Development of beliefs about the origins and controllability of dreams.

In three studies the authors investigated the development of beliefs about dreaming. Study 1 assessed 3- to 5-year-old children's beliefs about the origins and controllability of dreams. Results revealed significant changes in children's beliefs about the roles of behavioral experiences and mental processes in the generation of dream content. Results also revealed that young children consider both dreams and imagination to be highly controllable. In Study 2, preschool-age children, elementary school-age children, and adults received either imagination or dream stories and were questioned about controllability. In Study 3, emotional valence of the dream content was varied. Results of Studies 2 and 3 revealed significant development in beliefs that dreams are not subject to conscious control. Beliefs in controllability were higher among females. Study 3 showed that the emotional content of a dream affects these claims.     

Developmental assessment, cultural context, gender, and schooling in Zambia

Multiple perspectives on the assessment of children's development at the school-community interface in rural areas of Zambia are discussed in the light of several empirical studies conducted between 1974 and 2005. A longitudinal trace study of a cohort of 46 young people born into a rural, Chewa community in Katete District found that girls' scores in early childhood on a battery of ecoculturally grounded cognitive tests correlated less well than they did for boys with two educational outcomes: number of grades of schooling completed, and adult literacy scores. Conversely, ratings of the children on indigenous conceptions of intelligence by adults familiar with the children in the context of their home village lives predicted the same outcomes better for girls than for boys. A separate, linked experiment compared the performance of 76 Katete school children with that of 84 school children in the capital city of Lusaka on the US standardized Draw-a-Person Test (DPT) and the Panga Munthu Test (PMT), an expanded version of one of the tests developed for the Zambian trace study. Analysis of the correlations among scores on these two tests, age, and teacher ratings suggests that aptitudes evident in the home and school domains are less well integrated for rural girls than for urban boys, and that for a low-income, rural population, the PMT taps the domain of home cognition better than school cognition, while the converse is true of the DPT. Implications for educational assessment in Zambia are discussed, and supportive documentation is cited from two ongoing programs of test development. The authors conclude that if educational testing is to support the process of enhancing educational equity across gender, family socioeconomic status, and residential location, its focus should be broadened to include other dimensions of psychological development such as multilingual and personal-social competencies.     

Relational‐Cultural Theory: A Framework for Bridging Relational,Multicultural, and Social Justice Competencies

Relational‐cultural theory (RCT) theorists advocate expanding the multicultural/social justice counseling competencies beyond the domains of self‐awareness, cultural knowledge, and culturally responsive helping skills. This article provides an overview of RCT and discusses how creating and participating in growth‐fostering relationships are essential dimensions of human development and psychological well‐being. Implications of this theoretical model for counseling practice are also addressed.     

Otherness in interior identity: a reflection about the Freudian concepts of unconscious, superego, and id

Theoretical, psychoanalytical constructs referring to the unconscious, the superego, and id, enjoy an autonomy within the I. As such, this study contemplates the discussion of these foreign entities that inhabit the interior of the I, producing an effect of foreignness. In the first section, I will develop a reflection on the state of foreignness of the unconscious. I will begin with an analogy used by Freud, which addresses the thesis of universality of consciousness with the psychoanalytical thesis of the subconscience within the I. Affirmation of consciousness in the other may be used analogously for affirm the idea of another inhabiting our own being. I shall continue, seeking to understand how the process of unconscious repression produces the effect of foreignness. The idea of a moral censor present in the entity of the superego constitutes the theme of the second section. The superego follows the principle of otherness in its constitution and in its effects on the I. Finally, a reflection on the dimension of otherness in the Id seems urgent to me, as with this concept, Freud radicalized in the idea of the foreign as the origin of the subject.     

