Beliefs about birth rank and their reflection in reality

Beliefs about birth rank reflect what the society regards as social reality, and they may also influence that reality. Three studies found that people believe those with different birth ranks differ in their personalities, that higher birth ranks are likely to attain higher occupational prestige, and that the personality characteristics attributed to the various birth ranks favor the actual attainment of higher occupational prestige. In one example of such beliefs, firstborns were rated as most intelligent but least creative whereas the opposite was true of last-borns. The 4th study found that those with higher birth ranks in fact attain more prestigious occupations and actually do complete more years of schooling.     

Maternal power assertion in discipline and moral discourse contexts: commonalities, differences, and implications for children's moral conduct and cognition

Parental power assertion is traditionally studied in the behavioral domain--discipline triggered by the child's immediate misbehavior--but rarely in the cognitive domain--parent-child discussions of the child's past misbehavior. Maternal power assertion was observed in "do" and 'don't" discipline contexts from 14 to 45 months and in the context of mother-child discourse about a recent misbehavior at 56 months. Mothers' use of power cohered across the "do," 'don't," and discourse contexts, but its implications were domain specific. Power assertion in the 'don't" discipline context predicted behavioral outcomes (more moral conduct at 56 and 73 months, less antisocial conduct at 73 months) but not cognitive outcomes (moral cognition at 56 and 73 months). Power assertion in the discourse context predicted less mature moral cognition but not moral or antisocial conduct. Mothers' high Neuroticism predicted more power assertion in all three contexts. Child effects were examined.     

Experience-dependent changes in dendritic arbor and spine density in neocortex vary qualitatively with age and sex

Male and female Long-Evans hooded rats were placed in the complex environments for 3 months either at weaning (22 days), in young adulthood (120 days), or in senescence (24 months). The dendritic morphology of both the apical and basilar fields of layer III pyramidal cells was analyzed in both parietal and visual cortex. There were two novel results. First, although spine density was increased significantly with complex-housing in adulthood, it was decreased significantly by the same housing during development. Second, dendritic length was increased in both parietal and occipital cortex at all ages in males and was increased in adult females as well, but juvenile females showed no change in dendritic length in the occipital cortex and only a small effect on the apical field in parietal cortex. Thus, there are qualitative differences in the changes in spine density at different ages and the dendritic changes in response to complex versus isolated housing vary with sex, and in females, the changes vary with age as well. These results may explain some of the apparent inconsistencies in reports of spine and dendrite changes in the literature.     

Parents' personality and infants' temperament as contributors to their emerging relationship

The authors examined the contributions of infant's temperament and parent's personality to their relationship. In Study 1, 102 infants, mothers, and fathers were studied when infants were 7 months; in Study 2, 112 infants and mothers were followed from 9 to 45 months. Infants' temperament (joy, fear, anger, and attention) was observed in standard temperament paradigms. Parents' personality measures encompassed the Big Five traits and Empathy in Study 1 and Mistrust, Manipulativeness, Aggression, Dependency, Entitlement, and Workaholism in Study 2. Parent-child relationship (shared positive affect and parental responsiveness in Studies 1 and 2 and parental tracking of the infant in Study 1) was observed in naturalistic contexts. In Study 1, mothers' Neuroticism, Empathy, and Conscientiousness and fathers' Agreeableness, Openness, and Extraversion related to the relationship with the infants. All measures of infant temperament also related to the emerging relationship. In Study 2, maternal Mistrust, Manipulativeness, Dependency, and Workaholism predicted the relationship with the child.     

