Mental models and other misconceptions in children’s understanding of the earth

This study investigated the claim (e.g., Vosniadou & Brewer’s, 1992) that children have naive “mental models” of the earth and believe, for example, that the earth is flat or hollow. It tested the proposal that children appear to have these misconceptions because they find the researchers’ tasks and questions to be confusing and ambiguous. Participants were 6- and 7-year-olds (N = 127) who were given either the mental model theorists’ original drawing task or a new version in which the same instructions and questions were rephrased to minimize ambiguity and, thus, possible misinterpretation. In response to the new version, children gave substantially more indication of having scientific understanding and less of having naive mental models, suggesting that the misconceptions reported by the mental model theorists are largely methodological artifacts. There were also differences between the responses to the original version and those reported by Vosniadou and Brewer, indicating that other factors, such as cohort and cultural effects, are also likely to help explain the discrepant findings of previous research.     

Mental models or methodological artefacts? Adults' naïve responses to a test of children's conceptions of the earth

Vosniadou and Brewer (1992) claim that children's drawings and answers to questions show that they have naïve, theory‐like ‘mental models’ of the earth; for example, they believe it to be flat, or hollow with people inside. However, recent studies that have used different methods have found little or no evidence of these misconceptions. The contrasting accounts, and possible reasons for the inconsistent findings, were tested by giving adults (N=484) either the original task (designed for 5‐year olds) or a new version in which the same drawing instructions and questions were rephrased and clarified. Many adults' responses to the original version were identical to children's ‘naïve’ drawings and answers. The new version elicited substantially fewer non‐scientific responses. These findings indicate that even adults find the original instructions and questions ambiguous and confusing, and that this is the principal reason for their non‐scientific drawings and answers. Since children must find the task even more confusing than adults, this explanation very probably applies to many of their non‐scientific responses, too, and therefore accounts for the discrepant findings of previous research. ‘Naïve’ responses result largely from misinterpretation of Vosniadou and Brewer's apparently simple task, rather than from mental models of the earth.     

Forgiveness in marriage: The role of relationship quality,attributions, and empathy

Italian husbands (n= 79) and wives (n= 92) from long‐term marriages provided data on the role of marital quality, affective reactions, and attributions for hypothetical partner transgressions in promoting forgiveness. Structural equation modeling revealed that, as hypothesized, positive marital quality was predictive of more benign attributions that, in turn, facilitated forgiveness both directly and indirectly via affective reactions and emotional empathy. Unexpectedly, marital quality did not account for unique variance in forgiveness. Compared to husbands, wives’ responsibility attributions were more predictive of forgiveness, whereas empathy was a better predictor of forgiveness in husbands than in wives. The findings are discussed in terms of their implications for the burgeoning therapeutic literature on forgiveness.     

Atypical development of language and social communication in toddlers with Williams syndrome

Williams syndrome (WS) is a genetic disorder which results in an uneven cognitive profile. Despite superior language compared to other syndromes in the phenotypic outcome, toddlers with WS are as delayed in their language onset and early linguistic development as are toddlers with other syndromes. The cause of this delay in WS is as yet unknown. In a series of experiments, we examined whether atypical socio‐interactive precursors to language could contribute to the explanation of the late language onset and atypical developmental pathways observed in WS. Experiment 1 showed that despite superficially good social skills, toddlers with WS were only proficient at dyadic interaction. They were impaired in triadic interaction, essential for the referential uses of language, and showed none of the correlations between socio‐interactive markers and language seen in the typical controls. Experiment 2 focused on the comprehension and production of referential pointing. Again, the WS group was impaired, despite vocabulary levels higher than those of typically developing controls. Finally, Experiment 3 examined fine motor skills. The WS lack of pointing could not be explained in terms of motor impairments, since the WS toddlers were proficient at fine motor control, such as the pincer grip. Overall, our data indicate that the early stages of WS language follow an atypical pathway. The findings challenge the frequent claims in the literature that individuals with Williams syndrome have preserved linguistic and social skills.     

The relationships between socially prescribed perfectionism,in‐group affect,negative urgency,and disordered eating in women

Socially prescribed perfectionism (SPP) is often considered as a key risk factor for disordered eating (DE). However, current conceptualizations of SPP largely assume that this perfectionism pressure is non‐specific (i.e., a global pressure), despite research indicating that for females experiencing DE, female‐dominated groups impose this pressure (as a perceived norm). Furthermore, this relationship may be mediated by a negative reaction to this pressure, in the form of impulsivity (or negative urgency). To date, no research has investigated whether the relationship between SPP and DE is mediated by negative urgency, nor has there been research clarifying how in‐group identification relates to DE, independent of SPP and negative urgency. To address these gaps, we assessed these variables in 147 female dieters (M_age = 25.12 years, SD = 3.08) using a cross‐sectional design. Consistent with our hypotheses, negative urgency fully mediated the link between female‐based SPP and disordered eating, while female‐based in‐group affect (identification) was predictive of disordered eating (although the latter relationship was not sustained in a multiple regression model). These findings suggest that the SPP from other women may relate to DE through increasing negative urgency, and that the link between in‐group (female) affect and DE may be better explained by SPP's link to DE.     

