Use of social knowledge in tacit coordination: Social focal points

Social focal point theory predicts that, in matching, people search for a shared characteristic that makes one decision option salient whereas, in mismatching, they search for complementary characteristics that make different options salient for each of the coordinating parties. In two studies, participants learned about a partner’s activity preferences and then tried to either match or mismatch choices on a series of pictures that were remotely associated with one of these preferences. Being the same on a relevant preference facilitated matching whereas being different facilitated mismatching. In the second study, participants also used overall perceived similarity to supplement specific trait information. Coordination performance also affected interpersonal impressions: successful matching increased interpersonal attraction whereas successful mismatching did not. These downstream effects were obtained even when participants had considerable prior social information about their partners. Tacit coordination is compared with mimicry and synchrony, and the implications for coordinated team performance are discussed.     

Executive Function Among Preschool Children: Unitary Versus Distinct Abilities

Working memory (WM) and inhibitory control (IC) are considered related but separable executive functions (EFs) among adults and adolescents. Although available evidence suggests that these constructs have not diverged, especially among younger preschool children, questions remain regarding the age at which separable factors emerge.This study used confirmatory factor analysis to test a 2-factor model of EF among 289 preschool children whose ages ranged from 45 to 63 months (M?=?55.74, SD?=?7.56). As hypothesized, the model including separate but related factors provided a significantly better fit than a unitary model, indicating the presence of distinct WM and IC factors. Based on evidence that WM and IC measured during preschool relate differently to a variety of academic and behavioral outcomes, it was hypothesized that a model including separate factors for each EF would fit the observed data better than a single-factor model. Although the two-factor model provided the best fit for the full sample, the correlation between WM and IC factors was significantly higher for younger (??=?.95) than older (??=?.68) children, indicating increasing divergence as a function of age.     

The Effects of Anxiety and Depressive Symptoms on Daily Positive Emotion Regulation

Individuals with anxiety and depressive symptoms exhibit disturbances in positive emotion regulation, which may hinder full recovery. By comparison, individuals with strong beliefs regarding their capacity to “savor” or maintain positive emotions (i.e., savoring beliefs) display more adaptive positive emotion regulation. The present daily diary study explores three momentary processes involved in positive emotion regulation, namely positive emotion reactivity, regulatory goals, and regulatory effectiveness, and examines the comparative effects of baseline anxiety and depressive symptoms versus savoring beliefs on such processes in real-life contexts. A sample of 164 nonclinical undergraduates provided baseline measures of anxiety and depressive symptom severity and savoring beliefs prior to completing 14 daily assessments of positive emotions and emotion regulatory responses to daily positive events. Results indicated that higher baseline anxiety and depressive symptom severity were associated with decreased positive emotion reactivity and increased down-regulation of positive emotions; higher baseline savoring beliefs were associated with increased positive emotion reactivity, decreased down-regulation and increased up-regulation of positive emotions. Potential clinical implications are discussed.     

The polarising effect of female leaders: Interest in politics and perceived leadership capability after a reminder of Australia's first female prime minister

The current study examined the impact of observing successful women being attacked on gender lines through reactions to gender‐based criticism directed towards Australia's first female Prime Minister, Julia Gillard. Australian undergraduate students completed a measure of conformity to gender norms and then read statements about either: (a) generic difficulties for leaders; or (b) statements about gender‐based difficulties experienced by Gillard. Results showed that, relative to those who read the generic article, female participants high on conformity to feminine norms displayed lower desire to be involved in politics after reading about Gillard's gender‐based difficulties, while low conformers showed greater desire to be involved in politics. For male participants, those high on conformity to masculine norms showed greater belief in their own leadership capabilities after reading about Gillard's gender‐based difficulties than when reading about generic difficulties, while low conforming men showed the opposite pattern. Implications for achieving gender equality are discussed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Who Cares What She Thinks, What Does He Say? Links between Masculinity, In-Group Bonding and Gender Harassment

Previous research has linked threats to masculinity and gender harassment, the most pervasive form of sexual harassment. Using a computer harassment paradigm, an ingroup bonding explanation of this link was directly examined. The study was conducted with heterosexual male undergraduate students from an inner city Australian university. Participants received a threat to masculinity before being exposed to an ostensible gender ingroup member whose reaction to sexist jokes was manipulated. Data from 74 participants revealed that men high on conformity to masculine norms altered their behavior to correspond with feedback from the gender ingroup member after a masculinity threat, whereas men low on conformity to masculine norms rejected gender ingroup feedback after a masculinity threat. A variable examining reported liking of the gender ingroup member produced a similar pattern, while no changes were observed in reported liking of a gender outgroup member These results suggest that the perceived response of other members of the gender ingroup, but not members of the gender outgroup, influence men’s proclivity to enact gender harassing behaviors.     

