Rubber hands feel the touch of light

Two experiments involving a total of 220 subjects are reported. The experiments document that "stroking" a false hand with the bright beam of light from a laser pointer can produce tactile and thermal sensations when the hand can be seen as one's own. Overall, 66% of subjects reported somatic sensations from the light. Felt hand location was recalibrated toward the location of the false hand for those subjects who felt the light. Moreover, the proprioceptive recalibration from the laser experience was comparable to that produced by actual coordinated brushing of the false hand and of the unseen real hand after 2 min of stimulation. The illusion may be experienced on one's real hand as well. The results are discussed in terms of multisensory integration.     

Levels of psychopathy and its correlates: a study of incarcerated youths in three states

We report the results of a study on psychopathy and its correlates among 203 youths incarcerated in residential commitment programs in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Delaware. Latent class analysis of the psychopathy data identified three classes of youths: low psychopathy, moderate psychopathy, and high psychopathy. Significant differences were found among the three groups in regard to their criminal thinking, delinquency, experience of stressful events, family relationships, and drug use. Conduct disordered, psychopathic youths were the most troubled among the youths studied.     

Children discard a resource to avoid inequity

Elucidating how inequity aversion (a tendency to dislike and correct unequal outcomes) functions as one develops is important to understanding more complex fairness considerations in adulthood. Although previous research has demonstrated that adults and children reduce inequity, it is unclear if people are actually responding negatively to inequity or if people dislike others getting more than them (motivated by social comparison) and like to share maximal resources, especially with those who have few resources (motivated by social welfare preferences). In order to evaluate if children are truly averse to inequity, we had 3- to 8-year-old children distribute resources to 3rd parties and found that 6- to 8-year-old children would rather throw a resource in the trash than distribute unequally, suggesting that concerns with equity can trump concerns with maximal sharing. We also demonstrated that children's reactions were not based on wanting to avoid upsetting the recipients or based on a preference for visual symmetry and that children will even throw away a resource that could have gone to themselves in order to avoid inequity. These results demonstrate the existence of inequity aversion in children, provide a new method for studying inequity aversion specifically, and suggest the need for new models to explain why inequity aversion may have evolved.     

"I bet they aren't that perfect in reality:" Appearance ideals viewed from the perspective of adolescents with a positive body image

In this qualitative study, we examined the topic of appearance ideals from the perspective of 14-year-old adolescents (N=29) with a positive body image. A thematic analysis revealed that the adolescents with a positive body image were very critical against current ideals, describing them as unnatural and unrealistic, and criticizing media for only showing those consistent with the ideals and having underlying intentions with doing so. Instead, the adolescents defined beauty widely and flexibly, stressed the importance of looking like 'oneself', and conveyed the idea of personality as outplaying looks. The perception of beauty as subjective was also prominent. These results may be helpful when forming preventions targeting those at risk for developing negative body image, adding support for preventions based on media literacy and feminist theories. Additionally, we stress the significance of providing adolescents with alternative ways of thinking about ideals, beauty, and attractiveness.     

I'll Take the High Road: Two Pathways to Altruistic Political Mobilization Against Regime Repression in Argentina

What led Argentine human rights activists to risk challenging state repression in the late 1970s? Chi‐square analyses of 78 interviews with early activists and nonactivists suggested few commonalities among activists but revealed two distinct and inverse routes to high‐risk other‐centered political activism. Activists directly affected by regime violence tended to be relatively inexperienced politically, to have little experience with fear, and to see groups as comprising individuals rather than as monolithic wholes. An inverse pattern characterized activists not directly affected by regime violence: Their activism was preceded by experience in politics and survival of previous fear‐evoking episodes.     

