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.     

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.     

Drawing to reconstruct: Pilot study on acknowledging prisoners' internal and external resources in a penitentiary institution

Since the first offender rehabilitation treatments, all theoretical approaches have been focusing on reducing risk factors that may influence recidivism, without satisfactory results. Recent resilience research has instead shown the important mediating or moderating role of protective factors and provided the theoretical principles for the Good Lives Model Comprehensive. This holistic model suggests the importance of integrating the reduction of risk factors with the reinforcement of protective factors in offenders' treatment programs. This combined action is considered the main condition through which offenders are motivated to change their life and develop a sense of agency on their current life conditions. This article presents a pilot study, aimed at analyzing the feasibility of a psychosocial intervention, based on graphic workshops. The purpose of the intervention is helping prisoners strive toward adaptation in jail, and facilitating the redesign of their life beyond bars. Drawing activities allowed prisoners to enhance their own internal and external resources, and recognize risk and protective factors that could influence their successful reintegration into society. The main limit of this study is directly linked to the setting of the penitentiary institution where the study was conducted, which is characterized by a high prisoners' turn over.     

Smiling and relative status in news photographs

To test the hypothesis that lower social status is associated with more smiling, the authors used newspaper photographs and their associated news stories as the basis for scoring the smiling and relative social status of the 2 individuals in each photograph. Independent raters judged smiling and 5 dimensions of relative status for 496 individuals in 248 newspaper photographs. There was no relation between status and smiling, although status and smiling were both related to other variables such as gender, age, and story valence. These findings add to a growing body of evidence that there is no generalized relation between smiling and status.     

Perception of pictorial eye gaze by baboons (Papio papio)

Pictorial faces looking left or right were presented to baboons (Papio papio) before the display of a target letter in the left or right hemifield of a monitor screen. Baboons had to provide go or no-go responses taking into account the identity of the target letter. The 1st 6 experiments showed no reliable effect of eye gaze on discrimination speed, using either schematic gazes or pictures of real gazes. Experiment 7 showed that eye gazes facilitated target processing when eye cues were perfect predictors of target location. Findings suggest that baboons do not spontaneously process eye-gaze direction but can learn to do so if the gaze has a predictive value. Implications of these findings on baboons' perspective-taking abilities are discussed.     

Using the PAI with an eating disordered population: scale characteristics,factor structure,and differences among diagnostic groups

Psychometric properties of the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI; Morey 1991) within an eating disordered sample seeking treatment (N = 238) and differences among eating disorder diagnostic groups on the PAI were examined. The PAI showed acceptable alpha coefficients, item-total correlations, and interitem correlations. The factor structure was similar to that reported by Morey (1991), with the addition of another factor related to interpersonal coolness and distance. Those with binge eating disorder (BED) reported fewer problems and less distress in general compared to other eating disordered groups. The BED and bulimia nervosa groups were different from the anorexia nervosa groups in frequency of matching on two PAI clusters. Use of the PAI with an eating disordered population and its utility in understanding eating disorder diagnostic groups is supported.