Interpreting and reacting to feedback in stereotype-relevant performance domains

Feedback on task performance is often phrased in subjective language (e.g., “not bad!”), but how do recipients understand or translate that feedback into a clear, objective, performance metric? We suggest that when feedback is provided in a stereotype-relevant domain, translation is made with reference to stereotyped expectations for one's group. In Study 1, women and men were exposed to negative subjective feedback about their performance on a leadership task; in Study 2, Black and White participants were provided subjective negative feedback, or no feedback, on an academic writing task. Women relative to men, and Black students relative to White students, translated their feedback to indicate objectively worse performance. Furthermore, this translation mediated a drop in the importance placed on the domain among women and Blacks. This research extends the literature on gender- and race-based reactions to feedback by noting the importance of the immediate interpretation of the feedback received.     

Semantic Language as a Mechanism Explaining the Association between ADHD Symptoms and Reading and Mathematics Underachievement

ADHD is associated with academic underachievement, but it remains unclear what mechanism accounts for this association. Semantic language is an underexplored mechanism that provides a developmental explanation for this association. The present study will examine whether semantic language deficits explain the association between ADHD and reading and mathematics underachievement, taking into account alternative explanations for associations, including verbal working memory (WM) impairments, as well as specificity of effects to inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive ADHD symptom domains. Participants in this cross-sectional study were 546 children (54?% male) ages six to twelve (M?=?9.77, SD?=?1.49). ADHD symptoms were measured via maternal and teacher report during structured interviews and on standardized rating forms. Children completed standardized semantic language, verbal WM, and academic testing. Semantic language fully mediated the ADHD-reading achievement association and partially mediated the ADHD-mathematics achievement association. Verbal WM also partially mediated the ADHD-mathematics association but did not mediate the ADHD-reading achievement association. Results generalized across inattentive and hyperactive-impulsive ADHD symptom domains. Semantic language explained the association between ADHD and reading underachievement and partially explained the association between ADHD and mathematics underachievement. Together, language impairment and WM fully explained the association between ADHD and reading underachievement, in line with developmental models suggesting that language and WM conjointly influence the development of attention and subsequent academic achievement. This work has implication for the development of tailored interventions for academic underachievement in children with ADHD.     

Dysregulated negative emotional reactivity as a predictor of chronic peer victimization in childhood

This study examined the relations of dysregulated negative emotional reactivity, emotional distress, and chronic peer victimization in childhood. A model was proposed whereby dysregulated reactivity was directly and indirectly related to concurrent peer victimization through victimization‐related emotional distress. The model further proposed that dysregulated reactivity directly incrementally predicted longitudinal peer victimization above and beyond the effect of concurrent victimization. Two hundred thirteen 9‐ to 13‐year‐old children and their parents completed measures of dysregulated reactivity and victimization experiences at baseline and 6‐month follow‐up. Children also related narratives of personal victimization experiences at baseline that were coded to assess victimization‐related emotional distress. Model testing strongly supported the direct association of dysregulated reactivity with concurrent victimization and incremental predictive effects of dysregulated reactivity on peer victimization over time. Model testing also provided support for an indirect effect of dysregulated reactivity on concurrent peer victimization through victimization‐related emotional distress. This study demonstrated the powerful role that dysregulated negative emotional reactivity plays in the development of chronic peer victimization over time. Aggr. Behav. 38:414‐427, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Temperament and common disruptive behavior problems in preschool

The study evaluated trait associations with common Disruptive Behavior Disorders (DBD), Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), during an understudied developmental period: preschool. Participants were 109 children ages 3–6 and their families. DBD symptoms were available via parent and teacher/caregiver report on the Disruptive Behavior Rating Scale. Traits were measured using observational coding paradigms, and parent and examiner report on the Child Behavior Questionnaire and the California Q-Sort. The DBD groups exhibited significantly higher negative affect, higher surgency, and lower effortful control. Negative affect was associated with most DBD symptom domains; surgency and reactive control were associated with hyperactivity-impulsivity; and effortful control was associated with ADHD and inattention. Interactive effects between effortful control and negative affect and curvilinear associations of reactive control with DBD symptoms were evident. Temperament trait associations with DBD during preschool are similar to those seen during middle childhood. Extreme levels of temperament traits are associated with DBD as early as preschool.     

