On the Explanation of the Hostile Attributional Bias: Traumatic Experiences,Schemas, and Migrant Status

Aggressive individuals often exhibit a hostile attributional bias (HAB). To examine why some people exhibit the HAB to a higher degree than others, we tested the hypothesis put forth by Dodge (2006). Dodge hypothesized HAB results from traumatic experiences and this relation is mediated by schemas. This hypothesis was tested among 135 Dutch and migrant participants. Among Dutch participants, traumatic experiences were not related to the HAB but were related to schemas. However, among migrants, traumatic experiences were related both to the HAB and schemas, but schemas were not related to the HAB. Therefore, traumatic experiences are related to a HAB only in migrants. Furthermore, in both groups, schemas do not mediate the relation between traumatic experiences and the HAB.     

On the Link between Perceived Parental Rearing Behaviors and Self-conscious Emotions in Adolescents

This study examined relationships between the self-conscious emotions of guilt and shame in both clinical (N?=?104) and non-clinical (N?=?477) (young) adolescents aged 11–18?years, who completed a questionnaire to assess perceived parental rearing behaviors (EMBU-C) and a scenario-based instrument to measure proneness to guilt and shame (SCEMAS). Results indicated that parental rearing dimensions were positively related to self-conscious emotions. Regarding the non-clinical sample, both favourable (emotional warmth) and unfavourable (rejection) paternal and maternal rearing dimensions were significant correlates of guilt- and shame-proneness. The results for the clinical sample were less conclusive: only maternal emotional warmth and rejection were found to be significantly associated with guilt and shame. Interestingly, no associations between any of the paternal rearing dimensions and self-conscious emotions emerged. Taken together, these results are in keeping with the notion that parental rearing factors are involved in the development of both adaptive and maladaptive self-conscious emotions in adolescents.     

Social information processing skills link executive functions to aggression in adolescents with mild to borderline intellectual disability

Executive Functions (EFs) have been associated with aggression in children and adolescents. EFs as higher-order cognitive abilities are assumed to affect cognitive functions such as Social Information Processing (SIP). We explored SIP skills as a mediating mechanism linking EFs to aggression in adolescents with mild to borderline intellectual disability (MBID with IQ from 50–84), a high risk group for aggressive behaviors and EF impairments. A total of 153 adolescents (M_age = 15.24, SD = 1.35; 54% male) with MBID participated. Focused attention, behavioral inhibition, and working memory were tested with multiple neurocognitive tasks to define latent EF constructs. Participants responded to a video-based SIP task. A latent construct for aggression was defined by caretaker, teacher, and adolescent self-reports of aggression (Child Behavior Check List, Teacher Report Form, and Youth Self Report). Structural equation modeling was performed to test mediation. Results were consistent with mediation of the relation between focused attention and aggression by SIP, namely via hostile interpretations and self-efficacy for aggression. Behavioral inhibition was linked to aggression, but this relation was not mediated by SIP. The relation between working memory and aggression was mediated by SIP, namely via hostile interpretations, aggressive response generation and via self-efficacy for aggressive responses. Bearing the cross-sectional design in mind, support was found for SIP skills as a mechanism linking EFs, in particular focused attention and working memory, to aggression, providing a viable explanation for the high vulnerability of adolescents with MBID for aggression.     

Concrete and abstract visualizations in history learning tasks

Background History learning requires that students understand historical phenomena, abstract concepts and the relations between them. Students have problems grasping, using and relating complex historical developments and structures. Aims A study was conducted to determine the effects of tasks with abstract and/or concrete visualizations on the learning of historical developments and structures. The hypothesis was that students receiving visualizations would learn and retain more historical knowledge and concepts than those not receiving visualizations. Sample First‐year pupils in vocational middle school (N = 104) worked in randomly assigned pairs. Methods After reading a text, the pairs were given a learning task in one of four conditions: Textual, Concrete visualized, Abstract visualized, and Combined. Results Post‐test and retention test results showed no significant differences. There were some significant differences on the evaluation questionnaire. Conclusions Combining text and different types of visualizations in learning tasks does not necessarily enhance history learning. Possible explanations given are the ecological setting, the semiotics of the domain of history – that are not defined clearly – and the difficulty of unequivocally visualizing historical concepts.     

