Living the high life: social status influences real estate decision making

Social status is associated with the vertical spatial dimension, with people conceptualizing higher social status with higher vertical positions. Two experiments tested whether this association influences relatively real‐world decisions about others by asking participants to act as real estate agents, aiding in the relocation of clients who explicitly or implicitly varied in social status. Across experiments, higher status clients were placed into higher elevation housing options. This influence of social status persisted when strategy‐aware participants were removed from analysis, and was not influenced by individual differences in social dominance or locus of control. Abstract concepts of social status are understood through associations with vertical space, and these mapping of abstract concepts to concrete percepts prove influential in guiding daily decisions.     

Mixture Modeling Methods for the Assessment of Normal and Abnormal Personality,Part I: Cross-Sectional Models

Over the past 75 years, the study of personality and personality disorders has been informed considerably by an impressive array of psychometric instruments. Many of these tests draw on the perspective that personality features can be conceptualized in terms of latent traits that vary dimensionally across the population. A purely trait-oriented approach to personality, however, might overlook heterogeneity that is related to similarities among subgroups of people. This article describes how factor mixture modeling (FMM), which incorporates both categories and dimensions, can be used to represent person-oriented and trait-oriented variability in the latent structure of personality. We provide an overview of different forms of FMM that vary in the degree to which they emphasize trait- versus person-oriented variability. We also provide practical guidelines for applying FMM to personality data, and we illustrate model fitting and interpretation using an empirical analysis of general personality dysfunction.     

Introduction to the Special Section on Mixture Modeling in Personality Assessment

Latent variable models offer a conceptual and statistical framework for evaluating the underlying structure of psychological constructs, including personality and psychopathology. Complex structures that combine or compare categorical and dimensional latent variables can be accommodated using mixture modeling approaches, which provide a powerful framework for testing nuanced theories about psychological structure. This special series includes introductory primers on cross-sectional and longitudinal mixture modeling, in addition to empirical examples applying these techniques to real-world data collected in clinical settings. This group of articles is designed to introduce personality assessment scientists and practitioners to a general latent variable framework that we hope will stimulate new research and application of mixture models to the assessment of personality and its pathology.     

Immobility reaction at birth in newborn infant

Objective

To describe an immobility reaction (IR) that was not previously reported at or immediately after birth in human newborns.

Method

We analyzed 31 videos of normal term vaginal deliveries recorded from Time 0 of birth defined as the as the moment that lies between the birth of the thorax and the pelvis of the infant. We searched for perinatal factors associated with newborn's IR.

Results

IR at birth was observed in 8 of the 31 newborns. The main features of their behavior were immobilization, frozen face, shallow breathing and bradycardia. One of the 8 newborns had sudden collapse 2 h after birth. We found significant relationships between maternal prenatal stress (PS) and IR (p = .037), and a close to significant one between infants’ lividness at Time 0 and IR (p = .053). The first breath of the 31 newborns occurred before and was not associated with the first cry (p < .001).

Discussion

The main features of IR at birth are similar to those of the universal most severe response to severe stress or danger. The relationship with PS suggests that children who had IR at birth might be at risk for similar disorders as those associated with PS. Sudden neonatal collapse of one of the IR newborns needs further research to determine if they are at risk for sudden infant death syndrome.

Conclusion

This first report of an IR reaction at birth in human infants could open up new paths for improving early neonatal care. Further research is needed for maternal PS, stress hormones, umbilical cord blood pH measurements in IR newborns. The challenge of education and support for parents of IR newborns is outlined.     

Explanation,Contrast, and the Primacy of Practice

Abstract: The common practice of giving (comparing, rejecting and inferring) explanations of phenomena is at the root of articulate learning, including the enterprises we collect under the noun ‘science’. The way that practice privileges a single item from the myriad relevant to any phenomenon tells us something about articulateness itself.     