The effect of family processes on school achievement as moderated by socioeconomic context

This longitudinal study examined a model of early school achievement in reading and math, as it varies by socioeconomic context, using data from the NICHD Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. A conceptual model was tested that included features of family stress, early parenting, and school readiness, through both a single-group analysis and also a multiple-group analysis. Latent profile analysis was used to identify subgroups of more advantaged and less advantaged families. Family stress and parenting were shown to operate differently depending on the socioeconomic context, whereas child-based school readiness characteristics were shown to operate similarly across socieodemographic contexts. Implications for intervention are discussed.     

Self as the Target and the Perceiver: A Componential Approach to Self-Enhancement

In this paper, we review the recent literature on the debate over the value of self-enhancement. Past studies fall into two distinct sets, each in the context of a different research tradition. The componential approach to self-enhancement integrates these two divergent perspectives and takes seriously the interplay of self-perception and interpersonal perception. Instead of global indices, the componential approach identifies specific components of person perception. By partitioning the components in self-perception, the componential approach allows for better understanding of the dynamic interactive effects of self-enhancement bias and other components in self-perception on adjustment. We conclude the paper by discussing the emerging attempts to advance a componential approach to examine self-perception in terms of components and outcomes.     

Genomic Counseling in the Newborn Period: Experiences and Views of Genetic Counselors

As newborn screening (NBS) technology expands, genetic counselors will become more involved in counseling for NBS results, including those potentially generated from whole exome sequencing (WES) and eventually whole genome sequencing (WGS). Members of the National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) responded to an online survey (n?=?208) regarding genomic counseling in the context of NBS. The majority of participants (82.1 %) did not feel prepared to counsel for WGS results from NBS. Counselors with previous WES/WGS counseling experience felt more prepared (p?=?0.005) to counsel for WGS results from NBS than those without WES/WGS experience. Overall, counselors expressed ethical and practical concerns regarding WGS in NBS, as well as a need for additional training regarding this application of the technology before it is implemented. Based on the results of this study, genetic counselors voice caution to the larger genetics community regarding expansion of NBS to incorporate genomic sequencing and advocate for additional education prior to initiating WGS into NBS.     

A model-based cluster analysis of social experiences in clinically anxious youth: links to emotional functioning

Social difficulties are commonly associated with anxiety disorders in youth, yet are not well specified in the literature. The aim of this study was to identify patterns of social experiences in clinically anxious children and examine the associations with indices of emotional functioning. A model-based cluster analysis was conducted on parent-, teacher-, and child-reports of social experiences with 64 children, ages 7–12 years (M = 8.86 years, SD = 1.59 years; 60.3% boys; 85.7% Caucasian) with a primary diagnosis of separation anxiety disorder, social phobia, and/or generalized anxiety disorder. Follow-up analyses examined cluster differences on indices of emotional functioning. Findings yielded three clusters of social experiences that were unrelated to diagnosis: (1) Unaware Children (elevated scores on parent- and teacher-reports of social difficulties but relatively low scores on child-reports, n = 12), (2) Average Functioning (relatively average scores across all informants, n = 44), and (3) Victimized and Lonely (elevated child-reports of overt and relational victimization and loneliness and relatively low scores on parent- and teacher-reports of social difficulties, n = 8). Youth in the Unaware Children cluster were rated as more emotionally dysregulated by teachers and had a greater number of diagnoses than youth in the Average Functioning group. In contrast, the Victimized and Lonely group self-reported greater frequency of negative affect and reluctance to share emotional experiences than the Average Functioning cluster. Overall, this study demonstrates that social maladjustment in clinically anxious children can manifest in a variety of ways and assessment should include multiple informants and methods.     

Self-critical Rumination and Associated Metacognitions as Mediators of the Relationship Between Perfectionism and Self-esteem

Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy - Past research has shown that perfectionism, can negatively impact self-esteem. However, the mediating factors that explain this...     

Collective Action on Behalf of Women: Testing the Conceptual Distinction Between Traditional Collective Action and Small Acts in College Women

Sex Roles - The current study examines the nature of actions that U.S. college women (N?=?267) engage in to promote, protect, or enhance the welfare of other women. The study had two...