States of curiosity and interest enhance memory differently in adolescents and in children

Curiosity – broadly defined as the desire to acquire new information – enhances learning and memory in adults. In addition, interest in the information (i.e., when the information is processed) can also facilitate later memory. To date, it is not known how states of pre‐information curiosity and post‐information interest enhance memory in childhood and adolescence. We used a trivia paradigm in which children and adolescents (N = 60, 10–14 years) encoded trivia questions and answers associated with high or low curiosity. States of high pre‐answer curiosity enhanced later memory for trivia answers in both children and adolescents. However, higher positive post‐answer interest enhanced memory for trivia answers beyond the effects of curiosity more strongly in adolescents than in children. These results suggest that curiosity and interest have positive effects on learning and memory in childhood and adolescence, but might need to be harnessed in differential ways across child development to optimize learning.     

Factors influencing public awareness of autonomous vehicles: Empirical evidence from Brisbane

Growing concerns, regarding transport disadvantage and increased socioeconomic disparities, demand innovative ways to improve equity and make transportation systems smarter. One of the most anticipated developments within the field of smart mobility is driving automation systems. Autonomous vehicles (AVs) have the potential to improve accessibility, affordability, safety and efficiency of transport systems, but come with risks including the intensification of private vehicle travel. Understanding public awareness is an important step to determine whether motivation and intention to use AVs will impact on its potential. This paper aims to investigate factors influencing public awareness of AVs as a solution to transport disadvantage. The study applies an ordinal logistic regression analysis to analyse survey data collected from the residents of Brisbane (Australia). Our findings reveal that awareness is positively correlated within young and middle-aged adults, low-income residents, disability, public transport users, and those who feel unsafe on public transport, while an increase in the number of household vehicles is negatively correlated. The study provides insights into public awareness towards the potential benefits of AVs, and highlights potential opportunities and challenges associated with these expectations.     

孤独症儿童动作发展障碍的神经机制

动作发展障碍(Developmental motor disorders)是孤独症谱系障碍的常见特征。通过系统回顾孤独症儿童动作发展障碍的神经科学研究, 发现γ-氨基丁酸和5-羟色胺浓度的改变及γ-氨基丁酸相关蛋白和Shank蛋白的表达异常不仅会损害中枢神经系统的发育, 而且还能导致突触兴奋性与抑制性失衡, 进而改变孤独症儿童小脑和大脑皮层运动区的功能连接。孤独症儿童小脑、基底神经节和胼胝体结构的改变对全脑的连通性产生了负面影响。神经生化机制和脑结构的异常共同导致了脑功能的异常, 最终造成孤独症儿童的动作发展障碍。此外, 动作发展障碍与孤独症核心症状共同的神经基础主要包括镜像神经元系统紊乱, 丘脑、基底神经节和小脑异常以及SLC7A5和PTEN 基因突变。未来研究需要关注与运动密切相关的其他神经递质, 如乙酰胆碱和多巴胺; 探索动作发展障碍神经网络的动态机制及其形成; 剖析该障碍的神经机制和自闭症核心症状神经机制的相互作用。     

幼儿在联合行动中共同表征能力的发展

为探究幼儿联合行动共同表征能力的发展,实验1通过比较186名3~5岁幼儿在相同任务和不同任务的表现,发现4岁和5岁幼儿在不同任务中的表现比相同任务差;实验2进一步验证幼儿在不同任务中较差的表现源于对自我和同伴的共同表征。结论：3岁幼儿无法在联合任务中同时表征自我和同伴,没有表现出明显的共同表征能力,4岁以上幼儿开始具备稳定的共同表征能力,能够在联合任务中同时表征自己和同伴,由此对自己的行为表现造成干扰。     

个体与群体歧视知觉对流动儿童学业倦怠的影响：学业自我妨碍的中介作用和认同整合的调节作用

以363名初中阶段流动儿童为被试,采用问卷法考察学业自我妨碍在流动儿童个体和群体歧视知觉与学业倦怠关系中的中介作用,以及认同整合的调节作用。结果如下：（1）个体和群体歧视知觉正向预测流动儿童学业倦怠;（2）学业自我妨碍在流动儿童个体和群体歧视知觉与学业倦怠关系中起中介作用;（3）认同整合会调节个体歧视知觉、学业自我妨碍对学业倦怠的影响。     

