How do social fears in adolescence develop? Fear conditioning shapes attention orienting to social threat cues

Social fears emerging in adolescence can have negative effects on emotional well-being. Yet the mechanisms by which these risks occur are unknown. One possibility is that associative learning results in fears to previously neutral social stimuli. Such conditioned responses may alter subsequent processing of social stimuli. We used a novel conditioning task to examine how associative processes influence social fear and attention orienting in adolescents. Neutral photographs were paired with socially rewarding or aversive stimuli during conditioning; a dot-probe task then assessed biases in attention orienting. The social conditioning task modified subjective ratings of the neutral stimuli. Moreover, for the neutral stimulus that was paired with the aversive stimulus, the strength of conditioning showed a relationship with subsequent attentional vigilance. The findings elucidate mechanisms by which negative peer experiences during adolescence may affect emotional processing.     

Persuading young car drivers to take part in a driving skills test: The influence of regulatory fit on informational-assessment value and persuasion

Two studies were conducted to examine the relative effectiveness of differently framed messages advising young car drivers to take part in a driving skills test. It was hypothesized that messages promoting such detection behaviour should be more persuasive when the message frame was compatible versus incompatible with the recipient’s level of perceived risk. It was also hypothesized that such effects would occur because the “feeling right” experience resulting from the compatibility effects based on regulatory fit could be transferred to the informational-assessment value of the proposed feedback. Consistently, moderate perceived driving skills (Experiment 1) and high perceived risk drivers (Experiment 2) found the driving skills test more valuable for assessment purposes after having read a loss versus gain framed message and consequently, were more interested in taking part in the test. Furthermore, low perceived risk drivers (Experiment 2) showed a reversed pattern of responses. Implications for message framing in the road safety area are discussed.     

1. Life in the midst of death

The main presentations on the Sixth Assembly theme and its sub-themes were accompanied by a number of brief presentations testifying to the way in which Jesus Christ is present and alive in concrete situations in different parts of the world. The following are abbreviated versions of some of those testimonies.     

Relations among scores on Matrix Analogies Test, Draw-A-Person, and the Iowa Tests of basic skills for low socioeconomic children

82 normal Grade 4 students of low socioeconomic status were administered the Matrix Analogies Test, Draw-A-Person Test, and the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills. The partial correlation coefficient between the Matrix Analogies Test and the Iowa Tests was .51 while that between the Draw-A-Person Test and the Iowa Tests was .30. The correlation coefficient between the Matrix Analogies Test and the Draw-A-Person Test was .32. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Resistance to continuous delay of reinforcement or extinction following partial delay or partial reinforcement in acquisition: A direct comparison

Rats received either partial reward (PR) or partial delay (PD) in acquisition with one, two, or three delay or nonreward trials followed by an immediately rewarded trial or one delay or nonreward trial followed by an immediately rewarded trial. These four groups were then split in half and given either continuous delay or continuous nonreward (extinction) in a “response persistence” phase. In addition, two continuously reinforced groups, one experiencing continuous delay, and the other experiencing extinction were included. The results showed that response persistence was greater when PD groups were given continuous delay rather than extinction, but the opposite was true for PR groups. The “length” (1, 2, or 3 versus 1 nonreward or delay trial) also transferred to the response persistence phase with the length 1, 2, and 3 conditions being more persistent than the 1 length conditions. The results were discussed with respect to theoretical notions of response persistence.     

Islamist depictions of Christianity in the twentieth century: The pluralism debate and the depiction of the other

Muslim perception of Christianity has been coloured by references to Jesus and Christianity in the Qur'an and by the great range of historical encounters between members of the two traditions over fourteen centuries. In response to colonialism and Christian missionary activity in Muslim countries, Muslim modernists depicted Christianity as a religion of the sword and cast Islam as a superior system noted for its moderate and pluralistic vision. By the second half of the twentieth century, the challenge of Marxism and Zionism gave credence to the Islamist ideology of the Islamic imperative to eliminate all other systems. Muslim society was depicted as the victim of secular, Christian and Jewish fanaticism that sought to eradicate Islam. During the eighties, a new discourse on the role of religious minorities has developed which sees pluralism as a foundational principle of Islamic society sanctioned by God since it was his will to create difference. The purpose is to promote not discord, but the perception of a sign of God's mercy.     

The control of posture in newly standing infants is task dependent

The postural sway patterns of newly standing infants were compared under two conditions: standing while holding a toy and standing while not holding a toy. Infants exhibited a lower magnitude of postural sway and more complex sway patterns when holding the toy. These changes suggest that infants adapt postural sway in a manner that facilitates visually fixating on and stabilizing the toy in their hand. When simply standing, infants exhibited postural sway patterns that appeared to be more exploratory in nature. Exploratory sway patterns may allow infants to learn the affordances of their new standing posture. These results demonstrate that newly standing infants are capable of task-dependent postural control.     

Young People,Sexuality, and HIV Prevention Within Christian Faith Communities in South Africa: A Cross-Sectional Survey

Faith communities exert a powerful influence on the life of their members, and studies are needed about how they may be able to influence young people’s attitudes regarding sexuality and HIV prevention. Data were collected through a self-administered questionnaire from young people (811), aged 15–24 years, affiliated to the Roman Catholic Church, the Lutheran Church and the Assemblies of God. The majority of participants perceived themselves at risk of HIV infection (53 %). Premarital sexual abstinence was the most frequently (88 %) reported prevention message, followed by faithfulness (23 %), HIV testing (18 %) and condom use (17 %). Furthermore, religious affiliation was associated with education on sexuality and HIV in youth groups, with better information given to members of the Lutheran and Catholic churches. Faith communities need to strengthen their capacity to educate young people in a more holistic way about sexuality and HIV prevention.     

How do social fears in adolescence develop? Fear conditioning shapes attention orienting to social threat cues

Social fears emerging in adolescence can have negative effects on emotional well-being. Yet the mechanisms by which these risks occur are unknown. One possibility is that associative learning results in fears to previously neutral social stimuli. Such conditioned responses may alter subsequent processing of social stimuli. We used a novel conditioning task to examine how associative processes influence social fear and attention orienting in adolescents. Neutral photographs were paired with socially rewarding or aversive stimuli during conditioning; a dot-probe task then assessed biases in attention orienting. The social conditioning task modified subjective ratings of the neutral stimuli. Moreover, for the neutral stimulus that was paired with the aversive stimulus, the strength of conditioning showed a relationship with subsequent attentional vigilance. The findings elucidate mechanisms by which negative peer experiences during adolescence may affect emotional processing.     

Who is the typical bicyclist?

Promoting bicycling is important for individual health, environmental sustainability and transport demand management. However, very few people use a bicycle on a regular basis. This paper explores what views bicyclists and non-bicyclists in England may hold about the typical bicyclist and how such views are related to bicycling behaviour and intentions. A survey was conducted among 244 bicyclists and non-bicyclists. On the basis of a range of statements on behaviour, motivation and characteristics of the typical bicyclist, four different stereotypes could be distinguished: responsible, lifestyle, commuter and hippy-go-lucky. These views differed between bicyclists and non-bicyclists. Moreover, independent of past bicycling behaviour, reported intentions to use a bicycle in the future were positively related to perceptions of the typical bicyclist as a commuter or hippy-go-lucky bicyclist. These findings have implications for encouraging bicycling, which may benefit from promoting bicycling as a common day-to-day activity rather than something that is only relevant for a few.