Use of geometry for spatial reorientation in children applies only to symmetric spaces

Proponents of the geometric module hypothesis argue that following disorientation, many species reorient by use of macro‐environment geometry. It is suggested that attention to the surface layout geometry of natural terrain features may have been selected for over evolutionary time due to the enduring and unambiguous location information it provides. Paradoxically, however, tests of the hypothesis have been exclusively conducted in symmetric (hence ‘unnatural’ and geometrically ambiguous) environments. The present series of studies examines reorientation by 18‐month–3‐year‐old children in a rectangular versus irregular quadrilateral enclosure (Study 1), a rectangular versus irregular quadrilateral array (Study 2) and an isosceles versus irregular triangular array (Study 3). Children were successful in symmetric but not asymmetric environments, casting doubt on the functional argument for an empirical basis of the geometric module hypothesis.     

Book notes

The Divine Matrix: Creativity as Link between East and West Joseph A. Bracken, S. J., 1995 Maryknoll, NY: Orbis 177 pp., US$21.00 (pb) ISBN 1–57075–004–1

Glaubenswelt Islam: Eine Einführung Series: Religionswissenschaftliche Texte und Studien, Vol. 7 UDO SCHAEFER, 1996 Hildesheim: Georg Olms Verlag 149 pp, DM 24.80 ISBN 3–487–10159–9

Islam: The View from the Edge Richard Bulliet, 1995 New York: Columbia University Press 236 pp., US$16.95, £11.95 ISBN 0–231–08219–3

Living Faiths in South Africa Martin Prozesky & John De Gruchy, eds, 1995 London: Hurst & Company 241 pp., £35.00 (hb), £12.95 (pb) ISBN 1–85065–249‐X (hb), ISBN 1–85065–244–9 (pb)

Signs of the Times: The New Religious Movements in Theological Perspective John A. Sauba, 1996 Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada: Librairie Médiaspaul 119 pp., CDN$13.95, US$10.00 ISBN 2–89420–326–8

The Body and Society: Explorations in Social Theory Bryan S. Turner, Sage 1996, 2nd edition London 254 pp., £13.95 (pb) ISBN 0–8039–8809–5

Revolutionary Brotherhood: Freemasonry and the Transformation of the American Social Order, 1730–1840 Steven C Bullock, 1996 Chapel Hill, London: University of North Carolina Press. Published for the Institute of Early American History and Culture, Williamsburg, Virginia 421 pp., US$49.95 (hb) ISBN 0–8078–2282–5

Two Masters: The Buddha and Jesus J. D. M. Derrett, 1995 Yelvertoft Manor, Northamptonshire: Pilkington Press 143 pp., £17.50 ISBN 1–899044–09–4

Autobiography of an Aspiring Saint Cecilia Ferrazzi, 1996 Transcribed, translated & edited by Anne Jacobson Schutte Chicago, El., London: The University of Chicago Press 101 pp., US$30.00 (hb), US$14.95 (pb) ISBN 0–226–24447–4 (pb)

Sacred World: A Guide to Shambhala Waniorship in Daily Life Jeremy Hayward with Karen Hayward, 1995 London: Rider 262 pp., £10.99 (pb) ISBN 0–7126–7240–0     

Early Verb Learning: How Do Children Learn How to Compare Events?

An important problem verb learners must solve is how to extend verbs. Children could use cross-situational information to guide their extensions; however, comparing events is difficult. In 2 studies, researchers tested whether children benefit from initially seeing a pair of similar events (“progressive alignment”) while learning new verbs and whether this influence changes with age. In Study 1, 2.5- and 3.5-year-old children participated in an interactive task. Children who saw a pair of similar events and then varied events were able to extend verbs at test and differed from a control group; children who saw 2 pairs of varied events did not differ from the control group. In Study 2, events were presented on a monitor. Following the initial pair of events that varied by condition, a Tobii x120 eye tracker recorded 2.5-, 3.5-, and 4.5-year-olds’ fixations to specific elements of events (areas of interest) during the 2nd pair of events, which were the same across conditions. After seeing the pair of events that were highly similar, 2.5-year-olds showed significantly longer fixation durations to agents and to affected objects as compared with the all-varied condition. At test, 3.5-year-olds were able to extend the verb, but only in the progressive alignment condition. These results are important because they show children’s visual attention to relevant elements in dynamic events is influenced by their prior comparison experience, and they show that young children benefit from seeing similar events as they learn to compare events to each other.     

