Goal distance in time and its effects on the relations between achievement motives and performance

Based on Miller's theoretical model, it is predicted that (1) pupils high in motive to approach success and low in motive to avoid failure (approach-oriented) would increase and (2) those with the opposite motive constellation (avoidance-oriented) would decrease their level of performance as a distant future goal approaches in time. These hypotheses were supported when number of problems solved correctly was used as measure of level of performance, while only Hypothesis 1 received support when number of problems attempted was employed. The hypothesis (3) that avoidance-oriented pupils would have a steeper slope of goal gradient for performance than the approach-oriented pupils, received no support.     

Disentangling behavioral intention and behavioral expectation

Social psychologists have extensively researched behavioral intention and its relation to future behavior, usually within the framework of M. Fishbein and I. Ajzen's (1975, Belief, attitude, intention and behavior: An introduction to theory and research, Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley) theory of reasoned action. However, the field has confounded two separate constructs while investigating intention: behavioral intention (BI) and what P. R. Warshaw, B. H. Sheppard, and J. Hartwick (in press, in R. Bagozzi (Ed.), Advances in marketing communication, Greenwich, CT: JAI Press) have coined behavioral expectation (BE), which is the individual's self-prediction of his or her future behavior. In this paper we define both constructs and explain how they differ in terms of the processes by which they are formed, their roles in determining behavior, and their utilities as behavioral predictors. We propose that behavioral expectation is the more accurate overall predictor since many common behaviors are unreasoned (i.e., mindless or habitual) behaviors, goal-type actions, or behaviors where the individual expects his or her intention to change in a foresseable manner. These are all cases where present intention (BI) is not the direct determinant of behavior but where the individual may be capable of appraising whatever additional determinants exist and of including them within his or her behavioral expectation. A study (N = 197) is reported in which student subjects received either a BE (n = 113) or a BI (n = 84) version of a questionnaire pertaining to their performance of 18 common behaviors. Overall, behavioral expectation was the better predictor of self-reported performance.     

Aesthetic interaction as fit between interaction attributes and experiential qualities

Designing an aesthetic interaction is an important issue for Interaction Design (ID) and Human-Computer Interaction (HCI). While a number of frameworks exist, the experimental study of potential underlying principles remains rare. In this paper, we suggest that particular interaction attributes (e.g., “fast”) are systematically related to particular experiential qualities (e.g., “feeling competent”) and that interaction “feels better” if interaction matches the intended experience. A laboratory study (N = 32) explores this notion by testing two different ways of interacting within the same activity (opening a wine bottle) in two different experiential scenarios (focusing on relatedness, focusing on competence). Two corkscrews with different interaction profiles were used: one assumed to support a feeling of competence and the other to support relatedness. As expected, we found systematic shifts in preferences for specific corkscrews, differences in affective experience and in the relationships between interaction attributes and experiential qualities depending on the fit of interaction to the experience.     

‘Thank God I’m not a Jungian’

This article focuses less on the content of Jung's ideas than on ways in which they act as both invitation and challenge to engage with psyche. It explores the mythic framework of Jung's approach and how this can enable individuals to live in psychological and mundane worlds in which there can be no final certainties. It elaborates three particular aspects of Jung's thinking that I have found personally valuable: his generosity of vision, his insistence that individuals engage for and with themselves rather than relying on someone else's ideas, and his ponderings on the relationship between the individual and the collective. All three aspects seem to be important elements of the work of individuation.     

Reductions of intimate partner violence resulting from supplementing children with omega‐3 fatty acids: A randomized,double‐blind,placebo‐controlled,stratified, parallel‐group trial

Omega‐3 supplementation has been found to reduce externalizing behavior in children. Reciprocal models of parent‐child behavior suggest that improving child behavior could lead to improvements in parent behavior, however no study has examined whether omega‐3 supplementation in children could reduce intimate partner violence or child maltreatment by their adult caregivers. In this randomized, double‐blind, placebo‐controlled, stratified, parallel group trial, a community sample of children were randomized to receive either a fruit drink containing 1 gm of omega‐3 fats (Smartfish Recharge; Omega‐3 group, n = 100) or the same fruit drink without omega‐3's (Placebo group, n = 100). Child participants, adult caregivers, and research staff were blinded to group assignment. Adult caregivers reported inter‐partner and child‐directed physical assault and psychological aggression at baseline, 6 months (end of treatment) and 12 months (6 months post‐treatment) using the Conflicts Tactics Scale. Caregivers of children in the omega‐3 group reported long‐term reductions in psychological aggression in a group × time interaction. Improvements in adult psychological aggression were correlated with improvements in child externalizing behavior scores. No differences were reported for child maltreatment. This study is the first to show that omega‐3 supplementation in children can reduce inter‐partner psychological aggression among adult caregivers not receiving supplements. Findings suggest that improving child behavior through omega‐3 supplementation could have long‐term benefits to the family system as a whole.

