Sex differences in the perception of affective facial expressions: Do men really lack emotional sensitivity?

There is evidence that men and women display differences in both cognitive and affective functions. Recent studies have examined the processing of emotions in males and females. However, the findings are inconclusive, possibly the result of methodological differences. The aim of this study was to investigate the perception of emotional facial expressions in men and women. Video clips of neutral faces, gradually morphing into full-blown expressions were used. By doing this, we were able to examine both the accuracy and the sensitivity in labelling emotional facial expressions. Furthermore, all participants completed an anxiety and a depression rating scale. Research participants were 40 female students and 28 male students. Results revealed that men were less accurate, as well as less sensitive in labelling facial expressions. Thus, men show an overall worse performance compared to women on a task measuring the processing of emotional faces. This result is discussed in relation to recent findings.     

Does owner handedness influence paw preference in dogs?

Animal Cognition - Handedness has proven to be the most effective and least intrusive measure of laterality in many species. Several studies have investigated paw preference in dogs (Canis...     

Sexism and racism perceptions: It depends on who does it and why

Outgroup perpetrators of discrimination are perceived as more biased than ingroup perpetrators, potentially because perpetrator group membership drives inferences regarding their motivation to discriminate. Consequently, when outgroup perpetrators provide hostile justification, greater discrimination and illegitimacy will be perceived compared to when ingroup perpetrators do so. In contrast, benevolent justifications reduce differences in discrimination and illegitimacy perception for outgroup versus ingroup perpetrators. In two experiments (Ns = 243; 382) dealing with sexism and racism, results supported our reasoning that the perpetrator’s explicit justification moderates the influence of the perpetrator’s group membership on discrimination and illegitimacy perception. Results of a third experiment (N = 489) show that when no justifications are provided, the prototype effect on discrimination perception mirrors the prototype effect under hostile justification, but not under benevolent justification. The results are more mixed concerning perceived illegitimacy. We discuss the implications of these findings regarding the processes underlying the prototype effect.     

Assessing variations in the expression of gratitude in youth: A three-cohort replication in southern Brazil

Children are not born grateful; their understanding and expression of gratitude develops during childhood and adolescence. We used a qualitative measure designed to assess how youth would respond to a benefactor, hypothesizing that their types of responses would systematically alter with age, and were able to test the reliability of this measure via replication across three cohorts. Participants (N = 1101) aged 7 to 14 constituted three independent cohorts (2008, 2012, and 2015–2017) from the same southern Brazilian city. Participants’ responses were reliably coded into three types of gratitude (verbal, concrete, and connective); across samples, older youth were more likely to express verbal and connective gratitude; younger youth were more likely to express concrete gratitude. The age-related patterns of expression were very similar in each of the three samples (one discrepant result from nine possible), suggesting that it is a reliable measure with which to assess age-related changes in the expression of youth gratitude. Gratitude, we suggest, is not simply a unidimensional construct allowing judgments of how grateful individuals are; instead, our research suggests that youth of different ages express different types of gratitude, increasingly more complex, the most sophisticated of which comes closest to gratitude as a virtue.

     

Training in Evidence-Based Interventions (EBIs): What are school psychology programs teaching?

This study examined the degree to which school psychology programs provided training in Evidence-Based Interventions (EBIs). Survey data were collected from 97 school psychology training directors to assess their familiarity, level of student exposure, and perceived importance of EBIs. This study also examined the contextual factors that interfere with EBI training, and whether students are taught to apply the criteria developed by Divisions 12, 16, and 53 of the APA when evaluating outcome research. Results indicated that relatively low percentages of respondents were familiar with the EBIs included on the survey, exposure to EBIs occurred more frequently in coursework than practical experiences, and EBIs were rated as either somewhat important or important. Lack of time was rated as the most serious challenge to EBI training and a high percentage of directors reported students were taught to apply the criteria developed by professional organizations in psychology and education when evaluating outcome research.     

Olfactory discrimination between litter mates by mothers and alien adult cats: lump or split?

Animal Cognition - Mother cats can discriminate between their own and alien kittens using kittens’ body odour. Here we ask whether they can also distinguish between body odours of kittens...     

Attachment Representation and Sensitivity: The Moderating Role of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in a Refugee Sample

It has been hypothesized that adult attachment representations guide caregiving behavior and influence parental sensitivity, and thus affect the child's socio‐emotional development. Several studies have shown a link between posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and reduced parental sensitivity, so it is possible that PTSD moderates the relationship between insecure attachment representations and insensitivity. In this study symptoms of PTSD (Harvard Trauma Questionnaire), parental sensitivity (Emotional Availability Scales), and attachment representations (Attachment Script Assessment) were assessed in 53 parents who were asylum seekers or refugees. Results showed that when parents were less able to draw on secure attachment representations, symptoms of PTSD increased the risk of insensitive parenting. These findings suggest that parental sensitivity is affected not just by attachment representations, but by a conjunction of risk factors including symptoms of PTSD and insecure attachment representations. These parents should therefore be supported to establish or confirm secure models of attachment experiences, to facilitate their ability interact sensitively and form a secure relationship with their children.     

Vague Objects within Classical Logic and Standard Mereology,and without Indeterminate Identity

Weatherson (The Philosophical Quarterly, 53, 481–501 2003) argues that whoever accepts classical logic, standard mereology and the difference between vague objects and any others, should conclude that there are no vague objects. Barnes and Williams (Pacific Philosophical Quarterly, 90, 176–187 2009) claim that a supporter of vague objects who accepts classical logic and standard mereology should recognize that the existence of vague objects implies indeterminate identity. Even though it is not clearly stated, they all seem to be committed to the assumption that reality is ultimately constituted by mereological atoms. This assumption is not granted by standard mereology which instead remains silent on whether reality is atomic or gunky; therefore, I contend that whoever maintains classical logic, standard mereology and the difference between vague objects and any others, is not forced to conclude with Weatherson that there are no vague objects; nor is she compelled to revise her point of view according to Barnes and Williams’s proposal and to accept that the existence of vague objects implies indeterminate identity.     

How is anxiety related to math performance in young students? A longitudinal study of Grade 2 to Grade 3 children

Both general and math-specific anxiety are related to proficiency in mathematics. However, it is not clear when math anxiety arises in young children, nor how it relates to early math performance. This study therefore investigated the early association between math anxiety and math performance in Grades 2 and 3, by accounting for general anxiety and by further inspecting the prevalent directionality of the anxiety–performance link. Results revealed that this link was significant in Grade 3, with a prevalent direction from math anxiety to performance, rather than the reverse. Longitudinal analyses also showed an indirect effect of math anxiety in Grade 2 on subsequent math performance in Grade 3. Overall, these findings highlight the importance of monitoring anxiety from the early stages of schooling in order to promote proficient academic performance.