Attentional bias to negative information and 5-HTTLPR genotype interactively predict students' emotional reactivity to first university semester

People strongly differ in their emotional reactions to potentially stressing and challenging environmental circumstances. Two classes of individual differences have independently been reported to contribute to such emotional vulnerability: an attentional bias to negative information and a variation in the serotonin transporter gene (5-HTTLPR). The present study was conducted to investigate the possibility that these cognitive and genetic markers interact in their prospective prediction of emotional reactivity to an extended and mild potential stressor. Changes in dysphoria and anxiety across their first university semester were measured in 120 students. Results indicate that attentional bias toward negative information on Week 1 of the semester significantly predicted cross-semester changes in both anxiety and dysphoria. For the latter, this predictive capacity depended on the 5-HTTLPR genotype. Specifically, only in homozygous carriers of the 5-HTTLPR short allele did attentional bias to negative information on Week 1 significantly predict cross-semester change in dysphoria. These results carry important theoretical and practical implications concerning the ability to identify individuals vulnerable to experiencing elevated emotional reactivity to potentially stressing life-events.     

Parenting styles and psychological needs influences on adolescent life goals and aspirations in a South African setting

The present study examined the role of parenting styles and basic psychological needs in the adoption of goals and aspirations of learners, as well as for their psychological wellbeing (positive versus negative affect) in a South African sample of learners. A cross-sectional design was used to conduct this study with a sample of 853 learners at public schools in the Western Cape of South Africa (females?=?57%, mean age 16.96 years, SD?=?1.12). Data were collected using the Parenting Style and Dimensions Questionnaire (PSDQ), Psychological Needs Scale, Aspiration Index and the Positive And Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). The results suggest that authoritative and authoritarian parenting styles influence the adoption of life goals and psychological wellbeing of adolescents with fathers' negative parenting possibly reducing adolescent wellbeing. Extrinsic life goals was a significant predictor of positive affect, while need frustration was a significant predictor of negative affect. These findings suggest parenting styles and basic psychological needs influence life aspirations and psychological wellbeing of learners in a developing country context.     

Circle of Security parenting program efficacy for improving parental self-efficacy in a South African setting: Preliminary evidence

This pilot study examined the cross-cultural transportability of a western Circle of Security (COS) parenting program to improve on levels of parental self-efficacy in a South African setting. Participants (n = 9) were sampled from a fishing community on the West Coast of South Africa. The participants completed the COS with pre-test and post-test measures of their parenting self-efficacy. Furthermore, they completed an open-ended measure of their satisfaction with the parenting program. The data were analysed using the Wilcoxon sign-rank test and the Sign test to determine the significance in differences between pre-to-post-test change scores. In addition, a thematic analysis was conducted on participant’s satisfaction with the parenting program. Results indicated significant and possible change scores for the efficacy scores: ability to handle parenting pressures, control, and learning. The participants considered the COS program appropriate to their context and situation. These preliminary findings support the need for further study of the COS parenting program within the broader context of South Africa.     

Undefinability of truth. the problem of priority:tarski vs gödel

The paper is devoted to the discussion of some philosophical and historical problems connected with the theorem on the undefinability of the notion of truth. In particular the problem of the priority of proving this theorem will be considered. It is claimed that Tarski obtained this theorem independently though he made clear his indebtedness to Gödel’s methods. On the other hand, Gödel was aware of the formal undefinability of truth in 1931, but he did not publish this result. Reasons for that are also considered     

The Value of Nonhuman Nature: A Constitutive View

A central question of environmental ethics remains one of how best to account for the intuitions generated by the Last Man scenarios; that is, it is a question of how to explain our experience of value in nature and, more importantly, whether that experience is justified. Seeking an alternative to extrinsic views, according to which nonhuman entities possess normative features that obligate us, I turn to constitutive views, which make value or whatever other limits nonhuman nature places on action dependent on features intrinsic to human beings and constitutive of them or their obligations. After examining two kinds of constitutive views—environmental virtue ethics and Korsgaard’s Kantianism—I suggest an alternative that takes up the strengths of both while avoiding their shortcomings. On this view, we have an indirect obligation to experience nature as obligating us, although we have direct obligations only to human beings.     

“Too Blessed to be Stressed”: A Rural Faith Community’s Views of African-American Males and Depression

Among African-Americans, the faith community has a long history of providing support to its members. Because African-American men tend to delay and decline traditional depression treatment, the faith community may be an effective source of support. The aim of this study was to determine how a rural African-American faith community describes and perceives experiences of depression among African-American males. A convenience sample of 24 men and women participated in focus groups and interview. Four themes were identified: defining depression, etiology of depression, denial of depression, and effect of masculine roles on depression experience.     

Lie Detection from Multiple Cues: A Meta‐analysis

Despite the importance of judgments of veracity in many settings, research suggests that it is difficult to detect lies. In this meta‐analysis, we assess the detectability of lies from constellations of multiple cues, with a particular focus on whether lie detectability increases as the conditions approach real‐life, forensic settings, as some critics of laboratory research have argued. We synthesized 144 samples, including 9380 liars and truth tellers providing a total of 26,866 messages. We examined the accuracy with which deception could be predicted on the basis of multiple behavioral cues and to what extent lie detectability was moderated by the motivation of the sender, the presence of strong emotion, the content of the lie, the context in which the lie was told, and the demographics of the senders. The findings show that lies can be detected with nearly 70% accuracy. This level of detectability is stable across settings. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Application of the Bons–Azuma method and determination of grain growth mechanism in rolled Ti–Zr alloys

Zr-containing Ti alloys have widely been developed owing to the infinite solid solubility of Zr in Ti and its avirulence, leading respectively to high strength and good biocompatibility. It is known that the Zr addition gives rise to grain refinement when rolled Ti–Zr alloys are annealed; nevertheless, the governing mechanism by which Zr addition in Ti can reduce grain size is not fully understood. In this study, the grain growth behaviour of rolled Zr-free and Zr-containing (Ti–10Zr, wt.%) alloys is analysed using analytical transmission electron microscopy and the classical and Bons–Azuma methods by evaluating the grain growth exponent. Irrespective of the evaluation technique and Zr content, the grain growth exponent is found to be close to ~0.3, indicating the occurrence of normal grain growth in the Zr-free alloy and solute drag mechanism in the Zr-containing alloy. It is found that the grain size and grain growth rate are significantly reduced by Zr segregation near grain boundaries, resulting from the solute drag mechanism.