     

P3b反映基于相似性的图形类别归纳决策过程(309)

先前关于归纳推理的研究没有探讨过图形类别归纳任务中决策过程的事件相关电位(ERPs)特征。该研究采用图形材料,通过记录和分析图形类别归纳推理任务的结论评估阶段的脑电信号,探讨了不同类别条件下图形归纳推理决策过程的ERP特征。实验结果显示,推理决策过程中,当前提为一些狗具有某种属性特征时,结论一致类别(狗类及马类)比结论不一致类别下(椅子类)的归纳推理诱发了更大的P3b的波幅; 而结论一致类别下,类别内(狗类)比类别外(马类)推理诱发更大的后部脑区的P3b的波幅,反映了相似性对类别归纳的贡献。该研究为理解类别归纳过程的决策阶段的动态加工过程提供了神经电生理学证据。研究结果进一步支持了类别归纳的相似性理论模型。     

IS REFLECTIVE SUPERVISION ENOUGH? AN EXPLORATION OF WORKFORCE PERSPECTIVES

Infant mental health practice requires the performance of intense emotional labor. Professionals comprising the infant mental health (IMH) field are largely women at seminal points in adult life‐span development. The purpose of this article is to explore the day‐to‐day challenges faced by clinical infant mental health professionals and their perspectives on the supports available for effective job performance. We review reflective supervision as a long‐cherished professional support in the IMH field designed to hold the practitioner's fears, worries, and ambivalence, so that she may return to the work fortified to remain in therapeutic alliance with families despite unsolvable problems and an unknowable future (Weatherston, D., 2009). Yet, we propose that reflective supervision alone may not be an adequate protective measure for a workforce performing intensive emotional labor for extended periods and therefore at potentially increased risk for burnout and high turnover (Hochschild, A.R. 1983 ; C. Maslach, 1982 , C.M. Brotheridge & A.A. Grandey, 2009; A.S. Wharton, 2009 ). We suggest that structural factors concerning organizational culture, flexibility in scheduling, and professional growth and versatility bear deeper examination for their merits in supporting the IMH workforce. Finally, we contend that the overrepresentation of women in practitioner positions in IMH leaves an empirical gap where little is known about the experience of male IMH practitioners and the ramifications of their performance of emotional labor.     

IMPACT OF PARENTAL BINGE EATING DISORDER: EXPLORING CHILDREN'S EMOTIONAL/BEHAVIORAL PROBLEMS AND THE QUALITY OF PARENT–CHILD FEEDING INTERACTIONS

This study examines psychopathological problems in children of parents with binge eating disorder (BED), particularly the effect of parental diagnosis on their offspring's psychopathology and the mediating power of the quality of parent–infant feeding interactions. Two hundred parents and their offspring were administered a questionnaire for the assessment of their children's psychopathology at 18 (T1) and 36 (T2) months of age. An observational measure to evaluate feeding interactions was administered at T1. Children with both parents with BED showed the highest affective, anxiety, oppositional/defiant, and autism spectrum problems, but no influence of paternal diagnosis was found on the offspring's psychopathology. Maternal BED had an influence on children's affective and autism spectrum problems, and diagnosis of BED in both parents had an effect on infants’ affective problems. Paternal BED had an effect on oppositional/defiant problems through the quality of father–infant interactions, and maternal BED had an effect on the offspring's affective and anxiety problems through the mediation of mother–infant interactions. These results suggest the importance of intervention programs focusing both on parental psychopathology and on mother–child and father–child feeding interactions in families with parents with BED.     

MEASURING REFLECTIVE SUPERVISION WITHIN HOME VISITING: CHANGES IN SUPERVISORS’ SELF‐PERCEPTION OVER TIME

Despite widespread belief in the early childhood field of the benefits of reflective supervision, there has been limited empirical evidence to support the effectiveness of reflective supervision for home visitors and the children and families they serve. The present study examined the psychometric properties of four adapted self‐report measures assessing supervisors’ reflective supervision capacities; the study also investigated whether these measures captured change in reflective capacity over time as supervisors participated in professional development activities focused on reflective supervision. Results from 33 participants (home visiting supervisors and program managers) suggested that three of the four measures demonstrated acceptable internal consistency, and these three measures were correlated with each other. Two of these measures also captured significant change over time. Finally, there was some evidence that those with less education demonstrated more substantial improvement in their reflective supervision capacities than did those with an advanced degree. Findings provide initial evidence for reliable, efficient, and cost‐effective supervisor self‐report measures that could be used in research and program evaluation to assess change in supervisor reflective capacity over time.     

MEDIATING ROLE OF MATERNAL SENSITIVITY: ENHANCING LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT IN AT‐RISK FAMILIES

Home‐visiting programs have gained increasing importance in family‐centered prevention and intervention. However, few studies have examined the mechanisms underlying early intervention treatment effects. The goal of this study is to analyze the mediating role of maternal sensitivity in enhancing language development with the home‐visiting program Parents as Teachers (PAT). Data were collected and analyzed within the ongoing, long‐term ZEPPELIN study, a randomized controlled trial with 251 participating at‐risk families. Via longitudinal mediation analysis, we examined whether effects of the PAT on receptive and expressive language outcomes at 24 and 36 months were mediated by maternal sensitivity at 12 months. Within a moderated mediation framework, we investigated whether the level of family psychosocial stress affects this mediation. Results showed that intervention effects on language outcomes are mediated by maternal sensitivity—weakly and through specific pathways. Moderation and moderated mediation analyses indicated that effects of the PAT and also specific mediation effects increase with the level of psychosocial stress. Implications of the results for practice are discussed.