Body size and body esteem in women: The mediating role of possible self expectancy

We predicted that an expectancy of acquiring a feared fat self and an expectancy of acquiring a hoped-for thin self both mediate the impact of body size on women's body esteem. We also predicted that the mediating pathway through the feared fat self would be stronger than that through the hoped-for thin self. A community sample of 251 women reported their age, height, weight, and completed measures of body esteem and expectancy perceptions of acquiring the feared fat and hoped-for thin selves. Bayesian Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) demonstrated that expectancies about the feared fat self and about the hoped-for thin self mediated the relationship between body size and body esteem. Bayesian SEM also revealed that the pathway through the feared fat self was stronger than that through the hoped-for thin self. Implications for future research and the development of eating pathology are discussed.     

False-belief understanding at age 5 predicts beliefs about learning in year 3 of primary school

This study examined the concurrent and longitudinal relationships between children's theory of mind (ToM) and their beliefs about learning. A sample of 63 children was tested for theory of mind and verbal ability at four time points: 5, 6, 7 and 8 years of age. In addition, at Time 4, children were administered a questionnaire investigating their beliefs about learning. Results showed longitudinal and concurrent relationships between ToM and constructivist, but not reproductive, beliefs about learning. Crucially, false-belief understanding at age 5 predicted unique variance in constructivist beliefs about learning at age 8, when controlling for subsequent levels of ToM. This relationship was not due to verbal ability. The authors discuss theoretical and practical implications of the longitudinal effect of theory of mind ability on constructivist beliefs about learning.     

Crying games in the theory of child development

Mathematical tools, such as static and dynamic optimization theory and game theory, are used to axiomatize developmental theory and to model the interaction between parents, their infant children and siblings. Parents allocate their time between parenting and other activities. They respond to their children's demand for attention. Children signal attention seeking by “crying”. Jealous siblings vie for their parents' attention. Parents, children and siblings are assumed to pursue their goals efficiently. The model solves for the equilibrium amount of crying by siblings, the allocation of parents' time between themselves and their children, and the sub-allocation of attention between rival siblings. Parents have an enlightened self-interest in promoting their children's independence, which they do by setting limits. In this they tread a fine line between spoiling and depriving their child. The model is dynamized to solve the optimal development policy of parents and to formalize the separation process of children from parents.     

Long-term effect of theory of mind on school achievement: The role of sensitivity to criticism

This study adds to the research on theory of mind (ToM) and school achievement by testing whether the mediating effect of sensitivity to criticism is significant when considered longitudinally and using an index of academic performance that incorporates both direct and indirect measures. A group of 49 children was tested during the last year of kindergarten (Time 1, mean age = 5 years and 6 months), in Year 1 (Time 2, mean age = 6 years and 5 months) and Year 5 (Time 3, mean age = 10 years and 2 months) of primary school. Children's ToM and verbal ability were tested at each time point, sensitivity to criticism at Time 2 and school achievement at Time 3. Results showed that sensitivity to criticism (as indexed by self-reported ability rating) mediates the relationship between Time 1 ToM and Time 3 school achievement. Practical implications of this pattern of associations are discussed.     

Adults see vision to be more informative than it is

Humans gain a wide range of knowledge through interacting with the environment. Each aspect of our perceptual experiences offers a unique source of information about the world—colours are seen, sounds heard and textures felt. Understanding how perceptual input provides a basis for knowledge is thus central to understanding one's own and others' epistemic states. Developmental research suggests that 5-year-olds have an immature understanding of knowledge sources and that they overestimate the knowledge to be gained from looking. Without evidence from adults, it is not clear whether the mature reasoning system outgrows this overestimation. The current study is the first to investigate whether an overestimation of the knowledge to be gained from vision occurs in adults. Novel response time paradigms were adapted from developmental studies. In two experiments, participants judged whether an object or feature could be identified by performing a specific action. Adult participants found it disproportionately easy to accept looking as a proposed action when it was informative, and difficult to reject looking when it was not informative. This suggests that adults, like children, overestimate the informativeness of vision. The origin of this overestimation and the implications that the current findings bear on the interpretation of children's overestimation are discussed.     

