A new kind of friendship - An essay on Philip Pullman's The Subtle Knife

This paper discusses the second volume of Pullman's trilogy in which the quests of the two children to establish the nature of their link to parental objects intersect across time and space. They enter an imaginary world on their journey, and we observe their relationship develop into one of friendship and psychological interdependence. There is a shift from dominant persecutory anxieties towards depressive concern, alongside an increasing capacity to differentiate between hubris and courage, and to depend on the protection and love of surrogate parental figures. Cet article explore le deuxième tome de la trilogie de P. Pullman, dans lequel il décrit l'entrecroisement dans le temps et dans l'espace de la quête menée par chacun des deux enfants pour comprendre la nature de sa relation à ses objets parentaux. Au cours de leur voyage, ils entrent dans un monde imaginaire; nous voyons comment leur relation se mue en amitié et en dépendance psychologique réciproque. Les angoisses persécutrices, auparavant prédominantes, se transforment en souci dépressif pour l'autre; en méme temps, ayant acquis une capacité de plus en plus affinée à distinguer entre orgueil prétentieux et courage véritable, ils se montrent davantage aptes à s'en remettre à la protection et à l'amour de figures parentales de substitution. Questo articolo discute il secondo volume della trilogia di Pullman, nel quale la ricerca di due bambini per scoprire la natura del loro legame con le figure genitoriali si interseca nel tempo e nello spazio. Essi entrano in un mondo immaginario nel loro viaggio e noi osserviamo lo svilupparsi della loro relazione di amicizia e interdipendenza psicologica. Si vede uno spostamento dalle ansie persecutorie dominanti verso un tipo di preoccupazione depressiva, e allo stesso tempo una crescente capacita' di differenziare l'arroganza dal coraggio ed essere dipendenti dalla protezione e amore di figure parentali sostitutive. Dieser Artikel diskutiert den zweiten Band der Pullman Trilogie, in der die Suche der zwei Kinder, die Art ihrer Verbindung zu elterlichen Objekten zu etablieren, sich über Zeit und Raum erstreckt. Sie betreten auf ihrer Reise eine imaginäre Welt und wir beobachten, wie sich ihre Beziehung zu der einer Freundschaft und psychologischen gegenseitigen Abhängigkeit entwickelt. Es findet eine Veränderung von den dominierenden Verfolgungsängsten zu depressiven Sorgen statt, gleichzeitig mit einer wachsenden Fähigkeit, zwischen Anmassung und Mut zu unterscheiden und vom Schutz und der Liebe von Ersatzelternfiguren abzuhängen.     

It Takes a Village: The Effects of 10th Grade College-Going Expectations of Students, Parents, and Teachers Four Years Later

Adolescents are surrounded by people who have expectations about their college-going potential. Yet, few studies have examined the link between these multiple sources of college-going expectations and the actual status of students in postsecondary education years later. The study draws on data collected in the 2002–2006 Educational Longitudinal Study and employs an underutilized statistical technique (cross-classified multilevel modeling) to account for teacher reports on overlapping groups of students (typical of high school research). Results showed that positive expectations of students, parents, English, and mathematics teachers in the 10th grade each uniquely predicted postsecondary status 4 years later. As a group, the four sources of expectations explained greater variance in postsecondary education than student characteristics such as socioeconomic status and academic performance. This suggests positive expectations are additive and promotive for students regardless of their risk status. Teacher expectations were also found to be protective for low income students. Implications for future expectancy research and equity-focused interventions are discussed.     

The personality traits of liked people

There is surprisingly little understanding of how personality traits are associated with being generally liked by others after adolescence (Ozer & Benet-Martinez, 2006). We examined the relationship between self-reported personality traits and being generally liked in young adulthood in Greek organizations and freshman dormitories. We found a high level of consistency in which traits were associated with being liked. We examined the relationship between liked and socially desirable traits, using a recent theory on agency and communion (Wojciszke, Abele, & Baryla, 2009). Results help to create a personality profile of the person who is more liked by others, especially pointing to the importance of communal characteristics that are associated with behavior benefiting others.     

Children's perceptions of intergroup and intragroup similarity and the role of social experience

Perceptions of intragroup and intergroup similarity were assessed in 1st grade (M = 6.78 years, SD = .42) and 4th grade (M = 9.79, SD = .51) boys and girls (N = 382) who attended either ethnically homogeneous or ethnically heterogeneous schools. Children's evaluations of same-race and cross-race friendships were also assessed. European-American children attending homogeneous and heterogeneous schools attributed greater homogeneity to the same-race Black dyads. European-American children attending homogeneous schools, furthermore, focused on skin color in their evaluations of similarity and friendship to a greater extent than did European-American and minority (i.e., African-American, Latin-American, Asian-American) children attending heterogeneous schools. Children attending heterogeneous schools were more positive about friendship in general than children attending homogeneous schools, suggesting that social experiences in school settings are an important context of children's intergroup contact experience. The findings indicate that children's intergroup contact influences their perceptions of similarity and reasoning about cross-race friendship.     

