Gender-specific macro- and micro-level processes in the transmission of gender role orientation in adolescence: The role of fathers

Family represents a primary environment for the development and transmission of gender role orientation (GRO) in adolescence. Nonetheless, longitudinal approaches delineating the separate influences of fathers and mothers, including all possible same- and cross-sex parent–child dyads within one family are lacking. This article elucidates the process of adolescent gender role socialization in 244 German families (father, mother, son and daughter) utilizing a longitudinal design (two measurement points over 5 years). Direct transmission paths of GRO and gender-specific parenting (GSP) as a mediator were analysed focusing on fathers' contributions. In addition, the impact of parental workplace autonomy and socio-economic status on intra-familial socialization of GRO was examined. Results indicate that fathers and mothers play at least an equally important role in the transmission of gender role beliefs. A mediating effect of GSP was only evident when considering father–child dyads. Based on social cognitive and developmental systems approaches, the findings are discussed considering adolescents embedded within the family context.     

Reduced audiovisual integration in synesthesia – evidence from bimodal speech perception

Recent research suggests synesthesia as a result of a hypersensitive multimodal binding mechanism. To address the question whether multimodal integration is altered in synesthetes in general, grapheme‐colour and auditory‐visual synesthetes were investigated using speech‐related stimulation in two behavioural experiments. First, we used the McGurk illusion to test the strength and number of illusory perceptions in synesthesia. In a second step, we analysed the gain in speech perception coming from seen articulatory movements under acoustically noisy conditions. We used disyllabic nouns as stimulation and varied signal‐to‐noise ratio of the auditory stream presented concurrently to a matching video of the speaker. We hypothesized that if synesthesia is due to a general hyperbinding mechanism this group of subjects should be more susceptible to McGurk illusions and profit more from the visual information during audiovisual speech perception. The results indicate that there are differences between synesthetes and controls concerning multisensory integration – but in the opposite direction as hypothesized. Synesthetes showed a reduced number of illusions and had a reduced gain in comprehension by viewing matching articulatory movements in comparison to control subjects. Our results indicate that rather than having a hypersensitive binding mechanism, synesthetes show weaker integration of vision and audition.     

Speaking two languages at once: Unconscious native word form access in second language production

Bilingualism research has established language non-selective lexical access in comprehension. However, the evidence for such an effect in production remains sparse and its neural time-course has not yet been investigated. We demonstrate that German-English bilinguals performing a simple picture-naming task exclusively in English spontaneously access the phonological form of –unproduced– German words. Participants were asked to produce English adjective-noun sequences describing the colour and identity of familiar objects presented as line drawings. We associated adjective and picture names such that their onsets phonologically overlapped in English (e.g., green goat), in German through translation (e.g., blue flower – ‘blaue Blume’), or in neither language. As expected, phonological priming in English modulated event-related brain potentials over the frontocentral scalp region from around 440 ms after picture onset. Phonological priming in German was detectable even earlier, from 300 ms, even though German was never produced and in the absence of an interaction between language and phonological repetition priming at any point in time. Overall, these results establish the existence of non-selective access to phonological representations of the two languages in the domain of speech production.     

Islamist terrorism as identity threat: the case of ambivalent identification and self‐stereotyping among Turkish Muslims

Terrorist attacks committed in 2003 by Turkish Islamist extremists threatened the social identity of Turkish Muslims by associating them with terrorism. Using a 2 × 3 experimental design, we categorized Turkish respondents and terrorists as members of a shared superordinate group (“Muslims”) or as members of separate subgroups. When sharing superordinate group membership with terrorists, less identified Turkish respondents experienced ambivalent identification, i.e., they sought to maintain attachment to their group while simultaneously seeking distance from it. Ambivalent identification was reduced when respondents emphasized their typicality as members of a Muslim subgroup that did not include terrorists. The discussion focuses on ambivalent identification as a response to identity threat, and the implications for Islamist terrorism for the social identity of Muslims.     

The neuroscientific study of free will: A diagnosis of the controversy

Benjamin Libet’s work paved the way for the neuroscientific study of free will. Other scientists have praised this research as groundbreaking. In philosophy, the reception has been more negative, often even dismissive. First, I will propose a diagnosis of this striking discrepancy. I will suggest that the experiments seem irrelevant, from the perspective of philosophy, due to the way in which they operationalize free will. In particular, I will argue that this operational definition does not capture free will properly and that it is based on a false dichotomy between internal and external causes. However, I will also suggest that this problem could be overcome, as there are no obvious obstacles to an operationalization of free will that is in accord with the philosophical conception of free will.     

