Longitudinal Associations between Oppositional Defiant Symptoms and Interpersonal Relationships among Chinese Children

Children with oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) are at increased risk for developing poor relationships with people around them, but the longitudinal links between ODD symptoms and subsequent interpersonal functioning remain unclear. In the current study, we examined the bidirectional associations between ODD symptoms and children’s relationships with parents, peers, and teachers. We included separate analyses for parent vs. teacher reports of ODD symptoms, with regard to subsequent interpersonal relationships. Participants included 256 children with ODD, recruited in China, along with their parents and teachers, assessed at three time points roughly two years apart. Parents and teachers reported child ODD symptoms at each time point, and children reported their perceptions of father– and mother–child attachment, peer relationships, and teacher–student relationships across the three time points. ODD symptoms reported either by parents or teachers predicted impairments in interpersonal functioning. Meanwhile, child interpersonal impairments with peers and teachers predicted subsequent increase in teacher-reported ODD symptoms. These findings highlight the importance of transactional models of influence—and of considering early intervention for ODD in protecting children from developing further deficits and impairments. Additionally, we discuss the perspectives of multiple informants on ODD symptoms, including their different patterns of association with subsequent interpersonal relationships.     

Sequence effects of the involuntary and the voluntary components of symbolic cueing

The orienting of attention has been found to be influenced by the previous cueing status in a spatial-cueing paradigm. The explanation for this sequence effect remains uncertain. This study separated the involuntary and the voluntary components of arrow cueing by manipulating the predicted target locations. For example, a left arrow cue may have indicated that the target was more likely to appear at the up location. Therefore, three trial types were repeated or switched between trials: cued (targets appeared along the direction of the arrows), predicted (targets appeared at the locations predicted by the arrows), and unrelated (targets appeared at the other two locations, neither cued nor predicted). RTs of cued trials were found to be significantly facilitated after a previous cued trial; however, the same effect was not observed for predicted trials. The results suggest that significant sequence effects are induced only in the involuntary component of arrow cueing. The findings support the feature-integration hypothesis for the sequence effect of symbolic cueing.

     

High-magnetic-field-induced formation of aligned equiaxed grains during directional solidification

The application of a high magnetic field is capable of inducing the formation of aligned equiaxed grains in alloys during directional solidification. The alignment and refinement of the grains is enhanced as the magnetic field intensity increases. The thermoelectric power difference at the liquid/solid interface in four alloys has been measured in situ during directional solidification and it is concluded that the formation of aligned equiaxed grains in a magnetic field should be attributed to the combined action of a thermoelectric magnetic force and a magnetization force.     

Suddenly included: Cultural differences in experiencing re‐inclusion

In the current research, we examined whether re‐inclusion (i.e. the change from a previous state of exclusion to a new state of inclusion) was perceived differently by people with individualistic and collectivistic cultural backgrounds. Individualists (German and Austrian participants) but not collectivists (Chinese participants) experienced re‐inclusion differently than continued inclusion: While collectivistic participants did not differentiate between both kinds of inclusion, individualistic participants showed reduced fulfilment of their psychological needs under re‐inclusion compared to continued inclusion. The results moreover revealed that only participants from individualistic cultures expressed more feelings of exclusion when re‐included than when continually included. These exclusionary feelings partially mediated the relationship between the different states of inclusion and basic need fulfilment.     

HIV prevention with persons with mental health problems

The HIV seroprevalence rate among persons with mental health problems (PMHP) is substantially higher than that of the general population in the United States. This study examines the efficacy over 12 months of an HIV prevention program with 99 individuals attending outpatient mental health clinics who were randomly assigned to receive either: (a) a seven-session, small-group intervention of Project LIGHT (Living in Good Health Together); or (b) a one-session video intervention. Regression analyses of data from 87% of the sample interviewed at 1-year follow-up revealed that intervention group membership was associated with significantly fewer sexual risk acts. A significant intervention effect for condom use was found for 72% of the sample who were African American, but not for Latino or Caucasian participants. Results from this study suggest that HIV risk reduction groups such as Project LIGHT may have utility in public mental health care settings.     

"In the storminess": multi-disciplinary approaches to scriptural images representing ethical challenges in the pastor-congregant relationship

In this qualitative study the authors examine the Scriptural images that 10 Lutheran pastors employed in describing the ethical challenges in the pastor-congregant relationship. The analysis of Scriptural images is part of a larger study on pastors' experiences of a mandatory workshop, "Crossing the Boundaries (CTB),"which is required of Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC) seminarians. The pastors' images were analyzed from the four perspectives of depth psychology, theology, social ethics, and sociology. In commenting on tensions in the pastors' Scriptural images the authors note commonalities among the four theoretical perspectives and discuss implications for practice and future research.     

The Effects of Collectivistic and Individualistic Values on Conflict and Decision Making: An Experiment in China

In an experiment with 80 participants in China, protagonists with opposing views in organizations that valued collectivism, compared to individualism, were found to develop cooperative goals, were confident that they could work, sought to understand, and demonstrated that they understood the opposing arguments, accepted these arguments as reasonable, and combined positions to create an integrated decision. The inductions comparing participants who valued harmony as a goal or a technique in which they pretended to agree were only partially effective and did not yield significant differences on conflict dynamics and outcomes. Findings challenge traditional theorizing that collectivistic values lead to conflict avoidance, and support recent arguments that strong, cooperative relationships promote the productive discussion of opposing views in decision making.     

When meaning matters,look but don’t touch: The effects of posture on reading

Much of the reading that we do occurs near our hands. Previous research has revealed that spatial processing is enhanced near the hands, potentially benefiting several processes involved in reading; however, it is unknown whether semantic processing—another critical aspect of reading—is affected near the hands. While holding their hands either near to or far from a visual display, our subjects performed two tasks that drew on semantic processing: evaluation of the sensibleness of sentences, and the Stroop color-word interference task. We found evidence for impoverished semantic processing near the hands in both tasks. These results suggest a trade-off between spatial processing and semantic processing for the visual space around the hands. Readers are encouraged to be aware of this trade-off when choosing how to read a text, since both kinds of processing can be beneficial for reading.