The role of the degree of acquaintance with teachers on students’ interpersonal perceptions of their teacher

Some researchers suggest that the way a teacher is perceived during the first encounter with a classroom group resembles, and therefore is predictive of, later classroom processes as perceived by students. This study investigated the degree to which interpersonal ratings (i.e., control and affiliation), given by secondary school students to teachers unknown to them, are comparable to ratings given by students who are well acquainted with that teacher, by means of a quasi-experimental design. Ratings concerning a teacher students had not met before, based on a 5 min video vignette, were compared to ratings given by students who had been taught by the same teacher for at least a year (N $\,{=}\,$ 489). Students at no acquaintance perceived a teacher’s interpersonal traits in a similar way as students who were familiar with that teacher. It is concluded that students’ early interpersonal perceptions of a teacher largely resemble perceptions formed by students that know this teacher well.     

Health-related quality of life in transgender adolescents: Associations with body image and emotional and behavioral problems

Background: Transgender adolescents who apply for treatment often experience a marked increase in body-related distress when entering puberty, accompanied by internalizing problems and poor peer relations. Although adolescence is a time of considerable psychosocial and physical change, generally associated with a decline in health-related quality of life (HRQoL), research on HRQoL in transgender youth and possible predictors is sparse. This study thus aims to explore the predictive value of body image factors and emotional and behavioral problems for HRQoL.

Methods: This cross-sectional one-group observational study was carried out at the Child and Adolescent psychiatric department (Gender Identity Service) in Hamburg, Germany. A sample of n = 126 (103 trans male and 23 trans female) adolescents, who were referred for counseling and/or treatment completed different standardized instruments before undergoing any sort of treatment. Firstly, five dimensions of HRQoL were explored in transgender adolescents and secondly, a linear regression model was applied to assess the impact of body image and emotional and behavioral problems on overall HRQoL.

Results: HRQoL was generally impaired in transgender adolescents compared to norm scores, especially with regard to aspects of psychological and physical well-being. Linear regression analysis revealed that greater internalizing problems and less body satisfaction significantly predicted lower HRQoL outcomes.

Conclusions: Impaired HRQoL may be explained by high degrees of internalizing problems and low body satisfaction. Thus, one important aim of mental health professionals working with youth should be to provide appropriate treatment and counseling options that may contribute to overall well-being in the long-term.     

One does not simply track students: the relationship between teachers’ perceived public track regard and their job satisfaction in a context of rigid tracking

Although there is a wealth of research on the educational and broader outcomes of tracking in education, there is virtually no research that investigates teachers’ track identities on such outcomes. Building on research that focuses on the determinants of teachers’ job satisfaction, tracking outcomes and social categorization theory, this study tests the relationship between the perceived public regard of a teachers’ track and their job satisfaction, in a Belgian context of within- (vocational, technical and general education tracks) and between-school tracking (multilateral versus categorical schools). Data of the Belgian SIS (School, Identity and Society)-survey, a large-scale dataset gathered in 2017, containing the self-reports of 324 teachers, clustered in 43 secondary schools is used to test particular hypotheses regarding this relationship. The results of a multilevel analysis show that the relationship between teachers’ public track regard and their job satisfaction varies according to the track they teach and whether they work in a categorical or multilateral school. The findings highlight the importance of carrying out further research on tracked identities in education.

     

What can the same–different task tell us about the development of magnitude representations?

We examined the development of magnitude representations in children (Exp 1: kindergartners, first-, second- and sixth graders, Exp 2: kindergartners, first-, second- and third graders) using a numerical same-different task with symbolic (i.e. digits) and non-symbolic (i.e. arrays of dots) stimuli. We investigated whether judgments in a same-different task with digits are based upon the numerical value or upon the physical similarity of the digits. In addition, we investigated whether the numerical distance effect decreases with increasing age. Finally, we examined whether the performance in this task is related to general mathematics achievement. Our results reveal that a same-different task with digits is not an appropriate task to study magnitude representations, because already late kindergarteners base their responses on the physical similarity instead of the numerical value of the digits. When decisions cannot be made on the basis of physical similarity, a similar numerical distance effect is present over all age groups. This suggests that the magnitude representation is stable from late kindergarten onwards. The size of the numerical distance effect was not related to mathematical achievement. However, children with a poorer mathematics achievement score seemed to have more difficulties to link a symbol with its corresponding magnitude.     

