Bilingualism and Creativity in Early Childhood

This study examined the possible effect of bilingualism on creativity in nonmathematical and mathematical problem solving among bilingual and monolingual preschoolers. Two groups of children (M age = 71.9 months, SD = 3.6) from the same monolingual kindergartens participated in this study: 15 Russian/Hebrew balanced bilinguals and 16 native Hebrew-speaking monolinguals. All children were administered the Working Memory Test, the Verbal (Semantic) Fluency Test, the Pictorial Multiple Solution Task on general creativity, and the Creating Equal Number Task on mathematical creativity. The results showed that balanced bilingualism has a positive effect on the development of creativity in problem solving, but that the effect differs according to the domain: verbal, general, or mathematical creativity.     

Gender-related inequalities in the division of family work in close relationships: A social psychological perspective

We offer a social psychological perspective on gender-related inequalities in close relationships and integrate two lines of research that have focused on the intrapersonal perceptions and interpersonal consequences respectively of the gendered division of labour. We start with a brief summary of research on gender-related inequalities in the division of labour and discuss prior explanations and paradigms. We then address the extent to which spouses consider the division of labour as fair and the factors that contribute to perceptions of (un)fairness. Central to our argument is the distributive justice framework (<citeref rid="b76">Major, 1987</citeref>, <citeref rid="b77">1993</citeref>; <citeref rid="b113">Thompson, 1991</citeref>) which claims that fairness judgements are affected by people's wants and values, comparison standards, and justifications. In the following section, we address the question of whether dissatisfaction over the division of labour causes relationship conflict and how couples manage these conflicts. The main argument is that conflict over the division of labour generally comprises an asymmetrical conflict structure (with wives as complainants and husbands as defenders of the status quo), which elicits asymmetrical conflict interaction patterns (i.e., demand/withdraw interaction) that result in asymmetrical outcomes (i.e., status quo maintenance). Finally, we summarise the main conclusions and address contributions to theory and research as well as directions for further research.     

Perceived emotional intelligence and its relationship with perceptions of effectiveness in negotiation

In this study, we examined possible connections between perceived emotional intelligence (PEI) and effectiveness during the negotiation process in a sample of 123 workers from different organizations. Participants completed a set of questionnaires, including an exploration of the predictive and incremental validity of PEI measured by Trait‐Meta‐Mood Scale. Moreover, personality traits were carefully controlled to test the percentage of variance that PEI accounted for in efficiency during negotiation. Multiple regression analyses revealed that emotional repair accounts for part of the variance in the balance of power and in procedural flexibility that cannot be explained by personality traits alone. Thus, our results show that emotional repair accounts for negotiation effectiveness in a way that is independent of personality traits.     

The Effect of Attentional Control and Heart-Period Variability on Negative Affect and Trait Anxiety

In this study, the author examines the effect of attentional control and heart-period variability on measures of negative affect and trait anxiety in undergraduate students. Baseline heart rate was recorded from 119 participants within a laboratory setting. Spectral analysis was used on the heart-rate data to isolate the parasympathetic contribution to the cardiac pattern. Participants completed measures of negative affect, attentional control, and trait anxiety following the recording of heart rate. Regression analysis indicated that high negative affect, low attentional control, and reduced parasympathetic tone were significant predictors of high trait anxiety. Subsequent regression analysis pointed toward the interaction of attentional control and parasympathetic tone in influencing self-rated measures of negative affect. Results highlight the importance of attentional control and parasympathetic tone as regulatory mechanisms related to self-rated estimates of negative affect and trait anxiety.     

Books

Abstract

Bassov, M. General Principles of Pedology. Moscow; Leningrad, 1928. Pp. 744.

Freud, S. The Future of an Illusion. New York: Horace Liveright and the Institute of Psycho-analysis, 1928. Pp. 98.