Distinct characteristics of psychopathy relate to different subtypes of aggression

This article both selectively reviews the evidence supporting the view that reactive and proactive aggression actually reflect related but separate constructs, and also investigates the selective relationship between these forms of aggression and psychopathic personality in 121 male prison inmates. Results show that total psychopathy scores were related to residualized scores of proactive (but not reactive) aggression. However, different sub-characteristics of psychopathy were differentially related to reactive as well as proactive aggression. Results support the view that reactive and proactive aggression have differential correlates, and suggest that while psychopathic personality is predominantly characterized by proactive aggression, some psychopathy components are more related to reactive aggression.     

Differential Associations Between Psychopathy Dimensions,Types of Aggression,and Response Inhibition

Findings on executive functioning in psychopathy are inconsistent. Different associations between psychopathy dimensions and executive functioning might explain contradicting findings. This study examined the role of psychopathy dimensions and types of aggression in response inhibition among 117 male adolescents (53 antisocial delinquents and 64 controls). Participants completed a self‐report measure of aggression and a GoNoGo task. Psychopathy dimensions were assessed using the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version. Although high scores on the antisocial dimension and reactive aggression were associated with poor response inhibition, the affective–interpersonal dimension, proactive aggression, and verbal intelligence (IQ) were related to better response inhibition (two‐factor model). Associations with the affective–interpersonal dimensions did not reach significance. Exploratory analyses showed that affective and antisocial facets accounted for the obtained opposing associations of the affective–interpersonal and antisocial psychopathy dimensions with response inhibition. The interpersonal and lifestyle facets (four‐facet model) were unrelated to response inhibition. Results could not be explained by Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Findings suggest differential associations between the psychopathy dimensions, types of aggression, and response inhibition. Therefore, a dimensional approach to psychopathy and related concepts, such as aggression, might strongly improve diagnostic procedures. Global scores could mask important differential associations. Aggr. Behav. 38:77‐88, 2012. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Modeling external events in the three-level analysis of multiple-baseline across-participants designs: A simulation study

In this study, we focus on a three-level meta-analysis for combining data from studies using multiple-baseline across-participants designs. A complicating factor in such designs is that results might be biased if the dependent variable is affected by not explicitly modeled external events, such as the illness of a teacher, an exciting class activity, or the presence of a foreign observer. In multiple-baseline designs, external effects can become apparent if they simultaneously have an effect on the outcome score(s) of the participants within a study. This study presents a method for adjusting the three-level model to external events and evaluates the appropriateness of the modified model. Therefore, we use a simulation study, and we illustrate the new approach with real data sets. The results indicate that ignoring an external event effect results in biased estimates of the treatment effects, especially when there is only a small number of studies and measurement occasions involved. The mean squared error, as well as the standard error and coverage proportion of the effect estimates, is improved with the modified model. Moreover, the adjusted model results in less biased variance estimates. If there is no external event effect, we find no differences in results between the modified and unmodified models.     

Order or disorder? Impaired Hebb learning in dyslexia

The present study offers an integrative account proposing that dyslexia and its various associated cognitive impairments reflect an underlying deficit in the long-term learning of serial-order information, here operationalized as Hebb repetition learning. In nondyslexic individuals, improved immediate serial recall is typically observed when one particular sequence of items is repeated across an experimental session, a phenomenon known as the Hebb repetition effect. Starting from the critical observation that individuals with dyslexia seem to be selectively impaired in cognitive tasks that involve processing of serial order, the present study is the first to test and confirm the hypothesis that the Hebb repetition effect is affected in dyslexia, even for nonverbal modalities. We present a theoretical framework in which the Hebb repetition effect is assumed to be a laboratory analogue of naturalistic word learning, on the basis of which we argue that dyslexia is characterized by an impairment of serial-order learning that affects language learning and processing.