATQ–R), a 4-factor temperament scale, and the HEXACO Personality Inventory–Revised (HEXACO PI–R), a 6-factor personality scale. As hypothesized, we found significant relations between the 2 measures. However, there were some important differences between the 2 measures regarding Honesty–Humility, Openness, and Frustration that highlight the unique contributions of both instruments to understanding and measuring adolescent individual differences. As there is a relatively scant history of measuring temperament or personality in adolescence, it is sometimes difficult for researchers to decide which instrument is most appropriate. The results reported here suggest that either the EATQ–R or the HEXACO PI–R could be appropriate, depending on the specific research questions being asked.