The role of empathy and social anxiety in Latinx adolescents' indirect peer aggression during the transition to high school

The primary purpose of this study was to evaluate the relationship between decreased empathy (i.e., cognitive and affective) and indirect and cyber peer aggression among Latinx adolescents during their transition to high school. Further, we examined the degree to which social anxiety moderated this relationship. Participants were 469 Latinx ninth graders, ages 13–17 years (M = 14.52, SD = 0.58; 58% girls). Adolescents completed the Revised Peer Experiences Questionnaire, Cyber Peer Experiences Questionnaire, Basic Empathy Scale, and Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents at two different time points, 3 months apart. Hierarchical linear regression analyses revealed concurrent and prospective relationships between lower cognitive empathy and the perpetration of both indirect and cyber aggression. In addition, social anxiety moderated the concurrent associations between both types of empathy and both types of aggression perpetration. Results suggest that interventions that facilitate cognitive empathy and decrease social anxiety may help to reduce adolescents' indirect and cyber aggression toward peers throughout the high school transition.     

Human social defeat and approach–avoidance: Escalating social-evaluative threat and threat of aggression increases social avoidance

Basic research on avoidance by Murray Sidman laid the foundation for advances in the classification, conceptualization and treatment of avoidance in psychological disorders. Contemporary avoidance research is explicitly translational and increasingly focused on how competing appetitive and aversive contingencies influence avoidance. In this laboratory investigation, we examined the effects of escalating social-evaluative threat and threat of social aggression on avoidance of social interactions. During social-defeat learning, 38 adults learned to associate 9 virtual peers with an increasing probability of receiving negative evaluations. Additionally, 1 virtual peer was associated with positive evaluations. Next, in an approach–avoidance task with social-evaluative threat, 1 peer associated with negative evaluations was presented alongside the peer associated with positive evaluations. Approaching peers produced a positive or a probabilistic negative evaluation, while avoiding peers prevented a negative evaluation (and forfeited a positive evaluation). In an approach–avoidance task with social aggression, virtual peers gave and took money away from participants. Escalating social-evaluative threat and aggression increased avoidance, ratings of feeling threatened and threat expectancy and decreased ratings of peer favorableness. These findings underscore the potential of coupling social defeat and approach–avoidance paradigms for translational research on the neurobehavioral mechanisms of social approach–avoidance decision-making and anxiety.     

Teachers’ Perceptions of Students’ Creativity in China’s Classrooms: The Role of Students’ Academic Achievement and Misbehaviors

Teachers can be biased, especially toward low achievers and students with behavioral issues. However, creative students often appear to be disruptive in the classroom, and many of them struggle academically. The purpose of the present study was to examine the extent to which teachers’ perceptions of students’ creativity is associated with students’ academic achievement and classroom (mis)behaviors, as well as to examine the interaction between these two factors. Three hundred and fifty‐four eighth‐grade students selected from five middle schools in China participated in this study. Using achievement scores, peer nominations, a divergent thinking test, a self‐rated ideational behavior scale, and teacher ratings, the present study found that, whereas creativity has no significant relationship with teachers’ perceptions, academic achievements and misbehavior are significantly associated within structors’ perceptions. The achievement bias resulted in the underestimation of low achievers’ creativity, even when the low achievers were highly creative. More nuances emerged when student misbehaviors were considered. Specifically, misbehaving low achievers’ originality was further underestimated even when they were highly original. In contrast, teachers overestimated well‐behaved high achievers’ creativity, even when the students comprised the lowest creativity group. The results are further discussed from a socio‐cultural perspective.     

父母协同教养与学前儿童社会行为的关系:亲子关系和同胞关系的链式中介作用

以河南省某市四所幼儿园大、中、小班共196名学前儿童及其父母和教师为研究对象,基于家庭系统理论,采用父、母填写的父母感知协同教养量表和亲子关系量表、母亲填写的儿童早期同胞关系质量问卷和幼儿教师报告的儿童行为量表探讨亲子关系、同胞关系在父母感知协同教养与学前儿童社会行为之间的中介作用。结果发现：（1）母子冲突和母子亲密分别在母亲感知协同教养与同胞冲突和同胞温暖间起部分中介作用;父子冲突和父子亲密分别在父亲感知协同教养与同胞冲突和同胞温暖间起完全中介作用;（2）父/母子冲突和同胞冲突在母亲感知协同教养和儿童攻击行为间起链式中介作用;父子冲突和同胞冲突在父亲感知协同教养和儿童攻击行为间起链式中介作用。     

The mediation effect of emotion dysregulation in the relationship between anger and aggression on the road in a sample of Spanish drivers

