Justice judgements,school failure,and adolescent deviant behaviour

Background. The current paper is based on two different approaches. One is the relational model of authority (Tyler & Lind, 1992), which addresses the effects of justice perceptions on the legitimacy of authorities and behavioural compliance. The other is Emler and Reicher's theory (1995, 2005), which explains the involvement of adolescents in delinquency through their relationship with the institutional authorities of society. Aims. To provide empirical evidence for the linkage of these perspectives, analysing the relationship between justice perceptions about teachers and the involvement of adolescents in deviant behaviour. Our hypotheses are that teachers’ justice is negatively related with deviant behaviour and that this relationship is mediated through the evaluation of institutional authorities, after controlling for school failure. Sample. Three hundred and ninety adolescents aged between 14 and 17 years. Methods. Participants completed the following scales: perceptions of justice about teachers, evaluation of institutional authorities, and deviant behaviour. Data were examined through correlation and bootstrap analyses. Results. Justice judgments about teachers were negatively related with deviant behaviour, and this relationship was partially mediated by the evaluation of institutional authorities, even after controlling for school failure. However, procedural justice revealed a much stronger relationship with deviance, compared to distributive justice. Conclusions. As predicted, these results suggest that when adolescents perceive school authorities as fair, other institutional authorities are likely to be perceived in a similar way and the more those authorities are positively evaluated, the less often adolescents engage in deviant conduct. Results are discussed according to the theories underlying our hypothesis. Directions for future research are suggested.     

Mirror,mirror on the wall,tell me that I have succeeded at it all: Self-esteem and the defensive mechanisms against failure

Social Psychology of Education - Students face frequent formal and informal tests, both in the academic context and social life. On each of these occasions, they risk falling short of their own or...     

When an academic culture based on self-enhancement values undermines female students’ sense of belonging,self-efficacy,and academic choices

ABSTRACT

Although overall women are better represented in higher education than men, women’s psychological experience in various academic contexts is qualified by a decreased sense of belonging and academic self-efficacy, including in fields where they are not targeted by a negative stereotype. To clarify this phenomenon, we develop the hypothesis of a mismatch between female students’ values and the values associated with success in the increasingly selective realm of higher education. We argue that, whatever the fields of study, these values are self-enhancement values (competitiveness, self-affirmation, dominance). Three studies showed that when success was depicted in terms of self-enhancement values, women – but not men – expressed a lower sense of belonging, had lower self-efficacy and were less likely to pursue a given academic opportunity both in STEM and non-STEM fields of study. These effects did not appear in an academic context depicting success as being rooted in self-transcendence values (helpfulness, cooperation, benevolence).     

Precursors of a theory of mind: A longitudinal study

The study examined whether the pointing gesture and intentional understanding abilities at 12 and 15 months of age predict the later understanding of perception and intention, as well as the ability to explain others' actions in a psychological way at 39 months of age. Thirty‐five infants (18 girls) were administered pointing and intention‐understanding tasks at the age of 12 and 15 months. Children were again evaluated at the age of 39 months with perception and intention tasks, and a psychological explanation task. Results showed that only 12‐month‐olds' comprehension of the pointing gesture with an imperative motive contributed to the prediction of later understanding of perception and mentalistic explanations of actions. Moreover, the ability of 12‐ and 15‐month‐olds to understand intentions contributed to the prediction of later preschool understanding of perceptions and intentions. These results indicate that a developmental trajectory in children's understanding of mental states from infancy to childhood is present, but depends on the level of engagement and communication that are required to perform these tasks.     

Pet dogs (Canis familiaris) re-engage humans after joint activity

Animal Cognition - Joint intentionality, the mutual understanding of shared goals or actions to partake in a common task, is considered an essential building block of theory of mind in humans....