The relative contributions of subjective and objective measures of body shape and size to body image and disordered eating in women

This research explored the relative contributions of subjective perceptions of body weight and body shape/proportion, as well as objective measures of body mass index (BMI) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) to disordered eating, exercise involvement, and body image. One hundred and fifty-eight female university students completed questionnaires and provided body measurements for this study. Although an interaction between BMI and WHR was found for some measures (i.e., Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire total and subscale scores), results indicated that BMI was consistently the better objective predictor of disordered eating and body image. Subjective perceptions of body weight and, to a lesser extent, body shape, were found to account for the greatest proportion of variance in the dependent measures (disordered eating, body esteem, and body dissatisfaction). Overall, these results offer more support for sociocultural theories emphasizing the importance of thinness for women, than evolutionary theories emphasizing the role of WHR.     

SOME IMPLICATIONS OF BION'S THOUGHT

Following up Bion's idea that dreaming is a continuous process that takes place in waking life as well as in sleep, the author develops its theoretical and technical implications. He describes the narrative derivatives of waking dream thought as the means, or interface, whereby access may be had, albeit indirectly, to the constantly forming sequences of alpha-elements. Examples of the formation of these sequences out of childhood memories, present-day experiences and sexual feelings are given. Reference is also made to the notion of the analytic field. The author goes on to demonstrate the clinical value of these concepts both for studying the session's microtransformations and as a means of in-depth examination of the analyst's own mental functioning, including its lapses, in a session. Abundant clinical material is presented to help analysts who normally apply different models of the mind share these ideas. Finally, it is suggested that night dreams result from a further elaboration of the elements formed during waking life.     

Theory of mind and epistemological development: the relation between children's second-order false-belief understanding and their ability to reason about evidence

The study investigates the hypothesis that children's ability to attribute second-order beliefs facilitates their understanding of evidence, as seen in the ability to distinguish between causes and reasons. Seventy-four children 5–7 yr old were given belief and evidence tests. The belief tests assessed their ability to represent and reason from second-order false-beliefs, and the evidence tests assessed their ability to distinguish between the cause of a situation and a person's reason for believing it. The relation between performance on the two tests was determined, taking into account general language and non-verbal reasoning abilities. Results show that performance on the belief test and on the evidence part of the evidence test improved significantly over the age range, and that a significant proportion of variance in the evidence test scores is accounted for by second-order false-belief understanding, over and above that accounted for by general language and non-verbal abilities. The argument is made that second-order false-belief understanding is fundamental to children's epistemological development, underlying not just their understanding of evidence, but also their understanding of inference and truth.     

生存结构与心灵境界——面向21世纪的中国哲学

中国哲学可视为一种“生命哲学”或“生存哲学”,它所关注的核心问题就是“生存结构”或“生命结构”,而这种生命结构本质上又体现为阴阳结构.阴阳结构或阴阳范畴,从其内容来看,其实也就是中国人的心灵结构,同时也是我们的心灵境界,体现了一种生命关怀或“生命忧患”意识;从其形式方面来看,则是一种“结构思维”方法。当今人类面临着许许多多紧迫的世界性、全球性问题,以《周易》哲学为代表的中国生命结构哲学或许能够给我们以相当的启示.答案就是;多元一体,共存互补。     

幼儿心理理论与社会行为发展关系的初步研究

研究短期跟踪57名新进入幼儿园的幼儿,测查他们心理理论(theory of mind)和社会行为的发展水平.结果表明,幼儿心理理论的发展差异确实与他们的社会行为发展存在某种密切关系,但其与社会行为发展的不同方面似乎存在不同的关系模式.对这些不同的关系模式,文中分别从幼儿的心理状态认识、执行性控制能力发展和个性倾向等方面进行了探讨.