Implicit theories of online trolling: Evidence that attention‐seeking conceptions are associated with increased psychological resilience

Three studies were conducted to investigate people's conceptions of online trolls, particularly conceptions associated with psychological resilience to trolling. In Study 1, a factor analysis of participants’ ratings of characteristics of online trolls found a replicable bifactor model of conceptions of online trolls, with a general factor of general conceptions towards online trolls being identified, but five group factors (attention‐conflict seeking, low self‐confidence, viciousness, uneducated, amusement) as most salient. In Study 2, participants evaluated hypothetical profiles of online trolling messages to establish the validity of the five factors. Three constructs (attention‐conflict seeking, viciousness, and uneducated) were actively employed when people considered profiles of online trolling scenarios. Study 3 introduced a 20‐item ‘Conceptions of Online Trolls scale’ to examine the extent to which the five group factors were associated with resilience to trolling. Results indicated that viewing online trolls as seeking conflict or attention was associated with a decrease in individuals’ negative affect around previous trolling incidents. Overall, the findings suggest that adopting an implicit theories approach can further our understanding and measurement of conceptions towards trolling through the identification of five salient factors, of which at least one factor may act as a resilience strategy.     

Death as the Ultimate Castration

ABSTRACT

Psychoanalysts, beginning with Sigmund Freud, have been scanting, denying, minimizing, and obfuscating the significance of fear of death in their patients and in themselves. Starting with Freud, they have tended to interpret fear of death as a displacement from other sources of anxiety, especially from castration anxiety. Conversely, some psychoanalysts and psychotherapists have denied the presence or significance of castration anxiety in their patients and in themselves. In this communication, the prevalence and significance of each of these forms of terror are examined, individually and as to their connection with one another. Considerable clinical, child observational, and literary evidence is presented that illustrates the significance and meaning of these two sources of terror within the human psyche, as well as the relationship which they have with one another.     

Expanding the social psychological study of educators through humanizing principles

The social psychological study of education contains growing potential to contribute to the understanding of learning and the design of effective learning environments that support youth development. As research on educators in particular expands, there are key insights and perspectives from areas outside of psychology that can help to guide the direction of new studies and approaches. Humanizing frameworks are especially well suited to inform the social psychological study of educators, as they address the ways that institutions deny the humanity of people from groups that face economic and ethnic-racial marginalization in the United States. By following principles of humanization to evaluate, deepen, and broaden social psychological approaches, future research becomes more likely to advance knowledge in ways that embrace the inherent value of students as whole people. Identity-based motivation theory provides an example of a social psychological approach expanding to emphasize the role of educators with attention to principles of humanization.     

School-based,randomised controlled trial of an evidence-based condom promotion leaflet

A condom use promotion leaflet was designed for use with older teenagers in schools. The text targeted a series of cognitive and behavioural antecedents of condom use identified in the literature. Given previous evidence that motivational incentives can enhance the effectiveness of health promotion leaflets, the leaflet was presented in conjunction with a quiz and prize draw. Students were randomly assigned to either the intervention condition or a (no leaflet or incentive) control condition. Measures were taken immediately, pre-intervention and 4 weeks later from 404 students. The 20-min intervention successfully promoted six of the eight measured cognitions, namely (1) attitude towards using condoms with a new partner (2) attitude towards using condoms with a steady partner (3) normative beliefs in relation to preparatory actions (4) self-efficacy in relation to both preparatory actions and (5) condom use (6) intention to use condoms, as well as three measured preparatory actions, that is, purchasing condoms, carrying condoms and discussing condom use. The intervention did not increase condom use with steady or new partners but power to test intervention impact on condom use was curtailed.     

Fathering Self-Efficacy, Marital Satisfaction and Father Involvement in Hong Kong

We examined the predictability of fathering self-efficacy and marital satisfaction on father involvement. The moderating effect of marital satisfaction on the relationship between father efficacy and father involvement was also explored. A cross-sectional survey was conducted using the convenience sampling method. A total of 2,029 valid questionnaires were collected from fathers with children aged 2–6 from 48 nurseries in Hong Kong. The fathers’ mean age is 39.1. 72.9 % of the fathers graduated from secondary school and 86 % had full-time jobs. Measures including self-efficacy subscale in the Parenting Sense of Competency Scale, the Index of Marital Satisfaction, the Inventory of Father Involvement were adopted in the present study. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that fathering self-efficacy and marital satisfaction were significant positive predictors of father involvement, whereas marital satisfaction moderated the effect of fathering self-efficacy on father involvement. It is thus important to improve martial satisfaction and enhance fathering self-efficacy for promoting father involvement. To gain a more comprehensive picture, future studies of father involvement may benefit by adopting a longitudinal research design, including the mothers and children as informants, and addressing other parenting correlates such as parenting stress and spousal support.     

