Preschool Children’s Prosocial Behavior: The Role of Mother–Child,Father–Child and Teacher–Child Relationships

Prosocial behavior is considered an important dimension of positive development. Although previous research suggests the quality of children’s early relationships may influence prosocial behaviors, the specific contributions of mother, father and teacher to children’s prosocial behavior have been less examined. This is a cross-sectional study that investigates (a) the combined associations between mother–, father– and teacher–child relationships, and prosocial behavior in 168 children aged 36–72 months, and (b) the mediating role of the teacher–child relationship in the association between the parent–child relationship and prosocial behavior. Results suggested a positive link between the quality of relationships with early caregivers and children’s prosocial behavior. The quality of both father– and teacher–child relationships were found to have a direct association with children’s prosocial behavior. The quality of the mother–child relationship was indirectly linked to children’s prosocial behavior, via the teacher–child relationship. Results suggesting connections between multiple relational contexts were discussed based on the notion of internal working models proposed by attachment theory. Mothers’ and fathers’ contributions to children’s prosocial behavior were also discussed considering differences on relational styles and changing roles of mothers and fathers from dual-earner families.     

Toward a Model of Neuropsychological Activity

The main purpose of this research was to establish the intercorrelations existing among different psychological and neuropsychological test scores in a normal and homogenous population. A second purpose was to attempt further step in the component analysis of cognitive activity measured by means of neuropsychological tests. A comprehensive neuropsychological test battery was assembled and individually administered to a 300-subject sample, aged 17–25 years-old. All of them were right-handed male university students. The battery included some basic neuropsychological tests directed to assess language, calculation abilities, spatial cognition, praxic abilities, memory, perceptual abilities, and executive functions. In addition, the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale was administered. Forty-one different scores were calculated. Correlations among the different test scores were analyzed. It was found that some of the tests presented a quite complex intecorrelation system, whereas other tests presented few or no significant correlations. Mathematical ability tests and orthography knowledge represented the best predictors of Full Scale IQ. A factor analysis with varimax rotation disclosed five factors (verbal, visuoperceptual, executive function, fine movements, and memory) accounting for 63.6% of the total variance. Implications of these results for a neuropsychological model about brain organization of cognition were analyzed.     

Wanton Responsibility

Mainstream accounts of responsible agency either overlook or discount wanton agents as plausible candidates for responsible agency. This is largely due to the compatibilist project of such accounts, and to their deemphasis of historical and modal considerations. I argue that wantons – those who are indifferent to the desires that move them to act – can and ought to be counted as responsible agents. Indeed, they deserve special blame for the acts of wrong doing that issue from their wanton behavior.     

How does positive mood modulate time-based event expectancy?

Cognitive Processing - In the present study, we investigated how positive mood affects the formation of time-based event expectancies. After positive or neutral mood inductions, participants...     

Gastroesophageal reflux disease: attachment style and parental bonding

The attachment styles and parental bonding of 72 patients (M age= 45.3 yr., SD=13.5) suffering from Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease were compared with those of 105 healthy subjects (M age =44.9 yr., SD = 5.8). A clinical interview and two questionnaires, the Attachment Style Questionnaire and the Parental Bonding Instrument, showed that the scores on the ASQ Confidence subscale were significantly lower in the clinical group. Similar results were obtained for the Discomfort with Closeness subscale in the subsample with Pure Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease. The results indicate Insecure Attachment in the clinical sample. The results obtained from the Parental Bonding Instrument indicate that scores on the Protection Mother scale were significantly higher in the clinical subjects, suggesting a Low Care-High Protection combination (Affectiveless Control), at least for patients with pure Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease. These characteristics can be considered important factors in the tendency to somatization. The symptoms may have a paradoxically normalising function while the patient shows an emotional detachment towards intimate relationships. The illness appears to act as a bond through which the relationship with the caregivers is maintained.     

The ability model of emotional intelligence: Searching for valid measures

Current measures of ability emotional intelligence (EI) – in particular the well-known Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) – suffer from several limitations, including low discriminant validity and questionable construct and incremental validity. We show that the MSCEIT is largely predicted by personality dimensions, general intelligence, and demographics having multiple R’s with the MSCEIT branches up to .66; for the general EI factor this relation was even stronger (Multiple R = .76). As concerns the factor structure of the MSCEIT, we found support for four first-order factors, which had differential relations with personality, but no support for a higher-order global EI factor. We discuss implications for employing the MSCEIT, including (a) using the single branches scores rather than the total score, (b) controlling for personality and general intelligence to ensure unbiased parameter estimates in the EI factors, and (c) accounting for measurement error. Failure to correctly model these methodological aspects may severely compromise predictive validity testing. We also discuss potential avenues for the improvement of ability-based tests.     

Seeking social connectedness: interdependent self-construal and impression formation using photographic cues of social connectedness

Impression formation research has traditionally focused on either the characteristics of the target or of the participant, failing to examine their interplay. In the present study, we explored the role of interdependent self-construal on ratings of others who are portrayed as alone or connected. We hypothesized that participants with an interdependent view of the self would prefer others who are portrayed as socially connected, while the opposite would be true for participants low on interdependence. Results showed that college students high on interdependence rated a university professor photographed with another person relatively more positively than a professor photographed alone. This pattern was reversed for participants low on interdependence.     

The other side of the coin: Vocational interests,interest differentiation and annual income at the occupation level of analysis

This research examined the effects of vocational interest levels and differentiation on annual income. Following the environmental perspective, we investigated whether relationships existed at the occupation level of analysis. Using data from 665 occupations in the U.S. obtained from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and O*Net, we demonstrated that certain vocational interests – namely investigative, enterprising, and realistic interests – were most critical in predicting annual income for occupations. Controlling for interest levels, differentiation not only positively predicted annual income but also moderated each interest's relationship with income. In addition, occupations' education and training requirement partially mediated the effects of interest profiles on income. Our findings reveal the need for a better understanding of how characteristics of an occupation's interest profile may shape the experiences of its workers.     

Work Passion Through the Lens of Culture: Harmonious Work Passion,Obsessive Work Passion,and Work Outcomes in Russia and China

Purpose

This cross-cultural study with employee–supervisor dyads in Russia and China examines links between harmonious and obsessive work passion and four job- and organization-focused outcomes (job satisfaction, intentions to quit, job performance, and organizational citizenship behaviors) and two career-focused outcomes (career satisfaction and occupational commitment).

Design/Methodology/Approach

Data were collected from employee–supervisor dyads in Russia (N = 223) and China (N = 193). We undertook a series of hierarchical regressions to examine the hypothesized relationships.

Findings

We found considerable support for the harmonious passion–work outcome relationships and less support for the obsessive passion–work outcome relationships. In both Russia and China, harmonious passion predicted all six hypothesized outcomes. However, obsessive work passion predicted job satisfaction and occupational commitment in Russia, but was unrelated to any of the hypothesized outcomes in China. We also identified several culture-specific work passion–outcome relationships.

Implications

Our research extends the duality of the work passion construct to non-Western cultures. The examination of a variety of work passion outcomes provides a finer-grained approach to how two types of passion uniquely link to different work consequences. Several culture-specific findings refute the traditionally held assumption that harmonious passion relates to solely positive outcomes, whereas obsessive passion relates to solely negative outcomes. Collectively, the results augment the nomological framework of the passion construct. The study informs managerial practices by suggesting when work passion needs to be encouraged or tamed.

Originality/Value

This is the first study that examines a variety of job-, organization-, and career-focused outcomes of work passion in non-Western organizations.