Father Involvement and Young,Rural African American Men’s Engagement in Substance Misuse and Multiple Sexual Partnerships

This study was designed to examine the associations of biological father and social father involvement during childhood with African American young men’s development and engagement in risk behaviors. With a sample of 505 young men living in the rural South of the United States, a dual mediation model was tested in which retrospective reports of involvement from biological fathers and social fathers were linked to young men’s substance misuse and multiple sexual partnerships through men’s relational schemas and future expectations. Results from structural equation modeling indicated that levels of involvement from biological fathers and social fathers predicted young men’s relational schemas; only biological fathers’ involvement predicted future expectations. In turn, future expectations predicted levels of substance misuse, and negative relational schemas predicted multiple sexual partnerships. Biological fathers’ involvement evinced significant indirect associations with young men’s substance misuse and multiple sexual partnerships through both schemas and expectations; social fathers’ involvement exhibited an indirect association with multiple sexual partnerships through relational schemas. Findings highlight the unique influences of biological fathers and social fathers on multiple domains of African American young men’s psychosocial development that subsequently render young men more or less likely to engage in risk behaviors.     

Multiple facets of women’s relational orientation and their role in the relationship formation process

Over three decades of theory and research has sought to highlight the notion of relational orientation as central to women’s well-being. While researchers have extensively examined the negative outcomes of women’s relational orientation, relations with positive outcomes has gone little explored and largely assumed as present. The purpose of the current study is to examine social competence and satisfaction associated with women’s relational orientation. Previously unacquainted female participants (N = 160) completed measures of relational orientation, a dyadic interaction task, and were then asked to evaluate the quality of the interaction. Results supported a mitigation (versus trade-off) model in which facets of women’s relational orientation are differentially related to relationship competence and satisfaction. Structural equation modelling was used to examine overall fit along with specific actor and partner effects. Specific results are interpreted within the mitigation model of relational orientation, contributing to our understanding of women’s well-being.     

Hypnosis and belief: A review of hypnotic delusions

Hypnosis can create temporary, but highly compelling alterations in belief. As such, it can be used to model many aspects of clinical delusions in the laboratory. This approach allows researchers to recreate features of delusions on demand and examine underlying processes with a high level of experimental control. This paper reviews studies that have used hypnosis to model delusions in this way. First, the paper reviews studies that have focused on reproducing the surface features of delusions, such as their high levels of subjective conviction and strong resistance to counter-evidence. Second, the paper reviews studies that have focused on modelling underlying processes of delusions, including anomalous experiences or cognitive deficits that underpin specific delusional beliefs. Finally, the paper evaluates this body of research as a whole. The paper discusses advantages and limitations of using hypnotic models to study delusions and suggests some directions for future research.     

Complexity of categorical syllogisms: An integration of two metrics

The complexity of categorical syllogisms was assessed using the relational complexity metric, which is based on the number of entities that are related in a single cognitive representation. This was compared with number of mental models in an experiment in which adult participants solved all 64 syllogisms. Both metrics accounted for similarly large proportions of the variance, showing that complexity depends on the number of categories that are related in a representation of the combined premises, whether represented in multiple mental models, or by a single model. This obviates the difficulty with mental models theory due to equivocal evidence for construction of more than one mental model. The “no valid conclusion” response was used for complex syllogisms that had valid conclusions. The results are interpreted as showing that the relational complexity metric can be applied to syllogistic reasoning, and can be integrated with mental models theory, which together account for a wide range of cognitive performances.     

Getting one step closer to deduction: Introducing an alternative paradigm for transitive inference

Transitive inference is claimed to be “deductive”. Yet every group/species ever reported apparently uses it. We asked 58 adults to solve five-term transitive tasks, requiring neither training nor premise learning. A computer-based procedure ensured all premises were continually visible. Response accuracy and RT (non-discriminative nRT) were measured as is typically done. We also measured RT confined to correct responses (cRT). Overall, very few typical transitive phenomena emerged. The symbolic distance effect never extended to premise recall and was not at all evident for nRT; suggesting the use of non-deductive end-anchor strategies. For overall performance, and particularly the critical B?D inference, our findings indicate that deductive transitive inference is far more intellectually challenging than previously thought. Contrasts of our present findings against previous findings suggest at least two distinct transitive inference modes, with most research and most computational models to date targeting an associative mode rather than their desired deductive mode. This conclusion fits well with the growing number of theories embracing a “dual process” conception of reasoning. Finally, our differing findings for nRT versus cRT suggest that researchers should give closer consideration to matching the RT measure they use to the particular conception of transitive inference they pre-held.     

Not all risk taking behavior is bad: Associative sensitivity predicts learning during risk taking among high sensation seekers

Risk taking behavior can be both adaptive and maladaptive depending on context. The majority of studies on risk taking, however, focus on clinical populations and dangerous or harmful risk taking. Individual differences in learning during risk taking are rarely examined in relation to task performance. The present study examined risk taking and associated outcomes in an exploration-based instrumental learning task (Balloon Emotional Learning Task; BELT), which presented a series of balloons in which participants pump up for points. Consistent with prior work, sensation seeking predicted increased risk taking behavior. Importantly, however, a significant interaction between sensation seeking and associative sensitivity, an attentional construct defined as the frequency and remoteness of automatic cognitive activity, was found. Specifically, among individuals high in sensation seeking, associative sensitivity predicted fewer balloon explosions and an increase in points earned on the balloon condition with the most potential for feedback driven learning. Thus, these findings suggest that sensation seekers are a heterogeneous group, and secondary traits such as associative sensitivity moderate risk taking and learning according to context.     

Parental psychological control dimensions: Connections with Russian preschoolers’ physical and relational aggression

Parental psychological control generally consists of overinvolved/protective and critical/rejecting elements, both being linked to children's psychosocial maladjustment. The critical/rejecting element is multidimensional in nature, and few studies have explored this conceptual fullness. It is possible that some dimensions, if they can be statistically differentiated, are uniquely tied to various child behaviors. This may help resolve some of the inconsistency apparent across studies, such as studies of relational aggression. Accordingly, we examined the association between parental psychological control and childhood physical and relational aggression using a dimensional approach. Participants were 204 Russian preschoolers and their parents. The results revealed that dimensions of psychosocial control (i.e., shaming/disappointment, constraining verbal expressions, invalidating feelings, love withdrawal, and guilt induction) could be statistically differentiated, even though most dimensions tended to be significantly correlated. Furthermore, all dimensions, except for invalidating feelings, were significantly associated with childhood aggression, but predominantly in same-gender parent–child dyads.     

Does instrumental motivation help students with low intrinsic motivation? Comparison between Western and Confucian students

The research examines possible differences in the mutual reinforcement (i.e. multiplicative) effect between intrinsic and instrumental motivation on academic performance across different cultures. Eight representative countries and economies from two large-scale databases—the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2011 and the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2012—were used, respectively. Results showed that among the Confucian economies, instrumental motivation was more helpful in improving the mathematics performance of students with low intrinsic motivation than for those with high intrinsic motivation. This was shown by the multiplicative effect between intrinsic and instrumental motivation. Despite the difference, students in both Confucian and Western cultures with high intrinsic motivation had better mathematics performance than students with low intrinsic motivation.