Beauty is in the eye of the psychologically fulfilled: How need satisfying experiences shape aesthetic perceptions of spaces

Individuals perceive beauty as a function of physical attributes paired with the subjective experience of an object or a space. Yet, little or no research has investigated how either relational or emotional experiences shape perceptions of the physical world. Four studies were conducted to address this question using self-determination theory (Ryan and Deci in Psychol Inq 11:319–338, 2000) as a guiding framework. Studies 1 and 2 indicated that satisfaction of the needs for competence, relatedness, and autonomy in one’s childhood home was linked to perceptions of beauty directly and indirectly through emotions of the past (recollections of happiness) and present (nostalgia). Two additional studies focused on present-day spaces. In Study 3, we found that need satisfaction impacted perceptions of the university campus as beautiful. In a final study, we manipulated needs in the lab to identify a causal model of aesthetic perceptions. Findings are contextualized within the self-determination theory and perceived beauty literatures.     

Keyboard Gangsters: Analysis of Incidence and Correlates of Cyberbullying in a Large Urban Student Population

The prevalence and pervasive nature of technology has fundamentally changed how individuals interact. Social networking has significantly altered communication and interaction patterns and created a dynamic venue for perpetration and victimization of bullying. A large population of middle and high school students was surveyed on perceptions and engagement in drug and alcohol usage, school violence, social networking usage, and cyberbullying victimization and perpetration. Findings indicate that although cyberbullying has many similarities to traditional bullying, there are important differences. Participation in school violence and usage of alcohol, tobacco, and illegal drugs predict both victimization and perpetration of cyberbullying.     

Social versus physiological motives in the drug careers of methadone clinic clients

Most studies examining bystanders' reactions to a violent attack have used an experimental or hypothetical situation involving a single victim. This study compares the intention to intervene on behalf of three hypothetical victims: a woman, a child, and a dog. Using a sample of over 700 college students, we found that there was not a significant difference in intention to intervene by type of victim. However, there was a significant interaction between the sex of the bystander and the type of victim, such that women are most likely to intervene on behalf of children, while men are most likely to intervene to aid a woman. We found that people who perceived themselves to be stronger, more aggressive, and more sympathetic than others are most likely to intend to intervene.     

Family relations,mental health and adherence to nutritional guidelines in patients facing dialysis initiation

This study investigated the effect of family relations on patients’ adjustment to dialysis. The two main aims were to develop a family typology, and to explore the influence of family profile on the patient's anxiety, depression and adherence to nutritional guidelines. The sample consisted of 120 patients (mean age 63 years; 67.5% of men). They completed several measures 1, 6 and 12 months after dialysis initiation. The scales used were the Family Relationship Index and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Perceived adherence to nutritional guidelines was assessed using two visual analogical scales. Results showed that family relations remained stable over time. Cluster analysis yielded three family profiles, which were named conflict, communicative and supportive families. Patients belonging to conflict families perceived themselves as less adhering to nutritional guidelines. For these patients, anxiety and depressive moods increased significantly over time, whereas mental health remained stable over time for communicative and supportive families. This research underlines that family relations are essential in global consideration of the care of patients treated by dialysis. Conflict families seem especially at risk. They should be identified early to help them adapt to this stressful treatment.     

Parenting,corpus callosum,and executive function in preschool children

In this longitudinal population-based study (N?=?544), we investigated whether early parenting and corpus callosum length predict child executive function abilities at 4 years of age. The length of the corpus callosum in infancy was measured using postnatal cranial ultrasounds at 6 weeks of age. At 3 years, two aspects of parenting were observed: maternal sensitivity during a teaching task and maternal discipline style during a discipline task. Parents rated executive function problems at 4 years of age in five domains of inhibition, shifting, emotional control, working memory, and planning/organizing, using the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Preschool Version. Maternal sensitivity predicted less executive function problems at preschool age. A significant interaction was found between corpus callosum length in infancy and maternal use of positive discipline to determine child inhibition problems: The association between a relatively shorter corpus callosum in infancy and child inhibition problems was reduced in children who experienced more positive discipline. Our results point to the buffering potential of positive parenting for children with biological vulnerability.     

