Why Do Different Individuals Progress Along Different Life Trajectories?

ABSTRACT— The core marker of progress in psychological science is the degree to which our work enhances the welfare of people. In order to effectively enhance human welfare, we must develop comprehensive models that explain why different individuals progress along different life trajectories. Exciting theoretical accounts that describe transitional processes from gene polymorphisms through moment-to-moment behavior are beginning to emerge. These early accounts highlight opportunities to investigate specific transitional steps along that long pathway, the need to understand the universal and the contextual aspects of psychological processes, and the need to define and measure psychological constructs with more precision and clarity. It is likely that creative new research in each of these areas will bring enormous progress over the coming decade.     

A Critical Analysis of the Social Advocacy Movement in Counseling

The authors present (a) an overview of the recent literature on social advocacy, (b) results of a deconstructive analysis of the philosophical and theoretical underpinnings of this movement, (c) a critical analysis of its role and function in the profession, and (d) a call to the profession. The deconstructive analysis revealed 2 major driving forces and 5 related trends; the critical analysis revealed 9 key areas of consideration. Implications and recommendations are presented.     

Smile Through Your Fear and Sadness

ABSTRACT— It is well established that animal communication signals have adapted to the evolutionary pressures of their environment. For example, the low-frequency vocalizations of the elephant are tailored to long-range communications, whereas the high-frequency trills of birds are adapted to their more localized acoustic niche. Like the voice, the human face transmits social signals about the internal emotional state of the transmitter. Here, we address two main issues: First, we characterized the spectral composition of the facial features signaling each of the six universal expressions of emotion (happiness, sadness, fear, disgust, anger, and surprise). From these analyses, we then predicted and tested the effectiveness of the transmission of emotion signals over different viewing distances. We reveal a gradient of recognition over viewing distances constraining the relative adaptive usefulness of facial expressions of emotion (distal expressions are good signals over a wide range of viewing distances; proximal expressions are suited to closer-range communication).     

Processing of order information for numbers and months

Despite a great deal of research on the processing of numerical magnitude (e.g., the quantity denoted by the number 5), few studies have investigated how this magnitude information relates to the ordinal properties of numbers (e.g., the fact that 5 is the fifth integer). In the present study, we investigated order-related processing of numbers, as well as months of the year, with a novel ordering task to see whether the processing of order information differs from the processing of magnitude information. In Experiments 1 and 2, participants were shown three numbers (Experiment 1) or three months (Experiment 2) and were required to indicate whether the stimuli were in the correct order. In Experiment 3, participants were again shown three numbers; however, now they were instructed to indicate whether the three numbers were ordered in a forward, backward, or mixed direction. Whereas number comparison tasks typically reveal distance effects (comparisons become easier with increased distance between two numbers), these three experiments reveal a different pattern of results. There were reverse distance effects when the stimuli crossed a boundary (i.e., when numbers crossed a decade or months crossed the year boundary) and no effect of distance when the stimuli did not cross a boundary (i.e., when numbers were within a decade and months were within the January—December calendar year). These data suggest that additional mechanisms are involved in the processing of order information: a scanning mechanism and a long-term memory checking mechanism.     

Examining the relationship between free recall and immediate serial recall: Similar patterns of rehearsal and similar effects of word length,presentation rate,and articulatory suppression

In five experiments, rehearsal and recall phenomena were examined using the free recall and immediate serial recall (ISR) tasks. In Experiment 1, participants were presented with lists of eight words, were precued or postcued to respond using free recall or ISR, and rehearsed out loud during presentation. The patterns of rehearsal were similar in all the conditions, and there was little difference between recall in the precued and postcued conditions. In Experiment 2, both free recall and ISR were sensitive to word length and presentation rate and showed similar patterns of rehearsal. In Experiment 3, both tasks were sensitive to word length and articulatory suppression. The word length effects generalized to 6-item (Experiment 4) and 12-item (Experiment 5) lists. These findings suggest that the two tasks are underpinned by highly similar rehearsal and recall processes.     

