Children's Pets and Adults' Self-Concepts

Self-concepts of adults were related to the age when they had their first pet. The Tennessee Self Concept Scale (TSCS) (Fitts, 1965) Total Positive self-concept scores were higher if subjects were under 6 years or over 10 years old than if they were between 6 and 10 years old when they had their first pet. Similar results were found for the TSCS Physical and Social subscales. Whereas gender effects were also found, no significant pet ownership or other childhood Companion Animal Bonding Scale (Poresky, Hendrix, Mosier, & Samuelson, 1987) effects were found.     

An impossibility theorem for amalgamating evidence

Amalgamating evidence of different kinds for the same hypothesis into an overall confirmation is analogous, I argue, to amalgamating individuals’ preferences into a group preference. The latter faces well-known impossibility theorems, most famously “Arrow’s Theorem”. Once the analogy between amalgamating evidence and amalgamating preferences is tight, it is obvious that amalgamating evidence might face a theorem similar to Arrow’s. I prove that this is so, and end by discussing the plausibility of the axioms required for the theorem.     

The documentary history of Judaism and the problem of dating sayings

This personal account of a thirty year long encounter with secularization theory indicates its location in sociological culture and its unchallenged status until the sixties. From that time on, the critique of secularization has come from varied standpoints, but arguably the viable core of the notion lies in pluralism and differentiation rather than rationalization and privatization. It emphasizes the variations in the secularization process according to specific historical context. It notes the continuing secularization of western Europe and takes up the issue raised by Peter Berger of 'Europea Exceptionalism'.     

Mortality salience increases death-anxiety for individuals low in personal need for structure

Research derived from terror management theory suggests that death cognition does not lead to death-anxiety because people respond to thoughts of death by turning to social and cultural structures that provide a sense of psychological security. However, recent research indicates that it is people high, but not low, in personal need for structure that turn to social and cultural structures in response to heightened death cognition. Such findings suggest that people low in PNS may be vulnerable to experiencing death-anxiety when death thoughts are activated. The current study explored this possibility. Individual differences in personal need for structure were measured and death cognition (mortality salience) was manipulated. Subsequently, death-anxiety was assessed. Mortality salience increased death-anxiety, but only among individuals low in personal need for structure.     

From Super Mario to Skyrim: A framework for the evolution of video game consumption

In contrast with traditional forms of entertainment media (e.g., movies, novels, and television), video games are unique in their ability to provide immersion, agency, and transformation (IAT) during the consumptive experience. As the video game medium has evolved over generations of consoles, the experience of IAT has become increasingly complex from the perspective of consumers. To better understand this phenomenon, this research presents a framework for understanding the consumption of video games by examining the intersection of player, narrative, and gameplay. Our findings suggest that advancements in video game technology and design have gradually increased the degree of integration among these domains. Although the subjective experience of IAT has generally improved as a function of greater integration, various conflicts arise from the tensions that exist between player, narrative, and gameplay. Consequently, this research explores the specific nature of such conflicts to provide a richer understanding of video game consumption and the impact of its evolution on consumers. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The creation and validation of the Developmental Emotional Faces Stimulus Set

The Developmental Emotional Faces Stimulus Set (DEFSS) is designed to provide a standardized set of emotional stimuli that includes both child and adult faces and that has been validated by participants across a wide range of ages. This article describes the creation and validation of the DEFSS, which includes 404 validated facial photographs of people between 8 and 30 years old displaying five different emotional expressions: happy, angry, fearful, sad, and neutral. The emotions in all photographs were identified correctly by 86 % of the raters (minimum 55 %), and validity did not vary as a function of the age group of the model or of the raters, indicating that the pictures are equally appropriate for use across the entire age range. Strengths and limitations of the DEFSS are discussed.     

Reasons for Declining Preconception Expanded Carrier Screening Using Genome Sequencing

Genomic carrier screening can identify more disease-associated variants than existing carrier screening methodologies, but its utility from patients’ perspective is not yet established. A randomized controlled trial for preconception genomic carrier screening provided an opportunity to understand patients’ decisions about whether to accept or decline testing. We administered a survey to potential genomic carrier screening recipients who declined participation (N = 240) to evaluate their reasons for doing so. Two thirds of women declined participation. We identified major themes describing reasons these individuals declined to participate; the most common were time limitation, lack of interest, not wanting to know the information, and potential cause of worry or anxiety. Most women eligible for genomic carrier screening indicated that their reasons for opting out were due to logistical issues rather than opposing the rationale for testing. As expanded carrier screening and genomic sequencing become a more routine part of clinical care, it is anticipated there will be variable uptake from individuals for this testing. Thus, the advancement of clinical carrier screening from single genes, to expanded screening panels, to an exome- or genome-wide platform, will require approaches that respect individual choice to receive genetic testing for reproductive risk assessment.     

Reinforcement of vocalizations through contingent vocal imitation

Maternal vocal imitation of infant vocalizations is highly prevalent during face-to-face interactions of infants and their caregivers. Although maternal vocal imitation has been associated with later verbal development, its potentially reinforcing effect on infant vocalizations has not been explored experimentally. This study examined the reinforcing effect of maternal vocal imitation of infant vocalizations using a reversal probe BAB design. Eleven 3- to 8-month-old infants at high risk for developmental delays experienced contingent maternal vocal imitation during reinforcement conditions. Differential reinforcement of other behavior served as the control condition. The behavior of 10 infants showed evidence of a reinforcement effect. Results indicated that vocal imitations can serve to reinforce early infant vocalizations.