Malawian secondary students’ beliefs about intelligence

Students who view intelligence as malleable tend to be more academically motivated and perform at higher levels than students who view it as a fixed trait. We examined the beliefs of students from Malawi because the culture and schooling process in this country is very different from some other areas of the world in which students’ views of intelligence have already been studied. Our research questions were: (1) How do Malawian students define intelligence? (2) To what extent do Malawian students view intelligence as malleable? (3) Are Malawian students’ definitions of intelligence and beliefs about the malleability of intelligence similar to those of students in more developed countries? We conducted a mixed methods study and surveyed 136 students attending a secondary school in Malawi using a 39‐item questionnaire. Students responded to questions about their intelligence beliefs on open‐ and closed‐ended items. Our results showed that Malawian students believe that an intelligent student exhibits a variety of behaviors, including studying, working hard, reading, performing well on exams and in class, answering and asking questions, paying attention, and demonstrating good behavior. Most students believe that intelligence is malleable and provided responses that indicated that students can become more intelligent through effort. When compared to the findings of other studies, the present results suggest that the Malawian students who remain in secondary school have definitions of intelligence and beliefs about the malleability of intelligence that are similar to those of students in more developed countries, such as the US and Germany. In fact, it appears that Malawian secondary students have even higher malleable beliefs than American and German students. Finally, some of the measures that have been found to produce scores that are reliable and valid in other populations do not produce scores that are as reliable when used with Malawian students.     

Explaining Addiction: How Far Does the Reward Account of Motivation Take Us?

ABSTRACT

Choice theorists such as George Ainslie and Gene Heyman argue that the drug-seeking behaviour of addicts is best understood in the same terms that explain everyday choices. Everyday choices, they claim, aim to maximise the reward from available incentives. Continuing drug-use is, therefore, what addicts most want given the incentives they are aware of but they will change their behaviour if and when better incentives become available. This model might explain many typical cases of addiction, but there are hard cases that pose a problem. In these hard cases the addicted individual does not cease using drugs in the face of consequences that are so adverse it is implausible that they are unaware of more rewarding paths of action. These cases force the choice theorist into a dilemma: either these addicts’ drug use does not count as action and so is best described by a neurobiological model, or reference to ‘reward’ in these cases means merely ‘motivated’ and so provides no explanatory power. We propose a different model of motivation that takes self-conception into account. We show how that can better explain the hard cases of addiction and also inform our understanding of recovery and self-control.     

The Mediating Effects of Facial Expression on Spatial Interference Between Gaze Direction and Gaze Location

Gaze direction is an important social cue that interacts with facial expression. Cañadas and Lupiáñez (2012) reported a reverse-congruency effect such that identification of gaze direction was faster when a face was presented to the left but with the eyes directed to the right, or vice versa. In two experiments, this effect is replicated and then extended to explore the relationship between this effect and facial expression. Results show that the reverse-congruency effect is replicable with speeded gaze-direction identification, and that the effect is mediated by facial expression. The reverse-congruency effect is similar for happy and angry faces, but was not found for fearful faces. Findings are discussed in relation to the similarity of processing of incongruent gaze direction and the processing of direct gaze.     

Influential Factors in Artist's Lives and Themes in Their Artwork

ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to investigate the relations among influential factors in artists' lives, the process of creativity, and themes in the resulting artwork. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used. In Phase I of the research, 6 contemporary artists identified themes, influences, feelings, thoughts, and representations about 5 pieces of their own art. They also completed a 50-item survey about influential factors. Two judges also were asked to identify themes, influences, feelings, thoughts, and representations in Phase 2 of the research. The judges relied on 30 slides depicting the work of the 6 artists. The same 50-item survey concerning influential factors was completed by each of the judges while examining the slides a 2nd time. Hypothesis 1, which predicted that artists would articulate the events, experiences, and memories that have influenced their lives, was supported. Hypothesis 2, which predicted that artists would be aware of the relations between influential factors in their lives and specific themes, images, expressions, and representations in their paintings, also was supported. Hypothesis 3, which predicted that potentially influential factors would be communicated in the themes, images, expressions, and representations in artists' paintings, and that objective viewers can identify them, was supported partially. The judges responded similarly to at least 2 of the 5 pieces of art for each participant. Hypothesis 4, which predicted that influential themes would be similar across all participants ' paintings, also was supported partially. One hundred percent agreement was found for the strongest influences (e.g., loss and culture) when the men and the women were evaluated separately.     