Thirty-Four Psychologists. Feelings and Emotions: The Wittenberg Symposium. (Edited by M. L. Reymert.) Worcester, Mass.: Clark Univ. Press. 1928. Pp.xi+454. $6.00.¹

Pillsbury, W. B. The History of Psychology. New York: Norton, 1929. Pp. 326.

Kupky, O. The Religious Development of Adolescents. (Trans. by W. C. Trow.) New York: Macmillan, 1928. Pp. vii+138. $1.50.

Goddard, H. H. School Training of Gifted Children. Yonkers, N. Y.: World Book Co., 1928. Pp. xii+226.     

Belief in an Unjust World: When Beliefs in a Just World Fail

Past research has attempted to delineate personality differences between insomniacs and good sleepers but has failed to control for type of insomnia or severity of the disorder. The purpose of this study was to compare MMPI scores of mild and severe sleep onset insomniacs with a control group of noninsomniacs. Results demonstrated that sleep onset insomniacs, regardless of degree of severity, differed significantly from noninsomniacs; and that mild and severe insomniacs differed from each other on only one MMPI scale.     

The Clicker Technique: Cultivating Efficient Teaching and Successful Learning

The clicker technique is a newly developed system that uses frequent testing in the classroom to enhance students' understanding and provide feedback to students and teachers. Using a laboratory model of the clicker technique, Experiment 1 explored the effects of the clicker technique, via its potential for compressing learning time and its partially individualized instruction, on the acquisition, retention, and generalization of knowledge at immediate and delayed tests. Results supported the clicker technique as a viable method for instructors to promote generalizable learning and to conserve teaching time. Experiment 2 examined the clicker technique in terms of its components, studying and testing, to determine which components are crucial to its effectiveness. Results indicated that the combination of studying and testing promotes superior performance only during acquisition, relative to either studying or testing alone, and neither study, test, nor the combination of study and test led to a retention advantage. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Are emotional intelligent workers also more empathic?

This paper analyzes whether emotional intelligence and self‐monitoring are related to empathy among a sample of workers in both the public and private employment sectors. Two hundred and forty‐two employees (42.5% men and 57.5% women) with a mean age of 35.21 years (SD = 10.07, range 18–61) completed a questionnaire that measured the variables of interest. The results showed that emotion regulation, a dimension of emotional intelligence, accounts for most of the variance of empathy, followed by the ability to understand emotions and the management of others' emotions. Furthermore, gender did not yield any moderator effect on the relations among emotional intelligence, self‐monitoring and empathy. We conclude that the intrapersonal aspects of emotional intelligence, in particular, emotion regulation, help explain the empathy of workers. The implications of these findings are discussed herein.     

The effects of a positive health priming intervention on somatic complaints

Somatic complaints are common and form a major burden. Previous studies suggested that such complaints might be increased by ‘illness-related memory’, for example due to worries about health. In this ambulatory study we tested whether we could decrease somatic complaints through enhancing the activation of health-related memory by a ‘positive health’-priming intervention. Forty-three students were randomly assigned to the ‘positive health’-group or a control group. Using online measures, participants reported negative affect (NA) and somatic complaints for a period of six days, while each morning performing the priming task. The intervention caused a decrease in somatic complaints but only for participants with low trait NA or low somatosensory amplification. These findings seem to suggest that priming or other interventions directed at activating positive health memory might reduce health complaints, but only in certain subgroups.     

A comparison of working memory profiles in school-aged children with Specific Language Impairment,Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder,Comorbid SLI and ADHD and their typically developing peers

The association between specific language impairment (SLI), attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and working memory (WM) was examined. WM has been implicated in language acquisition and models of ADHD; however, evidence for WM deficits in SLI and ADHD has been inconsistent. The components of Baddeley's WM model were investigated in 18 children with SLI, 16 children with ADHD, 11 children with comorbid SLI+ADHD, and 24 typically developing (TD) children. The presence of SLI resulted in deficits in more components of WM than the presence of ADHD indicating that children with SLI are more vulnerable to WM deficits than those with ADHD.