Some evidence for unequal loss of location and feature information as a function of retinal eccentricity in visual search

Abstract

Several psychophysical studies suggest that the quality of feature and positional information deteriorates differentially as a function of retinal eccentricity. Nevertheless, current models on visual search do not deal with such a difference. Two experiments have been executed in order to investigate whether eccentricity of target location affects the slope of the function relating reaction time (RT) to display size differently in a feature-search task compared to a task in which subjects search for the absence of a feature–that is, an absence-search task. The results showed that in the latter search rates strongly decreased when display elements were presented further from central fixation. In feature search there was no such effect. It is suggested that slope differences are related to the extent to which the attentional system is involved in compensating for inferior positional information in eccentric vision.     

An Environmental Enrichment Programme to Promote Adaptive Responding in Two Children with Multiple Disabilities

Abstract

An environmental enrichment programme was used for two passive children who had visual and hearing impairments and profound intellectual disabilities. The enrichment items, selected through stimulus preference assessments, were accessible contingent on simple adaptive responses. Data showed that both children increased their adaptive responding (thus reducing their passivity) during the programme. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

Conditional control in visual selection

Attention and eye movements provide a window into the selective processing of visual information. Evidence suggests that selection is influenced by various factors and is not always under the strategic control of the observer. The aims of this tutorial review are to give a brief introduction to eye movements and attention and to outline the conditions that help determine control. Evidence suggests that the ability to establish control depends on the complexity of the display as well as the point in time at which selection occurs. Stimulus-driven selection is more probable in simple displays than in complex natural scenes, but it critically depends on the timing of the response: Salience determines selection only when responses are triggered quickly following display presentation, and plays no role in longer-latency responses. The time course of selection is also important for the relationship between attention and eye movements. Specifically, attention and eye movements appear to act independently when oculomotor selection is quick, whereas attentional processes are able to influence oculomotor control when saccades are triggered only later in time. This relationship may also be modulated by whether the eye movement is controlled in a voluntary or an involuntary manner. To conclude, we present evidence that shows that visual control is limited in flexibility and that the mechanisms of selection are constrained by context and time. The outcome of visual selection changes with the situational context, and knowing the constraints of control is necessary to understanding when and how visual selection is truly controlled by the observer.     

Money does not bring well‐being,but it does help! The relationship between financial resources and life satisfaction of the chronically ill mediated by social deprivation and loneliness

Chronically ill people have lower incomes and higher illness‐related costs than the general population. Therefore, their financial situation can be considered vulnerable, like their health. The aims of this study were (1) to assess the strength of the relationship between financial resources and life satisfaction of patients with chronic physical illness and (2) to investigate the mediating roles of social deprivation and loneliness in this relationship. Data were used of 1265 patients diagnosed with one or more somatic chronic disease(s), aged 25 years and older, who were recruited from 56 general practices in The Netherlands. GPs provided data on diagnoses and illness duration; chronically ill patients provided data on their functional status, financial situation, social deprivation, loneliness and life satisfaction. Data were analysed by means of correlation and linear regression analyses as well as LISREL path analysis. Available income correlates 0.13 with life satisfaction, which is similar to correlations found in general Western populations. The effect of available income on life satisfaction is mainly an indirect effect that can be explained by the mediating roles of social deprivation and loneliness. Policy should pay specific attention to income support of the chronically ill and disabled in order to improve their opportunities for social participation and increase the quality of their life. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Goal-driven modulation as a function of time in saccadic target selection

Four experiments were performed to investigate the contribution of goal-driven modulation in saccadic target selection as a function of time. Observers were required to make an eye movement to a prespecified target that was concurrently presented with multiple nontargets and possibly one distractor. Target and distractor were defined in different dimensions (orientation dimension and colour dimension in Experiment 1), or were both defined in the same dimension (i.e., both defined in the orientation dimension in Experiment 2, or both defined in the colour dimension in Experiments 3 and 4). The identities of target and distractor were switched over conditions. Speed-accuracy functions were computed to examine the full time course of selection in each condition. There were three major results. First, the ability to exert goal-driven control increased as a function of response latency. Second, this ability depended on the specific target-distractor combination, yet was not a function of whether target and distractor were defined within or across dimensions. Third, goal-driven control was available earlier when target and distractor were dissimilar than when they were similar. It was concluded that the influence of goal-driven control in visual selection is not all or none, but is of a continuous nature.