Infant shy temperament predicts preschoolers Theory of Mind

The aim of this longitudinal study was to investigate the relation between infant temperament at 18 months and early Theory of Mind (ToM) abilities at 3 years of age. Temperament was assessed with the Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire (ECBQ) and ToM by assessing children's understanding of divergent desires and beliefs, and of knowledge access. Our results are in line with a social-emotional reactivity perspective postulating more sophisticated ToM abilities for children with less reactive more observant temperament. Children with shy temperament at 18 months and at 3 years were better in reasoning about others’ mental states at age 3. Language, siblings and parental education had no effect on ToM. Findings indicate that temperament is related to ToM earlier in development than previously found, and that this relation is thus not unique to false-belief understanding.     

Influences of Work-Family Interface on Job and Life Satisfaction

Research investigating the relationship between family and work domains, according to a reductionist approach, has traditionally focused on the negative aspects of the work-family relationship. However, over the past 15 years a number of studies have also focused on the positive aspects of family and work relationships and on the interactions between the work-family interface and outcomes such as job and life satisfaction. These research studies have made it possible to capture different facets of the relationship between family and working life, and to clarify the specific nature of these interactions. In the present study, we tested a model that included positive and negative interactions between work and family as predictors of job and life satisfaction. We also examined the role of some of the potential moderators (work engagement, organizational and family support) of these relationships, using a sample of 427 Italian employees working in public administration. In our analysis, we first tested the factorial structure of the work-family interface measure (Kinnunen et al. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 47, 149–162 2006). Factor analysis confirmed a four-factor model: negative work-to-family interface, negative family-to-work interface, positive work-to-family interface, and positive family-to-work interface. Secondly, we analyzed the relationship between the work-family interface, job satisfaction and life satisfaction. Path analysis showed that the factors involved in the work-family interface influenced directly and indirectly life satisfaction, job satisfaction and work engagement. This analysis also showed that work engagement had a direct strong effect on job satisfaction and a direct weaker effect on life satisfaction. This pattern of findings is consistent with a causal sequence in which the work-family interface (WIF) and family-work interface (FIW) can increase or reduce a satisfaction-specific domain. Our results highlight the importance of using a theoretical and empirical model that integrates and focuses on both the positive and negative aspects of the work-family relationship. Moreover, this pattern demonstrates the potential consequences of this influence on employees’ working life and general well-being.     

Two neglected moral emotions in university settings: some data on pride and shame

Pride and shame, two moral emotions partially neglected by the literature, can also be categorised as achievement emotions, because of their salience within everyday school and academic life. Our aims were to explore whether they are organised in a setting-specific manner and whether they differ in two settings, learning exam-relevant material and taking exams. Five hundred and forty university students evaluated pride and shame related to the two settings. A confirmatory multitrait-multimethod analysis (MTMM) indicated higher salience of type of emotion rather than type of setting; however, the structure of pride and shame was best explained when also type of setting was accounted for. A repeated-measure analysis of variance revealed higher levels of the positive emotion compared to the negative emotion, with the latter higher for the evaluative setting. Findings are discussed in light of their theoretical and applied relevance.     

The lottery of life and moral desert: An empirical investigation

As John Rawls makes clear in A Theory of Justice, there is a popular and influential strand of political thought for which brute luck – that is, being lucky (or unlucky) in the so-called “lottery of life” – ought to have no place in a theory of distributive justice. Yet the debate about luck, desert, and fairness in contemporary political philosophy has recently been rekindled by a handful of philosophers who claim that desert should play a bigger role in theories of distributive justice. In the present paper, we present the results of our attempts to fill in some of the missing empirical details of this debate. Our findings provide some preliminary evidence that, contrary to what most contemporary political philosophers have assumed, people are not as worried by natural luck as previously thought. Instead, people’s worries seem to be focused exclusively on inequalities generated by social luck.     

Raising American Citizens: Socialization Goals of Low-Income Immigrant Latino Mothers and Fathers of Young Children

Based on ecocultural theory, this study utilizes focus group interviews to explore the ways Latino immigrant mothers and fathers transmit the values and beliefs they wish their young children to internalize. Findings suggest that parents purposely “pick and choose” values they deem “Latino,” such as the importance of family and values they deem “American,” such as independence, to pass on to their children. Parents recognized three main barriers that might stand in their way of teaching their children to adapt to two cultural groups: balancing work and family, low self-esteem, and lack of good parental role models. However, they also pointed out two sources of strength that can help them overcome these barriers: optimism and motivation. This study provides a basis for generating hypotheses to be tested with larger datasets and informs the development of theory and culturally sensitive interventions and measures to evaluate Latino parenting.     

‘At first I was overwhelmed,but then—I have to say—I did almost enjoy it’. Psychological needs satisfaction and vitality of student teachers during the first Covid-19 lockdown

Social Psychology of Education - According to Self-Determination Theory, the satisfaction of the three basic psychological needs (BPN) is crucial for optimal personal and academic development, as...     

A Comparison of MMPI-2 Profiles Between Parental Alienation Cases and Custody Cases

Journal of Child and Family Studies - The present study aimed at understanding the personality features of mothers and fathers engaged in parental alienation—a family dynamic in which one...     

Does childhood general cognitive ability at age 12 predict subjective well-being at age 52?

Drawing on a broad, multidimensional conceptualization of subjective well-being, this study examined the power of childhood general cognitive ability to predict life satisfaction, satisfaction with eight individual life domains, and the frequency of experiencing positive and negative affect in middle adulthood. Data were obtained from a representative Luxembourgish sample (N = 738; 53% female) in a longitudinal study conducted in 1968 and 2008. Childhood general cognitive ability was unrelated to life satisfaction, negatively related to negative affect and satisfaction with free time, and positively related to positive affect and satisfaction with some of the life domains associated with socioeconomic success (i.e. finances, self, housing, work, or health). This predictive power persisted even when childhood socioeconomic status was controlled.     

Non-conscious word processing in a mirror-masking paradigm causing attentional distraction: an ERP-study

In this event-related potential (ERP) study a masking technique that prevents conscious perception of words and non-words through attentional distraction was used to reveal the temporal dynamics of word processing under non-conscious and conscious conditions. In the non-conscious condition, ERP responses differed between masked words and non-words from 112 to 160 ms after stimulus-onset over posterior brain areas. The early onset of the word-non-word differences was compatible with previous studies that reported non-conscious access to orthographic information within this time period. Moreover, source localisations provided evidence for automatic activation of prelexical phonological information, whereas no evidence for non-conscious semantic processing was found. When subjects were informed about the masking technique, lexical differences occurred at later time intervals, suggesting conscious access to additional word related information. These results indicate that early visual word processing does not depend entirely on attentional resources, but that non-conscious processing probably is restricted to rather lower-level linguistic information.