Developing Norms of Argumentation: Metacognitive,Epistemological, and Social Dimensions of Developing Argumentive Competence

We examine how extended engagement in argumentation with peers leads to enhanced metalevel understanding of argumentive discourse. Following such engagement, young adolescents demonstrated enhanced understanding of counterargument and use of evidence as objectives of skilled argumentation, relative to a nonparticipating comparison group. Among the participating group, analysis of metatalk (talk about the discourse, distinguished from talk about the topic) during electronic peer dialogs proved revealing regarding participants’ evolving awareness of and adherence to discourse norms. Metatalk became more reciprocal and sustained with time and revealed an increasing focus on the argumentation process and engagement in talk that seeks to direct it. Implications are considered for understanding and studying argumentation as a social practice that encompasses not only individual skills but also the less visible norms that govern it and that members of a social group come to share.     

The Relationships Among Sensory Processing Styles,Personality Traits,and Body Mass Index: A Pilot Study

The purpose of the authors in this study is to explore the possible relationships among sensory processing styles, possible sensory processing disorders, personality traits, and body mass index. There is research on the relationship between obesity as defined by body mass index and temperament, and sensory processing and temperament; however, no information could be found on the relationship between body mass index and sensory processing styles, or the role that temperament and personality styles may play in these relationships. The 50 female participants were recruited from the University of New England community. The sample included women between the ages of 19 and 59 years, and of various weights. None of the participants had a history of thyroid problems, diabetes, or any physical disabilities that would limit daily physical activity. None had been diagnosed with sensory processing disorder. All participants filled out two self-reports and a demographic questionnaire. The Adult/Adolescent Sensory Profile (Brown &; Dunn, 2002 Brown , C. E. , &; Dunn , W. ( 2002 ). Adult/Adolescent Sensory Profile . San Antonio , TX : The Psychological Corporation . [Google Scholar]) determines a person's sensory processing style and possible sensory processing disorder, and the Basic Personality Inventory (Jackson, 1996 Jackson , D. N. ( 1996 ). Basic Personality Inventory Manual , (2nd ed.) . Port Huron , MI : Sigma Assessment  [Google Scholar]) focuses on everyday behaviors to describe temperament and “adult behavioral syndromes” (p. 5). Through this study the authors show only tentative relationships between body mass index and sensory processing styles and personality traits. The data could be interpreted to support both discriminant and convergent validity between the Adult/Adolescent Sensory Profile and the Basic Personality Inventory. There were, however, significant correlations between aspects of sensory processing and aspects of personality that appeared to strengthen the idea that differences in sensory processing result in predictable types of behavior, indicating that sensory processing disorders are a separate diagnostic category.     

Associations between mother–child interaction and children's later self and mother feature knowledge

Associations between mother–child interaction at 12 months and children's feature knowledge of self and mother at 20 months were investigated in 81 dyads. Mother–Child interaction was assessed by scales adapted from the Parent Child Early Relational Assessment (1985). Self‐ and mother knowledge were assessed by Self‐ and Mother Feature Knowledge Scales. Associations were found between mother–child interaction and later self‐ and mother feature knowledge. Maternal behavior characterized by positive affect and sensitive responsiveness and child behavior characterized by positive affect, responsiveness, and balanced attention between mother and environment were related to a more complex knowledge of self and mother. On sensorimotor items children knew more about self than about mother while on representational items children knew more about mother than about self. The findings support the view that more harmonious interactions are related to more complex self‐ and mother feature knowledge.     

