The development of executive functioning and theory of mind. A comparison of Chinese and U.S. preschoolers

Preschoolers' theory-of-mind development follows a similar age trajectory across many cultures. To determine whether these similarities are related to similar underlying ontogenetic processes, we examined whether the relation between theory of mind and executive function commonly found among U.S. preschoolers is also present among Chinese preschoolers. Preschoolers from Beijing, China (N= 109), were administered theory-of-mind and executive-functioning tasks, and their performance was compared with that of a previously studied sample of U.S. preschoolers (N= 107). The Chinese preschoolers outperformed their U.S. counterparts on all measures of executive functioning, but were not similarly advanced in theory-of-mind reasoning. Nonetheless, individual differences in executive functioning predicted theory of mind for children in both cultures. Thus, the relation between executive functioning and theory of mind is robust across two disparate cultures. These findings shed light on why executive functioning is important for theory-of-mind development.     

The psychological sting of stigma: The costs of attributing ostracism to racism

Laboratory-based research with university students demonstrates that ostracism is reflexively painful, depletes fundamental needs, and is highly resistant to variations in situational context or individual differences. Employing a representative sample of 614 US White and African American adults, we sought to (1) demonstrate the utility of using Cyberball on a broader non-college sample, and examine (2) whether attributing ostracism to racial prejudice mediates recovery. Participants in an Internet version of Cyberball were either included or ostracized by two other players (both White or both Black), and reported their level of distress before and after making attributions for treatment during the game. Overall, reflexive needs were threatened by ostracism, but more so for Blacks. Whites attributed ostracism to racism when the other players were Black. Blacks attributed ostracism to racism when the other players were White or Black. Within a few minutes, participants reported feeling less distress, but attributing ostracism to racial prejudice impeded their recovery.     

Why pigeons say what they do: reinforcer magnitude and response requirement effects on say responding in say-do correspondence

The effects of reinforcer magnitude and response requirement on pigeons' say choices in an experimental homologue of human say-do correspondence were assessed in two experiments. The procedure was similar to a conditional discrimination procedure except the pigeons chose both a sample stimulus (the say component) and a comparison stimulus that corresponded to it (the do component). Correspondence was trained on red, green, and white key colors before the duration of food presentations following correspondence on each key color (Experiment 1) and the number of key pecks required as the say response on each key color (Experiment 2) were manipulated in an attempt to influence the initial say response. The frequency of say responses on each key color coincided with programmed changes in the duration of food presentations and the key-peck requirements assigned to each key color. Correspondence accuracy remained stable in all conditions, even those in which the say responding occurred primarily on two of the three key colors. Implications for human behavior are discussed.     

Mother‐child relationships and creativity

The present study focused on the relationship between young children's level of differentiation and creative potential as assessed by the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT). The mothers of high and low creative children were interviewed in order to establish the degree to which they encouraged differentiation in their children. Their level of involvement with their children was also evaluated using the Family Relations Test (FRT). Mothers of high creative children were less emotionally involved with their children than other mothers, less likely to be perceived as overprotective, and less likely to deny their feelings of hostility towards them. They were more self‐confident and self‐realized in their homes and had higher occupational levels than other mothers. The present study also assessed the level of differentiation in both creative and uncreative children with the Draw‐a‐Person and Kinetic Family Drawing Tests. Results indicated that highly creative children were more differentiated than uncreative children.     

Fractal Structure of Event Segmentation: Lessons From Reel and Real Events

We investigated fractality in the segmentation of cinematic and live events. Four movies from distinct genres were first analyzed and found to be fractal, albeit in different regions of the fractal range. In Experiment 1, viewers parsed the films' events, attending to short or long timescales, using a button box to indicate break points. The temporal structure of film viewing was found to be fractal regardless of the scale of attention and to reflect the differing fractal editing structure of the films. Experiment 2 found event segmentation to be fractal in a natural setting, a basketball game, as well. An additional parallel between reel and real events was uncovered: fractal indices were at the higher end of the range for both the film genre intended to be anxiogenic and the more suspenseful portion of the basketball game. We argue that the fractal structure of perception reflects the fractal structure of events whether the events are in film or in nature. We speculate that fractal structure has implications for understanding subjective experience and, ultimately, the correspondence between films and the world.     

Personality determinants of the commitment to the profession of art

The model of commitment presented in the present report postulates personality to be the crucial element in the development and maintenance of commitment to the profession of art. The objectives of the research reported here were to (a) demonstrate the typicality of the artist personality and (b) identify the traits which characterize committed and uncommitted artists. Three groups of artists were compared: mature established artists described as committed over a lifetime, committed art students, and uncommitted art students. The instrument used to evaluate personality was the Adjective Check List (ACL; Gough 8c Heilbrun, 1983). Both committed and uncommitted artists presented a typical personality structure; but in contrast to the committed, the uncommitted were characterized by low self‐esteem, a negative self‐image, impaired motivation, low staying power, and an inability to find a clear direction. Both art students and mature artists agreed about the order of importance of 11 factors considered to be determinants of committment. They both placed particular emphasis on autonomy, possibility to experiment, ease of inspiration, and early identification with the profession.     

Exercising Research Skills: An Information Literacy Boot Camp for Religious Studies Graduate Assistants

Instructional librarians at the University of Dayton collaborated with a religious studies graduate program to offer a three-day information literacy workshop, or “boot camp,” to the program's graduate research assistants. The graduate program had found that the assistants' research skills did not meet the expectations of their faculty mentors, and the workshop sought to address these deficiencies. With input from the religious studies faculty, the workshop focused on catalog and database searching, Boolean logic, primary sources, and the Chicago citation style. The librarians incorporated active learning exercises into each workshop session. Assessment of the workshop suggested that the assistants gained confidence in these information literacy skills. Feedback from faculty also indicated that the assistants' research skills had improved.     

On the Edge: Exploring the End of the Analytic Hour

The final moments of the analytic hour are a repetitive reenactment whose symbolic meaning can be both a challenge and an opportunity. Each member of the analytic dyad is vulnerable to the revival of deprivation and loss that is introduced by the end of the hour, and each will handle the experience in a unique way. When this cocreated moment occurs in the absence of awareness, there can be avoidance and enactment. When it occurs in the context of shared understanding, the analytic pair is free to intensify, play with, and confront the limitations and inevitabilities of life that are revived again and again when we approach and reach the end. Integrating theoretical perspectives on mourning, attachment, and self-states, along with clinical vignettes, the paper will show how existential questions are present in many of our analytic encounters. As we help our clients negotiate this moment, we too may acknowledge aspects of ourselves that can intensify our awareness, and facilitate our therapeutic effectiveness. Our capacity to explore this important edge of analytic space with our patients can help them to live and to love and can enrich our work if we can be open to its multifaceted meaning.