Aggressive behaviour on the road is one of the most studied topics in human factors, given it has been related to both risky behaviour and traffic crashes. While previous research has proposed trait driving anger as one of the better predictors, mediation variables which could explain this relationship have not deserved attention. The current research aimed to explore the mediation effect of emotion regulation in this relationship. The sample consisted of 472 Spanish drivers, who completed a set of self-reports regarding trait driving anger, frequency of aggressive behaviours at the wheel, and difficulties in emotion regulation. The results showed significant relationship among the variables in almost all the cases. Furthermore, a SEM analysis showed that difficulties in emotion regulation significantly mediated the relationship between trait driving anger and each way of the aggressive behaviours (verbal, physical, using own vehicle, and displaced). These results have important implications in the design of strategies focused on the improvement of emotion regulation to reduce aggressive behaviours in drivers. Finally, the limitations of the study are commented.     

A person-centred approach to understanding dark-side antecedents and students’ outcomes associated with physical education teachers’ motivation

The present study firstly establishes physical education (PE) teachers’ motivational profiles based on their autonomous motivation, controlled motivation and amotivation and, secondly, investigates how different PE teachers’ motivational profiles differ in terms of certain maladaptive antecedents (i.e. psychological need frustration, pressures perceived at work and burnout). It also addresses the differences in their students’ perception of autonomy support, psychological need satisfaction and autonomous motivation. A total of 105 PE teachers and their 2164 students completed validated questionnaires. Four profiles were retained in the cluster analysis. Results showed that teachers who were high on autonomous motivation displayed the most optimal pattern of outcomes, whereas teachers who were high on amotivation showed the opposite pattern. Analysis of the established profiles suggested that the experience of controlled motivation was linked with maladaptive outcomes among both teachers and students. Implications for educational policy and practice are discussed.     

乡村教师付出–回报失衡对离职意向的影响:有调节的中介模型

为探讨乡村教师付出–回报失衡和职业幸福感对离职意向的影响,选取四川省乡村教师358名,用付出–回报失衡量表、职业幸福感量表和离职意向问卷进行调查。结果表明:(1)控制月收入、年龄和教龄影响后,乡村教师付出–回报比显著提升离职意向;(2)乡村教师职业幸福感在付出–回报比对离职意向的影响中起部分中介作用;(3)乡村教师过度投入调节付出–回报比对职业幸福感的影响。与低过度投入组相比,高过度投入组的付出–回报比对职业幸福感有更强的负向作用。研究结果揭示了乡村教师付出–回报失衡对离职意向影响及作用机制。     

Effects of fluprazine (DU 27716) upon aggressive and sexual behavior of testosterone-treated female rats

Female rats, chronically treated with Testosterone Propionate (TP), were injected with Fluprazine (DU 27716) or saline and tested for social aggression, masculine and feminine sexual behavior. Fluprazine-treated females were less aggressive than saline-treated females, as indicated by a shift from offensive to less offensive parameters of aggression. At the same time, mounting in Fluprazine-treated females was almost totally abolished, both in aggression tests and in tests for sexual behavior. Feminine sexual responses increased during aggressive encounters but were slightly inhibited when females were confronted with sexually active males. Females treated with Fluprazine and tested for mounting with a receptive female showed a substantial increase of offensive aggression directed at the receptive stimulus female. It is concluded that Fluprazine does not selectively inhibit offensive aggression in TP-treated female rats.     

Fighting in female mice in lines selected for laterality

Male and female mice from the Collins HI and LO laterality strains were isolated for 3–5 days. Thereafter on Day 1 each was given the Intruder Test followed by a Training Test; the latter was repeated 1 week later. All males of 36 days or older fought vigorously, but without line differences. Females of the HI strain showed higher numbers of fighters and greater intensity of fighting than those of the LO strain, and by the second Training Test these differences were significant at p < 0.01. The HI and LO laterality strains thus provide useful tools for investigating the functions of female agonistic behavior and the possible relationship between laterality and the expression of aggression.     

The assessment of individual “Aggressiveness” in pigeons by a variety of means

Pigeons attack or threaten animate and inanimate targets. The assessment of their aggressiveness was studied by exposing them in their home cages to three different stimuli: the experimenter's hand, a live pigeon, and a rear-projected conspecific image when the birds were exposed to intermittent access to food. A positive correlation between the hand test and live pigeon test was evident, but no relationship between either of these responses and the response to a pictorial image was observed. These results combined with other ethological observations cast doubts on the usefulness of schedule-induced responses to pictorial targets in the assessment of the individual aggressiveness in pigeons, but suggest that the hand test is an adequate and reliable procedure for such evaluations.