The impact of a peer counselling scheme to address bullying in an all‐girl London secondary school: A short‐term longitudinal study

Background A variety of peer support schemes are now widely used in schools, notably to reduce bullying. However, there has been little systematic investigation of the impact and effectiveness of these approaches. Aims To assess the impact of a peer counselling scheme on peer counsellors and the school community. Sample The research was conducted in a North London all‐girls state secondary school. Data were collected from all lower school classes (years 7, 8, and 9) and some staff members, in addition to year 10 peer counsellors and an age equivalent comparison group. Method A detailed 1‐year longitudinal study combined qualitative and quantitative methods of assessment. Results Peer counsellors benefited from their involvement through an acquisition of transferable communication and interpersonal skills, and, compared to age‐matched control pupils, had increased social self‐esteem. There were no reductions in self‐reported bullying and victimization, but in general pupils believed that there was less bullying in school and that the school was doing more about bullying, with year 7 students showing the most positive changes. Conclusions Peer‐counselling schemes can improve self‐esteem of peer supporters, and also impact positively on perceptions of bullying in the school; but impact on actual experiences of bullying is less clear, and there may be problems with the acceptance and use of such programmes by older students.     

Strategic capacity sharing between two tasks: evidence from tasks with the same and with different task sets

The goal of the present study was to investigate the costs and benefits of different degrees of strategic parallel processing between two tasks. In a series of experiments with the dual-task flanker paradigm, participants were either instructed to process the tasks serially or in parallel, or—in a control condition—they received no specific instruction. Results showed that the participants were able to adjust the degree of parallel processing as instructed in a flexible manner. Parallel processing of the two tasks repeatedly led to large costs in performance and to high crosstalk effects compared to more serial processing. In spite of the costs, a moderate degree of parallel processing was preferred in the condition with no specific instruction. This pattern of results was observed if the same task set was used for the two tasks, but also if different ones were applied. Furthermore, a modified version of the central capacity sharing (CCS) model (Tombu and Jolicoeur in J Exp Psychol Hum Percept Perform 29:3–18, 2003) was proposed that accounts also for crosstalk effects in dual tasks. The modified CCS model was then evaluated by fitting it successfully to the present data.

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Toward a Lutheran Response to Christian Zionism1

Abstract : The following article discusses the Christian Zionist movement, and emphasizes the danger it poses to facilitating peace in the Middle East. The author argues that it is a political movement built on a particular theological system, that of premillenial dispensationalism. This particular system also is discussed in detail, including its origins and its contemporary manifestations. The article concludes with some suggestions for how a Lutheran theological perspective might constructively engage Christian Zionism in the service of promoting a vision of hope for the future.     

FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS AND TREATMENT OF SELF‐INJURY IN A CAPTIVE OLIVE BABOON

Self‐injurious behavior (SIB), such as self‐biting and head banging, has been reported to occur in approximately 10% of captive, individually housed nonhuman primates. Accounts of the etiology of SIB in primates range from ecological to physiological. However, to date, no research has examined the possible influence of social consequences delivered by handlers and keepers in the maintenance of SIB in this population. The current study investigated the effects of social contact as a potentially reinforcing consequence for the SIB displayed by an olive baboon (Papio hamadryas anubis). Results indicated that the behavior was maintained by attention from humans. As treatment, reinforcement was arranged for an appropriate alternative response, resulting in increases in the appropriate alternative behavior and decreases in SIB.     

CONSTRUCTING AND DERIVING RECIPROCAL TRIGONOMETRIC RELATIONS: A FUNCTIONAL ANALYTIC APPROACH

Participants were pretrained and tested on mutually entailed trigonometric relations and combinatorially entailed relations as they pertained to positive and negative forms of sine, cosine, secant, and cosecant. Experiment 1 focused on training and testing transformations of these mathematical functions in terms of amplitude and frequency followed by tests of novel relations. Experiment 2 addressed training in accordance with frames of coordination (same as) and frames of opposition (reciprocal of) followed by more tests of novel relations. All assessments of derived and novel formula‐to‐graph relations, including reciprocal functions with diversified amplitude and frequency transformations, indicated that all 4 participants demonstrated substantial improvement in their ability to identify increasingly complex trigonometric formula‐to‐graph relations pertaining to same as and reciprocal of to establish mathematically complex repertoires.