Learning to “See” Less Than Nothing: Putting Perceptual Skills to Work for Learning Numerical Structure

How can children's natural perceptuo-motor skills be harnessed for teaching and learning mathematical structure? We address this question in the case of the integers. Existing research suggests that adult mental representations of integers recruit perceptuo-motor functionalities involving symmetry. Building on these findings, we designed a hands-on curriculum that emphasizes symmetry to teach integer concepts to fourth graders. Compared to two control conditions, children who went through the experimental curriculum showed evidence of incorporating symmetry into their mental representations of integers and performed higher on problems beyond the scope of instruction, including negative fractions and algebra-readiness problems. Gains did not come at the expense of basic integer computation skill. This study has direct practical implications, as current integers curricula generally omit symmetry. The research demonstrates an approach to designing instruction that involves identifying perceptuo-motor functionalities underlying numerical cognition and creating learning activities to recruit them.     

Making the Intangible Tangible: Using Expressive Art During Termination to Co-Construct Meaning

In this article, a creative termination activity grounded in relational-cultural theory is presented. In addition to providing a means for summarizing the counseling experience, this activity promotes relational development in the midst of client termination. Following implementation of the activity, the client and counselor are provided tangible, co-constructed gifts that are symbolic of the therapeutic relationship and relational growth. The authors provide a rationale for how this intervention promotes self-awareness, outline directions for implementation, and provide a case illustration to demonstrate how counselors can help promote relational closure and solidify clients’ therapeutic gains.     

Covered in stigma? The impact of differing levels of Islamic head‐covering on explicit and implicit biases toward Muslim women

Given the prominence of Muslim veils—in particular the hijab and full‐face veil—in public discourse concerning the place of Muslims in Western society, we examined their impact on non‐Muslims’ responses at both explicit and implicit levels. Results revealed that responses were more negative toward any veil compared with no veil, and more negative toward the full‐face veil relative to the hijab: for emotions felt toward veiled women (Study 1), for non‐affective attitudinal responses (Study 2), and for implicit negative attitudes revealed through response latency measures (Studies 3a and 3b). Finally, we manipulated the perceived reasons for wearing a veil, finding that exposure to positive reasons for wearing a veil led to better predicted and imagined contact (Study 4). Practical and theoretical implications are discussed.     

Will They or Won’t They? Secret Telling in Interpersonal Interactions

This study investigated predictors of within-gender secret telling. Eighty-eight participants were exposed to either a “positive” or a “negative” secret about another individual. Just under 20% of participants told the secret. Conscientiousness, secret condition, empathy, and the conscientiousness by secret condition interaction had effects on the rate of secret telling, χ² (5,82) = 17.78, p = .003, AIC = 80.60. Conscientiousness had a negative effect on secret telling among participants that told the “negative” secret.     

Including Early Modern Women Writers in Survey Courses

There are many reasons to include texts written by women in early modern philosophy courses. The most obvious one is accuracy: women helped to shape the philosophical landscape of the time. Thus, to craft a syllabus that wholly excludes women is to give students an inaccurate picture of the early modern period. Since it seems safe to assume that we all aim for accuracy, this should be reason enough to include women writers in our courses. This article nonetheless offers an additional reason: when students are exposed to philosophical texts written by women, they learn that women have been, are, and can be philosophers. Given how underrepresented women are in philosophy, this finding is significant. If we aim to change the face of philosophy—so that it includes more women—we must include texts written by women in our syllabi. The article considers various obstacles faced by those who work to respond to this call to action.     

The Multifaceted Relationship Between Physical Activity and Affect

The purpose of the present paper is to provide a summary of scientific findings on the relationship between physical activity (PA) and affect. We provide separate narrative reviews of (a) the association between PA and well‐being in the general population; (b) PA as a prophylactic and/or treatment for clinical depression; and (c) immediate affective response to individual PA sessions and the implications for adherence to PA programs. Findings suggest an association between engaging in regular PA and more positive well‐being, decreased risk of future depression, and reduction of depressed mood among those who are already depressed. However, despite the fairly strong evidence for these associations, there is less evidence for causal effects of PA on well‐being and depression. Individual sessions of PA generally result in positive shifts in affective valence from pre‐PA to post‐PA, but during PA, affective response is intensity‐dependent, with considerable variability for moderate intensity PA. In sum, despite the “physical activity feels good” narrative often portrayed in the popular media, the relationship between PA and affect is complex and multifaceted.