Parental discipline practices and locus of control: relationship to bullying and victimization experiences of elementary school students

This study examined the association between parenting locus of control, discipline practices, and bullying and victimization experiences of elementary school children. A total of 186 children and 160 parents responded to structured questionnaires, assessing parenting locus of control and discipline practices among the parents, and bullying and victimization experiences among the children. Results indicated that parental discipline practices were correlated with specific dimensions of parenting locus of control. Although parental characteristics did not seem to predict children’s behavior, the reverse was partially supported, in that involvement in bullying explained a small amount of variance in parenting practices. More importantly, parenting locus of control dimensions were significantly predictive of discipline practices, such that the more external the locus of control, the less effective the discipline practices (i.e. punishment and inconsistency) used by parents. It appears that parenting locus of control needs to be taken into consideration when attempting to understand parenting behavior.     

Sorrow,shame, and self-esteem: Perception of self and others in groups for women survivors of child sexual abuse

Despite evidence that exists about the severity of impact of child sexual abuse (CSA), less has been published about treatment options. Much CSA is enshrouded in secrecy in the context of dysfunctional family dynamics, therefore group work is often recommended as a method of treatment. Although long- and short-term groups are seen as being equally effective, there are few published studies of long-term analytic groups for survivors of CSA. This study was designed to analyse the process of one long-term group. A case is made for using Core Conflictual Relationship Theme (CCRT), a method designed to analyse individual therapy, with reference to group theory. Shifts in self-perception and in relation to others are analysed from the beginning to the end of therapy.     

Emotional and Behavioural Problems Among Refugee Children and Adolescents Living in South Australia

While there is a growing body of literature on the mental health status of adult refugees, children have been relatively neglected in research, particularly in Australia. This study investigated the prevalence of emotional and behavioural problems and patterns of service utilisation among 530 refugee children and adolescents aged 4–17 years living in South Australia. Parents and teachers of children aged 4–17 years and adolescents aged 13–17 years completed the appropriate versions of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Of the 11.0% of children and adolescents found to have borderline or abnormal emotional and behavioural problems, only 13.0% accessed professional help. The study has practical implications for policy and practice.     

Interference Effects from Observed Movement in Parkinson's Disease

Previous research has demonstrated that Parkinson's disease patients have an increased susceptibility to response conflict. In the present study, the authors investigate whether Parkinson's patients have a similar sensitivity to interference from observed movements. In all, 10 patients and 10 controls performed horizontal and vertical arm movements while watching a video of either a person performing similar movements or a moving dot. Movements were performed in the same plane (congruent) and orthogonal to the observed movement (incongruent). The off-axis variance of movements was our index of interference. Although patients tended to exhibit more off-axis variability than did controls, both groups demonstrated similar congruence effects, with greater variance in incongruent conditions. These results indicated that increased susceptibility to interference in Parkinson's disease does not extend to interference from observed movements.     

Are all ostracism experiences equal? A comparison of the autobiographical recall,Cyberball, and O-Cam paradigms

In the present study, we aimed to compare the primary-need depletion elicited by three common ostracism paradigms: autobiographical recall (e.g., Zhong & Leonardelli in Psychological Science 19:838–842, 2008), Cyberball (Williams, Cheung, & Choi in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 79:748–762, 2000), and O-Cam (Goodacre & Zadro in Behavior Research Methods 42:768–774, 2010). A total of 152 participants (52 males) were randomly allocated to one of the three paradigms, and their subsequent primary needs were measured (belonging, control, self-esteem, and meaningful existence). O-Cam was found to induce greater total primary-need depletion than did Cyberball and recall, which did not differ significantly from each other. Moreover, when examining the pattern of individual need depletion elicited by each paradigm, O-Cam was found to induce significantly greater depletion of belonging, control, and meaningful existence than did the recall paradigm, and significantly greater depletion of control and self-esteem than did Cyberball. No other comparisons were found to be significant, including the comparisons between the recall and Cyberball paradigms for each individual primary need. Collectively, the findings will assist ostracism researchers in making informed choices regarding (a)?which paradigm is appropriate to implement with respect to their research aims, and (b)?whether the interchangeable use of paradigms within a program of research is appropriate practice.