Do early birds share their worms? How prosocial behaviour and empathy vary across the day

Social behaviours have been proposed to follow circadian patterns across the course of the day, but empirical support is mixed. As a within-subject test of circadian effects on everyday behaviour, we conduct an experience-sampling study with a near-representative population of 285 Americans (7405 observations). Prosocial behaviour and empathy were both somewhat more frequent in the morning (d = 0.08). However, these non-linear patterns only described morning-type participants; evening-types had consistent (and lower) rates of prosocial behaviour and empathy across time-of-day. These patterns were explained by morning-types reporting more social opportunities earlier in the day. These findings suggest that small, within-subject diurnal effects on social behaviour occur in daily life, and that some circadian effects may be driven by situation selection.     

The Role of Executive Function and Theory of Mind in Pragmatic Computations

In sentences such as “Some dogs are mammals,” the literal semantic meaning (“Some and possibly all dogs are mammals”) conflicts with the pragmatic meaning (“Not all dogs are mammals,” known as a scalar implicature). Prior work has shown that adults vary widely in the extent to which they adopt the semantic or pragmatic meaning of such utterances, yet the underlying reason for this variation is unknown. Drawing on theoretical models of scalar implicature derivation, we explore the hypothesis that the cognitive abilities of executive function (EF) and theory of mind (ToM) contribute to this observed variation. In Experiment 1, we show that individuals with better ToM are more likely to compute a scalar implicature and adopt the pragmatic meaning of an utterance; however, EF makes no unique contribution to scalar implicature comprehension after accounting for ToM. In Experiment 2, we replicate this finding and assess whether it generalizes to the comprehension of other pragmatic phenomena such as indirect requests (e.g., “It's hot in here” uttered to ask for something to be done) and metaphor (e.g., “to harvest courage”). This is the first evidence that differences in ToM are associated with pragmatic competence in neurotypical adults across distinct pragmatic phenomena.     

Individual Differences in Categorization Gradience As Predicted by Online Processing of Phonetic Cues During Spoken Word Recognition: Evidence From Eye Movements

Recent studies have documented substantial variability among typical listeners in how gradiently they categorize speech sounds, and this variability in categorization gradience may link to how listeners weight different cues in the incoming signal. The present study tested the relationship between categorization gradience and cue weighting across two sets of English contrasts, each varying orthogonally in two acoustic dimensions. Participants performed a four-alternative forced-choice identification task in a visual world paradigm while their eye movements were monitored. We found that (a) greater categorization gradience derived from behavioral identification responses corresponds to larger secondary cue weights derived from eye movements; (b) the relationship between categorization gradience and secondary cue weighting is observed across cues and contrasts, suggesting that categorization gradience may be a consistent within-individual property in speech perception; and (c) listeners who showed greater categorization gradience tend to adopt a buffered processing strategy, especially when cues arrive asynchronously in time.     

Passion,grit and mindset: Exploring gender differences

The main aim of the study was to explore the gender differences in passion, grit and mindset in a large sample. The sample consisted of 917 participants in the age range 14–77. The eight item Passion Scale was used to assess passion, and the Grit-S scale was used to assess grit. Mindset was measured with the Theories of Intelligence Scale (TIS). The scale has 8-items. The results show significant difference between female and male in the passion factor only, in favor of males. The difference was significant in 6 of 8 questions. In addition, we computed a score, PGM total score, from the averages of z-scores for the three factors, passion score total, grit score total and growth mindset score total. Here it was a significant difference between the genders in favor of the males. The results are discussed in relation to more active dopamine system in males.     

Computer‐based training to teach observers to accurately score problem behavior using fast forwarding at 5x normal speed

The current study evaluated whether a computer‐based training program could improve observers' accuracy in scoring discrete instances of problem behavior at 5x normal speed using a multiple‐baseline design across subjects. During pretraining and posttraining, observers attempted to score multiple examples of problem behavior at 5.0x without feedback. During training, participants scored multiple examples of problem behavior at 5.0x with automated feedback. Researchers measured omission (missing problem behavior) and commission (scoring other behavior as problem behavior) errors and the total duration of scoring time to determine the observers' accuracy and efficiency, respectively. After training, all participants scored instances of problem behavior with less than 11% error using 5.0x. The time required to score the videos across 90‐min observations was reduced by 66%. Results extend previous evaluations of fast forwarding by demonstrating that the training program could be used to teach observers to accurately score problem behavior using a speed faster than 3.5x.     

Reflections on the role of the analytic setting in the light of COVID-19

There have been many reflections, both individual and collective within our Institutes, on the effects on our work with patients caused by COVID-19 and the requirement to move suddenly from the setting of our own consulting rooms to working with patients online (see also, the previous issue of this Journal). This paper focuses on what we have learned from these experiences that can add to our knowledge about the role of the setting in analytic work. Drawing on Bleger’s (1967) seminal paper highlighting the usual setting as a mute projection carrier for primitive wishes and affects, the paper explores how different patients have reacted to the loss of the analyst as the guardian of the setting and in particular as an embodied presence. Some key questions and challenges for both patients and analysts during the pandemic, when ‘the setting begins to weep’, are explored.     

Influence of perinatal complications on the development of a sample of 36-month-old premature infants

ObjectiveThe lack of clear results in previous studies for this context makes us consider an exploratory study. The objective of this research is to examine the influence of certain perinatal factors on the development of premature infants over their first 36 months of life.MethodThe sample consisted of 59 preterm infants born between 25 and 34 weeks of gestational age in an NICU of a third-level hospital. At 36 months of age, the Bayley-III Infant Development Scale (Spanish adaptation) and a clinical history were collected.ResultsThe average scores on the Bayley-III Infant Development Scale were generally within the normal range, but significantly lower than normal for Fine Motor Function, Gross Motor Function, and Expressive Language. These differences remained when considering the degree of prematurity, gender, and perinatal complications. Infants who received mechanical ventilation, oxygen therapy or corticosteroid treatment due to bronchopulmonary dysplasia showed the greatest discrepancies from normal levels.ConclusionOur results support prior studies that show that a combination of perinatal risk factors constitutes the largest determinant for developmental issues at 36 months of age. This information establishes the need for a priority follow-up in this population beyond 24 months of corrected age.     

Primary caregiver emotional expressiveness relates to toddler emotion understanding

The present study examined the impact of emotional expressiveness in toddlers’ environments on their emotion understanding. Primary caregivers of 35 toddlers completed two surveys regarding the family’s emotional expressiveness and the primary caregiver’s expressivity. Toddlers participated in the Affective Knowledge Test to measure emotion understanding. Toddler emotion understanding related to primary caregiver expressivity, but not family expressiveness. Further, toddler emotion understanding related to primary caregiver Impulse Strength, but not Negative or Positive Emotionality. This suggests that primary caregivers with more impulsive emotional response tendencies may help their children to identify associations between emotional events and reactions.     

2004至2016年中国大学生身体自尊的变迁:一项横断历史研究

大学生身体自尊是如何随年代变化的呢？研究对2004年至2016年107篇使用身体自尊量表的研究进行了横断历史研究,涉及大学生30738名。结果显示：（1）我国大学生身体自我价值感、运动能力和身体素质与年代有着显著正相关关系;（2）男女大学生身体自尊水平都有了一定提升;（3）男生在身体自尊各个因子的得分高于女生0.2~0.3个标准差,显示出了大学生在身体自尊水平上的性别差异;（4）从大学生整个群体来看,经济因素、高等教育因素与大学生身体自尊具有显著相关,而从不同性别群体来看,经济因素与人口压力对于男大学生的身体自尊影响更为明显。