Developmental Perspectives on Interpersonal Affective Touch

Topoi - In the last decade, philosophy, neuroscience and psychology alike have paid increasing attention to the study of interpersonal affective touch, which refers to the emotional and...     

Salient Volunteering Behavior Increases Monetary Risk‐taking

Research finds that engaging in prosocial behavior has many positive psychological outcomes (e.g., enhanced well‐being, optimism, perceived control, and a boost in self‐concept), and research on monetary risk‐taking reveals these psychological outcomes are associated with increased risk‐taking. Merging these findings, we propose that when people's volunteering behavior is made salient in their minds, they take more monetary risks. Making research participants’ volunteering behavior salient by having them recall an act of prior volunteering (studies 1 and 3), choosing whether to volunteer (study 2), or choosing one of two volunteering activities (study 4), four experiments (and a fifth reported in the Appendix S2) reveal increased risk‐taking across several monetary‐risk outcomes (incentive‐compatible gambles, allocation of a windfall gain, and a behavioral risk‐taking measure involving escalating risk). Lastly, when the decision maker attributes a decision to volunteer to an external source, the effect of salient volunteering on monetary risk‐taking attenuates.     

Assessment of Executive Functions after Treatment of Childhood Acute Lymphoid Leukemia: a Systematic Review

Neuropsychology Review - Individuals treated for childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) have a high survival rate. This fact, however, may lead to neurocognitive impairments in survivors, as...     

Stroop interference is a composite phenomenon: Evidence from distinct developmental trajectories of its components

Only one previous developmental study of Stroop task performance (Schiller, 1966) has controlled for differences in processing speed that exist both within and between age groups. Therefore, the question of whether the early developmental change in the magnitude of Stroop interference actually persists after controlling for processing speed needs further investigation; work that is further motivated by the possibility that any remaining differences would be caused by process(es) other than processing speed. Analysis of data from two experiments revealed that, even after controlling for processing speed using z‐transformed reaction times, early developmental change persists such that the magnitude of overall Stroop interference is larger in 3rd‐ and 5th graders as compared to 1st graders. This pattern indicates that the magnitude of overall Stroop interference peaks after 2 or 3 years of reading practice (Schadler & Thissen, 1981). Furthermore, this peak is shown to be due to distinct components of Stroop interference (resulting from specific conflicts) progressively falling into place. Experiment 2 revealed that the change in the magnitude of Stroop interference specifically results from joint contributions of task, semantic and response conflicts in 3rd‐ and 5th graders as compared to a sole contribution of task conflict in 1st graders. The specific developmental trajectories of different conflicts presented in the present work provide unique evidence for multiple loci of Stroop interference in the processing stream (respectively task, semantic and response conflict) as opposed to a single (i.e. response) locus predicted by historically – favored response competition accounts.     

Bullying in university between peers and by personnel: cultural variation in prevalence,forms, and gender differences in four countries

Social Psychology of Education - This study reports results from cross-cultural comparisons of (a) the frequency of university students’ experiences of bullying victimization and perpetration...     

Teacher’s use of praise,clarity of school rules and classroom climate: comparing classroom compositions in terms of disruptive students

Clarity of school rules and teachers’ use of praise are strategies suggested to facilitate a positive classroom climate. Studies indicate difficulties for teachers to use such approaches in classrooms with higher levels of disruption. To study (1) if student-rated clarity of school rules, use of praise, and classroom climate differ between students in classes with lower numbers of disruptive students versus classes with higher numbers, (2) if clarity of school rules and teacher’s use of praise are longitudinally associated with classroom climate, (3) if the possible longitudinal association differs between groups, classes (n = 109) in school grades 5–7 were divided into two groups, based on head teacher ratings of disruptive students in class. Baseline and 12-month follow-up responses collected within a Swedish trial were used to perform multiple regression analysis, to compare groups and to investigate possible longitudinal associations. Students in classes with less disruption rated all variables more positively. Classroom climate deteriorated over time in both groups, even if the low disruption group perceived their climate as more positive at follow up. Clarity of school rules did not substantially contribute to classroom climate longitudinally, whereas teacher’s use of praise to some extent did. The difference in longitudinal associations between groups was marginal, hence our hypothesis on weaker associations in the high disruption group could not be confirmed. Clarity of school rules is not longitudinally associated with classroom climate, but teachers may positively influence the learning environment by giving praise, regardless of level of disruption.     

Barriers and facilitators affecting the sustainability of dialectical behaviour therapy programmes: A qualitative study of clinician perspectives

Dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) is a psychological treatment developed for individuals experiencing chronic suicidality and high‐risk behaviours. Despite the substantial evidence supporting the effectiveness of DBT, many programmes have problems with its sustainability. The goals of the current qualitative study were to identify factors that impact the sustainability of DBT programmes within a publicly funded mental health system and identify factors that are particularly relevant for youth DBT programmes. Interviews with trained adult and youth DBT clinicians (N = 31) were conducted to explore their experiences providing DBT. Three major themes that emerged as barriers to the sustainability of DBT programmes included the following: systemic challenges, conflicts within the consultation teams and clinician burnout. Factors influencing the success of DBT programmes included the following: systemic support, clinician commitment and “buy in”, and team cohesion. Factors specific to providing DBT with youth (i.e. level of commitment, simplifying the language, and parental investment) and recommendations for sustainability for adults and youth programmes were also identified. Findings of this study provide valuable information on factors impacting DBT programmes within the unique context of a Canadian mental health service system, where community‐based services are publicly funded. These findings have clear clinical utility and can be used to generate solutions to clinicians' perceived barriers and to foster perceived facilitators within similar contexts.     

Examining the narrative roles in suicide notes

The present study examines suicide notes, using a sample of suicide notes from published corpora (N = 50), combined with a sample of recent suicide notes from a suicide website (N = 50). The present study proposes a model of differentiation in completed suicides. The characteristics of the suicide notes were analysed using a content dictionary developed by Giles in 2007, and the data subjected to smallest space analysis. Four themes of suicide completer were discovered: Egoistic Victim, Anomic Hero, Altruistic Professional and Fatalistic Revenger. The implications of these findings and the potential use in therapy work with suicide survivors and those with suicidal ideation are discussed, as well as suggestions for the direction of future research.