Associations of Mother’s and Father’s Parenting Practices with Children’s Observed Social Reticence in a Competitive Situation: A Monozygotic Twin Difference Study

This study used the monozygotic (MZ) twin difference method to examine whether the unique environmental effects of maternal and paternal overprotection and hostility at the age of 30 months predict twins’ observed social reticence in a competitive situation in kindergarten, while controlling for the effect of family-wide influences, including genetic and shared environmental factors, family socio-economical status and twin’s birth weight. It was also examined whether these associations are moderated by parental depressive symptoms. Participants were 137 MZ twin pairs who were part of an ongoing longitudinal study. Hierarchical linear regressions revealed that differences in maternal and paternal overprotection predicted differences in twins’ social reticence, albeit only in boys. Differences in paternal hostile parenting predicted differences in girls’ reticent behavior, but only when fathers showed high levels of depressive symptoms. Hence, overprotected boys, as well as girls confronted with father’s hostility and depressive symptoms, may tend to withdraw rather than face the challenge when experiencing difficult social situations such as competition. The results from the present study suggest that targeting maladaptive maternal as well as paternal child-rearing practices and psychopathology early on may be useful for reducing later internalizing behavior in the offspring.     

Representing others' actions: the role of expertise in the aging mind

A large body of evidence suggests that action execution and action observation share a common representational domain. To date, little is known about age-related changes in these action representations that are assumed to support various abilities such as the prediction of observed actions. The purpose of the present study was to investigate (a) how age affects the ability to predict the time course of observed actions; and (b) whether and to what extent sensorimotor expertise attenuates age-related declines in prediction performance. In a first experiment, older adults predicted the time course of familiar everyday actions less precisely than younger adults. In a second experiment, younger and older figure skating experts as well as age-matched novices were asked to predict the time course of figure skating elements and simple movement exercises. Both young age and sensorimotor expertise had a positive influence on prediction performance of figure skating elements. The expertise-related benefit did not show a transfer to movement exercises. Together, the results suggest a specific decline of action representations in the aging mind. However, extensive sensorimotor experience seems to enable experts to represent actions from their domain of expertise more precisely even in older age.     

Introducing a novel method to assess cumulative steroid concentrations: increased hair cortisol concentrations over 6 months in medicated patients with depression

Depression has been linked to increased cortisol concentrations using point measures taken from urine, blood, or saliva samples. However, with regard to hypercortisolism-induced consequences, long-term cumulative cortisol burden is of relevance. Our objective was to use hair analysis as a new method to assess cortisol exposure over 6 months in depressed patients and healthy controls. We examined 23 depressed patients (8 men and 15 women, mean age: 41.6 years (?±?standard deviation (SD), 13.1 years); mean duration of current depressive episode 9 months (?±?SD, 13 months)) and 64 healthy controls, matched for age and gender. Cortisol concentrations in two 3-cm hair segments from near to the scalp were analyzed, representing cortisol secretion during the 6 months prior to sampling. Compared with healthy individuals, depressed patients had higher hair cortisol concentrations in the first (mean?±?SD: 26.7?±?20.8 vs. 18.7?±?11.5?pg/mg, p?相似文献   

South Korean culture and history: The implications for workplace bullying

This paper began by suggesting that culture might influence how people construe workplace bullying. Referring back to the studies of cultural differences in cognition, it was suggested that people of the Far East might construe workplace bullying differently from the people of Western countries. Taking South Korean culture as an example, this paper explained how historical background and culture shaped Korean's psyche in relation to workplace bullying. Currently available evidence was discussed including the way Koreans construed workplace bullying and how close social bonding might act as a buffer against a conflict escalating into bullying.     

From self-reliers to expert-dependents: identifying classes based on health-related need for autonomy and need for external control among mobile users

ABSTRACT

Mobile health apps are seen as promising tools to support autonomous consumers in their quest for better health. However, individual differences in the need for autonomy and need for external control may impact the degree to which individuals perceive mobile health apps to be useful in their daily life. Using data from a representative sample of the Dutch population (N = 1,027), we applied latent class analysis to identify subtypes among mobile users based on their need for autonomy and need for external control, and to examine differences among these subtypes. We identified four subgroups: the self-reliers, confirmation-seekers, expert-dependents, and indifferents. Next to demographic differences, self-reliers and confirmation-seekers were generally more e-health literate and expressed more privacy concerns than the expert-dependents and indifferents. Our findings demonstrate that subgroups of people express different degrees of health-related need for autonomy and need for external control, which should be taken into account in online and mobile health communication efforts.     

Curriculum and training reform in clinical psychology: Improving the integration of science and practice

Current graduate curricula do not fully grapple with and take advantage of the dialectical interplay of science and practice that is at the core of the scientist—practitioner (Boulder) model. This article addresses factors that interfere with the realization of the Boulder model and offers suggestions for curriculum reform. It emphasizes the importance of both science and practice, as well as the merit of both nomothetic and idiographic approaches to clinical training. The article discusses how academic politics often interfere with the incorporation of empirically supported treatments or assessment methods into training programs. Even when evidence-based approaches are a part of the curriculum, the challenges continue. Because empirically supported treatments are almost always associated with treatment manuals that rely on categorically defined diagnostic categories, they may inadvertently discourage idiographic functional analyses and the appreciation of underlying change principles. In addition, in light of the fact that many, if not most, students eventually pursue applied careers and because science-based interventions and assessment methods are currently underused by clinicians in the field, it is argued that clinical training should receive more recognition in scientist—practitioner programs. Programs should be mindful of the need to prepare a certain subset of interested students for scientifically based careers in applied settings. This article also highlights the importance of educating and training students in communicating and disseminating science-based clinical psychology to nonacademic psychologists and health professionals from other disciplines.     

Breaching the contract? Using social contract theory to explain individuals’ online behavior to safeguard privacy

ABSTRACT

This study applies social contract theory to examine whether perceptions of a social contract explains adaptive behavior to safeguard online privacy. We (1) identify and (2) estimate the prevalence of subgroups that differ in their perceived “social contract” (based on privacy concerns, trust, and risk), and (3) measure how this perceived social contract affects adaptive online behavior. Using a representative two-wave panel survey (N = 1,222), we distinguished five subgroups of internet users; the highly-concerned, wary, ambivalent, neutral (the largest group), and carefree users. The former three were more likely to adapt their behavior than the latter two subgroups. We argue that the implied social contract represents an important construct that helps to identify whether individuals engage in privacy protection behavior.     

Daniel has fallen into a muddy puddle – Schadenfreude or sympathy?

The present study investigated the experience of schadenfreude among children. Participants were 4‐ to 8‐year‐old children (n = 100) who were told stories of another child experiencing a misfortune while pursuing a morally positive versus morally negative goal. Schadenfreude, sympathy, and helping behaviour towards the suffering child were assessed. Results showed that beginning at the age of 4, emotional and behavioural reactions towards a misfortune of another child were predicted by the moral valence of the other child's goal. Furthermore, morally negative goals decreased helping behaviour and morally positive goals increased helping behaviour. Multilevel mediation analysis revealed that the relation between goal valence and helping behaviour was mediated by both schadenfreude and sympathy. However, those effects were especially pronounced in older children.