Cross-Sectional and Prospective Associations Between Positive Emotions and General Life Satisfaction in Adolescents

Informed by the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions (PE), we tested a model of the origins of life satisfaction (LS) with a sample of 567 middle school students from the Southeastern United States. The pathways thinking domain of hope was proposed to mediate the relation between PE and general LS at a single time point, as well as over 1 year. At Time 1, pathways thinking was a significant mediator of PE and LS. In the prospective model, PE did not predict later LS after controlling for baseline LS. The findings have implications for theory and efforts to promote and sustain LS over time in adolescents.     

Differences Between Condom Users and Condom Nonusers in Their Multidimensional Condom Attitudes

In two studies, we examined multidimensional condom attitudes of college students separately for (a) condom users vs. condom nonusers, (b) women vs. men, and (c) partnered individuals vs. single individuals (Study 1). Almost all single people (97%) expected to use condoms during each incident of sexual intercourse during the next 2 months. Across both studies, condom users were distinguished from nonusers by the attitude that condom use would interfere with sexual pleasure, and by skepticism that they would be able to use condoms in the face of obstacles (i.e., the action-maintenance dimension of condom attitudes). These effects held for expected future condom use, as well as current condom use. One gender difference also emerged across both studies: Men were more concerned about condoms interfering with sexual pleasure than were women. Implications for condom-use promotion are discussed.     

Explaining cross‐national differences in peer‐directed aggression: A quantitative synthesis

A quantitative review was conducted of cross‐national studies on peer‐directed aggression to determine whether cross‐national differences in aggression could be predicted from differences in national values. Cross‐national differences on dimensions of cultural‐level values derived from the works of Hofstede [1980, 1983], Bond [Chinese Culture Connection, 1987], and Schwartz [1994] were used to predict effect sizes of cross‐national differences in aggression for 185 comparisons between pairs of cultures from a total of 36 studies. Each of the three classification systems of national values were found to predict differences in aggression, providing support for their use in future studies. In general, cultures characterized by collectivistic values, high moral discipline, a high level of egalitarian commitment, low uncertainty avoidance, and which emphasize values that are heavily Confucian showed lower levels of aggression than their counterparts. Aggr. Behav. 31:00–00, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

The effect of reinforcement variables on inhibition in children with ADHD.

Behavioral inhibition, often cited as a central deficit in children with ADHD, has been shown to change in response to reinforcement. In this preliminary investigation, children with ADHD (n= 20) and matched controls (ages 7 to 12) completed a new version of the stop signal paradigm, the Fire Fighter Game, a measure of inhibition of a prepotent motor response, under three conditions: (1) no reinforcement; (2) immediate reinforcement; and (3) delayed reinforcement. In all conditions, the stop signal reaction time (SSRT) of children with ADHD was consistently longer than controls. Both groups improved significantly with reinforcement, and there was no strong evidence that immediate reinforcement was more effective than delayed reinforcement. However, it appeared that the reason for the changes in SSRT in response to reinforcement differed between the groups. Children in the control group responded faster on go trials, whereas children with ADHD improved their ability to inhibit responding with shorter stop delays. The relevance of these findings is discussed in terms of current theories of ADHD.     

Digital communities of practice: Investigation of actionable knowledge for local information networks

The article explores integration of knowledge-enabling digital technology into community functions through the development of local Digital Communities of Practice. This analysis includes both general considerations—in terms of domain, community, and practice dimensions—as well as results from an exploratory research project in Minnesota. The domain is described as integrated deployment of virtual services (education, human services, government) in local communities; the community is comprised of the local stakeholders and residents that would use or benefit from such services; and the practice is considered as a decision-making processes for designing and deploying these services. The paper concludes with research and policy considerations for providing an enduring source of knowledge about local virtual services, needs, and solutions. His research focuses on the evaluation of information technologies as they are planned and deployed in infrastructures, organizations and community systems. This research has been reported in Information Systems Frontiers, Communications of the ACM, Journal of Urban Technology, and Policy Studies Journal. Dr. Horan has also written two books, Digital Places (2000) and Digital Infrastructures (2004, co-edited with Rae Zimmerman). He has both his Masters and Doctorate degrees from the Claremont Graduate University and has held visiting scholar positions at MIT, Harvard, UCLA, and University of Minnesota. Kimberly Wells is an organizational psychologist currently working as an independent consultant. Since 1996 her research and work have converged upon issues involved with assessing the influence of technology in organizational and community settings. Ms. Wells is presently completing her doctorate at Claremont Graduate University, California. Her dissertation explores processes for improving the knowledge-creating capacity of virtual teams. Ms. Wells has a Masters degree in Organizational Behavior, Claremont Graduate University, and a Masters degree in Anthropology from the College of William and Mary, Virginia.     