The representation of depth in children's drawings of a table

Willats (1977) analysed developments in the drawing of a table in terms of the projection system in which the table top was represented, and concluded that representation of depth in drawing goes through a series of discrete stages, each of which can be identified with a projection system. A partial replication of Willats' study is presented here, using a much larger sample. The relationship between age and use of projection system found by Willats was in general supported. Not all the “stages” were found to be discrete, however, and an examination of the way in which the table tops were drawn shows that whilst the majority of older children appeared to use perspective, they did not use it correctly. A method is given by which tables that are drawn as if from a central viewpoint can be formally classified. It is concluded that development in the understanding of the representation of depth is not very closely linked to development in the use of projection systems.     

Herzen and James: Freedom as radical

The similarities and differences between Herzen and James as humanist theoreticians are very interesting in view of the roles which they played in their respective countries. Radical freedom was important to the theories of each.     

Collective emotions

Research on collective emotions has been limited until recently to theories of irrational crowds, scepticism about genuinely group‐level psychological phenomena and analyses of the unconscious or ritual sources of mass affective experience. However, collective emotion is now a thriving research area that combines studies from philosophy, anthropology, sociology, social psychology and neuroscience. This article examines neo‐Durkheimian theories of collective emotions and relevant contributions of discursive psychologists and other social scientists influenced by the “turn to affect.” I argue that future theoretical and empirical investigations should do the following: (1) critically examine theories focusing on diffuse emotional energy and discrete collective emotions by also exploring the generation and production of genuinely collective mixed emotions; (2) clarify problems with “bottom‐up” models of causal mechanisms through exploration of “affective practices”; and (3) explore the implications of Tuomela's ( 2013 ) “top‐down” social ontology of “group agents” as a framework for theories and studies of collective emotion.     

Leader autonomy support in the workplace: A meta-analytic review

Leader autonomy support (LAS) refers to a cluster of supervisory behaviors that are theorized to facilitate self-determined motivation in employees, potentially enabling well-being and performance. We report the results of a meta-analysis of perceived LAS in work settings, drawing from a database of 754 correlations across 72 studies (83 unique samples, N?=?32,870). Results showed LAS correlated strongly and positively with autonomous work motivation, and was unrelated to controlled work motivation. Correlations became increasingly positive with the more internalized forms of work motivation described by self-determination theory. LAS was positively associated with basic needs, well-being, and positive work behaviors, and was negatively associated with distress. Correlations were not moderated by the source of LAS, country of the sample, publication status, or the operationalization of autonomy support. In addition, a meta-analytic path analysis supported motivational processes that underlie LAS and its consequences in workplaces. Overall, our findings lend support for autonomy support as a leadership approach that is consistent with self-determination and optimal functioning in work settings.     

Understanding Chinese university student conceptions of assessment: cultural similarities and jurisdictional differences between Hong Kong and China

Hong Kong (HK) and the People’s Republic of China (PRC), while sharing historic cultural roots, have different policies for and practices of educational assessment. Student conceptions of assessment function to guide individual behaviour in response to the functions, purposes, and consequences of assessments. A new self-report questionnaire was developed to account for attitudes and beliefs detected in qualitative and pilot survey studies. In a two-group confirmatory factor analysis, an eight-factor solution, in which seven factors were dependent on a higher order factor (i.e., School Quality), was found with good fit. The seven factors were named: Societal Uses, Class Benefits, Accuracy, Negative Aspects, Teacher Use, Family Effects, and Competition. Invariance testing showed that regression weights were not equivalent between the PRC and HK students, though they were among PRC pre-degree and postgraduate students. There were statistically significant differences in factor mean scores between the HK and PRC groups. Conventional Chinese cultural norms were less explanatory of results than the effect of institutional assessment policies and practices in each jurisdiction.