Leveraging Healthcare to Promote Responsive Parenting: Impacts of the Video Interaction Project on Parenting Stress

We sought to determine impacts of a pediatric primary care intervention, the Video Interaction Project, on 3-year trajectories of parenting stress related to parent–child interactions in low socioeconomic status families. A randomized controlled trial was conducted, with random assignment to one of two interventions Video Interaction Project (VIP); Building Blocks or control. As part of VIP, dyads attended one-on-one sessions with an interventionist who facilitated interactions in play and shared reading through review of videotaped parent–child interactions made on primary care visit days; learning materials and parenting pamphlets were also provided to facilitate parent–child interactions at home. Parenting stress related to parent–child interactions was assessed for VIP and Control groups at 6, 14, 24, and 36 months using the Parent–Child Dysfunctional Interaction subscale of the Parenting Stress Index—Short Form, with 378 dyads (84 %) assessed at least once. Group differences emerged at 6 months with VIP associated with lower parenting stress at three of four ages considered cross-sectionally and an 17.7 % reduction in parenting stress overall during the study period based on multi-level modeling. No age by group interaction was observed, indicating persistence of early VIP impacts. Results indicated that VIP, a preventive intervention targeting parent–child interactions, is associated with decreased parenting stress. Results therefore support the expansion of pediatric interventions such as VIP as part of a broad public health strategy to address poverty-related disparities in school-readiness.     

Re-examination of Motivation in Learning Contexts: Meta-analytically Investigating the Role Type of Motivation Plays in the Prediction of Key Training Outcomes

Purpose

The extant research has not been consistent in the way motivation is conceptualized and measured in learning contexts, with prior research utilizing five different types of motivation derived from three theoretical frameworks—self-determination theory, expectancy theory, and the expectancy-value model. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether type of motivation impacts the motivation–training outcome relationships.

Design/Methodology

We conducted a meta-analysis investigating the impact of motivation type (i.e., intrinsic motivation, motivation to learn, motivation to transfer, expectancy motivation, and task value) on four training outcomes. The review of the literature yielded 136 independent samples and a total of 25,012 trainees. Relative weights analysis was also used.

Findings

Results suggest that all types of motivation had stronger relationships with trainee reactions than with declarative knowledge, initial skill acquisition, or transfer. Yet, there was variability in the strength of the motivation–training outcome relationships across motivation type.

Implications

We recommend that motivation to learn be used to predict trainee reactions, declarative knowledge, and initial skill acquisition; motivation to transfer should be measured when predicting distal post-training outcomes (i.e., transfer of training). Although this recommendation may seem intuitive, clearly prior research/practice has used other motivation types in the prediction of these training outcomes. Accordingly, we advise that measures of motivation to learn and motivation to transfer be used more uniformly.

Originality/Value

This is the first study to meta-analytically test whether the relationship between motivation and training outcomes varies based on the type of motivation utilized.

     

Manual asymmetries in bimanual reaching: the influence of spatial compatibility and visuospatial attention

The goal of the present investigation was to explore the possible expression of hemispheric-specific processing during the planning and execution of a bimanual reaching task. Participants (N = 9) completed 80 bimanual reaching movements (requiring simultaneous, bilateral production of arm movements) to peripherally presented targets while selectively attending to either their left or right hand. Further, targets were presented in spatially compatible (ipsilateral to the aiming limb) and incompatible (contralateral to the aiming limb) response contexts. It was found that the left hand exhibited temporal superiority over the right hand in the response planning phase of bimanual reaching, indicating a left hand/right hemisphere advantage in the preparation of a bimanual response. During response execution, and consistent with the view that interhemispheric processing time (Barthelemy & Boulinguez, 2002) or biomechanical constraints (Carey, Hargreaves, & Goodale, 1996) generate temporal delays, longer movement times were observed in response to spatially incompatible target positions. However, no hemisphere-specific benefit was demonstrated for response execution. Based on these findings, we propose lateralized processing is present at the time of response planning (i.e., left hand/right hemisphere processing advantage); however, lateralized specialization appears to be annulled during dynamic execution of a bimanual reaching task.