Disconfirming Expectations: Incorrect Imprecise (vs. Precise) Estimates Increase Source Trustworthiness and Consumer Loyalty

Estimations that include numerical information are ubiquitous in our daily lives, for example, housing prices, calories, etc. In the present work, we investigate how the type of information used in an estimate, particularly its level of imprecision, influences evaluations of source trustworthiness after the target value of the estimate is revealed. Specifically, building upon prior work suggesting that (a) imprecise estimates are perceived to be less accurate than precise estimates and (b) performing below expectations results in negative source evaluations, we hypothesize that if the estimate is revealed to be incorrect, imprecise estimates (i.e., 400) elicit higher source trustworthiness than precise estimates (i.e., 417), even if the imprecise estimate is objectively more incorrect (i.e., target value: 570). In addition, we find that this effect also influences consumers’ loyalty toward the source of the estimate. Four studies and a single‐paper meta‐analysis offer triangulating evidence for this prediction and its underlying psychological mechanism. Overall, this work contributes to research on estimates, source evaluations, numerical information, and the influence of errors on consumer behavior.     

La perception parentale de la pratique du bilan psychologique de l’enfant et de l’adolescent

The psychological assessment is a widespread approach in child and adolescent psychology, but few studies have examined the experiences of the main stakeholders during this process. This study was conducted among 105 parents consulting for their child in a psychological counseling centre, and investigated by ad-hoc questionnaires the dimensions that can be involved at different moments of the assessment: expectations and perceptions, motivation for change, working alliance, and satisfaction with care. The results highlight the importance of parents’ initial representations and the quality of first contact with psychologists. This study enhances our understanding of procedural elements little studied and yet determinant for the engagement of parents in the psychological assessment and the intervention that would follow.     

Friendships with Peers Who are Low or High in Aggression as Moderators of the Link between Peer Victimization and Declines in Academic Functioning

This paper reports two prospective investigations of the role of friendship in the relation between peer victimization and grade point averages (GPA). Study 1 included 199 children (105 boys, 94 girls; mean age of 9.1 years) and Study 2 included 310 children (151 boys, 159 girls; mean age of 8.5 years). These children were followed for two school years. In both projects, we assessed aggression, victimization, and friendship with a peer nomination inventory, and we obtained children's GPAs from a review of school records. Peer victimization was associated with academic declines only when children had either a high number of friends who were above the classroom mean on aggression or a low number of friends who were below the classroom mean on aggression. These results highlight the importance of aggression levels among friends for the academic adjustment of victimized children.     

Expectations of Psychotherapy Duration by Disorder: A Comparison Between Professional and Young Adult Expectations

Using more precise methodology, the current study investigated expectations of psychotherapy duration for specific disorders. Duration expectations were obtained for young adults and compared to those obtained from psychotherapists as reported by Lowry and Ross (Psychotherapy: Theory, Research, Practice, Training 34:272–277, 1997). Results revealed that expected duration for young adults by disorder was quite similar to the psychotherapists, where less severe psychological disorders and problems were expected to require shorter treatment durations than moderate and severe disorders and problems. For disorders and problems with which young adults were familiar, their expectations were essentially the same as psychotherapists. A meaningful difference was found for suicidal ideation, with young adults expecting significantly longer treatment duration.     

Montserratian mothers’ and English teachers’ perceptions of teaching and learning

After the explosion of a previously dormant volcano in Montserrat (an island in the Caribbean, in the Leeward Islands of the West Indies, overseas territory of the UK) in 1996, about 3000 people emigrated to England. As the children settled into English schools, the pattern of underachievement observed with previous West Indian immigrants started to repeat itself. However, a new fact emerged: Montserratian parents were unhappy with the standards of mathematics and science in English schools, which they considered low. This paper reports a case study of how two Montserratian mothers and their four children perceived English schools. The parents, a Montserratian and an English teacher were interviewed about their views of teaching and learning. The parents were also videotaped while helping their children with homework; the English teacher watched one of these tapes and commented on the session.The interviews and videos were analysed by themes. The interpretation of the themes identified in the interviews was later checked against the events in the homework sessions. Different implicit conceptions of school emerged from the analysis: Montserratian schools appear to fit an ‘interdependent’ style of socialisation whereas English schools fit a more ‘independent’ style. These implicit conceptions of schooling resulted in misunderstandings between teachers and parents, who did not perceive each other as truly helping the children. Differences were also observed in implicit teaching and learning aims. These differences seem to explain the Montserratian parents’ perceptions of a low standard of work being asked of their children in English schools.It is suggested that teachers of immigrant children would find it useful to understand pupils’ and parents’ implicit conceptions of schools when they receive immigrants in their community. Their communication with parents might work better if it fits with the parental expectations and parents have time to learn the ways of schooling in the host country.     

Distorting the Rule of Seriousness: Laughter, Death, and Friendship in the Zhuangzi

The main purpose of this article is to underline the crucial significance of laughter, a hitherto neglected matter in the study of the Zhuangzi. It aims to show that focusing on laughter is beneficial in order to achieve a more comprehensive understanding of some of the most philosophically relevant problems in the Zhuangzi since a careful analysis of the role of laughter may reveal a great deal of debate concerning such issues as life, death, friendship, social relations, and ritual in this text. This article discusses then the positive role that laughter plays in the Zhuangzi in contexts traditionally governed by the rules of seriousness, formality, and circumspection, from both an anthropological and a philosophical perspective.