Mediational effects of sensation seeking on the age and financial risk-taking relationship

The current study examined the potential mediating role of sensation seeking in the well-established negative relationship between age and financial risk-taking. A total of 299 participants, aged 17–90 years, allocated hypothetical money into mutual funds that varied in risk and completed a sensation seeking measure. Hierarchical multiple regressions revealed that the amount of variability age accounted for in risk-taking (4.1%; β = −.22) was significantly reduced when sensation seeking was controlled for (0.8%; β = −.12). A Sobel test revealed that sensation seeking fully mediated the aforementioned relationship. Results suggest sensation seeking’s role as a mediator in more physiologically arousing risk-taking contexts (e.g., surfing). Discussion recommends investigating potential biologically and cognitively-rooted mediators and moderators of the age and risk-taking relationship.     

The development of academic competence among adolescents who bully and who are bullied

Using data from the first three waves (Grades 5, 6, and 7) of the 4-H Study of Positive Youth Development, this study assessed if being a bully or being a victim accounts for an adolescent's academic competence, if selected contextual and individual variables impact an adolescent's academic competence, and if such impact differs in relation to an adolescent's bullying status. The results of random coefficient hierarchical regression analyses indicated that being a bully predicted lower grades across time, and that being a bully was more detrimental for girls than for boys. Being a bully and being a victim negatively predicted self-perceived academic competence, but these predictive effects did not change over time or differ by sex. Teacher support positively predicted grades and greater parent support and teacher support independently predicted higher self-perceive academic competence. Greater educational expectations and school engagement independently predicted higher self-reported grades, while these two predictors positively interacted in explaining self-perceived academic competence. Unexpectedly, peer support negatively predicted self-reported grades for victims, and negatively predicted self-perceived academic competence for bullies. We discuss the importance of addressing the issue of academic competence in bullying interventions, as well as the utility of capitalizing on developmental assets in promoting academic competence among adolescents who bully and who are bullied.     

Seeking the perfect balance: Perfectionism and work–family conflict

This study considers the relationship between perfectionism and perceptions of work–family conflict. A situational component to perfectionism was found, with higher standards and a higher perceived discrepancy between standards and performance at home versus at work. Findings suggest perfectionism predicts work–family conflict, beyond the effects of the Big Five, trait affectivity and achievement. Further, findings indicate those with adaptive perfectionism (AP; work and home) tend to have lower strain and time‐based family interfering with work and lower behaviour‐based work interfering with family, compared with maladaptive perfectionists (home) and non‐perfectionists (work and home). Gender differences were found and considered in a more exploratory manner.     

The moderating effect of parental warmth on the association between spanking and child aggression: a longitudinal approach

Using data from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Study, this study analysed the stability of child aggressive behaviour beginning in infancy and tested whether spanking when the child was 36 months was associated with aggressive child behaviour among three ethnic groups and whether maternal warmth moderated the effect of spanking on aggressive behaviour in each ethnic group at 36 months, after controlling for earlier aggressive behaviour. Participants included 693 Hispanic parent–child dyads, 1013 African‐American dyads and 1086 Caucasian dyads who met qualifications for participation in the Early Head Start programme. Findings suggest that infant temperament was associated with aggressive behaviour at 24 and 36 months and that child aggression remained stable. Among the three ethnic groups, spanking was only associated with aggressive behaviour for children who had Caucasian mothers and maternal warmth did not moderate the effect of spanking on aggressive behaviour. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Interpersonal perception and personality disorders: Utilization of a thin slice approach

Study 1 expands upon previous research by looking at the ability of untrained raters to detect pathological traits within a normal population of college students. In Study 1, 30-s video clips of 81 target persons were shown to 42 raters. Ratings of traits of personality disorders made by thin slice raters reliably predicted scores on the personality pathology measures obtained from the targets themselves and from close peers. Study 2 is a preliminary examination of how pathological rater traits impacts thin slice accuracy. In Study 2, peer and self-report data were examined regarding 87 thin slice raters. Raters who exhibited traits of narcissistic personality disorder were significantly less accurate in making personality predictions regarding targets. Three clusters of personality items were identified based on rater characteristics related to accuracy in predicting behavior.