父亲抑郁对幼儿问题行为的影响:教养效能感和教养方式的中介作用

以310名幼儿父亲为研究对象,采用流行病调查中心抑郁量表、父母教养能力感量表的教养效能感分问卷、父母教养方式评价量表和Conners儿童行为问卷,考察父亲教养效能感和教养方式在父亲抑郁与幼儿问题行为间的中介作用。结果显示:(1)父亲抑郁、专制粗暴、情感联系和幼儿问题行为两两之间均显著正相关,父亲教养效能感、民主关怀、宽容理解两两之间均显著正相关,父亲教养效能感、民主关怀、宽容理解分别与父亲抑郁、专制粗暴、情感联系和幼儿问题行为两两之间显著负相关;(2)父亲抑郁对幼儿问题行为具有显著的正向预测作用;(3)父亲教养效能感和自身的民主关怀、专制粗暴、情感联系不仅分别在父亲抑郁与幼儿问题行为之间起部分中介作用,而且在父亲抑郁与幼儿问题行为之间起链式中介作用。     

A comparison of skill-building and desensitization strategies for intervention with aggressive children

Social skills training and desensitization interventions were conducted with 41 institutionalized aggressive children aged 7–13. Subjects were randomly assigned after blocking by aggression and cooperative play to either of the treatments. Dependent measures were direct observations of playground play and teacher ratings. Subjects in the social skills program mastered the basic cognitive skills presented to them. Observational data indicated that both groups experienced marked reduction in aggressive behavior and increases in cooperative play. The social skills training intervention engendered incremental improvement in aggression in comparison to the desensitization condition. However, none of the behavioral changes evident in the observations were reflected in teacher ratings.     

Parenting Sensitivity,Parental Depression and Child Health: The Mediational Role of Parental Self-Efficacy

This paper discusses the theoretical role of parental self-efficacy, or parents' beliefs in their competence and effectiveness in the parental role, as a mediator of relations between parent–child risk and parental sensitivity. Evidence is marshalled from studies of parenting in the contexts of maternal depression and child health risk to support the premise that parent–child characteristics affect parental sensitivity indirectly via their more direct impact on parental feelings of efficacy, and that parenting efficacy represents the ‘final common pathway’ in the prediction of parenting sensitivity. Also considered in this working model are specific social-contextual factors as independent contributors to parenting efficacy and as possible moderators of relations between parent–child characteristics and self-efficacy. Implications for intervention are discussed. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Children's Representations of the World of Drugs

The changing profile of drug use has highlighted the need for age-appropriate education which requires insight into children's representations of drugs. Representations were elicited from 134 children aged between 5 and 11 years, drawn from two schools, by asking them to draw and write their responses to questions relating to a story about losing and finding a bag of drugs. Relevant responses were generated by 119 children aged between 8 and 11 years. A content analysis of these responses revealed differences with school and age. Older children were more likely to recognize that drugs can be good or bad depending on type, quantity taken and reason for use. The children had firm ideas about who takes drugs and their motivations and were knowledgeable about methods of use. They recognized that drugs can be dangerous, but had little understanding of how or why. The children's representations were characterized by fear and uncertainty and most wanted to know more. These findings are used to argue that there is a need for child-centred constructivist approaches to drug education which seek to demystify drugs and drug use and to orientate children to the realities of the world of drugs in the 1990s.     

Opposite strain-dependent differences for intermale aggressive behavior elicited by individual housing and housing with a female in the mouse

Male mice of the C57BL/6 strain show a significant increase in aggression toward a nonaggressive male conspecific following 72 hr of individual housing. However, this increase was no longer evident following 2 weeks of individual housing. When housed with a female, C57BL/6 mice show significantly more aggression than singly housed mice of the same strain after 72 hr as well as 2, 4, 8 weeks of differential housing. Male C57BL/6 mice housed with a female also show significantly higher levels of aggression than DBA/2 mice living in the same housing condition after 4 or 8 weeks of differential housing. Finally, male DBA/2 mice individually housed for 8 weeks are significantly more aggressive than mice of the same strain housed with a female for the same time. These results indicate that the increase in aggressive behavior observed following isolation and cohabitation with a female in the mouse is not the same phenomenon. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.