Establishing the Duration of Crimes: An Individual Differences and Eye‐Tracking Investigation into Time Estimation

The time available for viewing a perpetrator at a crime scene predicts successful person recognition in subsequent identity line‐ups. This time is usually unknown and must be derived from eyewitnesses' duration estimates. This study therefore compared the estimates that different individuals provide for crimes. We then attempted to determine the accuracy of these durations by measuring observers' general time estimation ability with a set of estimator videos. Observers differed greatly in their ability to estimate time, but individual duration estimates correlated strongly for crime and estimator materials. This indicates that it might be possible to infer unknown durations of events, such as criminal incidents, from a person's ability to estimate known durations. We also measured observers' eye movements to a perpetrator during crimes. Only fixations on a perpetrator's face related to eyewitness accuracy, but these fixations did not correlate with exposure estimates for this person. The implications of these findings are discussed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Relevance of perceived teacher humor types for instruction and student learning

The use of humor is assumed to be an effective tool for teachers to promote instruction and student learning. However, research on teacher humor is not yet systematically linked to instructional research. To provide a starting point, a model of teacher humor effects is proposed that refers to a multidimensional conception with different types of humor. To test basic assumptions of the model, a cross-sectional study was conducted with 985 secondary school students from 45 classrooms who were surveyed on their perceptions of teacher humor as well as relevant dimensions of instruction and aspects of their own learning. Two-level modelling revealed substantial relations between teacher humor and instructional dimensions and student learning which varied considerably between different types of humor. Whereas humor related to course material showed positive associations, unrelated humor was negatively related with the investigated instructional dimensions. Two-level mediation analyses indicated that the associations between teacher humor and student learning were mediated by instructional dimensions.     

Money for microbes—Pathogen avoidance and out‐group helping behaviour

Humans have evolved various adaptations against pathogens, including the physiological immune system. However, not all of these adaptations are physiological: the cognitive mechanisms whereby we avoid potential sources of pathogens—for example, disgust elicited by uncleanliness—can be considered as parts of a behavioural immune system (BIS). The mechanisms of BIS extend also to inter‐group relations: Pathogen cues have been shown to increase xenophobia/ethnocentrism, as people prefer to keep their societal in‐group norms unaltered and “clean.” Nonetheless, little is known how pathogen cues influence people's willingness to provide humanitarian aid to out‐group members. We examined how pathogen cues affected decisions of providing humanitarian aid in either instrumental (sending money) or non‐instrumental form (sending personnel to help, or accepting refugees), and whether these effects were moderated by individual differences in BIS sensitivity. Data were collected in two online studies (Ns: 188 and 210). When the hypothetical humanitarian crisis involved a clear risk of infection, participants with high BIS sensitivity preferred to send money rather than personnel or to accept refugees. The results suggest that pathogen cues influence BIS‐sensitive individuals' willingness to provide humanitarian aid when there is a risk of contamination to in‐group members.     

Quality of life in breast cancer patients: Associations with optimism and social supportCalidad de vida en pacientes con cáncer de mama: asociación con optimismo y apoyo social

Background/Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine quality of life (QoL) in breast cancer patients from Colombia and to explore the relationship between QoL, habitual optimism, and social support. Method: A sample of 95 breast cancer patients treated in a hospital in Bogotá were administered the QoL instrument EORTC QLQ-C30 and the Life Orientation Test LOT-R. Additionally, they were asked to indicate from whom (physicians, friends, nurses, etc.) they wished and received social support. Reference data for the EORTC QLQ-C30 and the LOT-R were taken from a representative sample of the general Colombian population. Results: The breast cancer patients showed detriments to their QoL on most functioning scales and symptom scales of the EORTC QLQ-C30, while their general assessments of health and QoL were not worse than those of the controls. Optimism was positively correlated with QoL. Most patients wanted and received social support from their physicians and friends/family. Conclusions: The results suggest that optimism helps patients better cope with disease. A general assessment of global QoL cannot replace the more specific assessments of the functioning domains and symptoms.