Predicting First Graders' Development of Calculation versus Word-Problem Performance: The Role of Dynamic Assessment

The purpose of this study was to assess the value of dynamic assessment (DA; degree of scaffolding required to learn unfamiliar mathematics content) for predicting 1(st)-grade calculations (CA) and word problems (WP) development, while controlling for the role of traditional assessments. Among 184 1(st) graders, predictors (DA, Quantity Discrimination, Test of Mathematics Ability, language, and reasoning) were assessed near the start of 1(st) grade. CA and WP were assessed near the end of 1(st) grade. Planned regression and commonality analyses indicated that for forecasting CA development, Quantity Discrimination, which accounted for 8.84% of explained variance, was the single most powerful predictor, followed by Test of Mathematics Ability and DA; language and reasoning were not uniquely predictive. By contrast, for predicting WP development, DA was the single most powerful predictor, which accounted for 12.01% of explained variance, with Test of Mathematics Ability, Quantity Discrimination, and language also uniquely predictive. Results suggest that different constellations of cognitive resources are required for CA versus WP development and that DA may be useful in predicting 1(st)-grade mathematics development, especially WP.     

Attitudes toward cosmetic surgery patients: the role of culture and social contact

Cosmetic surgery is increasingly popular globally, but how cosmetic surgery patients are socially evaluated is largely unknown. The present research documents attitudes toward these patients in multiple cultures (Hong Kong, Japan, and the United States). Across these cultures, attitudes toward cosmetic surgery patients were predominantly negative: Participants ascribed more negative attributes to cosmetic surgery patients and found cosmetic surgery not acceptable. Also, participants in Hong Kong and Japan were not willing to form social relationships, particularly intimate ones, with these patients. These attitudes were less negative in the United States than in Hong Kong and Japan, partly because social contact, which reduced negativity in attitudes toward cosmetic surgery patients, was more prevalent in the United States. These findings bear important implications for the subjective well-being of cosmetic surgery patients, who very often expect improvement in their social relationships through the surgery.     

Dimensionality of organizational justice in a call center context

Summary.-Employees in three call centers were surveyed about their perceptions of organizational justice. Four factors were measured: distributive justice, procedural justice, interpersonal justice, and informational justice. Structural equation modeling was employed to test whether a two-, three-, or four-factor model best fit the call center data. A three-factor model of distributive, procedural, and informational justice provided the best fit to these data. The three-factor model that showed the best fit does not conform to any of the more traditional models identified in the organizational justice literature. This implies that the context in which organizational justice is measured may play a role in identifying which justice factors are relevant to employees. Findings add to the empirical evidence on the dimensionality of organizational justice and imply that dimensionality of organizational justice is more context-dependent than previously thought.     

Age differences in visual statistical learning

Recent work has shown that older adults' lessened inhibitory control leads them to inadvertently bind co-occurring targets and distractors. Although this hyper-binding effect may lead to the formation of more superfluous associations, and thus greater interference at retrieval for older adults, it may also lead to a greater knowledge of information contained within the periphery of awareness. On the basis of evidence that younger adults only show learning for statistical regularities contained within attended information, we asked whether older adults may also show learning for regularities contained within to-be-ignored information. Older and younger adults viewed a series of red and green pictures and performed a 1-back task on one of the colors. Unbeknownst to participants, both color streams were organized into triplets that occurred sequentially. Implicit memory for the triplets from both the attended and ignored streams was tested using a speeded detection task. Replicating previous work, younger adults demonstrated more learning for the attended triplets than the unattended triplets. Older adults, however, demonstrated similar learning for both the attended and ignored triplets, suggesting that contrary to popular belief, they may actually know more than younger adults about the world around them, including how seemingly irrelevant events co-occur. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

Interventions for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorders in Inclusive School Settings

Students with ASD present unique challenges to school systems. Despite these challenges, federal laws require that schools implement research-based practices in the least restrictive environment (LRE). The LRE is often deemed to be the general education classroom and the primary intervention agent is often the classroom teacher. Ensuring students with ASD receive effective intervention in these least restrictive and inclusive school settings will depend, in part, on the extent to which teachers and school personnel are prepared to implement research-based interventions. The purpose of this article is to provide a summary of research-based interventions for students with ASD. Our focus in this summary is on interventions that can be implemented in inclusive school settings by teachers and classroom support personnel. We first provide a general overview of interventions designed to reduce challenging behavior, teach communication skills, and improve social relationships. This is followed by a discussion of the obstacles to intervention implementation that may be present in school settings. Finally, we conclude by offering a list of intervention guidelines.     

