Sex segregation in friendships and normative contexts across the life span

Sex segregation (the separation of boys and girls into same-sex groups in their friendships and casual encounters; [Thorne, B., & Luria, Z. (1986). Sexuality and gender in children’s daily worlds. Social Problems, 33, 176–190]), has typically been viewed as a childhood phenomenon. In the present paper, we review research that suggests the phenomenon of sex segregation persists across the life span. We draw from a social-constructionist model to synthesize literature documenting sex segregation in friendships and aspects of individuals’ socio-cultural contexts in childhood, adolescence, and early and later adulthood. We consider developmental continuities in mechanisms that may be associated with sex segregation, including behavioral compatibility, communication styles, third-party resistance to other-sex relationships, and institutional barriers to other-sex relationships. We discuss how these factors may, through a reciprocal process, contribute to and result from sex segregation. Finally, we offer recommendations for future research.     

Vocabulary teaching strategies and conceptual representations of words in L2 in children: Evidence with novice learners

A controversial issue in bilingual research is whether in the early stages of L2 learning, access to the conceptual system involves mediation of L1 lexical representations [Kroll, J. F., & Stewart, E. (1994). Category interference in translation and picture naming: Evidence for asymmetric connections between bilingual memory representations. Journal of Memory and Language, 33, 149-174] or a direct route from the L2 word [Altarriba, J., & Mathis, K. M. (1997). Conceptual and lexical development in second language acquisition. Journal of Memory and Language, 36, 550-568; Finkbeiner, M., & Nicol, J. (2003). Semantic category effects in second language word learning. Applied Psycholinguistics, 24, 369-383]. The main goal of this paper is to study, in a child population, whether the creation of conceptual representations for L2 words is possible, even after only one session of learning of the L2 vocabulary. Furthermore, we do so by examining the efficacy of two different L2 learning methods: L2-L1 association learning vs. L2-picture association learning. A translation recognition task was employed to test whether there was a difference between a semantically related pair and an unrelated pair across conditions (i.e., a semantic interference effect). Results showed a significant semantic interference effect—a conceptual effect—in children after just one vocabulary learning session. Importantly, the L2-picture method produced a greater semantic interference effect than the L2-L1 method. The implications of these findings for models of bilingual memory are examined.     

Romantic Relationships and Health: An Examination of Individuals’ Perceptions of their Romantic Partners’ Influences on their Health

This study examines individuals’ perceptions of the impact their significant others have on their health and the extent to which these perceptions are associated with relationship quality and actual health. Two-hundred and ten participants (105 U.S. couples; mean age = 24.93) completed measures of their relationship quality and health along with an open-ended measure asking them to indicate how they felt their partner influenced their health. Results indicated that participants perceived their romantic partners to be primarily positive health influences, women believed their partners were more influential than did men, and eating and physical activity behaviors were believed to be most affected by partners. Participants’ relationship quality and health were associated with their reports of their perceived partners’ health influences. The research described in this report was supported by an award to Charlotte Markey from Rutgers University.     

Relationships matter in personality development: evidence from an 8-year longitudinal study across young adulthood

Personality-relationship transactions were investigated in a general population sample of young German adults with three assessments over 8 years. Four general findings were obtained. First, personality development was characterized by substantive individual differences in change. Second, bivariate latent growth models indicated that individual differences in personality change were substantially associated with change in peer and family relationships. Third, forming a partner relationship for the first time moderated the maturation of personality. This finding was replicated over two subsequent time intervals with independent subgroups. Fourth, higher neuroticism and higher sociability predicted which of the singles began a partner relationship during the next 8 years. The results confirm that individual differences in personality development predict and result from life transitions and relationship experiences.     

Behaviorally at-risk African American students:The importance of student-teacher relationships for student outcomes

The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine the associations between the student-teacher relationship and outcomes for African American students who were behaviorally at-risk for referral to special education. Students were identified by their teachers as having behavior problems. Participants were 44 students and 25 teachers from two suburban and three urban elementary schools in a mid-western state. A multi-rater, multi-method approach was used. As teacher-reports of student-teacher relationship quality increased, there were also increases in positive social, behavioral, and engagement outcomes for students. Similarly, as student-reports of student-teacher relationship quality increased, there were increases in positive behavioral, engagement, and academic outcomes. Additional analyses of dyadic relationship patterns showed that as the relationship pattern improved (moving from negative concordance to discordance to positive concordance), there were increases in positive social, behavioral, and engagement outcomes for students. Implications for school practice are discussed.     

Protégés’ and mentors’ reactions to participating in formal mentoring programs: A qualitative investigation

Mentors and protégés from two formal mentoring programs were interviewed about the benefits associated with program participation, problems encountered in the program, and recommendations for program improvements. The most commonly reported benefits for protégés included learning, coaching, career planning, and psychosocial support. Mentors most frequently reported learning, developing a personal relationship, personal gratification, and enhanced managerial skills. Both groups identified a range of problems including mentor-protégé mismatches, scheduling difficulties, and geographic distance. Unique problems were also identified, including mentor neglect (by protégés), unmet expectations (by protégés), structural separation from the mentor (by protégés), and feelings of personal inadequacy (by mentors). Finally, suggestions for program improvement were identified such as clearer communication of program objectives, better matching, targeted participation in the program, and better program monitoring. Findings are discussed in terms of what we currently know about informal mentoring and implications for mentoring theory. Suggestions for mentoring practice are also discussed.     

国外社会心理学领域中主观幸福感的研究进展

社会心理学领域扩展与深化了现代主观幸福感的研究。本文介绍了国外社会心理学领域中有关主观幸福感研究的5个方面的新进展：适应与主观幸福感、记忆与主观幸福感、消极因素与主观幸福感、友好关系与主观幸福感、文化与主观幸福感,勾画出了幸福感的完整风貌,增进了心理学对主观幸福感的理解。     

I get so lonely,baby: The effects of loneliness and social isolation on romantic dependency

Individuals lacking fulfilling interpersonal interactions may experience feelings of loneliness. Consequently, these individuals may over-rely on their romantic partners to fulfill the need to belong. This study examined the effects of loneliness and social isolation on dependency on a romantic partner in a sample of college students (N = 104). Participants who were in a romantic relationship completed measures of loneliness, social isolation, and romantic dependency near the beginning of the semester (Time 1) and approximately 6 weeks later toward the end of the semester (Time 2). Toward the beginning of the semester, there were no significant predictors of dependency. Toward the end of the semester, individuals who reported higher social isolation reported higher levels of dependency. Time 1 dependency also predicted Time 2 dependency. Future methodological directions and suggestions regarding the examination of perceptions of loneliness and relationship expectations are discussed.     

Holding your flag: The effects of exposure to a regional symbol on people's behavior

Research has shown that exposure to the national flag alters people's behavior and political and intergroup judgments. In several field studies conducted in an area of France with a strong regional identity, we examined the effect of the presence of the regional flag versus the national flag versus no flag on behaviors. Various situations (e.g., money solicitation, implicit helping behavior, food tasting) were tested in Brittany, on the French west Atlantic coast. Car drivers, passersby in the street, and patrons in bakeries were exposed to no flag versus the French flag versus the Brittany flag held by requesters or presented on a product or on a car. Findings showed that the regional flag increased helping behavior dramatically. Other studies also revealed that the presence of the Brittany flag reduced aggressiveness and influenced preference for food products. The power of a flag as a symbol that could increase in‐group membership is discussed.