What gene-environment interactions can tell us about social competence in typical and atypical populations

Social competence is a complex human behaviour that is likely to involve a system of genes that interacts with a myriad of environmental risk and protective factors. The search for its genetic and environmental origins and influences is equally complex and will require a multidimensional conceptualization and multiple methods and levels of analysis. Behavioural genetic research can begin to address the fundamental yet complex question of how children develop social competence by uncovering the various influences on social development and disentangling variance due to multiple genes, environments and experiences. In this paper, we review the current status of research on sociability, face recognition, emotion recognition, and theory of mind (TOM)--well defined and measured constructs that are likely to be useful indices for detecting genetic and environmental influences on social competence. We also propose specific milestones as indices of further progress in the field: the development of an operational definition of the construct of social competence, the identification of social endophenotypes-psychological processes that are validly and reliably measured components of social competence, and improving specificity and homogeneity with regard to social endophenotypes within a population of study by employing 'extreme social phenotypes'. These efforts will lead to a better understanding of the specific contributions to the normal variation of social competence in the general population as well as to atypical social development.     

Relations among self-certainty,sense of control and quality of life

This article investigates the mediation effect of the sense of control on the relationship between self-certainty and quality of life (QOL). In the first study, 101 students at National Taiwan University (NTU) completed a self-certainty rating scale with respect to interpersonal traits of the general self and three role-specific selves (son/daughter, sibling, and friend). They also filled out the WHOQOL-BREF (World Health Organization Quality of Life questionnaire—brief version) Taiwan version to assess QOL. A two-factor confirmatory factor analysis revealed that self-certainty on interpersonal traits has a positive relationship with QOL. In the second study, 121 NTU students completed a self-certainty rating scale with respect to personality traits of the general self and two role-specific selves (son/daughter and friend), a control scale measuring sense of control, and the WHOQOL-BREF Taiwan version assessing QOL. A two-factor confirmatory factor analysis revealed that self-certainty on personality traits has a positive relationship with QOL. In addition, a structural equation model revealed that the sense of self-control mediated the positive relation between self-certainty and QOL. The findings showed that people with higher self-certainty had a higher sense of control and, hence, led a better life. The results also showed that the positive relationship between self-certainty and QOL was stronger when self-certainty was assessed with interpersonal traits than with personality traits. Implications of this study for self research and adjustment are discussed.     

Factor structure of patient and caregiver ratings on the dementia quality of life instrument

Preliminary evidence suggests that quality of life reports from patients diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and mild Alzheimer's disease (AD) are as reliable and valid as data provided by caregivers. To date, no studies compared the factor structure of data provided by caregivers and patients. Factor analyses are important to conduct because they are an indicator of validity. This study compared the factor structure of patient and caregiver reports on the Dementia Quality of Life scale (DQoL). Participants (N=67) were patients diagnosed with amnestic MCI or mild AD and their caregivers. Principal axis factor analyses were run separately on patient and caregiver report data. The three-factor solutions for patient and caregiver data were nearly identical. Three factors corresponding to positive affect, negative affect, and aesthetics emerged reliably from analyses. Thus, data from patients demonstrated a factor structure that was highly consistent with caregiver report data and conformed to meaningful psychological constructs.     

Conspicuous donation behaviour: scale development and validation

• This paper builds on the concept of conspicuous donation behaviour (CDB) through further conceptualisation and operationalisation of this construct. The paper reports on developing the CDB scale via a three‐stage process, which includes five data collections using a total of 1311 respondents. The data analysis indicates that the resulting eight‐item (two factor) CDB scale has face, content, convergent, discriminant and predictive validity and the CDB scale is reliable across samples. The CDB scale has the potential for significant usage in the development and testing of theory, as well as in practical applications.

Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Numerical reproduction in pigeons

Pigeons were trained to match the number of responses made during a production phase to the number of keylight flashes (2, 4, or 6) in a previous sample phase. In Experiment 1, there were 2 conditions in which the flashes were programmed to occur at a constant rate or within a constant overall duration. For both conditions, although accuracy was relatively low, responding increased linearly with flash number and coefficients of variation decreased. Positive transfer to novel numbers was obtained only when test and baseline trials had the same temporal organization, but multiple regressions revealed significant control by number independently of temporal cues. In Experiment 2, flashes were programmed to occur pseudorandomly to degrade the validity of temporal cues. Results were similar to in Experiment 1. A prototype response class model accounted for the major features of the data. According to the model, responses during the production phase are shaped into higher order units that are associated with different stimulus numbers and function as a rough category scale of numerosity.     

The role of life events,family support,and competence in adolescent substance use: A test of vulnerability and protective factors

Tested propositions from a model of vulnerability and protective factors with a multiethnic sample of 1,289 urban adolescents, aged 11-13 years. The criterion variable was a composite score for cigarette, alcohol, and marijuana use. Multiple regression analyses indicated that vulnerability factors (negative life events, negative affect) were related to a higher level of substance use, and protective factors (parent emotional and instrumental support, academic and adult competence, positive affect) were related to a lower level of substance use; peer competence was positively related to substance use in a multivariate model. There was a significant overall interaction of Vulnerability x Protective Factors, consistent with a stress-buffering effect. Individual interactions for Life Events x Family Support, Life Events x Competence, and Negative x Positive Affect also were consistent with buffering effects. Implications for theories of substance use and primary prevention are discussed.     

Buffalo Creek Survivors in the Second Decade: Comparison with Unexposed and Nonlitigant Groups1

This study investigated the second-decade effects of the Buffalo Creek dam collapse and flood that occurred in West Virginia in 1972. One hundred twenty-one survivors who had participated in an earlier lawsuit against the coal company that built the collapsed dam were compared to 78 nonlitigant survivors on self-reported symptoms, clinical ratings, and diagnoses. A nonexposed sample from a geographically and culturally similar neighborhood was investigated as well. Findings showed no differences between the litigant and nonlitigant survivor groups. The survivor groups together showed higher rates of anxiety, depression, and hostility symptoms and diagnoses than the nonexposed sample. The findings were discussed in the context of the nature of the traumatic event, social and cultural influences on recovery, and the constellation of symptoms which differentiated the groups.     

Differentiation of retinal and nonretinal contributions to averaged evoked responses obtained with electrodes placed near the eyes

Recent visual evoked potential (VEP) studies suggest that during sustained voluntary attention, irrelevant or unattended visual stimuli may be filtered precortically. Testing of this hypothesis in humans requires knowledge of the origin of specific components of the VEP that are affected by selective attention. This study describes techniques and procedures for distinguishing between retinal and nonretinal components of VEPs recorded from electrodes placed strategically around the eyes and on the forehead. By visually stimulating one eye at a time while recording simultaneously from both, and by stimulating a given retinal area with the eyes fixated on the target at different angular deviations from the normal line of regard, components of the VEPs around the eyes can be distinguished as of retinal or nonretinal origin. The results are discussed in terms of volume conduction theory.     

Pavlovian theory of dreaming

Pavlovian theory provides a conceptual scheme for the examination of recent empirical data on dreaming. Consistencies are examined between these data and Pavlovian theory of the general properties of the nervous system. An equation is made between Pavlov’s excitation-inhibition continuum, the REM-NREM cycle, and the basic rest-activity cycle. Speculations, based on this equation, are made about the inter-relation between waking and sleeping behaviors. Testable hypotheses are suggested throughout the paper.