Influences of handedness and gender on the grooved pegboard test

We studied performance on the Grooved Pegboard Test upon repeated trials and transfer of training between the hands in the first trial. The classification of handedness was based on the writing hand. We employed three trials for each hand and two different protocols for the order in which the hands started the test. For the three trials combined, women were faster than men. From the first to the second trial, there was an improvement in performance for both sexes. Within the first trial, sex differences reached significance and the protocol interacted with handedness. In this trial, only left-handed men were found to benefit from previous opposite-hand performance. It is speculated that a larger corpus callosum in left-handed men allows for the greater transfer of training between the hands.     

Religiosity/Spirituality and Mental Health and Quality of Life of Early Pregnant Women

Journal of Religion and Health - The present study aims to investigate how religious/spiritual (R/S) beliefs are associated with depressive, anxious and stress symptoms and quality of life (QOL) of...     

“God is in control”: middle-class Pentecostalism and international student migration

In this article I explore the role of Pentecostalism in the lives of middle-class Brazilian students-turned-migrants in Australia. Brazilian students lead precarious lives in Australia. They are transitioning into adulthood, living away from the homeland and without their families for the first time and they experience downward mobility. In addition, they are at the mercy of constant changes in Australian migration policy. Drawing on three years of multi-sited fieldwork in Australia and Brazil in three Pentecostal churches (the Australian megachurches Hillsong and C3 and a Brazilian church), I argue that Pentecostalism supports these students in their migration pathway. This is particularly the case because these are Seeker churches. By focusing on youth culture, entertainment, and informality and by addressing real-life situations, these churches cater to middle-class sensibilities. I also contend that their religious beliefs and practices are interwoven with the students’ narratives of migration to Australia. Thus the students pray for visas, jobs, and sponsorships for permanent residency and they see every obstacle and achievement as God’s work in their lives. For them, God determines whether they can stay or must return home. Importantly, citizenship in God’s kingdom gives them a more significant sense of belonging than that of the Australian state.     

Acceptance of cosmetic surgery: Personality and individual difference predictors

This study examined the association between several attitudinal constructs related to acceptance of cosmetic surgery, and participant demographics, personality, and individual difference variables. A sample of 332 university students completed a battery of scales comprising the Acceptance of Cosmetic Surgery Scale (ACSS) and measures of the Big Five personality factors, self-esteem, conformity, self-assessed attractiveness, and demographics. Multiple regressions showed that the predictor variables explained a large proportion of the variance in ACSS factors (Adj. R² ranging between .31 and .60). In addition, structural equation modelling revealed that distal factors (sex and age) were generally associated with acceptance of cosmetic surgery through the mediate influence of more proximate variables (in the first instance, the Big Five personality factors, followed by self-esteem and conformity, and finally self-assessed attractiveness). These results allow for the presentation of a preliminary model integrating personality and individual differences in predicting acceptance of cosmetic surgery.     

Effects of personality and threat of evaluation on divergent and convergent thinking

This study explores the effects of the Big Five personality traits and threat of evaluation on divergent and convergent thinking in a sample of 82 UK students. Results showed that Openness and Extraversion predicted divergent thinking under both threat of evaluation and no evaluation, whilst Neuroticism correlated significantly with divergent thinking (negatively) only under threat of evaluation. However, mediational analysis showed that the effects of Neuroticism on divergent thinking under threat of evaluation were fully accounted for by Extraversion. Thus neurotics’ divergent thinking was significantly more impaired because they were more introverted. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.