Intramodal and crossmodal pairing and anchoring in comparisons of successive stimuli

Two experiments were conducted to study effects of modality, temporal position, and their interaction on comparisons of successive stimuli. In Experiment 1, intramodal (tone–tone and line–line) and crossmodal (tone–line and line–tone) stimulus pairs, with two interstimulus intervals (ISIs), 400 and 2,000 ms, were presented. Participants indicated which stimulus was the “stronger.” Time-order errors (TOEs) were assessed using the D% measure and were found in all types of pairs. Variation in TOEs across conditions was well accounted for by changes in parameters (stimulus weights, reference levels) in an extended version of Hellström’s sensation weighting (SW) model. With an ISI of 2,000 ms, the first stimulus had a lower weight (less impact on the response) than did the second stimulus. More negative TOEs were found with the longer ISI in all pair types except tone–line. In Experiment 2, participants indicated which of two lines was the longer or which of two tones was the louder. An intra- or crossmodal anchor, or no anchor, was interpolated between the stimuli. Anchoring tended to reduce the weight of the first stimulus, suggesting interference with memory, and to yield negative TOEs. Intramodal anchors yielded reduced weights of both stimuli, most dramatically for tones, suggesting an additional effect of stimulus interference. Response times decreased with crossmodal anchors. For line–line pairs, strong negative TOEs were found. In both experiments, the variation in TOE across conditions was well accounted for by the SW model.     

How Does Homelessness Affect Parenting Behaviour? A Systematic Critical Review and Thematic Synthesis of Qualitative Research

The adverse social and physical conditions of homelessness pose significant developmental risks for children, which may be compounded or buffered by the quality of parenting behaviour they are exposed to. There is currently a limited understanding of how parents approach their care-giving role and responsibilities while adjusting to the experience of homelessness. Advancing knowledge in this area is essential for developing acceptable, appropriate and effective interventions to support highly marginalised and vulnerable homeless families. This review explored homeless parents’ perceptions of how homelessness affects their parenting behaviour and identified adaptive strategies that parents may use to mitigate the potentially negative impacts of homelessness on the quality of care-giving. A systematic search of four electronic databases (ASSIA, PsycINFO, Web of Science and MEDLINE) identified 13 published qualitative studies, all originating from the USA, which explored parenting behaviour in homeless contexts. The studies were critically appraised using the CASP qualitative assessment tool. Thematic synthesis identified the following determinants of parenting behaviour; negative self-concept in the parental role, parental mental health, material resources, challenges to autonomy and self-efficacy, daily hassles, physical environment and service context, stigma, child characteristics and lack of support. These were synthesised thematically using existing models of parenting determinants and positive parenting. Findings indicate substantive impacts of homelessness on parental mental health, parenting authority, material resources, parenting environments and social support. Parents developed a number of adaptive methods to negotiate the challenges of homeless parenting such as maintaining a positive mindset, cherishing the parental role and developing practical strategies. We conclude with recommendations that service providers should tailor parenting support to resource-constrained circumstances and that further research is required in order to better understand experiences of homeless parents in other international contexts.     

Are Deaf Dating Scripts Really Different from Those of Their Hearing Peers?

An initial study found that Deaf participants have a different definition of a date than the Traditional Sex Script (TSS). In the TSS, the man is viewed as the initiator who pushes for sex and the woman is expected to limit sex if they do not want to have intercourse; neither of these ideas were included in Deaf participants’ responses when asked what happens on a typical date. These findings may relate to early experiences in childhood. At an early age, hearing children are exposed to the TSS through popular culture. Deaf children are not exposed to these cues at the same level because of their lack of communication access. Here we compare Deaf college students to hearing college students to further investigate these issues using a more quantitative design.     

Emotion suppression and reappraisal associated with bullying involvement and other social outcomes in young adults

The ability to regulate emotions appropriately and effectively is important in maintaining positive social interactions and outcomes. The current study investigated the association between the habitual use of suppression and reappraisal, and involvement in bullying in high school. Other social outcomes, such as current social satisfaction and support, were also considered. Two hundred and nine first-year psychology university students (mean age 19.13 years, SD?=?1.523) completed online questionnaires. Results demonstrated that suppression was associated with greater retrospective reports of victimisation during high school and lower current social satisfaction and support, even when controlling for general affect. Reappraisal was mostly found to be unrelated to bullying and social outcomes, with only one association existing between higher reappraisal use and better social satisfaction, which was no longer significant when controlling for affect. The findings extend on previous research by demonstrating a negative association between suppression and involvement in bullying.