Male Wistar rats show individual differences in an animal model of conformity

Conformity refers to the act of changing one’s behaviour to match that of others. Recent studies in humans have shown that individual differences exist in conformity and that these differences are related to differences in neuronal activity. To understand the neuronal mechanisms in more detail, animal tests to assess conformity are needed. Here, we used a test of conformity in rats that has previously been evaluated in female, but not male, rats and assessed the nature of individual differences in conformity. Male Wistar rats were given the opportunity to learn that two diets differed in palatability. They were subsequently exposed to a demonstrator that had consumed the less palatable food. Thereafter, they were exposed to the same diets again. Just like female rats, male rats decreased their preference for the more palatable food after interaction with demonstrator rats that had eaten the less palatable food. Individual differences existed for this shift, which were only weakly related to an interaction between their own initial preference and the amount consumed by the demonstrator rat. The data show that this conformity test in rats is a promising tool to study the neurobiology of conformity.     

Multi‐level aspects of social cohesion of secondary schools and pupils' feelings of safety

Background. School safety and corresponding feelings of both pupils and school staff are beginning to receive more and more attention. The social cohesion characteristics of a school may be useful in promoting feelings of safety, particularly in pupils. Aims. To conceptualize theoretically, and check empirically a two‐level model of social cohesion between and within schools, in order to explain a pupil's feelings of safety at school. Samples. Data were collected aided by a national Dutch survey in secondary education carried out via the Internet. In 2008, digital questionnaires were completed by about 78,800 pupils, 6,200 teachers and educational support staff, and 600 school managers. Methods. Data were checked for reliability and representativity. Social cohesion was indicated by self‐reported measures of individual pupils and by aggregating scale and item scores of school managers, teachers, and other support staff within schools. Multi‐level analysis using individual pupil data and school‐level data was performed using MLwiN. Results. A pupil's age, educational attainment level, experience of mild physical violence, prosocial rules of conduct and joint control of these rules, and school measures against playing truant, show positive influences on a pupil's feelings of safety at school. Negative influences are exerted by not feeling most at home in The Netherlands, peers taking drugs and weapons into school, and by experiencing social violence, severe physical violence, and sexual violence. Negative school effects exist simultaneously in severe physical violence experienced by teachers and other staff, and in curriculum differentiation applied by teachers and other staff; a positive school effect is school size. Some interaction effects between pupil and school‐level variables were explored. Conclusions. The variance at school level is relatively low compared with the variance at pupil level. However, a much higher percentage of variance at school level than at pupil level is explained with respect to the pupils' feelings of safety at school. The resulting two‐level model also reflects the streaming of pupils in Dutch secondary schools. To improve school safety, the national results emphasize the need to enhance prosocial behaviour rules and to enhance the shared control of these rules between teachers and pupils. They also emphasize the need for the school to take measures that prevent truancy and redefine curriculum differentiation procedures. National educational policy and research can combine efforts to assist schools in developing reliable and valid procedures to increase effectively safety in and around schools.     

Implicit semantic perception in object substitution masking

Decades of research on visual perception has uncovered many phenomena, such as binocular rivalry, backward masking, and the attentional blink, that reflect ‘failures of consciousness’. Although stimuli do not reach awareness in these paradigms, there is evidence that they nevertheless undergo semantic processing. Object substitution masking (OSM), however, appears to be the exception to this rule. In OSM, a temporally-trailing four-dot mask interferes with target perception, even though it has different contours from and does not spatially overlap with the target. Previous research suggests that OSM has an early locus, blocking the extraction of semantic information. Here, we refute this claim, showing implicit semantic perception in OSM using a target-mask priming paradigm. We conclude that semantic information suppressed via OSM can nevertheless guide behavior.     

Teachers' and education students' perceptions of and reactions to children with and without the diagnostic label "ADHD"

Thirty-four elementary school teachers and 32 education students from Canada rated their reactions towards vignettes describing children who met attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptom criteria that included or did not include the label “ADHD.” “ADHD”-labeled vignettes elicited greater perceptions of the child's impairment as well as more negative emotions and less confidence in the participants, although it also increased participants' willingness to implement treatment interventions. Ratings were similar to vignettes of boys versus girls; however, important differences in ratings between teachers and education students emerged and are discussed. Finally, we investigated the degree to which teachers' professional backgrounds influenced bias based on the label “ADHD.” Training specific to ADHD consistently predicted label bias, whereas teachers' experience working with children with ADHD did not.     

Support group processes: Perspectives from HIV-infected women in South Africa

This study examined the experiences and perceived benefits of support group participation among HIV-infected women in South Africa. From a qualitative analysis of responses, key psychological processes through which support groups are potentially beneficial were identified. These processes included: identification; modeling; acceptance; and empowerment. The participants' consequent life changes were explored in order to associate these processes with the positive outcomes of support group participation. Through understanding the relationship between the psychological processes within a support group setting and the potential benefits, and by targeting these processes in the development and implementation of future support group interventions, a framework is provided for achieving positive outcomes associated with support group participation.     

'That's OK. He's a guy': a mixed-methods study of gender double-standards for alcohol use

Although drinking and drunkenness have traditionally been considered masculine behaviours, young women's alcohol consumption has increased in recent years. This mixed methods study was conducted to examine the extent to which young people endorse gender double-standards for alcohol use--i.e., less acceptance of drinking and drunkenness in women than men--and how these influence men's and women's alcohol consumption. A sample of 731 English university students completed an online survey of gender role attitudes, beliefs about the gendered nature of alcohol use and recent alcohol consumption. Sixteen participants were then purposively selected for individual interviews: eight women and men with the most egalitarian gender role beliefs, and eight women and men with the least egalitarian beliefs. The two sets of data revealed that although there were few sex differences in actual levels of drinking or drunkenness, gender double-standards for alcohol use persist: beer drinking, binge drinking and public drunkenness tended to be perceived as masculine, and even the most egalitarian respondents were more judgemental of women's drinking. Participants modified their drinking style so as to maintain a desired gender identity. Although gender double-standards could be a focus of interventions to encourage moderate drinking, such approaches could reinforce gender inequalities.