The impact of object size and rigidity on infant reaching

Although the changes in kinematics of infant reaching have been studied, few researchers have investigated the improvement of reaching regarding objects of distinct physical properties. The aim of this longitudinal study was to verify the impact of object size and rigidity on the development of reaching in 4-6-month-old infants. Four infants were observed with a motion capture system during trials with four objects of distinct sizes and rigidity. A total of 188 reaches were analyzed by using the 3D movement reconstruction. Our results showed that reaching frequency, mean velocity, and straightness index increased with age. The number of movement units decreased with age and increased for small objects. Rigidity was not shown to affect reaching trajectories. These findings suggest that infants are capable of perceiving the more relevant object properties, thus using their available motor capabilities to modify the essential variables so that they can reach the target more accurately.     

How capuchin monkeys (Cebus apella) quantify objects and substances

Humans and nonhuman animals appear to share a capacity for nonverbal quantity representations. But what are the limits of these abilities? Results of previous research with human infants suggest that the ontological status of an entity as an object or a substance affects infants' ability to quantify it. We ask whether the same is true for another primate species-the New World monkey Cebus apella. We tested capuchin monkeys' ability to select the greater of two quantities of either discrete objects or a nonsolid substance. Participants performed above chance with both objects (Experiment 1) and substances (Experiment 2); in both cases, the observed performance was ratio dependent. This finding suggests that capuchins quantify objects and substances similarly and do so via analog magnitude representations.     

Development of the Connectedness to Treatment Setting Scale for Children with Cancer and Their Parents

Treatment for pediatric cancer requires periodic and long hospital admissions. The intensity and frequency of the interactions taking place in the treatment setting indicate that this is a context to which children and their families can feel connected. This study’s main goal was to develop the Connectedness to Treatment Setting Scale (CTSS-Pediatric Cancer), a 10-item scale assessing children’s and parents’ connectedness to the health setting where children receive cancer treatment. Participants were 128 dyads of children receiving treatment at two Portuguese public hospitals and their parents. Two exploratory factor analyses with children’s and parents’ data separately and a dyadic confirmatory factor analysis with the whole sample supported a second-order factorial structure of the CTSS-Pediatric Cancer, where three dimensions (Sense of Belonging, Comfort and Emotional Care) loaded onto a total score of connectedness. Findings suggest that the CTSS-Pediatric Cancer is a valid and useful assessment measure.     

Dimensionality and Measurement Invariance of a Brief Form of the Young Schema Questionnaire for Adolescents

The current work aims to develop and examine the psychometric properties of the Brief form of the Young Schema Questionnaire for Adolescents (B-YSQ-A), so that Early Maladaptive Schemas can be accurately measured in younger populations. Early Maladaptive Schemas are self-defeating core themes underlying maladaptive cognition, affect, and behavior. A community sample of 877 adolescents, aged 12–18 years old, filled out self-report instruments on maladaptive schemas, anger management, and internalizing and externalizing symptoms. The items composing the B-YSQ-A were selected based on statistical and content analyses criteria. Its internal structure, reliability, age- and gender-based invariance, and between-gender mean differences were examined, as well as its relationship with external variables. Results indicated a satisfying fit for the 18 original schema factors through confirmatory factor analysis. These schemas also showed adequate internal consistency and test-retest reliability, with the exception of the entitlement/grandiosity and self-sacrifice schemas. The B-YSQ-A was found to be age and gender invariant. Concerning gender differences, boys scored higher on the entitlement/grandiosity, insufficient self-control/discipline, approval/recognition seeking, unrelenting standards/hyper-criticalness and punitiveness schemas, whereas girls scored higher on the abandonment/instability, mistrust/abuse, and self-sacrifice schemas. Furthermore, evidence was found for construct validity in relation to measures of internalizing and externalizing symptomatology and of anger expression. Findings offer support for the use of the B-YSQ-A with adolescents, both for research and intervention purposes.     

The Work of Words: Poetry,Language and the Dawn of Community

Topoi - This essay explores the ontological movement of poetry, its language and words, by establishing a dialogue with the thought of three Japanese thinkers, Ki no Tsurayuki, Motoori Norinaga and...     

Children's and adults' judgments of equitable resource distributions

This study explored the criteria that children and adults use when evaluating the niceness of a character who is distributing resources. Four- and five-year-olds played the 'Giving Game', in which two puppets with different amounts of chips each gave some portion of these chips to the children. Adults played an analogous task that mimicked the situations presented to children in the Giving Game. For all groups of participants, we manipulated the absolute amount and proportion of chips given away. We found that children and adults used different cues to establish which puppet was nicer: 4-year-olds focused exclusively on absolute amount, 5-year-olds showed some sensitivity to proportion, and adults focused exclusively on proportion. These results are discussed in light of their implications for equity theory and for theories of the development of social evaluation.     

Comparison of classical and modern methods for measuring and correcting for acquiescence

Likert-type self-report scales are frequently used in large-scale educational assessment of social-emotional skills. Self-report scales rely on the assumption that their items elicit information only about the trait they are supposed to measure. However, different response biases may threaten this assumption. Specifically, in children, the response style of acquiescence is an important source of systematic error. Balanced scales, including an equal number of positively and negatively keyed items, have been proposed as a solution to control for acquiescence, but the reasons why this design feature worked from the perspective of modern psychometric models have been underexplored. Three methods for controlling for acquiescence are compared: classical method by partialling out the mean; an item response theory method to measure differential person functioning (DPF); and multidimensional item response theory (MIRT) with random intercept. Comparative analyses are conducted on simulated ratings and on self-ratings provided by 40,649 students (aged 11–18) on a fully balanced 30-item scale assessing conscientious self-management. Acquiescence bias was explained as DPF and it was demonstrated that: the acquiescence index is highly related to DPF; balanced scales produce scores controlled for DPF; and MIRT factor scores are highly related to scores controlled for DPF and the random intercept is highly related to DPF.     

The Rights of Future Persons under Attack: Correlativity in the Non-Identity Problem

Philosophia - This paper aims at answering some of the objections to the NIP’s criticism of the idea of rights of future persons. Those objections usually adopt different perspectives...