Effects of early institutionalization on the development of emotion processing: a case for relative sparing?

We tested the capacity to perceive visual expressions of emotion, and to use those expressions as guides to social decisions, in three groups of 8‐ to 10‐year‐old Romanian children: children abandoned to institutions then randomly assigned to remain in ‘care as usual’ (institutional care); children abandoned to institutions then randomly assigned to a foster care intervention; and community children who had never been institutionalized. Experiment 1 examined children's recognition of happy, sad, fearful, and angry facial expressions that varied in intensity. Children assigned to institutional care had higher thresholds for identifying happy expressions than foster care or community children, but did not differ in their thresholds for identifying the other facial expressions. Moreover, the error rates of the three groups of children were the same for all of the facial expressions. Experiment 2 examined children's ability to use facial expressions of emotion to guide social decisions about whom to befriend and whom to help. Children assigned to institutional care were less accurate than foster care or community children at deciding whom to befriend; however, the groups did not differ in their ability to decide whom to help. Overall, although there were group differences in some abilities, all three groups of children performed well across tasks. The results are discussed in the context of theoretical accounts of the development of emotion processing.     

Young children's automatic encoding of social categories

The present research investigated young children's automatic encoding of two social categories that are highly relevant to adults: gender and race. Three‐ to 6‐year‐old participants learned facts about unfamiliar target children who varied in either gender or race and were asked to remember which facts went with which targets. When participants made mistakes, they were more likely to confuse targets of the same gender than targets of different genders, but they were equally likely to confuse targets within and across racial groups. However, a social preference measure indicated that participants were sensitive to both gender and race information. Participants with more racial diversity in their social environments were more likely to encode race, but did not have stronger racial preferences. These findings provide evidence that young children do not automatically encode all perceptible features of others. Further, gender may be a more fundamental social category than race.     

The Performance of Pre‐Founding Entrepreneurial Teams: The Importance of Learning and Leadership

Entrepreneurial teams often struggle with simultaneous task and team challenges at an early stage of new venture creation. The way in which teams shape their teamwork is key in leveraging performance in the pre‐founding phase. Learning should help the team in establishing good teamwork and in expanding its members’ entrepreneurial capabilities. Leadership is needed to facilitate and guide this learning. Accordingly, we investigated learning and leadership as facilitators of performance in the pre‐founding phase. Specifically, we examined team reflexivity as a collective internal learning process and boundary spanning behaviour as an externally directed individual activity, operating at different levels in fostering team and individual performance. Charismatic team leadership was examined as a catalyst of learning, shaping team and individual performance ultimately. The multilevel mediation model was tested based on data from 196 members of 58 teams of a venture creation programme. Team reflexivity predicted team and individual performance. Boundary spanning behaviour was not related to performance. As hypothesised, charismatic team leadership predicted team and individual performance, both mediated by team reflexivity. This research highlights the relevance of team learning in pre‐founding teams and emphasises leadership in shaping learning and moving new ventures forward.     

The Problem of Theodicy and Religious Response to Cancer

The authors studied the religious response to cancer in a group of hematology/ oncology-clinic patients. Method: Patients (N = 45) were surveyed with a self-report questionnaire. Five items were designed to reflect the five major categories of theodicy or modes of reconciling suffering with a morally good God. Results: Of the 45 patients, in response to their illness, 67% (N = 30) increased amount of prayer, 51% (N = 23) gained faith, and 16% (N = 7) increased the frequency of church attendance. The majority of patients across all levels of religious belief endorse a theodicy that claims God has a reason for their suffering, but this reason cannot be explained or understood. Conclusions: Religious cancer patients intensify their religious belief and practice in response to their illness. Despite the elusiveness of an explanation for their suffering in religious terms, patients remain confident in their faith.     

The experience of being envied at work: How being envied shapes employee feelings and motivation

We develop and test a theoretical framework delineating the dual affective and motivational experiences arising from perceptions of being envied in the workplace. We theorize that being envied can be pleasantly or unpleasantly experienced with opposite downstream effects on motivation and job performance. We test our model in two field studies using a sample of government employees (Study 1) and a sample of employees in the financial industry (Study 2). Our results indicate that being envied can elicit unpleasant mood and anxiety that influence work engagement and job performance in negative ways. In addition, we found that positive emotional experiences from being envied bolster work engagement and performance through positive mood but not pride. Implications of our findings are discussed.     

A Comparative Effectiveness Study of Two High-Frequency Word Interventions: Traditional Drill and WordSheets

Traditional drill and practice (TDP) has been shown to be both effective and efficient for increasing word recognition. WordSheets (WS) is a novel drill procedure similar to TDP with two key differences: (a) WS increases opportunities to respond, which may increase efficiency and (b) WS present instructional stimuli in a context that more closely resembles actual reading passages, which may enhance generalization to connected text. The study sought to compare the effectiveness and efficiency of TDP and WS in a sample of first-grade students (n = 27) identified by their teachers as struggling readers. Results indicated that, although WS led to significantly more opportunities to respond, it was both less effective and efficient than TDP with regard to cumulative retention. However, there were no significant differences across interventions in regard to the maintenance or generalization of treatment gains. Limitations and implications of the current study for school-based professionals are discussed.     

Tumor Screening in Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome: Parental Perspectives

Children with Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome (BWS) and Isolated Hemihypertrophy (IHH) are at an increased risk for developing tumors. Tumor screening in this population is currently being reassessed by several groups and the effect on patients and patient-families has been argued both as a reason to screen and not to screen. Parental perspectives on this topic have never been systematically addressed for the BWS population. Here, we conducted a parent-based survey to evaluate knowledge and attitudes toward tumor screening in patients affected by BWS/IHH. A total of 261 surveys were completed. Overall, parents reported that screening decreased their worry and did not feel that screening increased worry or created a burden. This effect was observed across various demographic variables and other factors examined. Almost all significant differences observed could be attributed to parental knowledge of tumor risk. Parents who correctly identified their child’s tumor risk were more likely to agree with stratified screening recommendations according to BWS type and risk, and were less likely to feel worried if recommendations were changed. These results highlight the need to educate families about their child’s genetic type and tumor risk in order to facilitate an informed decision about tumor screening.     

Perspectives on Factors Impacting Youth’s Reentry into Residential Care: An Exploratory Study

Multiple placements in therapeutic residential care is expensive, and is associated with poor outcomes; thus, identifying barriers to successful reintegration into the home and community school settings is essential for developing appropriate post-discharge supports, and reducing societal costs. Participants were seven youth (four female; three White/Caucasian, one Black/African American, one Hispanic/Latino, two multi-racial) recently readmitted to a therapeutic residential care program and five of their primary caregivers (four female; four White/Caucasian, one Black/African American). Through semi-structured interviews with caregivers and youth, this exploratory study investigated (1) the perceptions of preparedness for the youth’s successful transition from therapeutic residential care to the home setting, (2) the post-discharge factors that contributed to the youth’s return to care, and (3) the lessons learned about the youth’s transition from therapeutic residential care to home. The results of this exploratory, qualitative study revealed rich information about youth and their caregivers’ perspectives about their experiences prior to returning to care, such as the importance of healthy relationships (family and peers), transition planning, and post-discharge supports at the individual, family, and school levels.