The impact of engineering identification and stereotypes on undergraduate women’s achievement and persistence in engineering

Women almost always comprise a minority in engineering programs and a smaller percentage of women pursue engineering than other science and technology majors. The culture of engineering departments and negative stereotypes of women’s engineering and mathematical ability have been identified as factors that inhibit women’s entry into engineering and cause them to leave the major. Even for women who stay, stereotype threat or the anxiety of confirming a negative stereotype can decrease academic performance. To more fully understand this dynamic, we examined four factors associated with stereotype threat (engineering identification, gender identification, gender stereotype endorsement, and engineering ability perceptions) to determine how they impacted women’s achievement and persistence in engineering at the end of their first year of an engineering program. Participants included 363 first-year general engineering students from a large public university. Students completed a questionnaire near the end of their first year. Results indicated that there were differences between men and women for gender stereotype endorsement and engineering ability perceptions, with men more likely to hold negative stereotypes of women’s engineering abilities and women more likely to report higher perceptions of their engineering abilities. Engineering identification was a significant predictor of persistence in engineering, and engineering ability perceptions were significant predictors of achievement; the relationships were stronger for women than men. The fact that neither gender identification nor gender stereotype endorsement were related to achievement or persistence in engineering indicated that they were less important factors for first-year women engineering students than engineering identification and engineering ability perceptions.     

Strength Training Effects on Muscle Forces and Contributions to Whole-Body Movement in Cerebral Palsy

Strength training is often prescribed for children with cerebral palsy (CP); however, links between strength gains and mobility are unclear. Nine children (age 14?±?3?years; GMFCS I-III) with spastic CP completed a 6-week strength-training program. Musculoskeletal gait simulations were generated for four children to assess training effects on muscle forces and function. There were increases in isometric joint strength, but no statistical changes in fast-as-possible walking speed or endurance after training. The walking simulations revealed changes in muscle forces and contributions to body center of mass acceleration, with greater forces from the hip muscles during walking most commonly observed. A progressive strength-training program can result in isometric and dynamic strength gains in children with CP, associated with variable mobility outcomes.     

New Faces in a New Place: Long-Time Residents’ Perceptions of New Residents in an Oil Boomtown in the Bakken Oil Shale Region

ABSTRACT

In 2008, increased oil production in the Bakken oil shale region in western North Dakota sparked a rapid increase in population for the communities in that area. This study examines long-time residents’ perceptions of new residents moving into their community using quantitative methods. The findings reveal that long-time residents who reported an increase in fear of crime because of the oil boom in western North Dakota were less likely to have positive perceptions of new residents. In addition, long-time residents who viewed their community as a friendly place and its residents as trustworthy, and who attempted to interact with new residents, were more likely to report positive perceptions of new residents.     

RECONSIDERING THE MARGINS

Thousands of testimonies were collected in the immediate post-war period from child survivors of the Holocaust. These testimonies tell us much about the children's Holocaust experience and about society's attitude to child survivors. This paper presents an in-depth analysis of two such testimonies on the backdrop of historical research of their setting and context. Through our analysis of two children's testimonies given in the Aschau DP Children's Camp, we demonstrate that it is crucial to explore the immediate context in which testimonies were given, because of its strong influence upon their content and structure. In fact, our research shows that the contemporary context enters into the very fabric of the testimonies. No analysis, therefore, is complete without an inquiry into this crucial aspect. The two testimonies were chosen because they make up a distinct subgroup within a larger collection of testimonies that were given concurrently and, therefore, they constitute each other's immediate context. This paper also demonstrates the indispensability of a multidisciplinary analysis that draws upon elements from the fields of historical, literary and linguistic scholarship.