Exploring the developmental changes in automatic two-digit number processing

Even when two-digit numbers are irrelevant to the task at hand, adults process them. Do children process numbers automatically, and if so, what kind of information is activated? In a novel dot-number Stroop task, children (Grades 1-5) and adults were shown two different two-digit numbers made up of dots. Participants were asked to select the number that contained the larger dots. If numbers are processed automatically, reaction time for dot size judgment should be affected by numerical characteristics. The results suggest that, like adults, children process two-digit numbers automatically. Based on the current findings, we propose a developmental trend for automatic two-digit number processing that goes from decomposed sequential (activation of decade digit followed by that of unit digit) to decomposed parallel processing (simultaneous activation of decade and unit digits).     

English- and Chinese-learning infants map novel labels to objects and actions differently

Research based on naturalistic and checklist methods has revealed differences between English and Chinese monolingual children in their trajectories of learning nouns and verbs. However, studies based on controlled laboratory designs (e.g., Imai et al., 2008) have yielded a more mixed picture. Guided by a multidimensional view of word learning (in which different mechanisms are weighted and recruited to different extents over development), we examined English- and Mandarin-learning infants' (n = 128) ability to map novel labels to unfamiliar actions and objects. Findings reveal cross-linguistic variations in the mapping of words to actions versus objects that are consistent with those found previously with naturalistic and checklist methods. Specifically, English learners were able to map novel labels to both actions and objects at 18 months but to neither actions nor objects at 14 months. In an identical experimental paradigm, Mandarin learners at both 14 and 18 months of age were able to map novel labels to actions but not to objects. Similar patterns were found when infants were grouped based on their vocabulary size. Combined results lend support for a dynamic view of word learning that take into account multiple mechanisms interacting across developmental time with important cultural constraints.     

The impact of school-based mentoring on youths with different relational profiles

Associations between youths' relationship profiles and mentoring outcomes were explored in the context of a national, randomized study of 1,139 youths (54% female) in geographically diverse Big Brothers Big Sisters school-based mentoring programs. The sample included youths in Grades 4-9 from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds, the majority of whom were receiving free or reduced-price lunch. Latent profile analysis, a person-oriented approach, was used to identify 3 distinct relational profiles. Mentoring was found to have differential effects depending on youths' preintervention approach to relationships. In particular, youths who, at baseline, had satisfactory, but not particularly strong, relationships benefited more from mentoring than did youths with profiles characterized by either strongly positive or negative relationships. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

几何线索直接性和显著性对儿童菱形空间再定向的影响

以25名幼儿园中班儿童为研究对象,采用在一个边或角有颜色标记的菱形平面的四个角或边位置中藏物找物的任务,来探究几何线索的直接性和显著性如何影响5岁儿童对几何及非几何线索的利用。研究发现:几何线索优先性并不稳定;几何线索的直接性影响了几何线索的使用;在几何线索直接的条件下,几何线索的显著性影响了几何线索的使用;几何线索直接性及显著性均不影响儿童对颜色线索的使用。     

Shyness,sociability, and the role of media synchronicity in the use of computer‐mediated communication for interpersonal communication

This study analysed how university students in Hong Kong with varying degrees of shyness and sociability utilized computer‐mediated communication (CMC) technologies for interpersonal communication. As spontaneous communication can increase the workload on working memory and accentuate feelings of social anxiety, it was hypothesized that shy students were more likely to use email and social network sites (asynchronous CMC) more frequently, and instant messaging and chat less (synchronous CMC). Results from an online questionnaire provided partial support for the hypotheses and suggested distinctive usage patterns separated by media synchronicity. Moreover, the analyses revealed a significant interaction between shyness and sociability on asynchronous CMC use.     

Inhibitory control differentiates rare target search performance in children

Age-related differences in rare-target search are primarily explained by the speed-accuracy trade-off, primed responses, or decision making. The goal was to examine how motor inhibition influences visual search. Children pressed a key when a rare target was detected. On no-target trials, children withheld reactions. Response time (RT), hits, misses, correct rejection, and false alarms were measured. Tapping tests assessed motor control. Older children tapped faster, were more sensitive to rare targets (higher d'), and reacted more slowly than younger ones. Girls outperformed boys in search sensitivity but not in RT. Motor speed was closely associated with hit rate and RT. Results suggest that development of inhibitory control plays a key role in visual detection. The potential implications for cognitive-motor development and individual differences are discussed.     

