Body image mediates an association between personality and mental health

Personality and body image have been identified as important correlates of mental and physical health. This study sought to explore whether body image mediates the association between the major dimensions of trait personality and self‐reported mental and physical health. In total, 451 Australian adults (121 men, 331 women; M_age = 21.88 ± 7.65 years) completed questionnaires at a single time‐point. After controlling for some demographic and anthropometric factors (e.g., body mass index), neuroticism was associated with all components of body image and mental and physical health. Extraversion, openness, and conscientiousness were associated with mental health and some components of body image. Multiple mediator models identified body image discrepancy and appearance evaluation as mediating the association between personality (neuroticism, extraversion, and conscientiousness) and mental health. No significant mediation effects were observed for physical health, and mediation effects were not moderated by participant gender. These findings provide evidence that personality relates to self‐reported mental health, in part, through the variance shared with body image.     

Re-enactment of intended acts from a video presentation by 18- and 24-month-old children

We used the Re-enactment of intention paradigm to investigate whether children would re-enact what an adult intended to do in a video presentation as they do when presented with a live demonstration (Meltzoff in Dev Psychol 31(5):838-850, 1995). Unlike the 18-month-old infants studied by Meltzoff (Dev Psychol 31(5):838-850, 1995), the 18- and 24-month-olds in the current study did not frequently imitate unsuccessful goal-directed actions presented in a video model. Children who performed better in the task also tended to share more of their attention with the experimenter during co-viewing of the video. Performance on the Re-enactment of intention task was positively related to categorization score, an independent measure of cognitive functioning.     

Do fish count? Spontaneous discrimination of quantity in female mosquitofish

The spontaneous tendency to join the largest social group was used to investigate quantity discrimination in fish. Fish discriminated between shoals that differed by one element when the paired numbers were 1vs2, 2vs3 and 3vs4, but not when 4vs5 or larger. Using large numerosities (>4), the ability to discriminate between two numbers improved as the numerical distance between them increased and a significant discrimination was found only with ratios of 1:2 or smaller (4vs8, 8vs16 and 4vs10). Experiments to control for non-numerical variables evidenced the role played by the total area of stimuli with both large and small numerosities; the total quantity of movement of the fish within a shoal appeared also important but only when large numerosities were involved. Even though the pattern of discrimination exhibited by female mosquitofish is not fully consistent with any of the existing models of quantity representation, our results seem to suggest two distinct mechanisms in fish, one used to compare small numbers of objects and one used when larger numerosities are involved.     

IX—Responsibility and the Consequences of Choice

Contemporary egalitarian theories of justice constrain the demands of equality by responsibility, and do not view as unjust inequalities that are traceable to individuals' choices. This paper argues that, in order to make non-arbitrary determinate judgements of responsibility, any theory of justice needs a principle of stakes , that is, an account of what consequences choices should have. The paper also argues that the principles of stakes seemingly presupposed by egalitarians are implausible, and that adopting alternative principles of stakes amounts to fleshing out the demands of responsibility rather than imposing limits on them.     

Self-compassion increases self-improvement motivation

Can treating oneself with compassion after making a mistake increase self-improvement motivation? In four experiments, the authors examined the hypothesis that self-compassion motivates people to improve personal weaknesses, moral transgressions, and test performance. Participants in a self-compassion condition, compared to a self-esteem control condition and either no intervention or a positive distraction control condition, expressed greater incremental beliefs about a personal weakness (Experiment 1); reported greater motivation to make amends and avoid repeating a recent moral transgression (Experiment 2); spent more time studying for a difficult test following an initial failure (Experiment 3); exhibited a preference for upward social comparison after reflecting on a personal weakness (Experiment 4); and reported greater motivation to change the weakness (Experiment 4). These findings suggest that, somewhat paradoxically, taking an accepting approach to personal failure may make people more motivated to improve themselves.     

OHTSUKI KENJI AND THE BEGINNINGS OF LAY ANALYSIS IN JAPAN

The authors outline the major role played by Ohtsuki Kenji in the formation of the Japanese Psychoanalytic Society. Unlike the other pioneers of psychoanalysis in Japan, Ohtsuki never went abroad or met Freud. He was a literature graduate who taught himself the fundamentals of psychoanalysis. He organised the translation of Freud's complete works, formed a psychoanalytic training institute and started a journal that carried English-language editorials. These became the major means whereby foreign analysts came to know and understand the Japanese psychoanalytic scene. A number of rival groups amalgamated to form the Japanese Psychoanalytical Association in the mid-fifties, excluding Ohtsuki's group despite its pre-war prominence. The authors reconsider Ohtsuki's role in the light of his many articles, his autobiography, new information uncovered in interviews conducted with current analysts and with Ohtsuki's widow and son. They describe his championing of lay analysis, and his criticisms of medicalisation of the discipline and of the view from abroad that questioned the suitability of Japanese culture for psychoanalytic therapy, as well as his efforts to modify some of the basic tenets of psychoanalysis to accord with his own views in his later work.     

The factor structure of the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA): A survey of Italian adolescents

Despite the intensive use of the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment (IPPA), a measure of attachment which centres on individual differences in adolescents and their ability to evaluate their relationships with parents and peers, the factor structure of the inventory requires further investigation. This study of 1059 Italian adolescents compared the three models which are discussed in the literature: the one-factor model (attachment security), the two-factor model (trust-communication and alienation) and the three-factor model (trust, communication and alienation), and examined the influences of age and gender on the IPPA’s scores. Our findings provide support for the reliability of the latest and longer version of the IPPA (75-item). Factor analysis showed that the three-factor model had the best fit, although the three dimensions are strongly interrelated. Sixteen year olds had lower attachment security to their fathers than the results of the other adolescent age groups. Males reported lower alienation scores than females in the paternal form, while females had higher attachment security, trust and communication scores than males in the peers form.     

Does sensitivity to criticism mediate the relationship between theory of mind and academic achievement?

This study adds to the growing research on school outcomes associated with individual differences in preschoolers’ theory of mind skills by considering whether “costs” of theory of mind (e.g., sensitivity to criticism) actually help to foster children’s academic achievement. A group of 60 Italian children was tested during the last year of preschool (Time 1, mean age = 5 years 6 months) and in their first year (Time 2, mean age = 6 years 5 months) and second year (Time 3, mean age = 7 years 5 months) of primary school. Children’s theory of mind, verbal ability, and social skills were evaluated at each time point. In addition, children’s sensitivity to teacher criticism was assessed at Time 2 and teachers’ ratings of children’s academic achievement were gathered at Time 3. Mediation analyses showed that, independent of verbal ability and social skills, sensitivity to criticism at Time 2 mediated the association between theory of mind at Time 1 and academic achievement at Time 3. These findings highlight the importance of investigating the educational consequences of individual differences in preschoolers’ theory of mind.