The development of antisocial behaviour patterns in childhood and adolescence

A developmental model of antisocial behaviour is presented in this paper. Arguments and evidence are presented for the position that although many factors such as parent criminality, social and economic disadvantage, child temperament, and marital discord systematically affect the development of antisocial child behaviour, their influence is mediated by the extent to which they disrupt day-to-day parenting practices. Particularly, it is argued that irritable, ineffective discipline and poor parental monitoring are the most proximal determinants of the early development and maintenance of antisocial behaviour. The implications of this model for prevention and intervention in child conduct problems are discussed, using examples of promising clinical work that focuses on direct parent training.     

Reviews of current books

Pastoral Psychology -     

Decision and experience: why don't we choose what makes us happy?

Recent years have witnessed a growing interest among psychologists and other social scientists in subjective well-being and happiness. Here we review selected contributions to this development from the literature on behavioral-decision theory. In particular, we examine many, somewhat surprising, findings that show people systematically fail to predict or choose what maximizes their happiness, and we look at reasons why they fail to do so. These findings challenge a fundamental assumption that underlies popular support for consumer sovereignty and other forms of autonomy in decision-making (e.g. marriage choice), namely, the assumption that people are able to make choices in their own best interests.     

The robust beauty of majority rules in group decisions

How should groups make decisions? The authors provide an original evaluation of 9 group decision rules based on their adaptive success in a simulated test bed environment. When the adaptive success standard is applied, the majority and plurality rules fare quite well, performing at levels comparable to much more resource-demanding rules such as an individual judgment averaging rule. The plurality rule matches the computationally demanding Condorcet majority winner that is standard in evaluations of preferential choice. The authors also test the results from their theoretical analysis in a behavioral study of nominal human group decisions, and the essential findings are confirmed empirically. The conclusions of the present analysis support the popularity of majority and plurality rules in truth-seeking group decisions.     

Context effects: the proportional difference model and the reflection of preference

The reflection effect (D. Kahneman & A. Tversky, 1979) was investigated using the stochastic model of choice developed by C. Gonzalez-Vallejo (2002). The model assumes that individuals make trade-offs among attribute values by relying on a difference variable. The model also specifies a threshold representing individual proclivities to reach to attribute differences. Two experiments demonstrated that changes in risk attitudes, from a gain to a loss situation, depended on the stimuli as well as on individuals' thresholds. Thresholds were generally lower in losses than in gains, indicating a risk-taking tendency. Thresholds were also lower when participants were endowed with greater savings. Model testing revealed better fits for the stochastic model than cumulative prospect theory (A. Tversky &. D. Kahneman, 1992).     

Race matters: the relation between race and general campus climate

This study examined students' perceptions of racial and academic climate as possible mediators of racial differences in the perception of the university's general campus climate (GCC). African American (n = 182), Latino (n = 212), Asian American (n = 358), and White (n = 671) students evaluated their perception of racial, academic, and general campus climates. As expected, racial minority students, particularly African Americans, perceived more negative general campus, racial, and academic climates than White students. Somewhat contrary to prediction, results indicated that racial differences in the perception of GCC were more closely related to perceptions of the academic than racial climate for members of all racial groups at all educational levels. Students' academic and racial experiences were the best predictors of their perception of GCC.     

Perception of coherent motion in random dot displays by pigeons and humans.

Pigeons and humans were required to discriminate coherent from random motion in dynamic random dot displays. Coherence and velocity thresholds were determined for both species, and both thresholds were found to be substantially higher for pigeons than for humans. The results are discussed with reference to differences in motion processing in mammals and birds. It is suggested that the inferior motion sensitivity of pigeons can be attributed to poorer spatiotemporal motion integration.     

A Longitudinal Study of Mothers' Overreactive Discipline and Toddlers' Externalizing Behavior

The association between children's externalizing behavior problems and mothers' overreactive discipline was examined in a longitudinally assessed sample of toddlers and their mothers. Path analyses indicated that mothers' overreactive discipline and children's externalizing behaviors were significantly and similarly stable over a 2 1/2-year period. No evidence of a cross-time influence of either variable on the other was observed. Mothers' overreactive discipline at Time 2 had a significant effect on Time 2 externalizing behavior. No significant effects of children's behavior on mothers' discipline were found. Mothers' depressive symptomatology and marital discord predicted initial overreactivity and were related to externalizing problems through their relations to overreactivity. The results support the appropriateness of implementing parenting interventions for externalizing problems before age 2 years.