质地密度逐渐变化对触觉识别的作用

研究关于输入、本体感受和输出对表面触觉认知的影响,旨在探索运用触觉识别质地密度逐渐变化的表面时,理论关于表面粗糙度恒定的情况下,主动手指运动产生的信息不影响触觉认知的解释是否仍然成立。实验采用表面质地密度呈正态曲线式逐渐变化,组成正负两组变化方向。正方向变化为表面质点密度向中逐渐增大,与手指触摸运动的加减速方式一致;负方向变化为表面质点密度向中逐渐减小,与手指触摸运动的加减速方式相反;另外包括一个表面密度不变的平面。让被试辨别表面质地密度变化的方向,结果发现被试能够很好地判别表面质地密度变化的方向,但在判别正向变化的表面时显得更准确;当表面密度没有变化时,被试倾向于判别为正向变化。这一发现没有支持表面密度恒定的触觉认知解释模型。与常规直觉相反,研究还发现即时反馈并没有改进触觉识别,反而降低了辨别的正确率。质地密度逐渐变化的触觉识别在变化的大小、准确和自信心方面都显示了不同,但没有发现认知学习作用该触觉任务辨别的过程。基于这些发现,文章讨论了触觉质地感知和有关存在的理论解释模式。     

Perceptual commensuration in decision tables

This paper calls attention to design features that could enhance the helpfulness of the decision table to decision makers trying to get a better intuitive grasp of the choices facing them. The experiments reported here show that the grey scale is more facilitative than the number scale for problem comprehension as measured by the identification of dominance and the identification of non-additivity, each of which requires a view of the decision problem that is sensitive to patterns across attributes. Additional design features that could enhance the decision makers’ grasp of the choices facing them are suggested for further research.     

The Use of Family History Questionnaires: An Examination of Genetic Risk Estimates and Genetic Testing Eligibility in the Non-responder Population

The use of mailed family history questionnaires (FHQs) has previously been established to be an effective method for obtaining family history information for the triage of patients for genetic counseling and genetic testing of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer syndrome; yet only 53% of patients complete their FHQ within 6 months from the date of mailing (Armel et al. Journal of Genetic Counseling, 18(4):366–378, 2009). Although literature exists evaluating why women may not attend genetic counseling, no data are currently available examining genetic risk or genetic testing eligibility in the population of patients not returning their FHQ (non-responders). Concern exists that if non-responders are not followed-up for the purpose of triage for genetic counseling, individuals at high-risk for a hereditary cancer syndrome may be missed. This article explores the demographics of the non-responder population to assess genetic risk estimates for mutations in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes and genetic testing eligibility as compared to a responder population of patients who completed a mailed FHQ. A total of 430 pedigrees were obtained, 215 from non-responders and 215 from responders. Results of this study indicate that 69% of non-responders were either unreachable by telephone (42%), declined an appointment (19%), or were previously seen in another center for a genetic counseling visit (8%). Additionally, results indicate that non-responders are less likely to be eligible for genetic testing (40%) as compared to responders (57%) (p = 0.0004). Together these data shed light on a population of patients for which limited information exists and suggest that we question how and to what extent clinics should pursue non-responders, particularly in light of global reductions in health care funding.     

Family Peer Advocates: A Pilot Study of the Content and Process of Service Provision

Professional family peer advocates are increasingly employed by public mental health systems to deliver family-to-family support that reduces barriers families face in accessing children’s mental health care. These services, however, are neither uniformly available nor standardized. This pilot study describes the process, content and context of family-to-family support services. Simulating a parent seeking services, a trained standardized parent participated as a client in meetings with advocates in four programs and collected data through structured observations, a structured survey, and session audiotapes. The “walk-through” process was determined to be feasible and acceptable to family peer advocates as a way of evaluating services. Four family peer advocates provided an average of 25 services during each 2-session simulation with the standardized parent, including the following: information and educational support, instruction and skills development, emotional and affirmational support, instrumental support, and advocacy. Findings also revealed variability in the range of services provided and identified challenges in aspects of service provision, such as boundaries of advocate roles, availability of confidential service environments, and addressing crises and parent concerns about child safety. This paper provides the first in-depth look at services provided by this emerging workforce.     

Using confirmatory factor analysis to understand executive control in preschool children: sources of variation in emergent mathematic achievement

Latent variable modeling methods have demonstrated utility for understanding the structure of executive control (EC) across development. These methods are utilized to better characterize the relation between EC and mathematics achievement in the preschool period, and to understand contributing sources of individual variation. Using the sample and battery of laboratory tasks described in Wiebe, Espy and Charak (2008), latent EC was related strongly to emergent mathematics achievement in preschool, and was robust after controlling for crystallized intellectual skills. The relation between crystallized skills and emergent mathematics differed between girls and boys, although the predictive association between EC and mathematics did not. Two dimensions of the child ’s social environment contributed to mathematics achievement: social network support through its relation to EC and environmental stressors through its relation with crystallized skills. These findings underscore the need to examine the dimensions, mechanisms, and individual pathways that influence the development of early competence in basic cognitive processes that underpin early academic achievement.