Psychosocial Conditions of Quality of Life Among Undergraduate Students: A Cross Sectional Survey

Quality of life (QOL) in the context of education is an understudied topic and research related to its’ relation to the sense of coherence (SOC), level of optimism (LOO) and self-efficacy (SE) among students seems to be missing. The rationale for this survey was to fill this gap in knowledge and therefore, the aim of the study is to examine the relationship between students’ QOL and psychological variables such as SOC, LOO and SE, and social ones such as type of faculty, students’ social background and sex. The quantitative cross sectional survey has been conducted at three higher education institutions in Poland in January 2006. The random sample of 396 undergraduate students (average age was 20.5 years) representing 5 different faculties namely physiotherapy, physical education, tourism and recreation, English and Polish philology has been selected and participated in the study. Four reliable and validated research tools have been used to collect the data. These included the SF-36, SOC-29, Seligman’s scale, and GSES. The results have shown to indicate that different variables had a significant effect on particular subscales of the QOL outcomes. For example, among social variables faculty had a significant effect on physical functioning, role limitation due to physical functioning, and changes in health. Sex had a significant effect on role limitation due to emotional problems, social functioning, and energy vitality. Social background had a significant effect on general health. Among psychological variables the sense of coherence was significantly related to all subscales of QOL. A significant effect was noted by self-efficacy on physical and social functioning. Level of optimism had a significant effect on energy-vitality and general health. This research survey has suggested that changes in academic curriculum might be implemented to improve students QOL.     

Difference – is it hated or desired? Reflections on the totalitarian state of mind

In an age of polarized political views and growing nationalism it is vital that the psychoanalytic profession offers its contribution. The author makes a link between early infant development and social and political behaviour. Psychoanalytic, Jungian and Relational ideas are explored. Starting from Freud and his theory of ‘minor differences’, a dichotomy between closeness and separateness is investigated. The writer argues that difference is at the centre of human identity and human development and explores why we struggle to accept it. The totalitarian political system is described as one that eliminates difference. A case study is offered as an illustration of a patient’s struggle to move from a symbiotic, undifferentiated state towards object relating and individuation .     

A Secure Base from which to Cooperate: Security,Child and Parent Willing Stance,and Adaptive and Maladaptive Outcomes in two Longitudinal Studies

Early secure attachment plays a key role in socialization by inaugurating a long-term mutual positive, collaborative interpersonal orientation within the parent-child dyad. We report findings from Family Study (community mothers, fathers, and children, from age 2 to 12, N = 102, 51 girls) and Play Study (exclusively low-income mothers and children, from age 3.5 to 7, N = 186, 90 girls). We examined links among observed secure attachment at toddler age, child and parent receptive, willing stance to each other, observed in parent-child contexts at early school age, and developmental outcomes. The developmental outcomes included parent-rated child antisocial behavior problems and observed positive mutuality with regard to conflict issues at age 12 in Family Study, and mother-rated child antisocial behavior problems and observed child regard for rules and moral self at age 7 in Play Study. In mother-child relationships, the child’s willing stance mediated indirect effects of child security on positive mutuality in Family Study and on all outcomes in Play Study. In father-child relationships, both the child’s and the parent’s willing stance mediated indirect effects of child security on both outcomes. Early security initiates an adaptive developmental cascade by enlisting the child and the parent as active, willingly receptive and cooperative agents in the socialization process. Implications for children’s parenting interventions are noted.     

The Effect of Employee Trust of the Supervisor on Enterprising Behavior: A Cross-Cultural Comparison

This study examines the effects of an employee’s affect-based and cognition-based trust of the supervisor on that employee’s enterprising behavior. The extent to which two cultural dimensions, power distance and in-group collectivism, moderate the relationship between the trust measures and enterprising behavior is considered. Trust ratings were provided by 130 U.S. employees, 202 Turkish employees, 101 Polish employees, and 86 Russian employees. Their 519 supervisors then provided ratings of those employees’ enterprising behavior. The results show that both affect-based trust and cognition-based trust have a significant, but modest, effect on the employee’s enterprising behavior. Our findings indicate that both power distance and in-group collectivism do not moderate the proposed trust-behavior relationship although power distance almost reaches the level of significance. We call for further research on other moderating variables to explain the findings.