The moderating roles of personal and social resources on the relationship between dual expectations (for instrumentality and expressiveness) and well-being

The authors examined the roles of self-esteem and perceived social support in moderating the relationship between dual social expectations (instrumentality and expressivity) and well-being. Participants were 166 female and 87 male students in an urban community in the midwestern United States. After the authors controlled for the main effects of instrumental and expressive expectations, social support, as predicted, moderated the relationship between dual expectations and well-being: With higher levels of social support, higher levels of dual expectations were associated with higher levels of well-being; with lower levels of social support, higher levels of dual expectations were associated with lower levels of well-being. Contrary to predictions, however, self-esteem did not moderate the relation between dual expectations and well-being. The discussion focuses on the importance of social resources in enhancing the potential benefits of dual expectations in interpersonal contexts.     

The discrimination of cat odours by humans

We explored the ability of humans to identify individual cats by smell. Twenty-five cat owners were required to indicate which of two odours (one belonging to their own cat and one belonging to an unfamiliar cat) smelt the strongest, most pleasant, and which belonged to their own cat. Only thirteen (52%) of the participants were able to recognise the odour of their own cat.     

Lateral differences in visual inspection time? The role of apparent motion cues

There are a number of reports of a left hemisphere advantage for visual inspection time, but some investigators employing slightly different methodologies have failed to replicate the effect. The present experiment was an attempt to identify one of the factors that could have lead to these discrepant findings: The role of apparent motion cues. In Experiment 1, a lateralized version of the inspection time task was administered via a computer monitor wherein the pi stimulus was masked with a figure vulnerable to apparent motion cues. With this mask, a strong left hemisphere advantage was observed. In Experiments 2 and 3, the test was administered on a tachistoscope or computer monitor, but in both cases the stimulus was masked with a pattern "forest" mask. Under these conditions, there was no lateral difference. This result implies that the left hemisphere advantage for inspection time relies on apparent motion cues.     

Drawing conclusions: Instructing witnesses to draw what happened to them

We reviewed the child and the adult literature on the impact of witnesses drawing what happened on the number of details recalled and the accuracy of the reported details. Most experiments reported a beneficial effect of drawing what happened (or drawing the scene) on the number of details reported primarily in free recall and sometimes also in cued recall. The consensus across studies was that drawing protocols did not negatively impact the accuracy of reported details (when accuracy was attainable) unless suggestive details were drawn. These results were largely consistent regardless of interviewer expertise or protocol used. Draw-and-tell instructions should be considered by forensic investigators for the following reasons: (1) the beneficial effect on number of details recalled with no detriment to accuracy, (2) the added benefit for children who need additional interviewer support, and (3) the ease at which the instruction can be implemented with minimal expertise or training. However, more ecologically valid research is needed to establish the efficacy of drawing (1) in forensic interviews, (2) in the presence of misinformation, (3) across instances of repeated event memory, and (4) across sequential interviews.     

The nature space. A reflexive thematic analysis of therapists' experiences of 1:1 nature-based counselling and psychotherapy with children and young people: Exploring perspectives on the influence of nature within the therapeutic process

Nature-based therapy is an emerging and rapidly developing field within counselling and psychotherapy, yet there is little published empirical research, or integrated models relating to its practice with Children and Young People (CYP). The present study aimed to explore therapists’ experiences of one-to-one nature-based counselling and psychotherapy with CYP, eliciting perspectives on the interaction between nature and the therapeutic process. A reflexive thematic analysis provides preliminary insights into possible mechanisms of action with the potential to inform a longer-term exploration of whether nature-based therapy is effective, for whom and why. The study highlights the need to better explore and understand how nature-based therapy supports relational and intrapsychic change in interaction with developmental processes, to inform construction of coherent and consolidated theory and models for practice.     

The neurodynamics of emotion: delineating typical and atypical emotional processes during adolescence

The study of development is, in and of itself, the study of change over time, but emotions, particularly emotional reactivity and emotional regulation, also unfold over time, albeit over briefer time‐scales. Adolescence is a period of development characterized by marked changes in emotional processes and rewiring of the underlying neural circuitry, making this time of life formative. Yet this period is also a time of increased risk for anxiety and mood disorders. Changes in the temporal dynamics of emotional processes (e.g. magnitude, time‐to‐peak and duration) occur during this developmental period and have been associated with risk for mood and anxiety disorders. In this article, we describe how the temporal dynamics of emotions change during adolescence and how they may increase risk for these psychopathologies. We highlight studies that illustrate how formalizing temporal neurodynamics of emotion may enhance links among levels of analyses from neurobiological to real‐world, moment‐to‐moment experiences.     

IMPACT OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TEACHING/LEARNING CYCLE ON TEACHER DECISION-MAKING AND EMERGENT READERS

No topic is on the minds of the general public, federal and state legislatures, parents, and educators more than the issue of establishing and maintaining school programs that are consistent in their ability to produce competent readers. Teachers, administrators, and teacher preparation programs are admonished to change programs, resources, monitoring procedures - whatever it takes to bring about this reformation of student reading achievement. Topics under investigation include effective models, methods, and strategies of instruction; essential teacher knowledge; teacher decision-making; and professional development of in-service and pre-service teachers. From this body of research the terms "balanced literacy" and "engaged literacy" have emerged. These terms are defined as emphasizing instruction on identified student need and including skills development as well as experience in a variety of texts. The teaching/learning cycle, a model for evaluating student reading behaviors and planning focused instruction, providesa foundation for the development of essential teacher knowledge and skills. As teachers articulate their understanding of the reading process, the characteristics of the learner, and the supports and challenges offered in text and teaching approaches, their practice is changed to make it more congruent with these stated beliefs. When teacher instructional practice is aligned with clear understandings and beliefs, student achievement increases. This study explored how knowledge and use of the teaching/learning cycle in beginning reading instruction impacts teacher decision-making and student achievement. While investigating teachers' knowledge and use of the teaching/learning cycle, two research questions focused on how student learning was affected and the impact of the changes on student/teacher interactions.     

Neuropsychological Functioning in Children with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been associated with deficits in the areas of verbal memory and learning, executive functioning, working memory, and attention in adults. Findings have been less consistent in the few studies examining neuropsychological functioning in childhood PTSD, which are often limited by comparing children with PTSD to children without trauma histories, making it unclear whether observed neuropsychological deficits are related to trauma exposure or to PTSD symptomatology. In an ethnically diverse sample of 62 children who witnessed intimate partner violence (n = 27 PTSD+ and 35 PTSD?), children with PTSD exhibited slower and less effective learning, heightened sensitivity to interference, and impaired effect of rehearsal on memory acquisition on the California Verbal Learning Test – Children's Version, a word list learning task. Both groups performed in the below average range on measures of executive functioning, attention, and intellectual ability.