Regulatory focus and preference reversal between hedonic and utilitarian consumption

This article explores the impact of consumers' regulatory goals on their relative focus on hedonic (versus utilitarian) benefits of products. Drawing from extant literature, we argue that promotion‐focused consumers will exhibit more favorable attitude towards a product when its hedonic benefits are highlighted in comparison to its utilitarian benefits. Prevention‐focused consumers on the other hand will exhibit more favorable attitude towards a product when its utilitarian benefits are highlighted in comparison to its hedonic benefits. We further argue that this effect is moderated by contextual factors, such as evaluation mode. In addition, we argue that the posited difference only holds when the hedonic and utilitarian products are evaluated individually. When the two products are evaluated jointly, both promotion and prevention‐focused individuals will exhibit more favorable attitude towards the hedonic product. Two studies were conducted to test the hypotheses and findings supported our predictions. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Conceptualizing Professional Diaspora: International Medical Graduates in Canada

This paper applies the concept of diaspora to the analysis of the creation and maintenance of an ethnically diverse community of internationally educated medical graduates residing in Canada. Traditionally, the research on diaspora concerns ethnic communities that preserve their homeland ties while residing in foreign countries. We suggest, however, that ethnic roots are not imperative for the analysis of diasporic communities when other forms of shared values and meanings can become a basis for creation of collective identity. Reconfiguring both the homeland and host country as places of geographical and professional belonging provides opportunity to conceptualize an ethnically diverse group of immigrant physicians residing in Canada as professional diaspora. Probing the interviews with 67 international medical graduates living in Canada, we demonstrate (1) how they create medical diaspora, (2) what myths and sensitivities they share in constructing their professional and/or geographic homelands, and (3) the relationship they develop with their hosting society. We suggest that in spite of the increasing mobility of internationally educated health care providers, the analysis of professional diasporas could become a useful tool for analyzing complex relationships between home countries, hosting countries, and international travelers.     

Predicting psychological responses to influenza A, H1N1 ("swine flu"): the role of illness perceptions

Previous research on H1N1 ("Swine flu") has demonstrated that although the public reported concern about H1N1, knowledge levels were low, as were reports of behavioural changes aimed at minimising the spread of H1N1. The current study had two main aims; (i) to ascertain levels of state anxiety and knowledge about H1N1, and (ii) to examine if illness perceptions predict anxiety about H1N1, perceived risk of contracting H1N1, and knowledge about H1N1. The study was cross-sectional in design, and involved 235 participants (100 males, 135 females, mean age 22.48 years) completing self-report measures of knowledge, anxiety, and perceived risk about H1N1, and illness perceptions (BIPQ). Analyses revealed low levels of knowledge about H1N1, 37.4% of participants could not identify any of the causes of H1N1. Correlation and multiple regression analyses demonstrated that illness perceptions were associated with responses to H1N1, with negative illness perceptions predicting state anxiety (β?=?0.498, p?相似文献   

Psychosocial Factors Predicting SARS-Preventive Behaviors in Four Major SARS-Affected Regions

This multinational study examined intended and actual adoption of SARS-preventive behaviors in major SARS-affected regions: Guangdong (China), Hong Kong, Singapore, and Toronto (Canada). The theory of reasoned action (TRA) and the theory of planned behavior (TPB) were adopted as theoretical frameworks. A measure was constructed to assess attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioral control (PBC), knowledge of SARS, and SARS-preventive behaviors. Seventy-five working adults were recruited from each region. They completed the new measure in an initial study, and reported their actual behaviors 2 weeks later. Results provided cross-cultural generalizability of the TRA by showing that attitude and subject norm predicted SARS-preventive behaviors for all the groups. PBC was a statistically significant predictor for all participants except those from Guangdong, indicating that the TPB is applicable only to people from Hong Kong, Singapore, and Toronto. Knowledge of SARS also was found to be an independent predictor.