Addressing the struggle to link form and understanding in fractions instruction

Background. Although making explicit links between procedures and concepts during instruction in mathematics is important, it is still unclear the precise moments during instruction when such links are best made. Aims. The objective was to test the effectiveness of a 3‐week classroom intervention on the fractions knowledge of grade 5/6 students. The instruction was based on a theory that specifies three sites during the learning process where concepts and symbols can be connected ( Hiebert, 1984 ): symbol interpretation, procedural execution, and solution evaluation. Sample. Seventy students from one grade 5/6 split and two grade 6 classrooms in two public elementary schools participated. Method. The students were randomly assigned to treatment and control. The treatment (Sites group) received instruction that incorporated specific connections between fractions concepts and procedures at each of the three sites specified by the Sites theory. Before and after the intervention, the students’ knowledge of concepts and procedures was assessed, and a random subsample of 30 students from both conditions were individually interviewed to measure their ability to make specific connections between concepts and symbols at each of the three sites. Results. While all students gained procedural skill (p < .001), the students in the Sites condition acquired significantly more knowledge of concepts than the control group (p < .01) and were also better able to connect fractions symbols to conceptual referents (p < .025). Conclusions. The current study contributes to the literature because it describes when it might be important to link concepts and procedures during fractions instruction.     

Continuity in Representation Between Children and Adults: Arithmetic Knowledge Hinders Undergraduates' Algebraic Problem Solving

This study examined if solving arithmetic problems hinders undergraduates' accuracy on algebra problems. The hypothesis was that solving arithmetic problems would hinder accuracy because it activates an operational view of equations, even in educated adults who have years of experience with algebra. In three experiments, undergraduates (N = 184) solved addition facts or participated in one of several control conditions. Those who solved addition facts were less likely to solve prealgebra equations (e.g., 6 + 8 +4 = 7 + __) correctly under speeded conditions. In a fourth experiment, the negative effects of solving arithmetic problems extended to undergraduates (N = 74) solving algebra problems with no time pressure. Taken together, results suggest that arithmetic activates knowledge that hinders performance on algebra problems. Thus, an operational view of equations, which is prevalent in children, does not seem to be revised or abandoned, even after years of experience with algebra.     

Updating misconceptions: Effects of age and confidence

Young adults are more likely to correct an initial higher confidence error than a lower confidence error (Butterfield & Metcalfe, 2001). This hypercorrection effect has never been investigated among older adults, although features of the standard paradigm (free recall, metacognitive judgments) and prior evidence of age-related error resolution deficits (see Clare & Jones, 2008) suggest that they may not show this effect. In Study 1, we used free recall and a 7-point confidence scale; in Study 2, we used multiple-choice questions, and participants indicated how many alternatives they had narrowed their options down to prior to answering. In both studies, younger and older adults showed a hypercorrection effect, and this effect was equivalent between groups in Study 2 when free recall and explicit confidence ratings were not required. These results are consistent with our previous work (Cyr & Anderson, 2012) showing that older adults can successfully resolve learning errors when the learning context provides sufficient support.     

Parts function as perceptual organizational entities in infancy

Both objects and parts function as organizational entities in adult perception. Prior research has indicated that objects affect organization early in life: Infants grouped elements located within object boundaries and segregated them from those located on different objects. Here, we examined whether parts also induce grouping in infancy. Five- and 6.5-month-olds were habituated to two-part objects containing element pairs. In a subsequent test, infants treated groupings of elements that crossed part boundaries as novel, in comparison with groupings that had shared a common part during habituation. In contrast, the same arrangement of elements failed to elicit evidence of grouping in control conditions in which the elements were not surrounded by closed part boundaries. Thus, infants grouped and segregated elements on the basis of part structure. Part-based processing is a key aspect of many theories of perception. The present research adds to this literature by indicating that parts function as organizational entities early in life.