Processing Speed and Neurodevelopment in Adolescent-Onset Psychosis: Cognitive Slowing Predicts Social Function

Onset of psychosis may be associated with abnormal adolescent neurodevelopment. Here we examined the neurocognitive profile of first-episode, adolescent onset psychosis (AOP) as compared to typically developing adolescents, and asked whether neurocognitive performance varied differentially as a function of age in the cases compared with controls. A comprehensive neuropsychological battery was administered to 35 patients experiencing a first-episode of a DSM-IV psychotic disorder and to 31 matched controls. Clinicians also rated subjects’ social and role functioning, both at the time of neuropsychological assessment and 1 year later. Although patients displayed a wide range of impairments relative to controls, their most pronounced deficits included verbal memory, sensorimotor dexterity and cognitive processing speed. Among these, only processing speed showed a significant group-by-age interaction, consistent with an aberrant developmental course among AOP patients. Processing speed also accounted for substantial variance in other areas of deficit, and predicted social functioning 1 year later. AOP patients fail to show normal age-related increases in processing speed, which in turn predicts poorer functional outcomes. This pattern is consistent with the view that adolescent brain developmental processes, such as myelination, may be disrupted in these patients.     

Autonomous forms of motivation underpinning injury prevention and rehabilitation among police officers: An application of the trans-contextual model

The present study applied the trans-contextual model (TCM) to understand the motivational processes underpinning workers?? injury prevention and rehabilitation intentions and behavior. Full-time police officers (N?=?207; M age?=?37.24, SD?=?9.93) completed questionnaire measures of the TCM variables. Covariance-based SEM for the full sample revealed that the effect of autonomy support from supervisor on autonomous motivation for injury prevention (M-injury) was fully mediated by autonomous work motivation (M-work), and the effect of M-injury on intention was fully mediated by attitude and subjective norm. Variance-based SEM for the 87 participants who had recent occupational injury showed that the effect of autonomy support from supervisor on autonomous treatment motivation (M-treatment) was partially mediated by M-work, and the effect of perceived autonomy support from physician on treatment adherence was fully mediated by M-treatment. There was no effect of treatment adherence on recovery length. Findings support the motivational sequence of the TCM in an occupational context.     

Juvenile homosexual homicide

Limited information exists on juvenile homosexual homicide (JHH), that is, youths who perpetrate sexual homicides against same-sex victims. Only a handful of cases from the United States and internationally have been described in the literature. This study, the first of its kind, examines the epidemiology, victimology, victim-offender relationship, and weapon-use patterns in JHH offenders using a large U.S. database on homicide spanning three decades. The data for this study were derived from the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Supplementary Homicide Reports (SHRs) for the years 1976 through 2005. A total of 93 cases of JHH were identified. On average, three of these crimes occurred annually in the U.S., and there was a marked decline in its incidence over the study period. Ninety-five percent were male offender-male victim cases and 5% were female offender-female victim cases. JHH offenders were over-represented amongst all juvenile sexual murderers, similar to their adult counterparts. The majority of these boys were aged 16 or 17 and killed adult victims. They were significantly more likely to kill adult victims than other age groups, to be friends or acquaintances of the victims, and to use contact/edged weapons or firearms. Most offenders killed same-race victims, although Black offenders were significantly more likely than White offenders to kill interracially. A case report is provided to illustrate JHH. Further research is needed to promote our understanding of the pathogenesis, etiology, and associated risk factors for this aberrant form of murder by children.     

The impact of an 8-day intensive treatment for adolescent panic disorder and agoraphobia on comorbid diagnoses

Previous research findings have shown positive effects of cognitive-behavioral therapy for primary anxiety disorders as well as for nonprimary, co-occurring anxiety disorders. In this study, we analyzed data from an existing randomized controlled trial of intensive treatment for panic disorder with or without agoraphobia (PDA) to examine the effects of the treatment on comorbid psychiatric diagnoses. The overall frequency and severity of aggregated comorbid diagnoses decreased in a group of adolescents who received an 8-day treatment for PDA. Results suggest that an 8-day treatment for PDA can alleviate the symptoms of some specific comorbid clinical diagnoses; in particular specific phobias, generalized anxiety disorder, and social phobia. These findings suggest that an intensive treatment for PDA is associated with reductions in comorbid symptoms even though disorders other than PDA are not specific treatment targets.