ANALYSIS OF THE MISSING PART IN PROBLEM SITUATIONS

The so-called Ring Problem was presented in writing to 127 students, of which half were given additional instructions to look for a missing instrumental part and try to replace it with the objects at hand. The added instructions increased the number of solutions within a 5-min. period. The results are taken to indicate the importance of determining the functional characteristics of the missing part in a practical problem situation.     

The relation between 3‐ and 15‐month olds' cry vocalizations and their mothers' affective involvement during inoculation

This study examined if infant immunization distress is related to their mothers' affective involvement prior to the injection. The duration of infant cry vocalizations and the amount of maternal behaviour before and after the syringe injection were observed in 18 mother–infant dyads, of whom nine comprised 3‐month‐old and nine 15‐month‐old infants. The maternal behaviour was scored in terms of various soothing strategies used to calm infants in distress. Infant cry duration, in both the 3‐ and the 15‐month olds, was associated with amount of maternal eye‐gaze before the injection. For the 15‐month olds, also face‐to‐face contact and rocking the infant was associated with more crying. Even though the small scale of the study warrants some caution in the interpretation, the overall findings suggest that young infants have a referential understanding of caregiver affective involvement prior to a stressor. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Interactional dynamics between teen-age leaders and followers in the classroom

The interaction within 10 informal teen-age groups in classrooms were observed by two independent, nonparticipant observers. Every group in the study had a distinguishable leader. The hypothesis was that the hidden or “illegitimate” communication reflects basic assumptions, such as dependece on a leader or fight/flight movements within the group. The principal findings were the following: (a) The teen-age leaders dominated both the psychological space and the physical space. The leaders were treated differently by, and behaves differently toward, the followers. The pattern was found to suit an “object relations model”, in which the leader is used by the followers to serve as a container for unpleasant feelings and to express forbidden opinions. (b) The group movements in all 10 groups seemed to continously change during the school day and no group was either principally dependent or principally fighting/flighting. W.R. Bion's findings (Experiences in Groups, New York, Basic Books, 1961) on group movements in adult groups, such as therapy groups and professional organizations, seem to be valid for the hidden interaction in teen-age groups in the classroom.     

Channel capacity and processing of modality specific information

The synthesis model, designed to explain effects of modality specific information on retention, is presented and tested. The model encompasses qualitative and quantitative components. The qualitative characteristics reflect the physiological properties of the auditory and visual channels. Three parameters are assumed to affect the quantitative efficiency of the channels. Each channel is assumed to have a certain capacity, and processing of information in the channels is determined by situational demands. Furthermore, processing in a channel is regarded as superficial. Increased allocation of processing to the superficial level was manipulated by the use of modality specific distractors and conditions of ‘supracapacity load’. Transformation of information from the visual to the auditory channel was controlled by the use of one mixed-mode and one single-mode experiment. Thirty subjects participated in the mixed-mode experiment and 60 in the single-mode experiment. Both experiments employed an identical distraction task, intervening presentation and free recall of the to-be-remembered items. The results confirmed the predictions of (a) modality specific distraction, (b) supracapacity performance decrement, (c) a larger distraction effect for the auditory channel and (d) transformation effects in the single-mode experiment.     

The effect of strength of cognitive linkages on attitude change in a communication situation

Implicitly or explicitly, linkage is a basic concept in all theories of cognitive consistency — consistency or inconsistency can exist only with reference to entities which are cognitively linked through association or dissociation. The nature of cognitive linkages has not been systematically studied, but it seems evident that they may vary in many ways. One is the strength or intensity of perceived relationship between cognitive entities. The basic hypothesis in the present two experiments was that the effect of a communication in terms of attitude change would depend on the strength of linkage between concepts mentioned in the message. Results show no such effect when strength was manipulated through combination of linkages, whereas the hypothesis was confirmed when linkage strength was varied semantically. Also, previous studies on direct and mediated generalization of attitude change towards consistency were successfully replicated. Finally, it was found that amount of attitude change towards consistency was significantly higher for linkages involving affect (L-relations) than for linkages simply expressing unit formation (U-relations).     

Mindfulness Based Flourishing Program: A Cross-Cultural Study of Hong Kong Chinese and British Participants

The Mindfulness Based Flourishing Program (MBFP) is an online 8-week intervention developed for enhancing wellbeing with the use of mindfulness practices, through targeting a range of positive variables. The efficacy of the MBFP has been demonstrated in a randomized controlled trial, and in order to further establish it as an intervention with widespread application, cross-cultural validation is warranted. The current study was conducted with the primary aim of testing the validity of the MBFP with a Hong Kong Chinese population, as well as verifying its positive effects. A randomized wait-list controlled design was adopted with 115 participants (92 females, mean age = 31.50). Intervention outcomes were compared between Hong Kong Chinese and British participants. Five positive variables were examined (self-compassion, meaning in life, positive and negative emotions, gratitude, and mindfulness), and measures were taken pre- and post-intervention. Significant gains in wellbeing measures were observed in both the Hong Kong Chinese and the British experimental groups. Levels of wellbeing post-intervention were also higher for the two experimental groups as compared to their control counterparts. The current study provides preliminary evidence for the MBFP’s cross-cultural validity, and strengthens previous claims for its efficacy as a new, accessible alternative for enhancing wellbeing.     

Problems with prioritization: exploring ethical solutions to inequalities in HIV care

Enormous gaps between HIV burden and health care availability in low-income countries raise severe ethical problems. This article analyzes four HIV-priority dilemmas with interest across contexts and health systems. We explore principled distributive conflicts and use the Atkinson index to make explicit trade-offs between health maximization and equality in health. We find that societies need a relatively low aversion to inequality to favor treatment for children, even with large weights assigned to extending the lives of adults: higher inequality aversion is needed to share resources equally between high-cost and low-cost treatment; higher inequality aversion is needed to favor treatment rather than prevention, and the highest inequality aversion is needed to favor sharing treatment between urban and rural regions rather than urban provision of treatment. This type of ethical sensitivity analysis may clarify the ethics of health policy choice.     

Genetic and environmental influences on mothering of adolescents: a comparison of two samples

This study examined 2 samples of adolescents and mothers using a child-based design (Nonshared Environment in Adolescent Development [NEAD] project, N = 395 families) and a parent-based design (Twin Moms [TM] project, N = 236 twin family pairs) to compare genetic and environmental influences on mothering. For both samples, the same measures of positivity, negativity, control, and monitoring were used. The use of matched child-based and parent-based samples enabled passive and nonpassive genotype-environment (GE) correlations to be approximated, providing information about process. Passive GE correlations were suggested for mother's positivity and monitoring. For mother's negativity and control, primarily nonpassive GE correlations were suggested. In several cases, both types of GE correlation were indicated. Finally, observer ratings of negativity and monitoring were influenced only by environmental factors.