Visual attention control differences in 12-month-old preterm infants

There have been few previous attempts to assess the development of early markers of executive function in infants born preterm despite well-established deficits reported for older preterm children that have been closely linked to poorer academic functioning. The present study investigates early attention control development in healthy 12-month-old age-corrected pre-term infants who were born less than 30 weeks and compares their performance to full-term infants. Eye-tracking methodology was used to measure attention control. Preterm Infants spent less time focused on the target and were slower to fixate attention, with lower gestational age associated with poorer target fixation and slower processing speed. There were no significant group differences observed for inhibition of return or interference control. These findings suggest that specific emerging deficits in attention control may be observed using eye tracking methodology in very preterm infants at this early stage of development, despite scores within the average range on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development.     

On the malleability of the meaning of contexts: the influence of another person’s emotion expressions on situation perception

Research on the relationship between context and facial expressions generally assumes a unidirectional effect of context on expressions. However, according to the model of the meaning of emotion expressions in context (MEEC) the effect should be bidirectional. The present research tested the effect of emotion expression on the interpretation of scenes. A total of 380 participants either (a) rated facial expressions with regard to the likely appraisal of the eliciting situation by the emoter, (b) appraised the scenes alone or (c) appraised scenes shown together with the expressions they supposedly elicited. The findings strongly supported the MEEC. When a scene was combined with an expression signalling a situation that is undesirable, or high in locus of control or sudden, the participants appraised the scene correspondingly. Thus, the meaning of scenes is malleable and affected by the way that people are seen to react to them.     

Validity evidence of Emotional Quotient Inventory: Youth Version (Short) in a sample of Mexican adolescents / Evidencias de validez del Emotional Quotient Inventory: Youth Version (Short) en una muestra de adolescentes mexicanos

The aim of this study was to obtain evidence on the validity of the Emotional Quotient Inventory Youth Version-Short Form (EQ-i:YV-S) with a sample of Mexican adolescent participants. The sample comprised 375 adolescents, 183 males (48.8%), from years seven to 12 (M_age = 14.80, SD = 1.72). Different tests were carried out to provide evidence of the questionnaire’s validity: (1) reliability and internal consistency analyses; (2) exploratory and confirmatory analyses; and (3) correlational and predictive validity analyses through structural equation modelling. The four EQ-i:YV-S subscales (interpersonal, intrapersonal, stress management and adaptability) provided acceptable indexes of reliability. Exploratory factor analysis supported the multidimensionality of the questionnaire. The results of the confirmatory factor analysis showed that the hierarchical model that hypothesized four first-order factors and one second-order factor (social-emotional intelligence) had the best fit for the data. Finally, the positive correlations found between the four specific EQ-i:YV-S subscales, general self-concept and satisfaction with life, supported the convergent validity of the questionnaire; in addition, the questionnaire’s capacity to predict satisfaction with life corroborated its predictive validity. It can therefore be affirmed that the EQ-i:YV-S is a brief questionnaire that is suitable for measuring the emotional intelligence of Mexican adolescents.