Leader Behavior,Work-Attitudes,and Turnover of Salespeople: An Integrative Study

Data were collected from the national field sales force of a major consumer goods manufacturer. The study develops a structural model of salespeople's perceptions of their supervisors' behaviors (i.e., leadership consideration and leadership role clarity), and the influence of supervisors' behaviors on the sales force's role perceptions, job anxiety, job satisfaction, propensities to leave and actual turnover. The study integrates previous research regarding sales force turnover to form the underpinning for the relationships between the constructs, and finds empirically that sales managers' leadership behaviors directly and indirectly influence job satisfaction, which influences salespeople's propensity to leave the organization and actual turnover.     

The Core of Darkness: Uncovering the Heart of the Dark Triad

The Dark Triad consists of three overlapping but distinct personality variables: narcissism, Machiavellianism and psychopathy. To date, however, no research has empirically identified what leads these three variables to overlap or whether other variables share the same core. The present research addresses why and how dark personalities overlap. Drawing from classic work in psychopathy, Hare's Factor 1 or manipulation and callousness were found to be the common antagonistic core. A series of latent variable procedures, including Multisample Structural Equation Models, revealed that for both samples, manipulation and callousness, completely accounted for the associations among the facet scores of the psychopathy, narcissism and Machiavellianism scales. Sample 2 also included Social Dominance Orientation, and results further confirmed that Social Dominance Orientation has the same common core as the Dark Triad. In sum, Hare's Factor 1—manipulation–callousness—emerged as common dark core that accounts for the overlap among antagonistic traits. Copyright © 2012 European Association of Personality Psychology     

Numeracy as a Predictor of Adaptive Risky Decision Making

Numeracy or one's ability to appropriately process and use numerical information has been shown to be an important individual difference factor in decision making. The current study utilized a risky decision‐making task (called the “cups task”) in which choices are made to both earn and avoid losing hypothetical money. Critically, this design allowed investigators to examine numeracy‐related differences in adaptive decision‐making as measured by sensitivity to expected value (EV) differences over 54 paired‐choice trials—some in which it was advantageous to take a risk and some in which it was not. Results showed that in an undergraduate sample of 114 individuals, the less numerate took more risks and were less sensitive to varying EV levels than the more numerate, especially when it was disadvantageous to take a risk and when the choice involved a potential loss (rather than a gain). These results are consistent with a dual processing account in which the more numerate are much better than the less numerate at extracting the precise affective “gist” of the numerical information, which is then used to determine the goodness or badness of a particular choice. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Addressing Anger,Stress, and Alcohol-Related Difficulties in the Military: An ACT Intervention

The use of alcohol to manage emotion is a common technique seen in military service personnel, the implication of which is evident in the relationship between alcohol misuse and mood disorders. However, investigations into transdiagnostic treatments aimed at addressing the common underlying processes to these problems in military personnel are lacking. The present study aimed to investigate the efficacy of a real-world Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)-based intervention undergone by 262 military personnel. A quasi-experimental prepost design was employed (interim 1 month postintervention) with a waitlist control group utilized to compare differences over time between those who promptly completed the week-long intervention course and the delayed waitlist participants. In line with predictions, the intervention group showed greater improvement (cf. preintervention waitlist group) in emotion management, and greater reductions in levels of alcohol consumption, aggression, anxiety, stress, and perceptions of others being responsible for their circumstances. No significant differences were found in the comparison of both groups’ 1-month postintervention results (i.e., both groups evidenced similar improvements); suggesting having to wait to start the course had little effect on its impact. The results suggest the course holds promise for helping military service personnel improve a range of psychosocial outcomes. Further testing with a more rigorous methodology is recommended, as is using a more proactive approach in the promotion and implementation of future courses.     

Applying a traumatic stress approach to understanding PCS following pediatric mild TBI

Pediatric traumatic brain injury is a significant public health concern affecting hundreds of thousands of children each year. The majority of children who sustain traumatic brain injuries are classified as having a mild traumatic brain injury, and a subset of these children go on to experience persistent physical, cognitive, and emotional symptoms. These symptoms, known as postconcussive symptoms, can endure for months and even years after injury. The outcomes of mild traumatic brain injury are variable and not well understood for a small percentage of children who experience persistent symptoms. The current article explores the potential influence of children’s posttraumatic stress symptoms on persistent postconcussive symptoms. Despite the high incidence of posttraumatic stress symptoms after pediatric accidental injury, they have not yet been identified as an important factor for consideration in the understanding of pediatric postconcussive outcomes. The article will review the literature on posttraumatic stress and postconcussive symptoms after pediatric injury and consider neurobiological and cognitive factors to propose a model explaining a pathway through which posttraumatic stress reactions may serve as the mechanism for the expression and maintenance of postconcussive symptoms after mild traumatic brain injury. The clinical implications for the proposed relationship between posttraumatic stress symptoms and postconcussive symptoms are considered prior to the conclusion of the article, which acknowledges limitations in the current literature and provides suggestions for future research.