Strategic differentiation–integration effort amongst the 47 prefectures of Japan

The strategic differentiation–integration effort (SD–IE) hypothesis holds that high-K (slow life history) individuals and populations are specialists with respect to domains of behavior and personality, and that the converse is true for low-K populations. Here, we examine SD–IE at the national level, amongst the 47 prefectures of Japan. Aggregate data on height, IQ, divorce, homicide rates, skin reflectance, fertility rates, income and infant mortality were used as life history indicators. Principal Axis Factor analysis revealed the presence of a K super-factor on which the first five of these loaded preferentially. A second factor loaded highly on income and fertility and a third on infant mortality. As Japan is among the highest-K countries, the extraction of three factors indicates strong underlying SD–IE. Amongst the five K super-factor variables, SD–IE confirmatory effects were recovered on all variables except IQ. The effect magnitudes were positively mediated by the K super-factor saturation of the indicators. We conclude that SD–IE appears to be highly general across different populations and measures of life-history traits. Finally, we discuss how the second and third factors appear to conform to recent social phenomena specific to the Japanese culture, namely increasing behavioral asexuality and high-quality universal health coverage.     

学前和小学低段不同识字量儿童的认知能力比较

以193名学前儿童和291名一到三年级小学生为研究对象, 比较了不同年级、不同识字量儿童在语音意识、语素意识、快速命名、视觉技能和正字法意识方面的差异。结果显示, 不同年级、不同识字量儿童分别在语音意识和语素意识的不同层面存在差异, 学前主要表现在音节删除和语素建构任务中, 小学阶段表现在韵母识别、音位删除以及语素判断和语素产生方面;快速命名能力是区分各阶段儿童汉字识别能力的有效指标, 学前儿童的视觉能力与识字量密切相关, 而小学儿童的正字法意识与识字量密切相关。     

Mosques,Churches, and Civic Skill Opportunities in Indonesia

This article examines the role of houses of worship as institutions where individuals acquire civic skills that can be deployed for political participation in the world's largest Muslim‐majority democracy: Indonesia. Drawing on participant observation and interviews in Muslim, Protestant, and Catholic religious communities in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, this article investigates three questions: (1) What opportunities exist for individuals worshipping in Indonesian churches and mosques to develop and practice civic skills as part of their religious engagement? (2) Does civic skill opportunity vary across religious denominations? and (3) What factors might explain variation across different religious settings? The study shows that mosques offer fewer prospects for their worshippers to develop civic skills than do churches. These denominational differences can be explained by a house of worship's management practices, which are shaped by its degree of autonomy, style of worship, and the relative size of the religious denomination.     

Examining the effects of group‐based instruction on emergent second‐language skills in young children

The present study evaluated the emergence of second‐language intraverbals in typically developing young children following a small‐group teaching intervention. Choral responding was employed with a group of 6 primary school children (5‐6 years old) to teach first‐language tacts (e.g., “What is this in English?” [“Hospital”]) and related second‐language tacts (e.g., “What is this in Welsh?” [“Ysbyty”]). A multiple‐probe design across stimulus sets was used to evaluate subsequent emergence of untrained first‐to‐second‐language derived intraverbals (e.g., “What is hospital in Welsh?” [“Ysbyty”]) and untrained second‐to‐first‐language intraverbals (e.g.,”What is ysbyty in English?” [“Hospital”]). Data indicated that the choral responding intervention produced robust increases in derived intraverbal relations for 3 of the 6 participants.     

Assessing preferences of individuals with developmental disabilities using alternative stimulus modalities: A systematic review

The purpose of this systematic review was to identify investigations comparing the efficacy of alternative modality (e.g., pictorial, verbal, video) stimulus preference assessments for individuals with developmental disabilities. We identified articles by searching peer‐reviewed journals using the PsycINFO and ERIC databases, conducting table of contents searches of common behavioral outlets, and conducting ancestral searches of recent reviews and practitioner summaries of preference assessment methodology. A total of 32 articles met our inclusion criteria. These studies were then coded across a variety of features to gain a better understanding of the efficacy of alternative format preference assessments for individuals with developmental disabilities. In addition, we reviewed this literature for the use of prerequisite‐skill assessments and contingent‐reinforcer access to further investigate the relation between these variables and the accuracy of pictorial, verbal, and video preference assessments. A variety of methodological concerns are discussed as well as suggestions for future research.     

Subjective well-being,social interpretation,and relationship thriving

Social interactions are open to a range of interpretations. We examine the associations among subjective well-being, social interpretations, and social thriving. In Study 1 (N = 276) positive affect (PA) was associated with positive interpretations of neutral faces. In Studies 2 and 3 (Ns = 295, 298) PA and life satisfaction were associated with positive interpretations of ambiguous and positive, but not negative, social interaction vignettes. In Study 4 (N = 501) there were indirect relationships of PA and life satisfaction on social thriving through interpretations. Subjective well-being’s association with social interpretations provides a critical base of support for conclusions from previous methodologically limited mood and social interpretation studies. This work also provides initial evidence for a role of social interpretation tendencies in social thriving.     

Age-related changes in materialism in adults – A self-uncertainty perspective

Materialism is the focus of much research due to its negative consequences for individuals and societies. While recent research indicates that the strength of materialistic value orientations changes with age during adulthood, little is known about the processes that cause these age-related changes. We propose that changes in materialism, as people grow older, are rooted in changes in self-uncertainty. We find evidence for this idea in two studies and across different measures of self-uncertainty. In addition, we show that the changes in materialism cannot be explained by (age-related) differences in socio-demographic variables. Finally, our results indicate that changes in self-uncertainty provide a better account for changes in materialism than age-related changes in self-esteem.     

No personality change following unemployment: A registered replication of Boyce,Wood, Daly,and Sedikides (2015)

The involuntary loss of paid employment represents an adverse life event that has been suggested to lead to personality change. However, previous research has reported highly contradictory findings. Therefore, a replication of Boyce et al. (2015) is presented. These authors originally identified nonlinear changes in openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. Using data from the German National Education Panel Study (N = 5005), we examined the impact of unemployment on personality change across three years. Latent change analyses indicated no effect of job loss on any Big Five trait. Moderating effects of unemployment duration or gender were not found. Even analyses accounting for potential selection effects led to comparable results. Thus, personality seemed invariant despite changes in employment status.     

Does self-acceptance captured by life narratives and self-report predict mental health? A longitudinal multi-method approach

We aimed to investigate the validity of different self-acceptance measures to predict mental health. Self-acceptance and negative life events, assessed via self-report and rated from life narratives (N = 149), served as predictors of mental health at baseline (T1) and four years later (T2). Path models showed distinguishable, complementary effects of self-reports and other-ratings. A moderate congruence of self- and other-ratings of self-acceptance was observed. Exploratory analyses revealed an association of self-acceptance with emotional words in life narratives. Controlling for negative life events, a positive link and a moderating effect of self-acceptance on mental health at T1, but no prediction of mental health at T2, were found. The study connects research on personality and narratives from a methodological and health psychological perspective.