Influence of Different Sitting Positions on Healthy Infants' Reaching Movements

The authors analyze the influence of different sitting positions (ring and flexion) on the reaching performance (spatiotemporal variables) of full-term infants 6 and 7 months old. In addition, they correlated level of trunk control, measured by the Segmental Assessment of Trunk Control, with performance during reaching. The different sitting positions only influenced the reaching movements of 6-month-old infants, who showed the best performance in the ring position. However, this influence was observed only for the trunk displacement, deceleration time, movement units, straightness index and mean velocity. In contrast, there was no influence of positions on 7-month-old infants’ reaching performance. Regarding the correlations, it was observed that infants with more level of trunk control showed a better performance when reaching, regardless of position and the age assessed.     

Conceptions of Plagiarism and Problems in Academic Writing in a Changing Landscape of External Regulation

The aim of this study was to investigate the consequences of the use of text-matching software on teachers’ and students’ conceptions of plagiarism and problems in academic writing. An electronic questionnaire included scale items, structured questions, and open-ended questions. The respondents were 85 teachers and 506 students in a large Finnish university. Methods of analysis included exploratory factor analysis, t-test, and inductive content analysis. Both teachers and students reported increased awareness of plagiarism and improvements in writing habits, as well as concerns and limitations related to the system. The results suggest that teachers are inclined to think of plagiarism as part of a learning process rather an issue of morality, which may have consequences for how they understand the role of text matching. The introduction of text-matching software has supported teachers’ work, but at the same time teachers emphasized their own responsibility in detecting problems in student writing. The survey provides a limited sample of “Case Finland,” where implementation of text-matching software nationwide has been remarkably rapid; it offers a glimpse into one institution’s implementation of a newly introduced policy for mandatory plagiarism detection.     

Enhanced response inhibition during intensive meditation training predicts improvements in self-reported adaptive socioemotional functioning

We examined the impact of training-induced improvements in self-regulation, operationalized in terms of response inhibition, on longitudinal changes in self-reported adaptive socioemotional functioning. Data were collected from participants undergoing 3 months of intensive meditation training in an isolated retreat setting (Retreat 1) and a wait-list control group that later underwent identical training (Retreat 2). A 32-min response inhibition task (RIT) was designed to assess sustained self-regulatory control. Adaptive functioning (AF) was operationalized as a single latent factor underlying self-report measures of anxious and avoidant attachment, mindfulness, ego resilience, empathy, the five major personality traits (extroversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, neuroticism, and openness to experience), difficulties in emotion regulation, depression, anxiety, and psychological well-being. Participants in Retreat 1 improved in RIT performance and AF over time whereas the controls did not. The control participants later also improved on both dimensions during their own retreat (Retreat 2). These improved levels of RIT performance and AF were sustained in follow-up assessments conducted approximately 5 months after the training. Longitudinal dynamic models with combined data from both retreats showed that improvement in RIT performance during training influenced the change in AF over time, which is consistent with a key claim in the Buddhist literature that enhanced capacity for self-regulation is an important precursor of changes in emotional well-being.     

A little bit louder now: negative affect increases perceived loudness

Traditionally, perception was considered to be an encapsulated process that was unaffected by top-down processes like affect. Recent work in vision draws this framework into question by showing that changes in the affective state of the perceiver can impact many different aspects of visual perception. Here, we extend the relationship between affect and perception into another perceptual modality: audition. Participants were induced into a negative or neutral mood by writing about a frightening or neutral experience in their past. They then listened to a series of short, neutral tones (320 and 640 ms) and rated the loudness and duration of the tones. Participants in a negative mood rated the tones as significantly louder, but not longer, than participants in a neutral mood, suggesting that the difference between the groups was perceptual rather than just a response bias. This research shows for the first time that the role of affect in perceptual processes may be more pervasive than previously considered.     

Meta-insight: do people really know how others see them?

Although people can accurately guess how others see them, many studies have suggested that this may only be because people generally assume that others see them as they see themselves. These findings raise the question: In their everyday lives, do people understand the distinction between how they see their own personality and how others see their personality? We examined whether people make this distinction, or whether people possess what we call meta-insight. In 3 studies, we assessed meta-insight for a broad range of traits (e.g., Big Five, intelligent, funny) across several naturalistic social contexts (e.g., first impression, friends). Our findings suggest that people can make valid distinctions between how they see themselves and how others see them. Thus, people seem to have some genuine insight into their reputation and do not achieve meta-accuracy only by capitalizing on the fact that others see them similarly to how they see themselves.     

Trauma healing in refugee camps in Guinea: a psychosocial program for Liberian and Sierra Leonean survivors of torture and war

From 1999 to 2005, the Minneapolis-based Center for Victims of Torture (CVT) served Liberian and Sierra Leonean survivors of torture and war living in the refugee camps of Guinea. A psychosocial program was developed with 3 main goals: (a) to provide mental health care, (b) to train local refugee counselors, and (c) to raise community awareness about war trauma and mental health. Utilizing paraprofessional counselors under the close, on-site supervision of expatriate clinicians, the treatment model blended elements of Western and indigenous healing. The core component consisted of relationship-based supportive group counseling. Clinical interventions were guided by a 3-stage model of trauma recovery (safety, mourning, reconnection), which was adapted to the realities of the refugee camp setting. Over 4,000 clients were provided with counseling, and an additional 15,000 were provided with other supportive services. Results from follow-up assessments indicated significant reductions in trauma symptoms and increases in measures of daily functioning and social support during and after participation in groups. The treatment model developed in Guinea served as the basis for CVT's ongoing work with survivors in Sierra Leone and Liberia. ((c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).     

Spontaneous analogical transfer in 4-year-olds: a microgenetic study

The purpose of the current microgenetic study was to examine children's spontaneous application of analogical problem solving from story problems to physical tasks. Thirty-six 4-year-olds (M=54.7 months), randomly assigned to an experimental or a control condition, participated. The results indicate that 4-year-old children did, with varying success, spontaneously apply analogical solutions to physical problems across sessions. A positive effect over time on children's spontaneous analogical problem solving was found. Additionally, a few children even gave an analogical strategy-related explanation for their own physical behavior. There was much inter- and intra-individual variability, which may indicate that 4 years of age is a period of change in the development of analogical reasoning.     

“My Life is Too Chaotic to Practice What I Preach”: Perceived Benefits and Challenges of Being an Academic Women in Family Therapy and Family Studies Programs

The purpose of this study was to explore the experience of female faculty in family therapy and family studies graduate programs. Specifically, we were interested in how female faculty members in these programs experienced their roles as academics, partners, and/or parents. We conducted a discovery-oriented study qualitative study of 62 female academics in family studies and family therapy disciplines to identify the greatest concerns and benefits experienced by women in a family-studies-oriented academic field. Using a content analysis, we found that women in family studies/family therapy academic programs experience both high rewards and high demands and struggle with choosing among competing values. Additionally, the participants perceived support from colleagues, professional institutions, and family members as crucial to a female academic’s ability to perform up to expectations. We also offer suggestions for further research.