The impact of appearance-focused social comparisons on body image disturbance in the naturalistic environment: the roles of thin-ideal internalization and feminist beliefs

Drawing on Festinger's (1954) social comparison theory and its modern applications, this research investigated the relationship between upward appearance-focused social comparisons and body image disturbance using ecological momentary assessment, which allows for examination of these phenomena in their natural context. Participants were 91 undergraduate women who answered questionnaires five times per day for five days using Palm Personal Data Assistant (PDA) devices. Analyses were conducted using hierarchical linear modeling, which allows for examination of longitudinal data both within and across participants. Results revealed a positive relationship between upward appearance-focused social comparisons and body image disturbance. Upward appearance-focused social comparisons were associated with greater body image disturbance for those with higher levels of thin-ideal internalization and with greater body checking for women with lower levels of feminist beliefs. These findings further illuminate the nature of the relationship between social comparisons and body image disturbance.     

Ecological Design-Based Research for Computer Science Education: Affordances and Effectivities for Elementary School Students

Abstract

This article integrates an ecological approach and design-based research in computer science education research by following the simultaneous development of a computer programming environment and curriculum for elementary school age children over 2-1/2 years. We studied the alignment of the affordances provided by the programming environment and curriculum with the effectivities of students in 4th through 6th grade (9-12 years old). We used the computer science concept of initializing as a tracer idea and both qualitative and quantitative data to identify mismatches between the affordances provided by our programming environment and the learners’ effectivities. These included requisite mathematical skills, confusion between resetting and setting up, and incorrectly assuming that features of the programming environment conveyed information. We then describe how we addressed the mismatches by removing or adding functionality to the programming environment, adding signifiers, adapting the curriculum to include scaffolding related to the effectivities, or removing activities.     

Animist Intersubjectivity as Argumentation: Western Shoshone and Southern Paiute Arguments Against a Nuclear Waste Site at Yucca Mountain

My focus in this essay is Shoshone and Paiute arguments against the Yucca Mountain site that claim that because Yucca Mountain is a culturally significant sacred place it should not be used to store nuclear waste. Within this set of arguments for the cultural value of Yucca Mountain, I focus on arguments that claim that the proposed nuclear waste site will damage Yucca Mountain and its ecosystem—the mountain, plants, and animals themselves. These arguments assume that Yucca Mountain and its ecosystem are animate and will suffer. An understanding of Western Shoshone and Southern Paiute perspectives on the human relationship to nature, particularly adherence to the concept of animist intersubjectivity, is crucial towards interpreting these arguments. As such, my purpose in this essay is an in-depth analysis of the relationship between the cultural presumption of animist intersubjectivity and Shoshone and Paiute arguments against the Yucca Mountain site. In order to explore this relationship, I begin the paper by discussing concept of animist intersubjectivity as a cultural presumption and its relationship to arguments. Then, I analyze Shoshone and Paiute arguments against the Yucca Mountain site to reveal how animist intersubjectivity influences these arguments. I conclude the essay by explaining the implications of this analysis.     

Brief report: Relationship between performance testing and parent report of attention and executive functioning profiles in children following perinatal arterial ischemic stroke

Children with perinatal arterial ischemic stroke (PAIS) have increased rates of attention and executive functioning (EF) weaknesses. Research in other pediatric disorders has documented poor consistency between parent report of these skills and performance-based measures. We compared these data sources in children with PAIS. Forty full-term (≥37 weeks) children ages 3–16 (median = 7.2 years; 58% male) with PAIS completed neuropsychological testing and composite scores were created for seven attention and EF domains (Processing Speed; Attention; Working Memory; Verbal Retrieval; Inhibitory Control; Flexibility/Shifting; Planning). Parents completed “real-world” functioning questionnaires (ADHD Rating Scale-IV, BRIEF). Correlational analysis were used to compare parent and performance measures. Correlations between ADHD Rating Scale-IV scores and the performance-based Attention and Inhibition composite scores were nonsignificant. Significant negative correlations were found between the BRIEF GEC and performance-based Verbal Retrieval and Processing Speed composites, but remaining GEC/composite comparisons were nonsignificant. Analyses between parent report BRIEF index scores and the corresponding performance-based domain identified one significant negative correlation between the BRIEF Working Memory Index and the Working Memory composite score. While children with PAIS demonstrate difficulties in attention and EF on both parent report and performance measures, little significance was found in comparisons of these two types of measures. There may be several explanations for this dissociation: measures assessing different aspects of the same underlying construct; performance-based measures lacking ecological validity; and parents underestimating/underreporting their child’s deficits. Thus, multiple sources of informant and performance data are necessary to make more accurate conclusions about functioning in these domains.     

Understanding boundary extension: Normalization and extension errors in picture memory among adults and boys with and without Asperger's syndrome

Boundary extension is the tendency for people to “remember” information that fell outside a picture's boundaries. We used a novel test of boundary extension to provide absolute estimates of the magnitude of extension errors and of the degree to which people are influenced by the way a picture is presented at the time of testing. Participants were shown photographs on a computer and subsequently allowed to adjust their magnification to match the size they remembered. The test produced reliable boundary extension of around 11% in adults and large influences of initial test size. In a second experiment we tested boys diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome and matched controls. Both groups demonstrated boundary extension comparable to that observed in adults but greater effects of initial test size. High performance IQ in Asperger's was linked with high levels of boundary extension, while for the matched control group the opposite pattern was obtained.     

Forms of Prosocial Behaviors are Differentially Linked to Social Goals and Peer Status in Adolescents

Traditionally, prosocial behaviors are conceptualized and assessed as a unidimensional construct, but recent research suggests they include various distinct forms, reflecting proactive (instrumental, self-benefiting), reactive (in response to an individual in need), and altruistic (beneficial to others without expectation of personal gain) functions. The authors examined these forms of adolescent prosocial behavior and their links to social goals and social adjustment among peers. In Study 1, they examined agentic (status) and communal (closeness) goals in relation to self-reported altruistic, reactive, and proactive prosocial behaviors. In Study 2, they examined peer-reported altruistic and proactive prosocial behaviors in association with likeability, rejection, and popularity among peers. The associations varied meaningfully among the forms of prosocial behavior. For instance, proactive prosocial behaviors were positively related to agentic goals and popularity, whereas altruistic prosocial behaviors were positively related to communal goals and likeability by peers. The findings underscore the importance of examining multiple forms of prosocial behaviors during adolescence.     

Father Enrollment and Participation in a Parenting Intervention: Personal and Contextual Predictors

Fathers are an important, though often underrepresented, population in family interventions. Notably, the inclusion of ethnic minority fathers is particularly scarce. An understanding of factors that promote and hinder father participation may suggest strategies by which to increase fathers’ presence in studies designed to engage the family unit. The current research examined Mexican origin (MO) fathers’ involvement in a family‐focused intervention study. Participants included 495 fathers from eligible two‐parent MO families with an adolescent child. Individual, familial, and culturally relevant predictors based on father, mother, and/or child report data were collected through pretest interviews and included in two separate logistic regression analyses that predicted the following: (1) father enrollment in the study and (2) father participation in the intervention. Results indicated that higher levels of maternal education and lower levels of economic stress and interparental conflict were associated with increased father enrollment in the study. Rates of father participation in the intervention were higher among families characterized by lower levels of interparental conflict, economic stress, and Spanish language use. Results highlight the relevancy of the familial and environmental context to MO fathers’ research participation decisions. These findings as well as their implications for future research and practice are discussed.