Beyond Compliance: Mother–Child Joint Action During a “Do” Task

Much of the literature on parent-toddler interactions does not account for the lack of independence in data. This investigation used a theory and method appropriate for examining the moment-to-moment patterns of joint actions between mothers and toddlers during a “do” task. Using contextual action theory to guide a mixture of methods, we observed and described the joint goal-directed series of actions of mothers and their toddlers as well as mothers’ intentions, meanings, and emotions they ascribed to their actions. Additionally, the associations between the patterns of joint mother-toddler actions and children’s negative emotionality were examined. Thirty mothers and their children participated in the study. Data collection included video-recorded activity, video recall interviews, and self-report questionnaires. Quantitative and qualitative analysis of the data revealed that (a) children were mostly engaged in the task alongside with their mothers’ on-going involvement; (b) mothers attributed a range of meanings to their interactions with their children; and (c) mothers’ perceptions of their toddlers’ dimensions of emotional negativity were associated with the organization of dyads’ joint goal directed actions—both when children were engaged in the task or self-focused.     

A consistent but non-coincident visual pattern facilitates the learning of spatial relations among locations

Human participants searched in a dynamic three-dimensional computer-generated virtual-environment open-field search task for four hidden goal locations arranged in a diamond configuration located in a 5 × 5 matrix of raised bins. Participants were randomly assigned to one of two groups: visual pattern or visual random. All participants experienced 30 trials in which four goal locations maintained the same spatial relations to each other (i.e., a diamond pattern), but this diamond pattern moved to random locations within the 5 × 5 matrix from trial to trial. For participants in the visual pattern group, four locations were marked in a distinct color and arranged in a diamond pattern that moved to a random location independent of the hidden spatial pattern from trial to trial throughout the experimental session. For participants in the visual random group, four random locations were marked with a distinct color and moved to random locations independent from the hidden spatial pattern from trial to trial throughout the experimental session. As a result, the visual cues for the visual pattern group were consistent but not coincident with the hidden spatial pattern, whereas the visual cues for the visual random group were neither consistent nor coincident with the hidden spatial pattern. Results indicated that participants in both groups learned the spatial configuration of goal locations and that the presence of consistent but noncoincident visual cues facilitated the learning of spatial relations among locations.     

Different Worldviews Explain Perceived Effectiveness of Different Employment Tests

A representative sample of (n = 439) adults in the United States responded to questions about the usefulness of tests of cognitive ability and conscientiousness, along with questions about their beliefs in free will and (scientific) determinism. As hypothesized, belief in scientific determinism predicted perceived usefulness of a cognitive ability test and belief in free will predicted the perceived usefulness of a test of conscientiousness. In a subsequent experiment (n = 337), people watched TED‐style talks emphasizing either the importance of talent or the importance of hard work for success. People who watched the talk emphasizing talent scored higher on scientific determinism. Those who watched the talk emphasizing hard work scored both higher on free will and lower on scientific determinism.     

A new twist on old ideas: how sitting reorients crawlers

Traditionally, crawling and sitting are considered distinct motor behaviors with different postures and functions. Ten‐ to 12‐month‐old infants were observed in the laboratory or in their homes while being coaxed to crawl continuously over long, straight walkways (Study 1; N = 20) and during spontaneous crawling during free play (Study 2; N = 20). In every context, infants stopped crawling to sit 3–6 times per minute. Transitions from crawling to sitting frequently turned infants' bodies away from the direction of heading; subsequent transitions back to crawling were offset by as much as 180° from the original direction of heading. Apparently, body reorientations result from the biomechanics of transitioning between crawling and sitting. Findings indicate that sustained, linear crawling is likely an epiphenomenon of how gait is studied in standard paradigms. Postural transitions between crawling and sitting are ubiquitous and can represent a functional unit of action. These transitions and the accompanying body reorientations likely have cascading effects for infants' exploration, visual perception, and spatial cognition.     

Higher Education in Light of the Cross

What is the summum bonum of a university education? The much lauded “liberal” approach of Aristotle, Newman, and Roche proposes that education is for contemplating the truth—an intrinsic, joyous end in itself. This approach offers the benefits of pursuing truth, virtues, and intellectual habits, but it also carries with it the temptations of idealatry and homo incurvatus in se. Christian universities can reform this approach to education, though, with Luther's theology of the cross, reorienting it through the crucified Christ toward the highest ends of life revealed in God's word: faith in God and love for the neighbor.     

Clinical Validity of Prototype Personality Disorder Ratings in Adolescents

A growing body of research shows that personality pathology in adolescents is clinically distinctive and frequently stable into adulthood. A reliable and useful method for rating personality pathology in adolescent patients has the potential to enhance conceptualization, dissemination, and treatment effectiveness. The aim of this study is to examine the clinical validity of a prototype matching approach (derived from the Shedler Westen Assessment Procedure–Adolescent Version) for quantifying personality pathology in an adolescent inpatient sample. Sixty-six adolescent inpatients and their parents or legal guardians completed forms of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) assessing emotional and behavioral problems. Clinical criterion variables including suicide history, substance use, and fights with peers were also assessed. Patients’ individual and group therapists on the inpatient unit completed personality prototype ratings. Prototype diagnoses demonstrated substantial reliability (median intraclass correlation coefficient =.75) across independent ratings from individual and group therapists. Personality prototype ratings correlated with the CBCL scales and clinical criterion variables in anticipated and meaningful ways. As seen in prior research with adult samples, prototype personality ratings show clinical validity across independent clinician raters previously unfamiliar with the approach, and they are meaningfully related to clinical symptoms, behavioral problems, and adaptive functioning.     

Social and Cognitive Aspects of the Vulnerability to Political Misinformation

In the last few years, especially after the Brexit referendum and the 2016 U.S. elections, there has been a surge in academic interest for misinformation and disinformation. Social, cognitive, and political scientists' work on these phenomena has focused on two main aspects:

• Individuals' (and by extension societies') vulnerability to misinformation;
• Factors and interventions that can increase individuals' (and societies') resistance to misinformation.

In this article, we offer a critical review of the psychological research pertaining to these two aspects. Drawing on this review, we highlight an emerging tension in the relevant literature. Indeed, the current state of the art of the political misinformation literature reflects the combined operation of two opposing psychological constructs: excess gullibility on the one hand and excess vigilance on the other. We argue that this conceptualization is important in both advancing theories of individuals' and societies' vulnerability to misinformation and in designing prospective research programs. We conclude with proposing what, in our view, are the most promising avenues for future research in the field.     

Developing Multicultural Counseling Competencies in Undergraduate Students

The authors assessed the impact of training undergraduates in multicultural counseling competencies. When compared with a control group of students in a psychology of personality course (n = 20), repeated measures analyses of variance confirmed that multicultural counseling trainees (n = 21) significantly increased levels of multicultural counseling awareness and knowledge. As expected, there were no significant changes in either multicultural counseling skills or empathic responding. Los autores evaluaron el impacto de educar a estudiantes universitarios sobre las competencias de consejería multicultural. Comparados con un grupo de control matriculado en un curso de psicología de la personalidad (n = 20), un análisis de variaeión de medidas repetidas confirmó que los niveles de consciencia y conocimiento de los estudiantes de consejería multicultural (n = 21) fueron significativamente aumentados. Como esperado, no se observaron cambios significativos en las habilidades de consejería multicultural ni en las reacciones empáticas.