Preschoolers’ nonsymbolic arithmetic with large sets: Is addition more accurate than subtraction?

Adult and developing humans share with other animals analog magnitude representations of number that support nonsymbolic arithmetic with large sets. This experiment tested the hypothesis that such representations may be more accurate for addition than for subtraction in children as young as 3½ years of age. In these tasks, the experimenter hid two equal sets of cookies, visibly added to or subtracted from the sets, and then asked 3½-year-olds which set had more cookies. Initial set size was either large (7 or 9) or very large (18 or 30), and the final sets differed by either a high proportion (ratio of 1:2) or a low proportion (difference of 1 cookie). Children’s addition performance exceeded chance, as well as their subtraction performance, across set sizes and proportions, whereas subtraction performance did not exceed chance. Arithmetic performance was also independent of counting ability. Addition performance was remarkably accurate when ratios between outcomes were close to 1, in contrast to previous findings. Interpretations for the asymmetry between addition and subtraction are discussed with respect to the nature of representations for nonsymbolic arithmetic with large sets.     

Cultural Differences in the Relation between Self-discrepancy and Life Satisfaction

Cultural differences in the relation between self-discrepancy and subjective well-being were examined. Participants from India (N = 54) and the United States (N = 55) listed 10 goals they set for themselves and their parents set for them. They rated the importance of own and parental goals from their own and their parents' perspective. They also completed measures of collectivism and well-being. Americans, who were less collectivistic than Indians, rated their own goals to be more important than their parents' goals for them, whereas Indians regarded their own and their parents' goals as equally important. Americans' well-being was predicted by discrepancies between own and parental ratings on personal goals. However, discrepancies between own and parental ratings on parental goals were predictive of Indians' well-being. Theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Input/output switch in bilingual code switching

Chinese-English bilinguals were asked to read a passage with spontaneous bilingual code switchings, compared with a unilingual Chinese translation of the passage, a unilingual English translation, a translation with random switchings, and a translation with only nouns switched into English. There was no difference between the reading speed for the passage with natural switchings and the unilingual Chinese passage, thus questioning the need to postulate a bilingual imput/output switch. The speed for reading passages with artificial switchings was slower. In a translation task, the naturally switched items required less time in Chinese-to-English translations compared with English-to-Chinese translations. This indicates that in natural code switchings, the English lexical items produced were more available, even though English is generally the weaker language.     

Parental employment, school climate, and children's academic and social development

Longitudinal data were used to examine the effects of parental employment status and school climate on children's academic and social development. Hierarchical regression, analyses of covariance, and latent growth modeling were used to assess various aspects of change as a function of work status and school climate with family income and education as control variables. Parental employment was associated with positive changes in social and academic progress even after controlling for prior developmental level, climate, and family income although effects were small and complex. School climate had minimal effect on the outcome variables. Income and education were related to various school outcomes.     

Perceiving the vertical distances of surfaces by means of a hand-held probe.

Nine experiments were conducted on the haptic capacity of people to perceive the distances of horizontal surfaces solely on the basis of mechanical stimulation resulting from contacting the surfaces with a vertically held rod. Participants touched target surfaces with rods inside a wooden cabinet and reported the perceived surface location with an indicator outside the cabinet. The target surface, rod, and the participant's hand were occluded, and the sound produced in exploration was muffled. Properties of the probe (length, mass, moment of inertia, center of mass, and shape) were manipulated, along with surface distance and the method and angle of probing. Results suggest that for the most common method of probing, namely, tapping, perceived vertical distance is specific to a particular relation among the rotational inertia of the probe, the distance of the point of contact with the surface from the probe's center of percussion, and the inclination at contact of the probe to the surface. They also suggest that the probe length and the distance probed are independently perceivable. The results were discussed in terms of information specificity versus percept-percept coupling and parallels between selective attention in haptic and visual perception.     

Universals and cultural differences in the judgments of facial expressions of emotion

We present here new evidence of cross-cultural agreement in the judgement of facial expression. Subjects in 10 cultures performed a more complex judgment task than has been used in previous cross-cultural studies. Instead of limiting the subjects to selecting only one emotion term for each expression, this task allowed them to indicate that multiple emotions were evident and the intensity of each emotion. Agreement was very high across cultures about which emotion was the most intense. The 10 cultures also agreed about the second most intense emotion signaled by an expression and about the relative intensity among expressions of the same emotion. However, cultural differences were found in judgments of the absolute level of emotional intensity.     

Phallometric diagnosis with 'nonadmitters'

The phallometric method of assessing erotic value of presented stimuli has two main tasks, one is in the breaking down of complex (potentially) sexual stimuli into components, the other is in diagnosing anomalous erotic preferences in ‘Nonadmitters’, i.e. in persons whose behaviour would imply there is such an anomaly, but who deny its presence. Differentiation between Admitters and Nonadmitters was attained by two verbal Admitter scales. Comparison of the scores on these scales with results of phallometric assessment showed (by mutual validation) that the phallometric method diagnoses Admitters more accurately than Nonadmitters. After that, the validity was tested of a new mode of the phallometric method, designed for diagnosing pedo- or hebephilia in Nonadmitters. In cases of homosexual pedophilia or hebephilia (but not in the heterosexual cases) the new Nonadmitter mode was superior to the Standard procedure.     

Reflections on the Evaluation of a Cambodian Youth Dance Program

Evaluating a youth program whose goals are to provide instruction in Cambodian dance, increase awareness and pride in Cambodian culture, promote healthy behaviors, and create linkages within the community has been a challenge. A primary source of conflict was incorporating evaluation methods that were required of all funded programs with our own specifically tailored measures. One of our concerns was that the required tools were not culturally appropriate for our participants. Our experiences reinforce the importance of forming partnerships that embrace principles of respect, equity, and empowerment among all involved before establishing a research agenda. The choices we made and did not make contributed to our struggles and frustration and also to the insight that was gained. Our analysis examines the importance of clear communication, cultural awareness, tailoring evaluation, and meaningful participation. We believe that the lessons we learned will help facilitate the conduct of culturally sensitive community-based research.     

Interactive effects of situational judgment effectiveness and proactive personality on work perceptions and work outcomes

This study was based on a sample of 139 employees. The results support the hypothesis that proactive personality (PAP) predicts work perceptions (procedural justice perception, perceived supervisor support, and social integration) and work outcomes (job satisfaction, affective organizational commitment, and job performance) positively among individuals with high situational judgment effectiveness (SJE) but negatively among those with low SJE. The findings on the disordinal SJE = PAP interaction effects show that high levels of PAP may be either adaptive or maladaptive, depending on the individual's level of SJE, and these findings caution against direct interpretations of bivariate associations between PAP and work-relevant criteria. Limitations and implications of the study as well as future research directions on the study of PAP and situational judgment are discussed.     

Volunteers serving victims of sexual assault

Rape crisis volunteers who provide direct-care services to victims of sexual assault are a much-understudied group. Volunteers provide a crucial role in support of nonprofit rape crisis centers, and factors influencing their continued service are an important consideration for decision makers. In the present study, the authors examined--among volunteers providing hospital and crisis-line advocacy to victims of sexual assault--the training, service self-efficacy, social support, and experiences with victim blaming as correlates with overall satisfaction, affective commitment, and the intent to remain. Overall satisfaction and affective commitment were positively related to the intent to stay. Additionally, the perceived value of training was positively related to overall satisfaction and the intent to remain.