The Arena System: a novel shared touch-panel apparatus for the study of chimpanzee social interaction and cognition

We report on the development of a novel shared touch-panel apparatus for examining a diverse range of topics in great ape social cognition and interaction. Our apparatus—named the Arena System—is composed of a single multitouch monitor that spans across two separate testing booths, so that individuals situated in each booth have tactile access to half of the monitor and visual access to the whole monitor. Additional components of the system include a smart-film barrier able to restrict visual access between the booths, as well as two automated feeding devices that dispense food rewards to the subjects. The touch-panel, smart-film, and feeders are controlled by a PC that is also responsible for running the experimental tasks. We present data from a pilot behavioral game theory study with two chimpanzees in order to illustrate the efficacy of our method, and we suggest applications for a range of topics including animal social learning, coordination, and behavioral economics. The system enables fully automated experimental procedures, which means that no human participation is needed to run the tasks. The novel use of a touch-panel in a social setting allows for a finer degree of data resolution than do the traditional experimental apparatuses used in prior studies on great ape social interaction.     

The Judas Within: A Look at the Sexual Abuse Crisis in the Catholic Church

Drawing from normal accident theory, high reliability theory, and systems theory, we analyze the Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People that is promulgated by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in response to the sexual abuses of minors by clergy members. Although the Charter is a step in the right direction, there remain some areas that require immediate attention. In spite of the goodwill processes, the safety of minors must remain the concerted efforts and responsibilities of individuals at all the various levels if the Catholic Church is to prevent further cases of abuse from happening.     

Financial strain,social capital,and perceived health during economic recession: a longitudinal survey in rural Canada

Although the health consequences of financial strain are well documented, less is understood about the health-protective role of social capital. Social capital refers to a sense of community embeddedness, which is in part reflected by group membership, civic participation, and perceptions of trust, cohesion, and engagement. We investigated whether perceptions of social capital moderate the relation between financial strain and health, both mental and physical. This longitudinal study surveyed adults in two communities in rural Ontario where significant job losses recently occurred. Data were collected on financial strain, social capital, perceived stress, symptoms of anxiety and depression, and physical health on three occasions over 18 months (N's = 355, 317, and 300). As expected, financial strain positively related to perceived stress, poor physical health and symptoms of anxiety and depression, whereas social capital related to less stress, better physical health, and fewer symptoms of anxiety and depression. Effects of financial strain on perceived stress and depressive symptoms were moderated by social capital such that financial strain related more closely to perceived stress and depressive symptoms when social capital was lower. The findings underscore the health-protective role of community associations among adults during difficult economic times.     

Benefits of testing for nontested information: Retrieval-induced facilitation of episodically bound material

Testing is a powerful means to boost the retention of information. The extent to which the benefits of testing generalize to nontested information, however, is not clear. In three experiments, we found that completing cued-recall tests for a subset of studied materials enhanced retention for the specific information tested, as well as for associated, nontested information during later free-recall testing. In Experiment 1, this generalized benefit was revealed for lists of category–exemplar pairs. Experiment 2 extended the effect to unrelated words, suggesting that retrieval can enhance later free recall of nontested information that is bound solely through episodic context. In Experiment 3, we manipulated the format of the final test and found facilitation in free-recall, but not in cued-recall, testing. The results suggest that testing may facilitate later free recall in part by enhancing access to information that is present during a prior temporal or list context. More generally, these findings suggest that retrieval-induced facilitation extends to a broader range of conditions than has previously been suggested, and they further motivate the adoption of testing as a practical and effective learning tool.     

Relative Efficacy of Behavioral Interventions in Preschool Children Attending Head Start

This study tested the relative efficacy of two interventions for children referred for consultation services due to problem behavior in the classroom. Teachers nominated children for participation due to frequent disruptive behaviors, such as inappropriate vocalizations and off-task behavior. Four Black males from 3 to 4 years old who attended Head Start centers served as the participants. Each child received a functional assessment that included a teacher-completed functional assessment rating scale and a brief functional analysis. Following functional assessments, an alternating treatments design was used to test the relative efficacy of an intervention matched to function and the Mystery Motivator intervention, not matched to function. Results indicate that both the intervention matched to function and the Mystery Motivator intervention were superior to a no-intervention control condition, but the function-matched intervention was more effective than the Mystery Motivator intervention for reducing problem behaviors and increasing appropriate engagement for all four children. Results are discussed in terms of learning principles potentially responsible for differential efficacy, as well as implications for applied practice.