Computer aided self‐monitoring to increase academic production and reduce self‐injurious behavior in a child with autism

Self‐monitoring to increase the on‐task behavior of students with learning disabilities has been the focus of numerous studies in the literature. This study examined the effectiveness of computer aided self‐monitoring of academic task completion to reduce self‐injurious behavior in a 13‐year‐old male student with autism. Using an ABAB design, data were collected over 22 sessions in a resource‐reading classroom. Visual and statistical analyses indicated that when self‐monitoring of activity completion was implemented, rates of completion increased and maladaptive behaviors such as self‐injurious behavior and tantruming decreased. Discussion follows for implications for self‐monitoring with students with autism. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spatial updating in superimposed real and virtual environments

Wang (2004) showed that people do not always simultaneously update their relationships to real and imagined environments in a dual-environment situation. Employing the same paradigm, we examined whether spatial updating operates on virtual reality as it does on a real or fictitious environment. Participants learned target locations in a real room and a virtual kitchen. Then they turned to face targets either in the room or in the kitchen, while blindfolded, and pointed to the targets before and after turning. Participants kept track of their orientation in both environments equally efficiently, regardless of explicit instructions. In contrast, when the real environment was described verbally but not directly perceived, participants automatically updated the virtual kitchen but not the room. These results suggest that people automatically update a virtual environment as they do a real one when the two environments are superimposed. The automaticity of spatial updating is discussed.     

Trade-offs, individual differences, and misunderstandings about evolutionary psychology

Replies to comments on Evolutionary psychology: Controversies, questions, prospects, and limitations (see record 2010-02208-001) by Confer et al. The purpose of which was to clarify the logic of evolutionary psychology and clear up some of the more common misunderstandings about it. In this response, we address the key points raised by the commentators.     

Dialogic argumentation as a vehicle for developing young adolescents' thinking

Argumentive reasoning skills are featured in the new K-12 Common Standards (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2010), yet with little said about their nature or how to instill them. Distinguishing reasoning skills from writing skills, we report on a multiyear intervention that used electronically conducted dialogues on social issues as the medium to develop argumentive reasoning skills in two cohorts of young adolescents. Intervention groups demonstrated transfer of the dialogic activity to two individual essays on new topics; argument quality for these groups exceeded that of comparison groups who participated in an intervention involving the more face-valid activity of extensive essay writing practice, along with whole-class discussion. The intervention group also demonstrated greater awareness of the relevance of evidence to argument. The dialogic method thus appears to be a viable one for developing cognitive skills that the comparison-group data show do not routinely develop during this age period.     

Religious and Spiritual Values and Moral Commitment in Marriage: Untapped Resources in Couples Counseling?

The authors investigated the relationship between religious and spiritual values and moral commitment in marriage to further inform marriage and family counselors about the nature of committed relationships. Using a qualitative research design, they examined individuals' perceptions of moral commitment in their marriage and how their religious and spiritual values influence those perceptions. Narrative text was analyzed through an iterative process, involving constant comparison of emerging themes, and 6 categories materialized. Findings build on existing knowledge regarding the importance of moral commitment to marital health specifically as it relates to the counseling profession.     

Smoking involvement during adolescence among African Americans and Puerto Ricans: risks to psychological and physical well-being in young adulthood

The major aim of this study was to examine the longitudinal association between adolescent smoking involvement and self-reported psychological and physical outcomes in young adulthood. Participants included 333 African Americans and 329 Puerto Ricans who were surveyed in 1990 in their New York City schools and interviewed in 1995 and 2000-2001, primarily in their homes. The psychological outcomes included ego integration, symptoms of depression, anxiety, and interpersonal difficulty. The physical health measures included a general health rating, number of illnesses, and symptoms of ill health. Also, three scales measured problems due to alcohol, marijuana, and other illicit drug use. Smoking involvement varied by age, sex, and ethnicity but not by socioeconomic status nor by late adolescent parental status. Analysis showed that the relationships between adolescent smoking involvement and psychological and physical health problems in young adulthood remained significant even with control on demographic factors, earlier levels of the outcome variables, and marijuana use. The relationships between smoking behavior and problems with alcohol, marijuana and other illicit drug use were particularly strong. Thus, adolescent smoking seems to have a wide range of clinical implications for young adulthood.