Between Symbol and Antisymbol - The Meaning of Trauma Reconsidered

Within psychoanalysis, it has usually been assumed that what makes an external event traumatic is the personal meaning of the event for that individual, i.e. how it resonates within his/her internal world and in relation to the infantile conflict. Such an assumption, which implies that a trauma operates as a symbol, is compared with the contrasting view that a trauma rather destroys the capacity of symbolization, and discussed in relation to the psyche-soma issue. It is finally maintained that psychic trauma forces upon the victim a vast and difficult transformation, in relation to which the body can be used as an antisymbolic device to resist mental change.     

Metalinguistic development in French learners enrolled in an immersion programme: A longitudinal study

Research on bilingualism has shown a bilingual advantage in phonological and syntactic awareness, and more recently on some morphological awareness tasks in children who had acquired two languages simultaneously. However, there is still limited knowledge about this advantage in students who acquire a second language in school after having developed a first language. The present longitudinal study addressed this issue by comparing, over the first two years of primary school, the development of metalinguistic abilities in 33 French learners enrolled in an immersion French–German programme to that of 43 French monolingual peers. Results support the bilingual advantage and add to the growing body of research reaching the same conclusion. In this study, this advantage appears as early as in first grade and the gap favouring second language learners widens with time. The results are discussed in light of differences between the characteristics of the two languages.     

Effects of scheduling perceptions on attitudes and mobility in different part-time employee types

Recent research supports the existence of a typology of part-time employees with demographic and behavioral differences. This research suggests that part-timers should not be viewed as one homogenous group and that certain part-time employee groups have fixed external role attachments, while others have more flexible attachments. Applying the part-time typology and the classification of fixed versus flexible attachments from previous research, the current study examines differences in the relationships among scheduling perceptions, job attitudes, and employment mobility for part-timers. Consistent with Partial Inclusion Theory, we found that part-time workers classified as having more fixed outside role attachments have lower organizational commitment, job satisfaction, employment mobility, work status congruence, scheduling control, and scheduling satisfaction than those classified as having more flexible outside role attachments. Additionally, the flexibility of external role attachments moderates the relationship between scheduling variables and job attitudes and employment mobility. Implications for management and research are discussed.     

An investigation of the partial-assignment completion effect on students' assignment choice behavior

This study was designed to investigate the partial assignment completion effect. Seventh-grade students were given a math assignment. After working for 5 min, they were interrupted and their partially completed assignments were collected. About 20 min later, students were given their partially completed assignment and a new, control assignment that contained the same number of equivalent problems that were incomplete on their partially completed assignment. Students were told that they would have to complete an assignment but could choose which assignment they completed. Significantly more students chose their partially completed assignment. Theoretical and applied implications and directions for future research are discussed.     

Testing the Physical Activity Self-Definition Model among low-active adults participating in a physical activity intervention

Seeing oneself as a physically active person is one of the strongest predictors of physical activity behaviour and self-regulatory strategies. Determining whether and how physical activity self-perceptions can be stimulated may help low-active individuals who do not see themselves as a physically active person become more active. Cross-sectional research has tested the Physical Activity Self-Definition (PASD) model among active samples; longitudinal studies among low-active adults have yet to be done. The purpose of this study was to test the predictive power of the PASD model among low-active adults over a 16-week physical activity intervention. Participants completed surveys of validated questionnaires in-person at baseline (pre-intervention) and at 16-weeks (end of intervention) at one of two primary care facilities. The final sample included 119 low-active adults. Partial least squares-structural equation modeling indicated that the original model had small-medium predictive power (Q² = 0.22; SRMR = 0.13 [0.05, 0.07]; RMSE = 1.13; MAE = 0.9; BIC = 1348.40). Two paths were added in the revised model (perceived wanting—PASD; perceived ability—perceived commitment), which explained an additional 4% and 5% of the variance in perceived commitment (R² = 0.62 [0.48, 0.72]) and PASD (R² = 0.74 [0.64, 0.80]; all p’s < 0.001), respectively. The revised model had medium predictive power (Q² = 0.25; SRMR = 0.11 [0.05, 0.06]; RMSE = 1.1; MAE = 0.87; BIC = 1332.84) All path coefficients remained positive and significant at p ≤ .001. Among low-active adults, perceived wanting and perceived ability may be more salient when engaging in physical activity and regarding themselves as a physically active person. Findings may support practitioners and health care professionals in designing physical activity interventions to foster PASD among low-active adult populations.     

Varieties of graded forgetting

Forgetting is typically viewed as counterproductive in everyday life. However, it may mainly be harmful when it is complete, that is, all-encompassing and permanent, and not when it is graded, that is, partial and fluctuating. I propose that forgetting is in fact mostly graded, and that this is an essential reason that it is often helpful. I delineate three ways in which forgetting may be graded. First, it may occur with respect to one, but not another, part of a memory. Second, it may occur in one context, but not in another. Third, forgetting may be present at one point in time, but not at another. Also, I propose that different levels of forgetting are possible, based on whether an engram or a context is unavailable, silent, restricted, latent, or potent. Overall, I hypothesize that forgetting is often helpful because it can be flexible and tailored to the circumstances.