Holistic face processing is penetrable … depending on the composite design

Holistic processing (HP) of faces is usually measured by the composite effect. While Weston and Perfect [2005. Effects of processing bias on the recognition of composite face halves. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 12, 1038–1042. doi:10.3758/BF03206440] found that priming at the local level speeded recognition of components of faces, Gao et al. [2011. Priming global and local processing of composite faces: Revisiting the processing-bias effect on face perception. Attention Perception & Psychophysics, 73, 1477–1486. doi:10.3758/s13414-011-0109-7] found that only global priming had an effect on HP of faces. The two studies used different versions of the composite task (the partial design, which is considered to be prone on bias, and the complete design). However, the two studies also differed in other respects and it is difficult to know to what extent issues with the partial design contributed to the differing conclusions. In the present study, the HP indexed by the complete design measure was augmented by global priming. In contrast, no effect was observed in the partial design index. We claim that the partial design index reflects other factors besides HP, including response bias, and conclude that HP can be understood within the context of domain-general attentional processes.     

Cultural psychology: a two-way path between mind and culture / Psicología cultural: un camino de ida y vuelta entre la mente y la cultura

Abstract

This brief introduction serves as an opening to the monographic issue on cultural psychology. We will begin this introduction by providing an overview of the main features of this branch of psychology. Heavily influenced by Vygotsky’s concept of mediation, cultural psychology centres on how we use different cultural tools or mediational artefacts to make sense of the world and guide our actions within it. On the basis of this approach, the nine articles of which this monograph is comprised are briefly introduced: articles which are eminently empirical in nature and which relate to areas such as creativity, collective memory, identity and developmental shifts, as well as migration and mobility in a globalized world.     

Children’s attributions of beliefs to humans and God: cross-cultural evidence

The capacity to attribute beliefs to others in order to understand action is one of the mainstays of human cognition. Yet it is debatable whether children attribute beliefs in the same way to all agents. In this paper, we present the results of a false-belief task concerning humans and God run with a sample of Maya children aged 4-7, and place them in the context of several psychological theories of cognitive development. Children were found to attribute beliefs in different ways to humans and God. The evidence also speaks to the debate concerning the universality and uniformity of the development of folk-psychological reasoning.     

Self-imaging: beyond children’s and adolescents’ self-image / El Self imaginando-se: más allá de la autoimagen de niños y adolescentes

Abstract

This article documents the case studies of two Brazilian children aged 10 and 11, for whom drawing is a symbolic tool of self-meaning. Semi-structured interviews were methodologically carried out from drawings they had created previous to and during the interview. Using semiotic cultural psychology as a reference, the concept of Self-imaging is put forward as an alternative to the self-image construct, highlighting the active role of the subject in the construction of his/her life trajectory. Results suggest that the transition process to adolescence represents a challenge in which young people recreate images of themselves by projecting new possibilities of action in the world through their imagination.     

The Impact of Parental ADHD Symptoms on Parenting Practices and Stress After Behavioral Intervention: Comparisons across Co-occurring Presentations

Journal of Child and Family Studies - The goal of this study was to examine whether parent attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms impact parenting outcomes (i.e., parenting...     

The development of creativity in Chilean kindergarten and school children / Desarrollo de la creatividad en párvulos y escolares chilenos

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to explore the development of creativity in Chilean kindergarten and school children. For this, we evaluated non-verbal divergent and convergent thinking skills in a sample of 320 Chilean kindergarten, second-, fourth- and sixth-grade school children. We found that kindergarten and second-grade children showed a lower performance in creative fluency and originality than fourth-grade and sixth-grade children. In addition, we found that kindergarten and second-grade children had a low performance in creative elaboration, which worsened in the fourth and sixth grades. We did not find differences between the different educational levels in convergent thinking skills. Our results contradict previous international studies that report a stable development of creativity throughout the first few years of schooling, with a transitory slump in the fourth or sixth grade, revealing an early slump of creative skills in Chilean children, which rebound after the fourth grade. We discuss the potential relationship between the academization and rigidization of Chilean early childhood education and the early slump in creativity.